By Hannah Whitesides, Travel Retreat Leader with Project Passport and author of Endless Expeditions

If you ask anyone who studied abroad for a semester in college what it was like, they will probably say “it was the best semester of my life.” College students study abroad in countries all around the world: Italy, Spain, China, Germany, you name it. Thea Butler, however, chose a unique study abroad path that allowed her to visit Hawaii, Japan, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Myanmar, India, Mauritius, South Africa, Ghana, Morocco, and Portugal all in one semester. How? By sailing 26.245 land miles around the world through the Semester at Sea program. 

“The first day we were drilled that we were on a ship, not a boat. A voyage, not a cruise. And we were travelers, not tourists.”

On the very first day of her adventure, she officially checked out of life on land. School was only in session on ‘sea days’ which were days at sea. Sea days switched between A days and B days because the days of the week no longer mattered. If they were at sea on a Saturday or a Sunday, they still had class because when they arrived at ports they were free to roam until the ship was scheduled to depart (4-6 days later). 

Thea describes life on the ship as “incredible.” 

“We didn’t have any internet or wifi on the ship so we all forged bonds that couldn’t be broken by the buzzing of a cell phone. We played card games and friendships were nearly lost over a game of uno. If we wanted to find our friends we would leave sticky notes on their cabin doors saying where we were and to meet up at a certain time.”

Outside of spending a semester at sea, Thea has traveled extensively, some for months at a time. She has been to a total of 22 countries spanning 4 continents and she is nowhere near finished. When asked how traveling has impacted how she sees the world, she said that it has caused her to be more open minded. More importantly though, she explained that immersing herself in other cultures is unifying because we realize that we are not so different after all. It creates a deeper sense of acceptance.

“You don’t look at something different anymore and see it as ‘weird '. Nothing is weird to me anymore. You eat scorpions? Awesome that’s you.”

In addition to broadening our horizons, Thea explains that traveling has forced her to grow as a person. She has become more confident, adaptable and she realized that she is much stronger than she thought. Her mental health has benefited as well because it has allowed her to recall her travel experiences and struggles when she’s anxious or depressed to help her get through her current struggles.

“I look back and I think, okay you did so much on your own, you’re going to be fine… here… surrounded by your friends, things that you know. Think of this in retrospect. You’re not in the middle of nowhere in Myanmar, about to have heat stroke and there’s no hospitals around, what are you gonna do? You are never going to be that stressed.”

At only 23 years old, Thea has become a well-rounded, intelligent global citizen and we can’t wait to see where her life takes her as she continues to explore the world. For anyone who is thinking about traveling short term or long term, Thea says, “Just go and try it. You can always go home.” 

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Project Passport is a mental empowerment retreat and event company created to help women connect with one another and gain the tools to improve their lives in the best way possible. Each retreat experience has a unique theme with carefully designed activities to help participants grow and experience transformation. We are making mental wellness the norm, one retreat at a time. Learn more at project-passport.com.