I don’t have many vices – I don’t drink too much (at least not very often), smoking never interested me, I enjoy TV but I can take it or leave it, I eat fairly healthy, and I work out on a fairly regular basis. I go for all my regular checkups to doctors and the dentist and overall I’m pretty conscience about maintaining my overall health and doing things to keep myself “young”. However there is one vice that I just can’t get enough of – THE SUN. I love it – I love the heat on my skin, the feel of the sun penetrating my body, the lift in my mood – I could sit outside all day baking in the heat and be happy, happy, happy.
Ok there is another thing I like about the sun - the vain part of me has to admit I like the look. When I’m tan I look better and healthier. Seeing that healthy glow in the mirror makes getting more sun addictive. I get such a sense of satisfaction standing in the shower after a long day in the sun seeing how much darker my skin has become.
Now I know that this is a very unhealthy practice. I see the moles and freckles multiple all over my body, I see the wrinkles and crevasses prematurely develop and deepen on my face, I know that skin cancer runs in my family and every minute in the sun increases my chances. I know all of these things and yet, still, something draws me to lie in the sun and soak it in every chance I get.
I rationalize my addiction by faithfully wearing sunblock….umm, but of course I can’t wear so much that I don’t get a tan. I also rationalize my addiction by remembering that I only get out in the sun 3 months a year and even then it’s usually relegated to just a few nice weekends. Normally that subdues some of my guilt about the damage I’m inflicting. Well both of those rationalizations are out the window for this year. For probably seven out of the eight months I am away I will be living in eternal summer – with the sun calling to me every day. Also, recently I have taken to spending about an hour outside every day after lunch and since I need to go back to work afterwards and it IS such a short amount of time I don’t always put sunblock on.
So the guilt is back full force – I could end up looking like a wrinkled up, old leather handbag that is dying of skin cancer, looking 10 years older than my actual age. Grrrreat. That’s a good thing to look forward to – and I can only look to myself for blame. Hate that.
Well, you know what? Despite all that I’ve decided I’m still going to soak in the sun. I figure you only live once and if sun worshipping is my worst vice than I’m doing pretty ok.
Just thought I would share my deep thought for the day with you. Hope it hasn’t gotten too cold at home yet :) Happy Halloween!
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
It's about the small things
Right now, I am in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean. Our ship is days from land. Wow – not many people can ever say they have been here. That feels special. It’s a small but powerful realization. On my last voyage I had moments like this all time. Small moments when the enormity of the experience or the uniqueness of the moment or the privilege of the opportunity would strike me and hit deep to my core.
I am blowing bubbles on a street in Saigon with a 3 year old boy…I’m eating lunch at a Chinese family’s home in Shanghai…I am standing on the fields where thousands of Cambodians were killed just a few decades ago…I am really witnessing the beauty of Angkor Wat…I am watching the stars light up the night sky in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean…I just negotiated a ride with a rickshaw driver in India…I am sleeping in a tent in Kenya and the Maasai Warriors are keeping watch over camp….I am in a remote village in Brazil buying pottery…I am in the jungle watching Macaws fly over head…I am witnessing an amazing sunset in the Indian Ocean. It was these small moments that made my last voyage for me.
It was a lesson I took with me from that voyage. Over the last two and half years I have tried to be intentional about finding and celebrating the small moments in life. Sitting on the beach… walking home from work with friends….playing in blanket tents with Parker and Campbell…running on Boathouse row or in front of the Art Museum. These are the moments that make life….well life.
I came into this second voyage ready to soak in all of the small moments of awe and wonder that happen when you travel around the world. I have shared with all of you the struggles I have had with this current voyage. The work stresses, the disorganization, the chaos and insanity, my struggle to decide to stick with next semester. Last month when we were in Panama a realization hit me harder than any of those stressors or frustrations. It hit me that I wasn’t enjoying the little moments. In Portugal I didn’t have one moment when I thought, “Am I really here? How lucky am I?” We crossed the Atlantic Ocean during exceptionally calm seas and I didn’t get outside once to take in that sight. When we came through the Panama Canal I wasn’t outside witnessing that feat for more than 30 minutes the entire day (and it took an entire day to get through the canal). Even when I did try to take the time to find those moments I was so exhausted and stressed there was no joy, there was no awe. In fact, during the Canal crossing I fought back tears as I watched us go through one of the Canal locks because I realized that I was so stressed that I just didn’t care. How could I not care about going through the Panama Canal? How could I not be awed by the opportunity?
This realization is the one that really sent me spinning with regards to whether or not I should stay on the ship for next semester. It left me feeling very defeated – the question was not could I handle it? Or could I make it better or would I be running away? The questions became: If I’m not enjoying the little moments than why am I here? What was the point? Why was a sacrificing the joys at home if I wasn’t finding joy in even the tiniest moments? It made it feel like the answer was clear and I just needed to come to terms with that reality.
All along I said that I couldn’t and shouldn’t judge this experience or make any decisions until after Ecuador when our work pace could level off a bit. Smart decision. Last week when we were Ecuador – I had a moment. I was on a bus on the way to Cuenca when I thought to myself, “I am on a bus headed for the Andes Mountains in the middle of Ecuador – wow, how cool?”. Small thought, but a big moment. I felt it coming back - the excitement, the wonder and the awe. It was ever so small – just a tiny spark, a split second but it gave me such hope. Could it be that I still had it in me to find and soak in the small moments? I hadn’t been shattered beyond repair with regards to this particular experience?
Since then I have felt more tiny sparks reminding me that this experience is special and unique. They are slow to come and few and far between but those moments are starting to come back to me. I’m hoping that I can keep the momentum going. The frustrations, stressors and disappointment in decisions being made all still exist but they seem a million times more bearable when I have those little moments to take away.
Thanks for listening - I hope that you are finding the tiny moments of wander, awe and gratitude in your day!
