Ihab Anwar : The Most Amazing Experience

Ihab Anwar is a student at the University of Rhode Island, and says that the Fall 2014 semester was the most amazing experience of his entire life.

He did not spent much time at the University of Rhode Island during that fall term. Instead, he was on board the MV Explorer as a participant in the Semester at Sea program. The program, established in 1963, takes up to 720 students on an around-the-world voyage, during which they make multiple stops in numerous countries, and study the history and culture of each port of call.

This year's Semester at Sea set sail from Southampton, England and visited fifteen different countries over its 108 day journey. "It is indescribable," says Ihab Anwar shortly after he returned to the campus at Rhode Island in early December. "It was like nothing I've ever experienced before. I wouldn't even know where to begin to describe it – there was just so much – but I'm going to write about it for the school paper." He is a marine biology major who is thinking of switching to political science. He is also studying journalism.

He says that some of the most interesting ports of call were in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Bridgetown, Barbados, and Havana, Cuba. "I had never been in that part of the world before," he says. But he quickly added, "I guess I'd never been to most of those other places, either, except for England and France."

The Semester at Sea program, says Ihab Anwar, is meant to integrate interdisciplinary coursework, hands-on learning, and a multi-cultural experience for its students. The MV Explorer, which has been called one of the safest ships afloat, is one of the fastest passenger ships of its kind.

To know more visit Ihab Anwar's website here:  http://drihabanwar.com/