When I began researching study abroad programs, I knew I wanted to learn about as many cultures as I possibly could in four months.

I ultimately chose Semester at Sea. I spent the fall semester living aboard the MV World Odyssey, a former cruise liner that was transformed into a floating campus, offering the same facilities as any other college-classrooms, a library, dining halls, a theater, and a campus store.

The ship docked in 12 ports across Europe, Africa, and South America. Through a combination of Semester at Sea sponsored programs and independent travel, I learned firsthand about each country’s religions, cultures, politics, and histories, as well as the contemporary issues each region faces.

Greece and Italy were the first ports on our itinerary. While I enjoyed walking through thousands of years of history atop the Acropolis and eating gelato after every meal in Rome, I longed for the incredible Jewish community I had left behind in Chicago.

KAHAL-a Chicago-based recipient of a JUF Breakthrough Fund grant-came to my rescue. KAHAL connects students studying abroad to Jewish communities around the world. When my classmates and I realized we would be in port during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, KAHAL reached out to local synagogues and made all of the arrangements for us.

A group of Semester at Sea students came together to spend Rosh Hashanah at Cominidad Israelita, a tight-knit Reform synagogue in Barcelona. None of us had been to a synagogue that wasn’t in America or Israel, so we weren’t sure what to expect. We were all homesick for our respective synagogues, but as soon as the service started, we realized the tunes and hymns were exactly the same.

Ten days later, I found myself in Morocco during Yom Kippur. KAHAL put me in touch with Rabbi Levi Banon, a Chabad emissary based in Casablanca. Rabbi Banon and his family graciously hosted me for the entire holiday, from the pre-fast dinner to the post-fast feast. While I spent the day refraining from eating, bathing, and wearing leather, I didn’t stop learning. The Banon family told me about the history the local Jewish community, from the Rambam’s days in Fez to the contemporary challenges of living a Jewish life in Morocco.

A few weeks later, the MV World Odyssey crossed the Atlantic and docked in Brazil, where I spent a long weekend with Rio de Janeiro’s diverse community. At Hillel Rio, I spent an evening eating hummus, jamming to samba music, and learning about Hillel’s impact in Brazil. The next day, I joined Hillel students and other young adults for Shabbat. Everyone in the community was so welcoming and eager to share stories, illuminating Brazilian Jewish history and culture. I was thousands of miles from Columbia College’s Hillel in Chicago, but their hospitality made me feel like I was at home.

My incredible Shabbat experience in Rio led me to seek out Jewish communities in the voyage’s final two ports: Guayaquil, Ecuador and San Jose, Costa Rica.

Through Semester at Sea, I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and learning about peoples besides my own. I have dozens of memories from time spent learning about post-colonialism in Senegal or the four days hiking through Peru’s Sacred Valley, learning about indigenous culture. However, the holidays and Shabbats I spent with Jewish communities changed my entire perspective about Jewish identity and peoplehood.

Prior to Semester at Sea, I had only visited Jewish communities in Israel. Immersing myself in Jewish communities across three continents made me realize that as a part of the Jewish people, I am part of something much bigger. Whether we’re in Ecuador or Chicago, we are reciting the same blessings over challah, reading the same weekly Torah portion, and sharing the same 3,000-year tradition of peoplehood, even if our families have different customs or we speak different languages.

Abby Seitz is a third-year journalism student at Columbia College Chicago and an intern at JUF’s Israel Education Center.