Love and missing
Christy
I am blowing bubbles on a street in Saigon with a 3 year old boy…I’m eating lunch at a Chinese family’s home in Shanghai…I am standing on the fields where thousands of Cambodians were killed just a few decades ago…I am really witnessing the beauty of Angkor Wat…I am watching the stars light up the night sky in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean…I just negotiated a ride with a rickshaw driver in India…I am sleeping in a tent in Kenya and the Maasai Warriors are keeping watch over camp….I am in a remote village in Brazil buying pottery…I am in the jungle watching Macaws fly over head…I am witnessing an amazing sunset in the Indian Ocean. It was these small moments that made my last voyage for me.
It was a lesson I took with me from that voyage. Over the last two and half years I have tried to be intentional about finding and celebrating the small moments in life. Sitting on the beach… walking home from work with friends….playing in blanket tents with Parker and Campbell…running on Boathouse row or in front of the Art Museum. These are the moments that make life….well life.
I came into this second voyage ready to soak in all of the small moments of awe and wonder that happen when you travel around the world. I have shared with all of you the struggles I have had with this current voyage. The work stresses, the disorganization, the chaos and insanity, my struggle to decide to stick with next semester. Last month when we were in Panama a realization hit me harder than any of those stressors or frustrations. It hit me that I wasn’t enjoying the little moments. In Portugal I didn’t have one moment when I thought, “Am I really here? How lucky am I?” We crossed the Atlantic Ocean during exceptionally calm seas and I didn’t get outside once to take in that sight. When we came through the Panama Canal I wasn’t outside witnessing that feat for more than 30 minutes the entire day (and it took an entire day to get through the canal). Even when I did try to take the time to find those moments I was so exhausted and stressed there was no joy, there was no awe. In fact, during the Canal crossing I fought back tears as I watched us go through one of the Canal locks because I realized that I was so stressed that I just didn’t care. How could I not care about going through the Panama Canal? How could I not be awed by the opportunity?
This realization is the one that really sent me spinning with regards to whether or not I should stay on the ship for next semester. It left me feeling very defeated – the question was not could I handle it? Or could I make it better or would I be running away? The questions became: If I’m not enjoying the little moments than why am I here? What was the point? Why was a sacrificing the joys at home if I wasn’t finding joy in even the tiniest moments? It made it feel like the answer was clear and I just needed to come to terms with that reality.
All along I said that I couldn’t and shouldn’t judge this experience or make any decisions until after Ecuador when our work pace could level off a bit. Smart decision. Last week when we were Ecuador – I had a moment. I was on a bus on the way to Cuenca when I thought to myself, “I am on a bus headed for the Andes Mountains in the middle of Ecuador – wow, how cool?”. Small thought, but a big moment. I felt it coming back - the excitement, the wonder and the awe. It was ever so small – just a tiny spark, a split second but it gave me such hope. Could it be that I still had it in me to find and soak in the small moments? I hadn’t been shattered beyond repair with regards to this particular experience?
Since then I have felt more tiny sparks reminding me that this experience is special and unique. They are slow to come and few and far between but those moments are starting to come back to me. I’m hoping that I can keep the momentum going. The frustrations, stressors and disappointment in decisions being made all still exist but they seem a million times more bearable when I have those little moments to take away.
Thanks for listening - I hope that you are finding the tiny moments of wander, awe and gratitude in your day!
Love and missing
Christy
Friday, October 19, 2007
Ecuador
When I traveled with Semester at Sea I was less than thrilled to be heading towards our two ports of call in South America. After visiting areas in Asia and Africa that were fairly safe and fairly easy to communicate – all we heard about was the crazy amounts of petty crime and language being a huge challenge. Turns out that Brazil and Venezuela were both fabulous! Since then I have visited Peru and now I can add Ecuador to my list of South American countries. Like Brazil and Venezuela, Ecuador was sort of surprise for me. Looking back over my seven days there I am struck with just how amazingly friendly, helpful and kind everyone was. Whether it was our in-country university partner or the cashier at the grocery store everyone in Ecuador seemed to go out of their way to help you out.
So what were my highlights of Ecuador? Good food for one – on our first night in Ecuador I went with a bunch of folks to a place that only local Ecuadorians go to. I was skeptical at first – plastic chairs, dirty plastic table cloths, and only three entrees on the menu. We had cheese empanadas, patacones (friend plantains) and each had an entrée. The empanadas were to die for, the patacones were great and the entrees were huge and very good. The chicken was flavorful and perfectly cooked and the rice was perfect. All of the food plus beer and sodas added up to $3 a piece for dinner. On our last day some of us went out for a yummy lunch that included soup, a drink, entrée and dessert for $1.75. There was also this traditional Ecuadorian soup – it was a creamy potato soup with cheese and avocado in it – delish!
Another highlight for me was all the wildlife in the city of Guayaquil (and I’m not talking about the night life). On our first day there – a few of us were wandering the city and came across this very interesting park. It was full of iguanas! They were all over the place – in the trees, in the pond, and walking on the sidewalks. All of the iguanas are very unafraid of humans – they will walk right past you (or over you) and even let you touch them. It turns out that that particular park is informally called Iguana park because of the large volume of iguanas that live there. I counted over twenty iguanas in just one tree! There are also tons of turtles – all shapes, sizes and species living in this park. After visiting Iguana park I noticed iguanas in other parts of the city – I saw them in the big plaza where the TSS shuttle was picking us up and I even saw one cross a busy downtown street.
A third highlight for me in Ecuador is that I actually got away for a couple of days. I know that many of you think of me as an adventurous traveler but if I am honest I have to admit that I am not. Usually when I travel I am with a group or a tour, with someone who speaks the language or knows where they are going or I have a home base like the ship that makes it easy. I haven’t done much independent traveling – other than a couple days in Peru before our tour started and my three weeks in Thailand with my dad and some random day trips in some cities that is about it. Thailand doesn’t even really count because my friend Karen who had lived there for almost two years told us exactly what to do and where to go while we were there.
For awhile now I’ve been thinking that I wanted to stretch my traveling wings and do some more independent traveling – in fact I debated about whether or not I would feel too restricted or restrained traveling with another shipboard program.
