A New Perspective

Nicole Pasalo
Semester at Sea, World Wide

Growing up in a small rural town on the Big Island, the opportunity to study abroad wasn’t something that was emphasized while I was in high school; the main goal was to attend college. But just last year, the idea to study abroad was presented to me and I was inspired to expand my horizons and gain new perspectives. News articles, TV shows, magazines or pictures did not prepare me for what I encountered in the different countries we visited. The immense diversity in the mass amount of poverty in one place to the emerging skyscrapers and advanced technology in another left me astonished. It was the things I didn’t notice at home that stood out to me the most.

Something that I will never forget is seeing the genuine smiles of the children I met in the South Africa townships. Their happiness, despite living in poverty, humbled me and gave me a new insight that I would have never received if I didn’t study abroad.

This unique study abroad experience truly connected me to the ten countries we visited. Now when I hear about the town or see that town or country on TV or the web, it brings me back to the time I was there. The memories of that place are overwhelming and it feels like I was just there the other day.