A Once in A Lifetime Opportunity!
No donation is too small. $5? GREAT!
THE BEST LAID PLANS CHANGE
After the owner occupied move in of my Oakland apartment, I put all of my things in storage with plans to navigate a challenging bay area rental market at the end of a crazy semester instead of in the middle of it. But as I've learned these last few years - plans change!
Not long after my move, I received an "out of the blue" invite from the University of Virginia to be a faculty member on the upcoming Spring 2016 "Semester at Sea Around the World" voyage Jan-April 2016. Wow, I never thought timing would be good to be homeless! Since then, I have stopped my house hunt and am "couch surfing" with friends until my departure. (lucky for me these friends have very nice "couches") Some of these angels are starring in the above happy dance movie. THANK YOU Superstar Sistahs!
THE VOYAGE
Together with 600 students and 35 other faculty, our floating University (a 1998 cruise ship outfitted to contain 10+ classrooms) will voyage for 101 days stopping in 11 countries and 15 cities starting in San Diego, CA and continuing on to:
Honolulu, Hawaii
Yokohama, Japan
Kobe, Japan
Shanghai, China
Hong Kong, China
Ho Chi Minh City, Việt Nam
Rangoon, Burma
Cochin, India
Port Louis, Mauritius
Cape Town, South Africa
Takoradi & Tema (Accra) Ghana
Casablanca, Morocco
debarking in Southampton (London), England.
I hope to stay abroad and work until conducting my Photography in France workshop in July.
MY WORK
During the voyage, I will teach three sections of Fine Art and Documentary Photography and lead students on photography field labs in Mauritius, Saigon and Myanmar. It's quite interesting to plan three separate day-long, meaningful excursions for groups of 20 students to places I've never been before - but I am excited about it! I have been connecting with local artists as well as doing a lot of research on the weekends at the San Francisco library to prepare course lectures for the students since internet at sea is spotty. (I think my backside is officially indented on my chair over there). The lectures will focus on local image-makers and technical jargon for many of the 15 ports we'll visit. Plus - I'll be working on my own photography and video projects.
I can't wait to make images and deliver an exciting set of courses and lectures for my students as well as to you if you want to follow us virtually and with a donation. I plan to Instagram, blog and podcast lectures to my current CCSF students for free and to you with your support.
DONATIONS TO BE USED FOR
The sum you donate here will be used primarily for health insurance, visa and trip related costs which I estimate to be 10k. I 'll be taking an unpaid leave from CCSF for one semester (6 months) in order to teach at sea with SAS for three months. Unfortunately these two semester systems don't quite match up so I"m looking to make up for three months pay and six months of benefits. While I'll look for additional work along the way, I need to plan on pre-paying health insurance and some of the below basic costs associated with this journey. Should you be able to lend a little financial support - there are a few levels of "thank you" rewards below. No one reward can truly represent my sincerest gratitude for your support...watch for a happy dance video starring YOU soon. Thanks so much for your participation in my journey - I can't wait to share it with my students and with you too. -E
$1000, VISA applications for Asian and African countries @ $200 per country.
$1000, vaccination and anitbiotics costs:
- Japanese Encephalitis (Ixiaro) $275
- MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) $ 95
- Polio (Injection) $ 71
- Tetanus diphtheria pertussis (Whooping Cough)
- Tetanus diphtheria - $ 74
- Varicella (Chickenpox) $139
- Yellow Fever $141
- Typhoid - Injection (Typhim Vi) $ 95
- Combined Hepatitis A & Hepatitis B $125
- co pay antibiotics $20
- Meningitis $100
$2000, overland travel
$1800, Health insurance
$3000, Storage fees (stupid bay area
prices - but real)
$1200 food and gas surcharge fees
Any additional funds will help with re-entry into the bay area and finding a place to live upon my return home.
REWARDS benefit you and my current students
All aboard! Scroll down for your reward! If you donate, you'll be helping my current students follow me too - as the content I create will be shared for free with my current CCSFers.
2012 SAS Student Tip: "Take a lot of pictures and write down your stories. You won't believe it at the time, but you'll experience so much that you'll be unable to retain all the memories."
If you donate, you'll be helping my current students follow me too - as the content I create will be shared with them. 