Well while in Ecuador I definitely got to stretch my independent travel wings and actually did something completely uncharacteristic of me. I did a two and half day trip to a mountain town in the middle of Ecuador – no research, no plans, no reservations and no safety net of going with someone who speaks the language.
One of the Intercultural Residence Counselors, Chris (a shy, young British guy), and I realized that we both had the same time free and both had an interest in going to Cuenca so we decided to go together. Cuenca is a city located south of Quito in the middle of the Andes about four hours away from Guayaquil. Descriptions about the city talked about it’s quaint feel, beautiful architecture and numerous cathedrals and churches. It is also believed that the Incans had a trail through Cuenca that connected Cusco, Peru to Quito, Ecuador. Since I hiked the ancient Incan religious trail to Machu Piccu last September – why not see another city along the ancient Incan “highway”?
So Chris and I left the ship one morning with just a small backpack each and a map of Cuenca that we got out of advertising tourist brochure. Our only plan was to get to the bus station and buy a ticket to Cuenca – beyond that we had no plan. It was a holiday weekend in Ecuador so we had no idea if it would be easy or difficult to get a hotel room. That felt a little bit scary but not too bad. Here is the scary part…
For those of you who don’t already know I am pretty terrible with all languages. It’s one of my few regrets in life that I didn’t learn a language when I was younger (or get over my insecurities and fears of sounding stupid when I had the chance to learn in high school). The extent of my language vocabulary in any country is usually: yes, no, thank you, hello, goodbye or good day, how much and maybe a few numbers. Just before we leave the ship Chris and I talk and I realize that I am going to be the better language speaker (that is REALLY scary if you’ve heard me trying to speak any Spanish words). So we have absolutely no plans and I have to figure out how to communicate at every step along the way. GREEEAAT! Needless to say this did not start off as the nice, relaxing time away that I so desperately needed.
Of course there were no taxis just inside the port area like there had been the rest of the week so we got a taxi right outside the port (mom close your eyes on this part - an illegal cab in the unsafe part of the city just outside the port). Amazingly I was able to bargain the cab driver, we got to the bus station, figured out where to go to purchase our $6 bus tickets for the 4 hour ride to Cuenca – all without incident.
The bus ride up was very interesting. The first 2 hours were on the flat coastal area then the last two hours felt like we were going straight up – the vegetation changed, the temperature changed, the look of the villages changed, we drove straight up through the cloud cover and kept going. I think Cuenca’s elevation is over 3,000 meters (I forget how to convert to feet for you). We saw a lot of rural villages along the way – my favorite site was when we drove past a road side stand where they had a huge pig split down the middle, laid flat with a grate on each side of the pig and they were spinning it like it was on a spit to cook it.
Ok this story is getting way too long. We get to Cuenca – got a cab to drop us off in the middle of the city, wandered into a random hostel-like hotel and got a room for two nights. We spent the next two days exploring the city – we just walked everywhere. Our biggest challenge was that it was a holiday weekend so lots of things were closed. It was ok though – it was nice to just walk, see the river, walk the markets, people watch and pop into one of the many churches. I don’t know why (I need to do some research now that I am back) but Cuenca has an inordinate more churches and cathedrals. They boast having one of the largest cathedrals in the Americas (it was HUGE) and one of the oldest cathedrals in the Americas. It was nice to see a city outside of Guayaquil – it was very different than the big port city – had a lot more character. Two days later we reversed our trip and made it back to the ship without incident.
I’m quite proud that I fumbled my way through all the communicating to have a successful trip with such limited Spanish. I didn’t exactly come back relaxed and well rested (not only the stress of communicating but the high altitude made for very restless sleep) but once I was back to the ship I realized that just having time to be completely away from work was huge and desperately needed.
We are now on our way across the South Pacific headed towards Tahiti. We will get there in eleven days and be there for just two. I believe that life should settle down for me a bit on this leg of the journey. We have more time to prepare for our next full port stop and some of our systems and routines are finally taking shape.
Hopefully I will have time to post again before we get to Tahiti. Hope that all is well with everyone at home – take care!
So what were my highlights of Ecuador? Good food for one – on our first night in Ecuador I went with a bunch of folks to a place that only local Ecuadorians go to. I was skeptical at first – plastic chairs, dirty plastic table cloths, and only three entrees on the menu. We had cheese empanadas, patacones (friend plantains) and each had an entrée. The empanadas were to die for, the patacones were great and the entrees were huge and very good. The chicken was flavorful and perfectly cooked and the rice was perfect. All of the food plus beer and sodas added up to $3 a piece for dinner. On our last day some of us went out for a yummy lunch that included soup, a drink, entrée and dessert for $1.75. There was also this traditional Ecuadorian soup – it was a creamy potato soup with cheese and avocado in it – delish!
Another highlight for me was all the wildlife in the city of Guayaquil (and I’m not talking about the night life). On our first day there – a few of us were wandering the city and came across this very interesting park. It was full of iguanas! They were all over the place – in the trees, in the pond, and walking on the sidewalks. All of the iguanas are very unafraid of humans – they will walk right past you (or over you) and even let you touch them. It turns out that that particular park is informally called Iguana park because of the large volume of iguanas that live there. I counted over twenty iguanas in just one tree! There are also tons of turtles – all shapes, sizes and species living in this park. After visiting Iguana park I noticed iguanas in other parts of the city – I saw them in the big plaza where the TSS shuttle was picking us up and I even saw one cross a busy downtown street.
A third highlight for me in Ecuador is that I actually got away for a couple of days. I know that many of you think of me as an adventurous traveler but if I am honest I have to admit that I am not. Usually when I travel I am with a group or a tour, with someone who speaks the language or knows where they are going or I have a home base like the ship that makes it easy. I haven’t done much independent traveling – other than a couple days in Peru before our tour started and my three weeks in Thailand with my dad and some random day trips in some cities that is about it. Thailand doesn’t even really count because my friend Karen who had lived there for almost two years told us exactly what to do and where to go while we were there.
