so, what is a plus world academy?

first things first, it is not a cruise, it is not a cruise, it is not a cruise. if you still think it’s a cruise or a fun easy relaxing boat ride, please stop reading and start this paragraph again. while aboard the students are the crew. we do two hours of day and of night watch each day and we, along with some other staff and crew, help sail the boat. a plus world academy is a swiss school based out of norway that teaches english curriculum. i will be taking four classes, ap english, ap psychology, math, and chemistry to finish up my highschool credits and at the end of the year, i will graduate with them! along with core classes i will take some maritime classes and their own course called S3. S3 stands for self, systems, and society. we will learn and discuss global awareness, cultural differences and many other aspects of being in new culture and what that entails.

a little about my journey
with a+ world academy

In February, I went to a gap year fair with my parents. At the fair there were all kinds of programs from mission work to traveling to arts to culinary to sailing. There was something there for everyone. I had had my sights set on a sailing program that ran for the first six months after graduation so I wasn’t interested in looking into any of the other sailing programs they were showing. After a few hours we were heading out and dad stopped at the A+ World Academy (APWA) booth and called me over to join him. The man speaking on behalf of the program was the head of the school, Dr. Kessler. He gave an introduction and asked if we had any questions, as we finished talking we asked about the price which ended up being out of the range of possible for us. Dr. Kessler said we could email Daniella, the director of admissions. when we got home I begged mom over and over to email her and get more information. As we emailed Daniella and talked to the administration at Seattle Christian we learned a few things that would make this trip very difficult. First, the finances, it was very expensive and it didn’t look like they offered any scholarships to non norwegian students. Second, my home school. I had been going to Seattle Christian School since kindergarten, I had known some of the kids I go to school with for over 15 years. Because of this, I was very reluctant to leave the school, kids, teachers, and atmosphere I had known, loved and grown up in. third, the time. it was february and the ship was set to depart in august. this seemed like we needed more than 6 months to figure all this stuff out and to pack and prepare and everything. fourth, i didn’t know if i really wanted to go. did i really want to give up my senior year? did i want to leave all my friends and family? did i want to stop dance, to leave my baby cousins, to give up coffee and sleeping in and my bed and my closet and my pets. did i really want to leave the life i had leave being comfortable and go somewhere that would push me so far past my comfort zone? well, apparently i do. i got accepted after a pretty long application process, there were physical tests, educational tests, papers to write, medical forms to fill, a swimming test, and so many other random things we needed to find, write, fill out and buy for this trip.

Our Daily Schedule

06:30 Galley team is woken up 

07:00 - 07:15   All students are woken up and banjer is tidied .

07:15 - 07:30   All students but galley gather on deck while the banjer is prepared for breakfast

07:30 - 07:55   One seating of breakfast 

07:55 - 08:10   Colors

08:15 - 08:55   Morning cleaning routines 

09:00 - 15:00   Classes 

11:15 - 11:30 All students but galley and those in class gather on deck while the banjer is prepared for lunch

11:30 - 12:30   Two seatings of lunch  

15:00 - 15:15   All ship coffee break and snack  

15:15 - 16:00   Maritime and S3 class

13:00 - 18:00   Classes resume

18:15 - 18:30   All students but galley gather on deck while the banjer is prepared for dinner  

18:30 - 19:30   Two seatings of dinner

20:00 - 20:55   Personal Time

21:00 Muster on deck

21:00 - 21:55   Quiet hour and gender curtains

21:55   Lights out in the banjer

20:00 – 22:00 Watch Garbage is sorted 

22:00 - 00:00 Watch  

00:00 - 02:00 Watch 

02:00 - 04:00 Watch  

04:00 - 06:00 Watch

06:00 - 08:00 Watch  

some sailing lingo to know ;)

watch- a group of sailors that “watch“ the boat. at A+ we have a 2 hour watch during the day and a 2 hour watch at night. on a watch we do chores and make sure everything is going smoothly

head- the bathroom

bitter end- the very end of the line

aft- back

helm- where the captain drives the ship, where the electronics and steering wheel are located

galley- the kitchen

bilge- the lowest part of the ship that collects water. wooden boats still leak a tiny bit so a bilge pump is put in to get rid of the water.

furl- to fold the sails to stow them

lines- the “ropes“ connected to the sails

tack & jibe- sailing maneuvers used to turn the ship

baggywrinkle- yarn put around the lines to prevent them from rubbing together