Love Letter

I couldn’t wait any longer. I had to write and tell you that I miss you. I still love you. I thought I could handle it. I was wrong.

I didn’t know how to put this into words. That’s why it took so long. I can hardly even formulate my thoughts about you; they are still just so drowned in the muddled confusion of not having you in my life.

After nine weeks away together, I figured a break would be okay. I could move back home and busy myself with work and trivial daily tasks, inevitably forgetting about you in the process. Instead, everyone keeps asking me about it. What happened? How was it? What’s your best memory? I can’t believe they expect me to answer questions like that so soon after we split.

When I do want to talk about you, nobody cares to listen. It’s driving me crazy. My parents actually tune me out now when I bring you up. Some people have said I’m strange for being so broken up about you. For missing you so deeply. That I’m overreacting. Those people don’t understand. And they can’t, unless they meet you too.

You gave me the most memorable summer of my young life. I was expecting a quick fling, not a lifelong romance cut short by the sheer necessity of a busy itinerary. See, other people that have been with you in the past said recovering would take years. I laughed. I’m stronger than that!

Yet here I am, two full months after we split, and I miss you more than anything in the world. I can hardly look at our old pictures anymore. I won’t. I can’t. But it’s all I want to do. I’ll never forget the people we met together, the places we went, the memories we made.

Remember when we went to Italy? Hiked the Cinque Terre? Well, my parents are there right now on vacation. They keep e-mailing me about it. They know we went there. They must know how painful it is to see their pictures and have all my own memories flood back into my skull like a brutal, Ouzo-induced hangover.

Kind of like the hangover I had the morning after we left Istanbul. Do you remember that? What a crazy night. How about Croatia? The walls, the cliffs, the roofs…I thought it was the most beautiful place on Earth. You liked it too, but forced me to leave with you after only three short days.

Can’t we just go back? Me, you and all our friends? Let’s just get out on the water and sail, for old time’s sake. I know I sound desperate. I’m sorry. All sorts of crazy ideas start to populate up in this one-track brain when you are on my mind every second of every day.

You know, I’ve met up with some of your other former flings. They all got a taste at some point. I went to impromptu support groups. Sacramento, San Francisco, Santa Cruz. All these little local groups who have been burned just like me. I’m going to Colorado next year for a bigger convention. We’re all a little ticked that you’re gone.

But instead of being angry, we all end up just talking about you. How great you are. Were. We all want to go back. Just take me back to the villa in Mykonos. Where I realized I would love you forever. And how much I would hate you when you left. You have that kind of effect on people.

Oh, who am I kidding? I can’t be mad. You gave me the best 66 days of my life, and then moved on. So, Semester at Sea, I don’t think I will ever quite get over you. Hopefully I will see you again some day, but until then, thank you for the remarkable memories. Thank you for all the unbelievable places we traveled together, the incredible experiences and the lifelong friendships you helped me form.

Thank you for inspiring me. And for changing my life forever. I will never forget you.

Love,

Jeremy Dorn, Summer 2011

P.S. – I still listen to our song all the time. And it’s not making things any easier.

Istanbul

You know you’re in a cool place, when literally the first thing you hear upon stepping off the ship in port is a call to prayer from the mosque. I knew immediately that Istanbul would be nothing like the other ports. The singing of the prayer was beautiful and strangely mystic. It was cool to think that it was a completely normal occurrence for the Muslim Turks. On the first day, I had an FDP to go to a poetry reading for my English classes. British poet John Ash, American Mel Kenne and Turkish Gonca Ozmen (all living in Istanbul now) read and discussed their poems.

Now, I’ve been to tons of poetry readings at this point in my life, but this one was special because of the place we were in and because Ozmen read hers in Turkish and then had them translated into English. Overall, it was a really cool experience and even inspired my next English assignment. After the FDP, I went back to the ship and met a group of friends to go to a nearby hookah lounge. We found a cool place that had a bunch of beanbags surrounding small tables on a lawn outside a restaurant. We all stayed there and talked and drank for a few hours before calling it a night. But one of the coolest parts of the whole night was when the last call to prayer came on while we were sitting in the middle of this local establishment. Everyone went completely silent and we all listened to the prayer ring out over the sky.

On the second day, I got my first taste of the marvelous monstrosity that is the Grand Bazaar. My mom and sister would go absolutely crazy in this place. It’s almost too difficult to describe…just a gigantic maze of shops selling anything from spices to lamps to jewelry to Nike shoes. We got lost in the Bazaar for hours and came out with a few cool items to bring home. Overall that place has to be experienced more than anything but I can tell you that with the female Dorn negotiating abilities, they might have owned the place by the end of the day.

The third day in Istanbul was especially cool, because I spent the afternoon in ASIA! Because of that little side-trek, I technically hit four different continents on this voyage! I love being able to say that! We took a ferry across the strait to the Asian side of Istanbul, which really wasn’t much different than the European side. Some architecture reflected it a bit, but nothing huge stood out. We walked and checked out some more shops before heading up the hill and more into town once we got there. Once in the main shopping area, we got some lunch and did a little shopping before hitting up a really cool record store on the way back.