For awhile now I’ve been thinking that I wanted to stretch my traveling wings and do some more independent traveling – in fact I debated about whether or not I would feel too restricted or restrained traveling with another shipboard program.
Well while in Ecuador I definitely got to stretch my independent travel wings and actually did something completely uncharacteristic of me. I did a two and half day trip to a mountain town in the middle of Ecuador – no research, no plans, no reservations and no safety net of going with someone who speaks the language.
One of the Intercultural Residence Counselors, Chris (a shy, young British guy), and I realized that we both had the same time free and both had an interest in going to Cuenca so we decided to go together. Cuenca is a city located south of Quito in the middle of the Andes about four hours away from Guayaquil. Descriptions about the city talked about it’s quaint feel, beautiful architecture and numerous cathedrals and churches. It is also believed that the Incans had a trail through Cuenca that connected Cusco, Peru to Quito, Ecuador. Since I hiked the ancient Incan religious trail to Machu Piccu last September – why not see another city along the ancient Incan “highway”?
So Chris and I left the ship one morning with just a small backpack each and a map of Cuenca that we got out of advertising tourist brochure. Our only plan was to get to the bus station and buy a ticket to Cuenca – beyond that we had no plan. It was a holiday weekend in Ecuador so we had no idea if it would be easy or difficult to get a hotel room. That felt a little bit scary but not too bad. Here is the scary part…
For those of you who don’t already know I am pretty terrible with all languages. It’s one of my few regrets in life that I didn’t learn a language when I was younger (or get over my insecurities and fears of sounding stupid when I had the chance to learn in high school). The extent of my language vocabulary in any country is usually: yes, no, thank you, hello, goodbye or good day, how much and maybe a few numbers. Just before we leave the ship Chris and I talk and I realize that I am going to be the better language speaker (that is REALLY scary if you’ve heard me trying to speak any Spanish words). So we have absolutely no plans and I have to figure out how to communicate at every step along the way. GREEEAAT! Needless to say this did not start off as the nice, relaxing time away that I so desperately needed.
Of course there were no taxis just inside the port area like there had been the rest of the week so we got a taxi right outside the port (mom close your eyes on this part - an illegal cab in the unsafe part of the city just outside the port). Amazingly I was able to bargain the cab driver, we got to the bus station, figured out where to go to purchase our $6 bus tickets for the 4 hour ride to Cuenca – all without incident.
The bus ride up was very interesting. The first 2 hours were on the flat coastal area then the last two hours felt like we were going straight up – the vegetation changed, the temperature changed, the look of the villages changed, we drove straight up through the cloud cover and kept going. I think Cuenca’s elevation is over 3,000 meters (I forget how to convert to feet for you). We saw a lot of rural villages along the way – my favorite site was when we drove past a road side stand where they had a huge pig split down the middle, laid flat with a grate on each side of the pig and they were spinning it like it was on a spit to cook it.
Ok this story is getting way too long. We get to Cuenca – got a cab to drop us off in the middle of the city, wandered into a random hostel-like hotel and got a room for two nights. We spent the next two days exploring the city – we just walked everywhere. Our biggest challenge was that it was a holiday weekend so lots of things were closed. It was ok though – it was nice to just walk, see the river, walk the markets, people watch and pop into one of the many churches. I don’t know why (I need to do some research now that I am back) but Cuenca has an inordinate more churches and cathedrals. They boast having one of the largest cathedrals in the Americas (it was HUGE) and one of the oldest cathedrals in the Americas. It was nice to see a city outside of Guayaquil – it was very different than the big port city – had a lot more character. Two days later we reversed our trip and made it back to the ship without incident.
I’m quite proud that I fumbled my way through all the communicating to have a successful trip with such limited Spanish. I didn’t exactly come back relaxed and well rested (not only the stress of communicating but the high altitude made for very restless sleep) but once I was back to the ship I realized that just having time to be completely away from work was huge and desperately needed.
We are now on our way across the South Pacific headed towards Tahiti. We will get there in eleven days and be there for just two. I believe that life should settle down for me a bit on this leg of the journey. We have more time to prepare for our next full port stop and some of our systems and routines are finally taking shape.
Hopefully I will have time to post again before we get to Tahiti. Hope that all is well with everyone at home – take care!
Monday, October 15, 2007
I finally got away!
Bus ticket to a city in the middle of Ecuador: $6
Hotel room and hot breakfast for 2 days: $44
Three meals in town: $22
A successful three day trip to city of Cuenca, Ecuador – with absolutely no pre-planning and no reservations: priceless
Hotel room and hot breakfast for 2 days: $44
Three meals in town: $22
A successful three day trip to city of Cuenca, Ecuador – with absolutely no pre-planning and no reservations: priceless
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Crossing the Equator
(I wrote this yesterday) Today I took part in an ancient maritime tradition – I donned a red curly wig, painted my face, wielded a sword and acted like a pirate. Yes, today was our Equator crossing ceremony. Since I am a trusty Shellback (meaning I have crossed the Equator before) I got to take part in initiating the slimy Pollywogs (meaning those who have never crossed the Equator).
This tradition was a bit of a challenge on this ship because almost everyone on the ship was a Pollywog. There were only eight of us who were Shellbacks. We pulled it off though. As the tradition goes, King Neptune and his court must board the ship and grant everyone permission to cross the Equator. The way he does this is by making the Pollywogs do a secret initiation to deem them worthy of being a shellback. We had a 250 lb king Neptune and our retired US Navy Captain dressed up as the Queen. The rest of the shellbacks dressed as pirates.
The initiation on Semester at Sea was much more extensive but we did ok. Since none of the executive team on the ship were shellbacks they were very resistant to agree to anything too grand. They were afraid what we were doing would be construed as hazing – which is just silly because there is no pressure and everything is totally optional and all in good fun. It was interesting to be a part of creating this ship’s initiation procedures. There were 5 of us who had become shellbacks on Semester at Sea, 1 became a shellback in the US Navy and 2 had become shellbacks on different research vessels – it was cool to hear all of the different types of initiation and try to blend them into something unique for TSS.
