“It is wonderful to be back on the ship. (Not boat.)”
With these words Archbishop Desmond Tutu came home to the MV Explorer. Last night, hours before we left Cape Town, the entire shipboard community was honored by his presence on the ship. The Union was standing room only, and people spilled out into the hallways to catch a glimpse of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Archbishop who led the fight against Apartheid. A member of the ISE and Semester at Sea Board of Trustees, Archbishop Tutu’s integral place in the Semester at Sea family was obvious. Participants of all ages and backgrounds sat in rapture as he discussed the following themes:
- We are only fully human when we are together. We are all made different so that we can learn and complement one another, working together to achieve the maximum good.
- This journey will change us. We will not be the same when we return home. We will not be able to look past injustice. We will not see the world or our place in it the same way.
- We are all African. We all come from the same place and are the same. We have the same value and the same immense capacity for good.
- We must keep dreaming. We must imagine more than we think is possible, do more than we know we can, and dream more than others think we should.
Reminding us that we are all “awesome,” Archbishop Tutu was encouraging and inspirational. We leave both South Africa and him with heavy hearts but optimistic of the future we will all build together.
