When we left home, we knew we’d need to call some audibles along the way given the COVID-19 situation. And our need to be flexible has started earlier than we would have guessed!
Semester at Sea (SAS) recently announced that– based on advisories issued by the State Department and CDC– the current voyage would be ending in South Africa.
This was very sad news for us! A big part of our trip plan has been to fly to Cape Town on March 17, board the ship and join the SAS community to visit Ghana and Morocco. Semester at Sea is an amazing program and we were really looking forward to reconnecting with SAS staff from 2016, as well as re-experiencing meeting new bright, curious college students and professors — it’s a unique, intellectually and culturally stimulating environment.
Nonetheless, as a SAS board member, I’m proud of the way the organization’s leadership has handled this difficult, once-in-a-lifetime situation — they have had to make a number of difficult decisions over the past 2 months. Throughout, they have been consistent in maintaining focus on the health and safety of our voyagers as Semester at Sea’s number one priority.
Our family will still fly to Cape Town and spend some time there… and we’ve started to develop an alternate post-Cape Town plan. Thankfully, our friend, Kirsten Camp, connected us with Nic & Jana who run In the Wild, a small wildlife-adventure travel company. The two of them are helping us think-through what looks to be an awesome alternative for us to explore Namibia and Botswana. When Joe and I traveled to southern Africa in 2000, we heard a number of people rave about Namibia and have been wanting to visit ever since. So we’re really excited about this opportunity, even as we’re so disappointed that, for us, Semester at Sea isn’t to be…
Dear Kristina and Joe and kids. What a shame but I know you are an adventurous family and will have a great adventure. I look forward to hearing all about it when you get home. ENJOY AND OPEN YOUR HEARTS TO NEW ADVENTURES.
WARM WARM WISHES. dean john
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Thanks, John! We are SO going to miss all the great camaraderie, educational value (we’re missing Global Studies.. again!), travel stories/advice… and of course the dynamic energy of the students and staff. And hanging in the Fritz! 🙂
Still — we can’t blame SAS in the slightest for prioritizing everyone’s safety and well-being in making the call… glad we had a chance to visit the ship over New Years and to see you and some of the other folks on staff. Best wishes to everyone on the ship and in the SAS organization .. we’ll have to catch-a-ride some year in the future…
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ENJOY and I will keep up with the changes you will make. When will you return to Seattle??
Warmest wishes
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SO sorry you guys are missing a big part of your trip! Have lots of fun!
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Thanks, I really appreciate this!
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I hope you guys have fun going on the parts of the trip you get to go to
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