This all may sound really silly but it really is a long standing tradition. Research ships, military ships, passenger ships – you name it and they do some sort of King Neptune initiation ceremony when crossing the Equator. I’m proud of the picture I have of me being initiated as a shellback – fish guts and all (if anyone is interested I can show you the video when I’m back at home).
On to Ecuador we go!
This tradition was a bit of a challenge on this ship because almost everyone on the ship was a Pollywog. There were only eight of us who were Shellbacks. We pulled it off though. As the tradition goes, King Neptune and his court must board the ship and grant everyone permission to cross the Equator. The way he does this is by making the Pollywogs do a secret initiation to deem them worthy of being a shellback. We had a 250 lb king Neptune and our retired US Navy Captain dressed up as the Queen. The rest of the shellbacks dressed as pirates.
The initiation on Semester at Sea was much more extensive but we did ok. Since none of the executive team on the ship were shellbacks they were very resistant to agree to anything too grand. They were afraid what we were doing would be construed as hazing – which is just silly because there is no pressure and everything is totally optional and all in good fun. It was interesting to be a part of creating this ship’s initiation procedures. There were 5 of us who had become shellbacks on Semester at Sea, 1 became a shellback in the US Navy and 2 had become shellbacks on different research vessels – it was cool to hear all of the different types of initiation and try to blend them into something unique for TSS.
This all may sound really silly but it really is a long standing tradition. Research ships, military ships, passenger ships – you name it and they do some sort of King Neptune initiation ceremony when crossing the Equator. I’m proud of the picture I have of me being initiated as a shellback – fish guts and all (if anyone is interested I can show you the video when I’m back at home).
On to Ecuador we go!
Panama
2nd port has come and gone. Our time in Panama seemed to fly by, even though I didn’t get to do a whole lot. Our berthing situation was tricky in Panama. On the first day we were anchored in the harbor and used tender boats to get ashore. Sounds easy enough right? Not when the water is choppy – it was crazy getting people in and out of boats when the boats are rolling crazily and waves are crashing up under the pontoon. It was so rough that they couldn’t let anyone off the ship on our first night – boy did that not go over too well. Everyone was upset until the next morning when they saw what a death wish it was to get on and off the boats.
On the evening of our first full day there we moved to a high security fueling port to berth. We were supposed to be there for 3 days and then anchor back out in the harbor again for the last two days. Luckily things changed and we were able to stay berthed the rest of our stay. Even though being berthed was preferable to tendering it was still not easy. Rodman terminal is an old US military base and because it is a fueling port it is high security and it’s pretty far outside the city. TSS did run shuttles to a big mall in Panama City during the day and to a popular tourist hot spot street in the evenings which helped.
After 14 days on the ship I was sooooo ready to get off the ship on our second full day there. This too, was not as easy as it sounded. Problem is I am tied to the ship most mornings to get trips off – by the time I am free there usually isn’t anyone around to do anything with. Normally I would be totally happy to do things by myself but since it was so tricky to get anywhere from our berth AND I was so shattered from having to troubleshoot so much – the thought of having to make even the simplest decision made me want to cry.
I solved that problem on the first day by taking an eight year old to the mall. Kyra is the third grade daughter of our Director of Student Life. Like me, she ends up being tied to ship a lot because her mom and dad are both working on the ship. So when I was finally free on the 2nd day I asked if she wanted to go to the mall with me. She was thrilled. So we took the shuttle to the mall and spent the whole day there. We window shopped, ate lunch and hunted animals. Yes, hunted animals. This gigantic mall is broken down into sections that are named after animals. A large statue of each animal can be found in each section so Kyra and I went hunting for all of the animal statues. In fact it was our quest to find the zebras and the lion (the last ones in our search) that caused us to miss the 2pm shuttle back to the ship. The next shuttle wasn’t until 4pm so what did we do to kill even more time at the mall? Got manicures of course. Kyra had never gotten a manicure and was excited about the idea. She was most impressed by the price of the manicures – only 4 dollars. All in all it was not a bad first day off the ship.
I think the highlight of my time in Panama was the day that I did a shore excursion to the Chagres River. The Chagres is one of the main rivers that feeds water into the Panama Canal (did I mention that the little bit I saw of us going through the canal was pretty cool). This trip took us down to the river and we got in a gigantic motorized canoe – fifteen of us in one canoe. We traveled down the river for about 20 minutes, then hiked through the woods and through streams for about 30 minutes more. This brought us to a gorgeous waterfall and watering hole. The swimming was great! There were the most beautiful giant brilliant blue butterflies flying all over the woods and near the watering hole. The water was a perfect temperature.
After swimming we hiked back and took the canoe back down the river about 15 minutes. We then stopped at an Embera Indian village. The Embera Indians are an indigenous tribe in Panama who lost all their forms of making a living (hunting and farming) when their land became part of a national park. Rather than lose their land they decided to stay and instead of hunting and farming they now make their living off of tourism. It’s weird - I’m usually uncomfortable in these kinds of situations. I usually feel like we are being horrible gawky tourists or I feel like the indigenous folks are just putting on a show for the tourists (and putting on their jeans and t-shirts as soon as we are gone). I didn’t feel either way in this village. They are very open and honest about the fact that they make their living off of tourism. At the same time they seem generally excited to share their culture with others and they see this as a way to preserve their culture.
We had a lovely lunch in the village – fresh tilapia, fried mashed plantains, fresh watermelon, pineapple, guava and bananas. They showed us the crafts that they make – out of nuts, roots and they super heavy wood. The women also make these beautiful baskets that take months to complete. We also got tattoos – some sort of dye from a tree that they use – similar to henna it will last about 7 days. After lunch they taught us some of their dances and I finished off the day by pulling out my bottle of bubbles and blowing bubbles with all of the kids – they loved it! It was a lovely day and one of the few where I really felt like I left the ship and work behind.
