Where do I begin? I spent spring quarter 2002 studying on the Training Ship Golden Bear (TSGB) traveling around the South Pacific Islands. Would I recommend this trip to others .... absolutely. I don't think there is a better way to visit several places for the amount this trip has cost, and besides it gives you a break from the monotony of going to school in SLO.

There are many good things I can tell you about this trip ...

1. You will make many new friends while on board the ship that you will keep for a lifetime and get to see back in SLO.

2. You will get to travel to several different places and experience the life and cultures there.

3. While in port you are on your own - you make your own schedule of what you want to do.

4. You develop unique relationships with the teachers where you get to know them as a friend, and not just as your teacher. All the teachers on cruise 2002 were awesome and very caring towards the students. Back at Cal Poly you don't get to have your astronomy teacher actually point out the constellations in the sky to you while out in the middle of the ocean. School is a little more relaxed while on the ship compared to back at CP.

5. How many times in life will you have the opportunity to enjoy barbecues and dances out on a ship in the middle of the ocean?

Some of the things I didn't like about the trip ...

1. There are expectations of you while on the ship. You have to wear uniforms, you have 2 am curfews while in port, you have cleaning duties, and you have muster (basically roll call) every day at noon.

2. The food was mediocre on the ship (deserts were awesome though).

3. You're confined to the ship for several days while traveling between ports. Sometimes you get bored or antsy and you can't just hop in your car and go somewhere.

4. The swaying of the ship made it difficult for me to do normal activities like study, sleep, and work out.

5. The captain can be kind of anal. It seems like he doesn't want the cadets to have fun - for example he would limit the number of dances and barbecues we could have and got mad when a bunch of students slept outside on the deck one night near the end of cruise.

6. You only get a couple of days in each port.

I had an incredible experience on this cruise. This trip is something I will remember when I'm 80 years old. If I didn't go on this cruise I probably never would have traveled to the many wonderful places we went: Nuku Hiva, Tahiti, Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia. Don't think it's one big party because it's not; there's definitely work involved, but it's definitely a good time and something I would recommend to others.