Adios, Ciao

(Bob:) This is my last entry in this blog, since we have now landed in Florida and are waiting to fly home tomorrow. When we get home, we will add some slide shows of the many good pictures we had that we couldn’t get on the blog because of the ship’s balky computer system. We’ll send an email advising people how to check out our pictures if they want.

In the middle of January, we said adios to Ensenada. A little more than a week ago, we said ciao to Brazil. We will have traveled 26,000 nautical miles -- that’s 29,900 regular miles -- and visited countries comprising more than half the world’s population.

Rather than try to wax philosophical and put everybody to sleep -- again -- I think the best way to sum up is a Q&A that may answer a lot of people’s questions -- and sneak philosophy in.

1. Am I glad I made the trip? Yes, it’s a wonderful, relaxed way to see a chunk of the world. It’s expensive -- although we got a 2-for-1 deal, but travel is always expensive at our age when we no longer want to sleep in tents. By the way, those 2-for-1 deals are still being offered, since with the recession, they haven’t been able to fill the ship. There were about 600 students aboard and 25 lifelong learners. They want 700+ students each semester.

2. Would I do it again, since many “lifelong learners” go on the ship several times? I don’t think so, since, first of all, it’s too expensive to do again. Second, the itinerary is very similar each time, and I have a lot of other places I want to see, both inside the United States and out. (50 national parks is one goal.) But in 10 or 15 years when my money could go to a retirement home or this ship, my answer may change.

3. What was the most enjoyable feature of the trip? Well, of course, it was wonderful to see all the sights we saw, but the most enjoyable aspect was the people we met and got to know on the ship. When you are in close contact for four months, you can get to know many more people than you ever would at home in 10 years. We spent much of our time with the other 25 lifelong learners and with professors and their spouses, and the conversations you can have over the meal table or over drinks can be fascinating. You can be discussing theology with a religion professor at one meal, derivatives with a business professor at another, and the politics of India with a history professor at a third. And then join them all in a sing-along in the faculty lounge at night. You can’t match this with any other type of travel. We also got to know a number of students pretty well and enjoyed getting their insights and perspectives, and were happy when they seemed to enjoy spending some time with us.

4. What was the biggest disappointment? From a tourist perspective, it was India. What a mess that country is! From my standpoint (but not Luana‘s), time on the ship really began to drag the last month. When I was a student on board in 1968, we visited 18 ports in 15 countries during the semester. Here we visited 13 ports -- including two in Hawaii -- in 9 countries. In 1968, we only spent about three days in each port, and with this cruise, we spent four to six days in most ports, but still there was a lot more ship time. If I had been a student with papers and tests to study for, it would have taken up more of my time, but I only had to read and attend what classes I wanted to here.

5. What was the biggest surprise? The Terra Cotta warriors in China were much more impressive than I expected, and Cape Town and its surroundings in South Africa were much more beautiful than I could have imagined.

6. What countries would I like to return to? China and Brazil are my two selections. There are many things I would still like to see in both countries, and Rio would always be enjoyable. South Africa is another interesting country that I really enjoyed and would love to spend more time in, but I see that as much more difficult and expensive to get to from the West Coast.

7. What foods did I like best? For me, the cuisine of Brazil and South Africa were my favorites, since both had delicious seafood, while Brazil had excellent beef -- although in some restaurants it was so-so -- and South Africa had interesting wild game on the menu. Many on the trip loved the sheer variety that was available in China, but I was not a big fan of Chinese food before the trip. The least memorable cuisine was that of Ghana, although the fresh-baked bread was delicious.

8. What are the downsides to traveling in this way? You have to be able to put up with very close quarters in the shipboard room for an extended period. Luana and I did very well. It’s been very enjoyable traveling with her. Onshore, if you go on the trips arranged by Semester at Sea, you spend your time with a busload of people for a few days and climbing on and off and riding in buses. A major portion of those people are students, some of whom are very rich and spoiled and have as their only goal to get drunk in every port.

9. Would I recommend that parents/grandparents send college students on this trip? In my opinion, the best way to travel abroad is to learn a language and then go live in the country that speaks it for a few months or longer. You gain a real sense of independence doing that. But if the student really wants to see the world but doesn’t know a language, can afford it, and isn’t the type who will spend all of his or her time in a bar in every port, this will be a valuable experience. Not counting side trips, the cost is about the same as a semester at a private college. (The program is run by the University of Virginia.)

10. What did I learn from this trip? Right now, I feel I learned an immense amount about the countries we visited -- although still only scratching the surface in each one -- and learned it in a much more lasting way than reading about it in a book or seeing it on TV or visiting for a few hours from a luxury cruise ship. People are the same everywhere, with the same basic needs. Interestingly, each country is working out solutions to their problems in their own ways; and some of them are much better solutions than Americans have come up with. On the scary side, I think China will rule the world economically in 20 to 30 years, provided their political system is flexible enough to meet its challenges. The Chinese work so much harder and save so much more than we in the U.S. do, and I don’t think our citizens are willing to accept the lower standard of living they would have to have to compete effectively against the Chinese. Their ongoing investment in infrastructure is amazing. Have your children/grandchildren learn Mandarin, and pray that the transition to a world run by the Chinese can be made peacefully.

Quite simply, I see the best solution to many of the world’s problems to be zero population growth. There are just too many people creating too many demands on too many social, economic and political systems. And that includes in the United States, which is projected to have another 100 million people in the next 40 years. That is just too crowded. As I said about Ghana, imagine 23 million people in a country the size of Oregon. It’s absurd.

We are all very lucky to live in a country such as the U.S. with all the material riches we have.

11. Was this a life-changing event for me? At our age, the only life-changing events are usually catastrophic ones. But I have gained a new appreciation for some areas of the world, and plan to get more involved in international organizations at home, and try to do more volunteer work generally.

12. Will I be glad to get home and see old friends and our family? Definitely yes.