My other favorite memory of Panama has to be our last night. Ok picture this: Dana - a 69 year old retired US Navy Capt, Ken - a middle aged tall lanky bald Canadian business professor, Bachir - a short, balding, gregarious French man who teaches science in Morocco, Anne - a mid-30s blond Scottish woman (who works for Royal Car. and is helping us out til Ecuador) and Kim our totally fun loving Kiwi Shore Ex Manager. All five of them and I went out for dinner at a tapas restaurant in Old Panama on our last night. It was a really great meal – 11 courses for only $20. They put popcorn on the salad and it was actually pretty good. One of the courses was octopus – I usually find octopus or squid chewy but this delicious and super tender – even the large tentacles that were at least and inch in diameter. It was so nice to have some food with a lot of flavor. The food on the ship is very good but it is dining hall-type food so it is sometimes lacking in real flavor.
Well after dinner Kim convinces us that we should go to the nightclub where all of the students are having a last night in Panama party. It is a nightclub owned by one of the business owners who worked with one of our Academic Field programs all week. We find cabs and ask many different times and ways if they know where Crème is? They assure us yes they do and we take off through the city. They drop us off at this night club that clearly does not say Crème and looks like a local shady place. So what do we do? We start walking the streets looking for Crème, of course. Everyone we ask tells us something different or starts taking us to a different place. I’m sure we were looking like quite a cast of characters walking through the streets of Panama looking for this nightclub. Just as we were about to give up and the light rain that had been falling gets heavier we find the place. It was a total cheesy disco playing all the old favorites including I Will Survive and YMCA. The students were having fun and it was nice that we stopped by.
So you’d think that is where the adventure would end – but alas you would be wrong. About an hour later all of us but Kim decide to head back to the ship. Just as we walk outside there is a cab dropping off some students. So we start to negotiate a price to get back to the ship. We thought we had a deal but when all five of us cram in the cab driver starts negotiating again. Anne and Bachir who know the most Spanish start arguing and negotiating a price. This takes about 10 minutes. Finally we agree and off we go. We are about half way back to the ship when we start to cross the Bridge of the Americas and the cab starts to shake and shimmy and feels like it is losing power. The cab driver pulls over and we all get out thinking it’s probably a flat tire. No flat tire and no one knows what’s wrong with the car – it’s now 11:30pm and the five of us and the cab driver are all standing on this bridge. Hmm….so what do we do? Of course we get back in the car and cabbie tries to keep driving. Downhill we do ok but every time he goes uphill even the slightest bit we shake and shimmy and it feels like the power is just going to die. We aren’t going more than 5-10 miles per hour. Anne is freaking out – it’s the engine!, it’s the axel!, we are going to die! Everyone else is just laughing and hoping we can make it to the ship because we are in the middle of no where with no other cabs in sight. We final chug into the terminal – a trip that normally would take 20-30 minutes took over an hour. After all of that the cab driver actually tried to get more money out of us because of all the trouble – ha, ha! What a silly expedition for our last night.
All in all I enjoyed Panama. The people are generally friendly. There is a nice mix of South American, Caribbean and Central American influences in Panama. The Sangria was quite good. Panama City looks like it is in the middle of a huge redevelopment. They are improving the old city and there are tons of condos and other high rises going up in the city.
Now we are back out at sea. Only a three day trip to Ecuador – we arrive tomorrow. Hopefully I will get more time away in Ecuador.
Thanks to all of you who have left comments – these small notes from home keep me going. Thanks bunches!
On the evening of our first full day there we moved to a high security fueling port to berth. We were supposed to be there for 3 days and then anchor back out in the harbor again for the last two days. Luckily things changed and we were able to stay berthed the rest of our stay. Even though being berthed was preferable to tendering it was still not easy. Rodman terminal is an old US military base and because it is a fueling port it is high security and it’s pretty far outside the city. TSS did run shuttles to a big mall in Panama City during the day and to a popular tourist hot spot street in the evenings which helped.
After 14 days on the ship I was sooooo ready to get off the ship on our second full day there. This too, was not as easy as it sounded. Problem is I am tied to the ship most mornings to get trips off – by the time I am free there usually isn’t anyone around to do anything with. Normally I would be totally happy to do things by myself but since it was so tricky to get anywhere from our berth AND I was so shattered from having to troubleshoot so much – the thought of having to make even the simplest decision made me want to cry.
I solved that problem on the first day by taking an eight year old to the mall. Kyra is the third grade daughter of our Director of Student Life. Like me, she ends up being tied to ship a lot because her mom and dad are both working on the ship. So when I was finally free on the 2nd day I asked if she wanted to go to the mall with me. She was thrilled. So we took the shuttle to the mall and spent the whole day there. We window shopped, ate lunch and hunted animals. Yes, hunted animals. This gigantic mall is broken down into sections that are named after animals. A large statue of each animal can be found in each section so Kyra and I went hunting for all of the animal statues. In fact it was our quest to find the zebras and the lion (the last ones in our search) that caused us to miss the 2pm shuttle back to the ship. The next shuttle wasn’t until 4pm so what did we do to kill even more time at the mall? Got manicures of course. Kyra had never gotten a manicure and was excited about the idea. She was most impressed by the price of the manicures – only 4 dollars. All in all it was not a bad first day off the ship.
I think the highlight of my time in Panama was the day that I did a shore excursion to the Chagres River. The Chagres is one of the main rivers that feeds water into the Panama Canal (did I mention that the little bit I saw of us going through the canal was pretty cool). This trip took us down to the river and we got in a gigantic motorized canoe – fifteen of us in one canoe. We traveled down the river for about 20 minutes, then hiked through the woods and through streams for about 30 minutes more. This brought us to a gorgeous waterfall and watering hole. The swimming was great! There were the most beautiful giant brilliant blue butterflies flying all over the woods and near the watering hole. The water was a perfect temperature.
