DaveKorn

I leave Morocco in a way that I cannot remember ever having left a place I’ve been: with no immediate desire to return. This has little to do with the country itself; it is entirely due to the nature of my experience there. I wandered through bazaars filled with drummers and snake charmers, henna artists and acrobatic dancers. I was sheltered, fed, and entertained, I was given fresh bread and Moroccan mint tea by an old woman in a Berber village, I perused shops stuffed with traditional crafts, carvings, and tapestries. I greeted and thanked people in French and Arabic, and I stood humbly in the world’s third largest mosque. Yet the experience was diluted; the visit lacked that which I crave: honest, genuine exchange between myself and another human being. Much of this was ... read more

Narrow, winding streets of cobblestone, breathtaking cathedral architecture and footsteps softly echoing off the stained glass, sizzling tapas and red wine, accordion music in bustling plazas speckled with orange trees. If Spain can be labeled at all, it can only be called a dream. The night before arrival in Cadiz, the entire ship was buzzing with excitement. People were running around packing, finalizing travel plans, filling out paperwork, and it was generally sinking in that rather than simply sailing forever as it had begun to seem, we would actually be visiting countries on this journey. I bounded up and down the stairs between my room and the 6th floor hangout spot and I felt this sort of deep, peaceful anticipation. I had essentially no plan, no idea what would happen, and utter peace with this fact. ... read more

I returned from Spain with the strange peace that only wild, free-spirited emotion can bring. Amidst people excitedly recounting the tales of their adventures, I walked around that night in quiet reflection. Sometime late at night, miles from land, I glanced out my porthole and saw a flock of seagulls flapping furiously alongside our ship. They were riding our wind, soaring wildly beside us, dodging waves and performing reckless aerial acrobatic maneuvers. The next morning, it rained. After lunch the skies began to clear, and rays of sun broke through the clouds, casting light down into the choppy sea. Spray leapt into the air and caught the sun, becoming misty rainbows. I feel I will remain a nomad for some time. * * * The passage to Morocco was WILD! To begin with, we were ... read more

The last couple days of writing from my journal. I’ve been having a crazy time, waking up before 9 for classes, and spending the day reading, writing, meeting people, and hanging off the railing watching the ocean. It is definitely a lot of fun, but I am seriously missing you guys. More than I even anticipated. Its starting to get to me. Thank you for the comments and messages, the love from a quarter of the way around the world is much needed and even more appreciated. anyway, here it is... Les McCabe, our executive dean, spoke to the “school” yesterday. He talked about ubuntu, a concept introduced to him by the Archbishop Desmund Tutu. The word, translated as humanity, comes from the Bantu language of the Zulu people of South Africa. The concept emphasizes compassion ... read more

I write this from somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic. It’s been four days since I stood clutching a salty railing shoulder to shoulder with 700 other anxious bodies, watching Nassau grow smaller and smaller as the sun began to drop behind a shrinking lighthouse on a jutting thrust of land, tossing purples and oranges across the sky to my irises. The last sliver of land sank into the horizon and I became suddenly aware of the utter vastness of the sea. We each realized on some level that the next time earth would support our soles, we will have put 3,700 nautical miles behind us and we will have reached the western shores of Spain. I feel small. ... read more

Itinerary: Nassau, Bahamas Cadiz, Spain Casablanca, Morocco Walvis Bay, Namibia Cape Town, South Africa Port Louis, Mauritius Chennai, India Bangkok, Thailand Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Hong Kong Shanghai, China Kobe, Japan Yokohama, Japan Honolulu, Hawaii USA Puerto Quetzal, Guatamala Transit Panama Canal Fort Lauderdale, Florida USA... read more