Today is our last day in Cyprus and I am so sad that we are leaving tonight at midnight. 

We started off today with a visit to the Bernard Schulte Shipmanagement Training Center (BSM). We did a walking tour of the facility. This is one of the only tours where we didn’t sit in a conference room and just listen to them talk. I prefer this way because you get to see what they are talking about, not just hear about it. You also get to see how all of the workers interact and go about their daily business, which is a great way to see the work environment. 

BSM is really interested in sustainability and helping the environment. They made it so that on the ships that if anything catches on fire, they will take as much oxygen out of the air as they can. They also try to limit the oxygen around heat and fuel so the chances of fire are lower. A fire on a boat of this size could be detrimental. It would cause a lot of damage and financial issues. 

They then showed us their simulators, which students use to practice steering ships in a variety of environments, while many random problems can occur. It prepares them for the unpredictability of the ocean. It lets them practice making quick decisions that cause the least amount of damage. 

They have six simulators so each class size is only six so that everyone gets a simulator. They think that this is a better optimization of space and time so no one is just standing there, doing nothing. Classes vary between online and in person. Sometimes the students will be on zoom while all in the same room. 

We then visited the dorms. They maximize the utility of the space really well. The rooms are small for the amount of people but they don’t feel super cramped. We also learned that a higher salary for working on ships can be 22,000 euros a month, which is really impressive and a lot higher than I would have thought. 

After this we went to the Omodos village and had a group lunch. It was mezze style. There was so much food and it was so good. We then went to a church that was really cool. They gave all of the girls robes before we were allowed to enter because we were not allowed to have our knees or shoulders showing. We then got free time to walk around the village. I got a lot of presents for my friends and family here. 

Later that evening, we have a group dinner with some Pitt alumni that live in Cyprus. The restaurant was really cool looking and I love the style. The food was amazing. One thing that I would have preferred is that if the alumni were more spread out throughout the tables instead of all at one end, so that everyone would have a chance to talk to someone. I also think that it might have been more beneficial if this dinner was a little earlier in the trip instead of the very last thing that we did. Other than this I loved the dinner and thought it was great. 

I’m so sad that we are leaving so soon, but I love that I got to have all of these great experiences with all of these amazing people.