Sea's Get Degrees

April 11, 2017 Last night I had my second to last pre port. This morning I got off the ship for the last time before getting off in Germany. I'm currently in a bus in Morocco, the last port before this incredible voyage comes to an end. To say time has been as quick as a blink of an eye would be an understatement. Yet at the same time, I've had enough unreal, once-in-a-lifetime, jaw dropping, beautiful, crazy experiences to last for a lifetime...or seven. I'm sure this is true for most people but if you would've told me when I was 14 that I'd have the kind of life I've had in the last 5 years...I would've put my black hair up in a ponytail, told you that you were crazy, and snuck out of my basement window. Crazy how lives can change sometimes...or the scenery of a country. We got on the bus in Casablanca and I took a nap for a solid hour before waking up to North Dakota fields. I'm not kidding, I thought I was still sleeping when I looked out the windo...

Genuine, Incredible, Welcoming, Hard-Working, Caring, Happy, Community, Family-oriented….those are just a couple of the words that I would use to describe the Ghanaian people. Even in the 100 degree weather with 100% humidity, I was sad to leave this country filled with, honestly, so much more than I was expecting. My first steps off the ship onto land were, like I said, very hot. I got on a bus with about 30 other SASers, our bus driver Steven, and some guy named Fred. But I quickly learned that it wasn’t just some guy named Fred and let me tell you why. Fred grew up in a village that didn’t have any school for him to attend. A man in the village decided to start teaching some of the kids with nothing more than some seeds to count and a mango tree. Fred spent years excelling in school, sometimes having to walk 2 hours each way to get there, all while knowing his family was sacrificing parts of their lives for him. By the time he was done with the 3 years of high school, he passed the ...