Letter to Future Cal Poly at Sea Participants,

So you want to go on Cal Poly at Sea? Be prepared for an experience that will change your life. There is so much I could tell you, and want to tell you, about this trip, but words cannot describe enough of it for you to walk away and understand completely what this adventure is all about. I'll go ahead and start off with some advice. Bring money! The actual trip cost is not that extreme, if you look at the length of the trip, the conditions provided, and the ports visited. The extra money that they don't tell you much about is the cost of having fun in port. Many of the ports you will visit will be tourist oriented, which is great because they have plenty of tours and programs available for you to get a good idea of the place you are visiting. But they are also wayyy expensive. So bring lots of money. Oh, and don't rely on travelers checks - they just waste your time. Most countries have ATM machines, especially in their port cities. Use ATMs to convert your money in the bank to the local currency. Choose a stateroom, and cross your fingers that you get it. Having two roommates lined up will help ensure that. They are less crowded than lower berthing and offer a little privacy on a ship that is severely lacking in it. However, the LB crew did have an amazing time living in such close quarters, so maybe that's the path for you. Bring plenty of snacks, no matter what they tell you. Food is actually pretty good at mealtimes, but often you'll find you aren't hungry then or want something to eat at a non-mealtime. This is when you'll be thankful you have some Costco cases of food chilling next to your lockers. They may tell you, as they told me, that the bedding and extra supplies you bring with you will be donated to charity at the end of the trip. The truth is that this donation process never works out, so they usually just give up and throw it all away. So be conservative with what you bring.

This trip was amazing for me. I had never traveled at sea before, and the only foreign country I had ever visited was Canada, which hardly counts. On sea travel - I get incredibly car sick back in the states, but I did not use Dramamine or any other sea sickness stuff and I did not get sea sick at all. So it's up to you, although my buddies on Dramamine were definitely out of it for a day or two because of it. You can take lots of pictures, or not, just know that everybody will be taking tons of pictures and the last couple days of cruise will be a mass of downloading of each others pics. I think I have around 1500 now that aren't even mine.

Pray that you get MOM on your cruise. She is the baker on the ship, and makes the best desserts that you will ever see or taste in your life. She also will hook you up with some tasty treats if you're up studying for finals at 4 am in the mess. Classes are chill. The professors are here to have a good time too, and don't want to spend their time grading assignments or reading essays. I had the most units of anyone on the ship with four classes, one unit of ARGO float deployment, one unit of Chemical Oceanography seminar, and two units from CMA. I recommend three classes as the ideal course load. Most of my teachers realized the unique conditions aboard the ship and gave us a few extra points just because it was so easy to be distracted.

There's always something going on somewhere, so you won't get bored. Finally, be prepared to make some new friends. I don't know what it is, but the combination of traveling, living, eating, studying, and experiencing new cultures with the same people seems to bring them together in a very special way. There are times when I cannot imagine my life back in San Luis Obispo without these people in it, the same people I met for the first time in my life two months ago. The bonds formed on this trip are unique, and I am very thankful that I had the opportunity to come on this trip and be a part of them. This is not an experience you will discover again in your life, so have a blast!