Our last day in Istanbul was spent again at the Bazaar for a while (I got a rug!) and then celebrating the first night of Ramadan by servicing the local liquor stores and clubs all night. Overall, Istanbul was an amazing experience and I really cannot wait to come back here and explore it for a longer period of time. Anyone who hasn’t been to Istanbul needs to include that in any European travel plans they may make. It really was an incredible place!

Why I Want To Do Semester At Sea

I consider myself a pretty well-traveled person...at least here at home. I've lived in California and Washington state (for school...), visited Nevada, Arizona, Florida, Oregon, Idaho, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Florida and Hawaii, been to Mexico a few times, even up to Canada. But one thing I've never, ever done, is cross the Atlantic, or even leave North America for that matter. I have tons of friends who have studied abroad in places like Spain, England, Greece and China. I almost took my 2nd semester of sophomore year to study in Chile and Argentina...unfortunately the credits didn't transfer and I know hardly any Spanish so it never happened. Ever since researching studying abroad, I have been interested in going to South America. Ever since talking to my friends who have been to Europe or Asia, I've been interested in going there. Ever since I can remember, my dream vacation has been New Zealand/Australia. My point is, I've had my fair share of vacations, but never to a country or culture that I consider vastly different from my own. Doing Semester at Sea this summer would give me the perfect opportunity.

The 2011 summer voyage is supposed to go to the Bahamas, Barcelona, Naples, Athens, Istanbul, Morocco, Croatia and Egypt. Wow. So many different cultures, so much history, so much to do and see over 66 days! Plus, the voyage ends in Boston, one of my all-time favorite cities, so maybe I could swing spending a couple days there as well! Anyway, my time to earn school credits while traveling is running out. I don't know if I could put myself in any better situation after this year. A huge cruise ship with hundreds and hundreds of college students with similar intentions to me, hanging out all day and then exploring Europe and parts of Africa and South America? Don't even get me started on the opportunities this trip would give me to further my cultural knowledge and therefore expand my ability to write!

Obviously, there are a couple of roadblocks...

1) COST - my god...including all the fees, airfare, personal money for expenses, textbooks, etc., I would want to budget around $15,000 for this trip. In the end, money is just paper...but it is really hard to move around without it. I'm avidly searching for a job on campus right now to start saving. I know my beautiful, wonderful, loving parents would throw a small bit of money my way, but realistically I'm looking at around $10,000 otherwise. This is where selling drugs comes in...JUST KIDDING. This is where financial aid, scholarships, work study, grants and loans come in. Luckily, Semester at Sea offers a 10-month payment plan option. So basically, starting in January (I believe...), I would pay around $1,200 to them every month to cover the basic trip fees. Along with saving up that extra $500 or so to set off to the side each month for extra expenses. I know for sure that I can get a $2,000 work-study scholarship...basically I agree to work 2 hours a day on the boat and they give me $2,000. According to a friend from University of Washington who did the trip a couple years ago, that's a really good, easy way to cut some costs. He told me that the work is simple and that it allows you free internet access on the boat (not usually free). Also, I can apply for need-based and normal financial aid. And I'm curious to see if I can keep a travel blog to promote Semester at Sea with all my experiences. That would give me practice as well as giving them free advertising? That warrants knocking off a good five or six grand, right? But in all honesty, I'm going to work my tail off to make this happen. I have a meeting with the abroad office here at WSU in a couple weeks and will be emailing my academic adviser this week with questions. Lastly, I'm in contact with the Semester at Sea "recruiter," so I should be able to ask him a few questions tomorrow over the phone.

2) CLASSES - Probably even more important than the money is, will my credits transfer? Will they have English and/or Communications courses on the ship that will transfer back into one of the 8-10 remaining courses I need for my majors? Will any of it count as English 498 "Internship" credit? (Ugh, that would be amazing, what a pain in the butt to get out of the way!) My parents are worried that even if they do transfer back, that if I still had to go back to Pullman for Fall semester 2011, it would be a lottttt of money to spend, and rightfully so. Factoring in a new house lease (current one expires August 2011), paying for more classes, etc. it may just not be worth it. That's why it all comes down to the classes. If I can get 2 courses knocked out on the ship, or 1 course and English 498 credit, that would be ideal. This is why I need to meet with so many people. I have one full semester of college left, no matter how I look at it. Classes are harder to come by in the summer, so I want to be able to plan my registration for this Spring as best as possible. But, ideally, I will take 15-16 credits at WSU in the Spring and be left with 9-10 that I can take on the boat...

Either way, the application is going out tomorrow and we'll go from there. I understand the financial and logistical constraints of this possibility, but the adventure bug is calling and I really want to answer it. Unless something goes absurdly wrong, hellooooooo Bahamas, hellooooooo Europe and helloooooooo Africa! Pencil me in for summer!