After swimming we hiked back and took the canoe back down the river about 15 minutes. We then stopped at an Embera Indian village. The Embera Indians are an indigenous tribe in Panama who lost all their forms of making a living (hunting and farming) when their land became part of a national park. Rather than lose their land they decided to stay and instead of hunting and farming they now make their living off of tourism. It’s weird - I’m usually uncomfortable in these kinds of situations. I usually feel like we are being horrible gawky tourists or I feel like the indigenous folks are just putting on a show for the tourists (and putting on their jeans and t-shirts as soon as we are gone). I didn’t feel either way in this village. They are very open and honest about the fact that they make their living off of tourism. At the same time they seem generally excited to share their culture with others and they see this as a way to preserve their culture.
We had a lovely lunch in the village – fresh tilapia, fried mashed plantains, fresh watermelon, pineapple, guava and bananas. They showed us the crafts that they make – out of nuts, roots and they super heavy wood. The women also make these beautiful baskets that take months to complete. We also got tattoos – some sort of dye from a tree that they use – similar to henna it will last about 7 days. After lunch they taught us some of their dances and I finished off the day by pulling out my bottle of bubbles and blowing bubbles with all of the kids – they loved it! It was a lovely day and one of the few where I really felt like I left the ship and work behind.
My other favorite memory of Panama has to be our last night. Ok picture this: Dana - a 69 year old retired US Navy Capt, Ken - a middle aged tall lanky bald Canadian business professor, Bachir - a short, balding, gregarious French man who teaches science in Morocco, Anne - a mid-30s blond Scottish woman (who works for Royal Car. and is helping us out til Ecuador) and Kim our totally fun loving Kiwi Shore Ex Manager. All five of them and I went out for dinner at a tapas restaurant in Old Panama on our last night. It was a really great meal – 11 courses for only $20. They put popcorn on the salad and it was actually pretty good. One of the courses was octopus – I usually find octopus or squid chewy but this delicious and super tender – even the large tentacles that were at least and inch in diameter. It was so nice to have some food with a lot of flavor. The food on the ship is very good but it is dining hall-type food so it is sometimes lacking in real flavor.
Well after dinner Kim convinces us that we should go to the nightclub where all of the students are having a last night in Panama party. It is a nightclub owned by one of the business owners who worked with one of our Academic Field programs all week. We find cabs and ask many different times and ways if they know where Crème is? They assure us yes they do and we take off through the city. They drop us off at this night club that clearly does not say Crème and looks like a local shady place. So what do we do? We start walking the streets looking for Crème, of course. Everyone we ask tells us something different or starts taking us to a different place. I’m sure we were looking like quite a cast of characters walking through the streets of Panama looking for this nightclub. Just as we were about to give up and the light rain that had been falling gets heavier we find the place. It was a total cheesy disco playing all the old favorites including I Will Survive and YMCA. The students were having fun and it was nice that we stopped by.
So you’d think that is where the adventure would end – but alas you would be wrong. About an hour later all of us but Kim decide to head back to the ship. Just as we walk outside there is a cab dropping off some students. So we start to negotiate a price to get back to the ship. We thought we had a deal but when all five of us cram in the cab driver starts negotiating again. Anne and Bachir who know the most Spanish start arguing and negotiating a price. This takes about 10 minutes. Finally we agree and off we go. We are about half way back to the ship when we start to cross the Bridge of the Americas and the cab starts to shake and shimmy and feels like it is losing power. The cab driver pulls over and we all get out thinking it’s probably a flat tire. No flat tire and no one knows what’s wrong with the car – it’s now 11:30pm and the five of us and the cab driver are all standing on this bridge. Hmm….so what do we do? Of course we get back in the car and cabbie tries to keep driving. Downhill we do ok but every time he goes uphill even the slightest bit we shake and shimmy and it feels like the power is just going to die. We aren’t going more than 5-10 miles per hour. Anne is freaking out – it’s the engine!, it’s the axel!, we are going to die! Everyone else is just laughing and hoping we can make it to the ship because we are in the middle of no where with no other cabs in sight. We final chug into the terminal – a trip that normally would take 20-30 minutes took over an hour. After all of that the cab driver actually tried to get more money out of us because of all the trouble – ha, ha! What a silly expedition for our last night.
All in all I enjoyed Panama. The people are generally friendly. There is a nice mix of South American, Caribbean and Central American influences in Panama. The Sangria was quite good. Panama City looks like it is in the middle of a huge redevelopment. They are improving the old city and there are tons of condos and other high rises going up in the city.
Now we are back out at sea. Only a three day trip to Ecuador – we arrive tomorrow. Hopefully I will get more time away in Ecuador.
Thanks to all of you who have left comments – these small notes from home keep me going. Thanks bunches!
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Never a Dull Moment
11 days to cross the Atlantic Ocean – over 4000 nautical miles. In some ways the last 11 days have flown by and in other ways it felt like we were never going to reach Panama. So was it smooth sailing? In some ways yes – we had beautiful weather and calm seas the entire journey. In fact at the half way point, right when we were smack dab in the middle of the Atlantic, we had a day where the ocean looked like a pond. No exaggeration it was like glass. So strange to see the North Atlantic so brilliant blue and calm. It was beautiful. I feel very privileged and honored to have had the opportunity to cross all the big oceans in the world more than once and experience them in their many forms.
As is true to form for life on a ship we did have some drama during this crossing. About day 4 we had ANOTHER student with a medical emergency. Well day four was not the best time to have a medical situation because we were about 2000 nautical miles from anywhere! Luckily the student was stable but the decision was made to speed up and get us closer to land as soon as possible. We sped up to about 18 knots (this ship only goes 21 knots) and you could really feel the speed difference. Luckily this was when we were in that super calm water so the increase in speed didn’t shake us around that much.
So on day eight we were in the Caribbean and close enough to land to do a medical evacuation. However we were still too far out for a medical boat to reach us. So what did they do? Well the US Coast Guard flew in with a medical helicopter and picked up the two students of course. Yes, I did say TWO students – by day 8 we had ANOTHER student with a medical condition that needed attention.
