January 27, 2000
There were no floorshows, no elaborate meals, and no one wore formal clothes. Shortly before Christmas, Winnsboro residents Raymond and Gretchen Fifer returned from a journey called Semester at Sea, which took them more than 24,000 miles.
Semester at Sea is a University of Pittsburgh sponsored program that allows more than 600 students to earn a full semester of academic credit, and give them the opportunity to discover 10 countries for themselves. Seniors may participate in the trip without taking the college courses. Inter-port lecturers and students from the various countries are on board between ports to acclimate all of the passengers into the ways of the people of the next port. Attendance at daily sessions, designed to be introductions to each country, is required of all passengers, students, faculty, faculty families and senior passengers as part of the program.
After more than two years of planning, the Fifers boarded the S.S. Universe Explorer and departed Vancouver on Sept. 14. The first port was 14 days away in Japan. From there, they sailed to Hong Kong, Vietnam, Malaysia, India, Egypt, Turkey, Croatia, Italy, Egypt and Morocco, completing their circumnavigation of the globe when they docked in Miami on Dec. 23. "It was an experience like none we have had," Ray Fifer said. "I don't know how to describe this trip." With the exception of Egypt, their stay at each port was four to five days, giving the Fifers ample time to immerse themselves in each culture and environment. Some students and seniors participated in Semester at Sea organized trips, permitting them to volunteer in orphanages, schools and hospitals, and to live, briefly, in villages, to participate in home stays or to visit famous sites. Others made their own travel plans, and took camel rides and self-designed bus and train tours; stayed with families, organized an audience with the pope, and arranged a trip to Bosnia. Others experienced the Taj Mahal at either sunrise or sunset; Fatehpur Sikri; the bathing ritual at dawn on the Ganges River; the Great Pyramids of Egypt; the Giant Buddha in Japan; Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Great Wall in China; the Killing Field and Angkor Wat in Cambodia; the sites of the wars in Vietnam and Japan; art in Florence, Vatican City and other historic edifices in Italy; the Blue Mosque and the Haigha, as well as Cappadocia in Turkey; the Souks in Morocco, and other well-known destinations within the countries visited during the trip.
"A few of the many sights and memories that we will never forget," Gretchen Fifer said, "include the friendliness of the Japanese people; the millions of bicycles in China; the cyclo ride to a far-off Internet cafe in Saigon, not knowing where we were; the unbelievable traffic in India; the return to Dubrovnik after 27 years; the glory of Istanbul, the Amalfi Coast of Italy; the 18-bus caravan carrying 700 of us along with an armed escort to the pyramids; being caught in a traffic jam of cars, cyclos, motorcycles, buses and taxis while on foot in Malaysia; and a myriad of other experiences that will long live in our minds and hearts."
The journey, Ray Fifer said, was emotional, because he and his wife were reminded, by seeing extreme poverty in some of the countries, how blessed Americans are. They also both believe that their "grandchildren" added an emotional fulfillment to the journey. The integration of the three groups on board was an important part of the journey with senior passengers having "adopted grandchildren," thus forming an on-board family."
"Some of them I could just bring home," Ray Fifer said. The Fifers, along with the other seniors, are corresponding with their grandchildren since all have returned home.
"E-mail is burning up," Gretchen Fifer said. Reunions with some of the Fifters’ "grandchildren" are being planned for later this year in Boulder, Colorado and Cologne, Germany. In addition to the adopted grandchildren, several other students adopted adults, thus widening the shared strength and affection between passengers during the 100 days of the voyage.
"This was a voyage never to be forgotten," said Gretchen Fifer, "and this has been truly an experience that may not be for everyone as it was surely not a vacation; nor was it a trip. "It was more like an International College dormitory experience with cafeteria lines and student union activities and continuing education every day while at sea."