It was quite an experience to see the evacuation. The sky was brilliant blue and this bright red helicopter flew in and hovered over our back deck. One of the Coast Guard guys came down on a cable and they proceeded to lift one student up in a basket and the other student was raised up on a stretcher. I actually didn’t see most of the rescue but I was out there to see the Coast Guard officer raise back up on the cable and then saw the chopper take off for Puerto Rico.
So if any of you are counting we are now up to four students who have been medically evacuated – and we are less than 30 days into the voyage! There have been some questions raised around the decisions our shipboard doctor has made. Apparently there was some question as to whether or not the first two students evacuated really need to be evacuated. This doctor has never worked on a ship and he speaks very limited English (he’s Bulgarian) which has complicated all of these decisions. Don’t know if this is true but I’ve heard a rumor that we might be switching doctors in Panama. I’ll keep you posted on that one.
So how has life been for me during this last crossing? Well it was definitely better than our crazy trek to Portugal (I’m still having nightmares about that one). Having 11 days gave us much more time to prepare and get leaders and students prepared for their field programs in Panama. It was still crazy busy though. I’m having a difficult time finding balance. I’m sad to say that I didn’t make it outside these last 11 days more than maybe a cumulative total of an hour and a half. I’ve been working about 12 hour days and no matter how hard we plan and prepare everything ends up being done last minute and everything seems to go into crisis mode before it’s done. Most of that is because of our limited communication with the home office folks --- we plan and prepare and then at the last minute receive all kinds of crazy changes. Internet is a dismal mess – sometimes it takes 15 minutes to load my Yahoo Mail login page! Forget opening attachments -- that could be an all day task! It’s like watching paint dry. The satellite also went down A LOT our last few days before Panama.
Also working with the Executive Team onboard is still as challenging as it was before. I’ve never worked for a leadership team that operates so completely and totally in reactive mode. A problem comes up or someone complains and they jump to react – no thinking through things strategically or trying to look ahead and be proactive. It’s really hurt us in Port Programs because our department does not have a voice around the Executive Team table. So changes that impact our area have been made and we are never informed or consulted. It’s kind of infuriating. No matter how hard we try and keep the channels of communication flowing and no matter how many times things get screwed up because one of their changes has an impact that they didn’t realize (because they didn’t ask us!) our pleas seem to be falling on deaf ears. I was really hoping that after Portugal things would be less reactive and communication channels would be developed and utilized more but unfortunately that doesn’t seem to be happening.
I’m hanging in there though. I am really holding on to the idea that things should slow down after Ecuador. After Panama we only have three days before we arrive in Ecuador so we are scrambling to get everything done for both Panama and Ecuador simultaneously. Also Panama and Ecuador are tricky ports because of where we will be. In Panama we will be using tender boats part of the time and then once we get to shore it’s a 30 minute drive to the city. The other half of the time we will be in a highly restricted, high security fueling port that does not allow any vehicles to drive in nor can you just walk in – we will have to use shuttles to get us in and out of the port area. In Ecuador we are going to be berthed in an area where there is essentially nothing and it’s a 40 minute drive to the closest city. Both of those port situations will be particularly tough for those of us who have to work some during our port stay. You can’t just run off the ship and escape for a brief period. After Ecuador all of our berths are right in the middle of the cities we are in. So I’m hanging on til after Ecuador.
I hope that all is well with everyone at home. I think of all of you often and am missing seeing and talking to each of you. Take care – I’ll post again after Panama!
As is true to form for life on a ship we did have some drama during this crossing. About day 4 we had ANOTHER student with a medical emergency. Well day four was not the best time to have a medical situation because we were about 2000 nautical miles from anywhere! Luckily the student was stable but the decision was made to speed up and get us closer to land as soon as possible. We sped up to about 18 knots (this ship only goes 21 knots) and you could really feel the speed difference. Luckily this was when we were in that super calm water so the increase in speed didn’t shake us around that much.
So on day eight we were in the Caribbean and close enough to land to do a medical evacuation. However we were still too far out for a medical boat to reach us. So what did they do? Well the US Coast Guard flew in with a medical helicopter and picked up the two students of course. Yes, I did say TWO students – by day 8 we had ANOTHER student with a medical condition that needed attention.
It was quite an experience to see the evacuation. The sky was brilliant blue and this bright red helicopter flew in and hovered over our back deck. One of the Coast Guard guys came down on a cable and they proceeded to lift one student up in a basket and the other student was raised up on a stretcher. I actually didn’t see most of the rescue but I was out there to see the Coast Guard officer raise back up on the cable and then saw the chopper take off for Puerto Rico.
So if any of you are counting we are now up to four students who have been medically evacuated – and we are less than 30 days into the voyage! There have been some questions raised around the decisions our shipboard doctor has made. Apparently there was some question as to whether or not the first two students evacuated really need to be evacuated. This doctor has never worked on a ship and he speaks very limited English (he’s Bulgarian) which has complicated all of these decisions. Don’t know if this is true but I’ve heard a rumor that we might be switching doctors in Panama. I’ll keep you posted on that one.
So how has life been for me during this last crossing? Well it was definitely better than our crazy trek to Portugal (I’m still having nightmares about that one). Having 11 days gave us much more time to prepare and get leaders and students prepared for their field programs in Panama. It was still crazy busy though. I’m having a difficult time finding balance. I’m sad to say that I didn’t make it outside these last 11 days more than maybe a cumulative total of an hour and a half. I’ve been working about 12 hour days and no matter how hard we plan and prepare everything ends up being done last minute and everything seems to go into crisis mode before it’s done. Most of that is because of our limited communication with the home office folks --- we plan and prepare and then at the last minute receive all kinds of crazy changes. Internet is a dismal mess – sometimes it takes 15 minutes to load my Yahoo Mail login page! Forget opening attachments -- that could be an all day task! It’s like watching paint dry. The satellite also went down A LOT our last few days before Panama.
Also working with the Executive Team onboard is still as challenging as it was before. I’ve never worked for a leadership team that operates so completely and totally in reactive mode. A problem comes up or someone complains and they jump to react – no thinking through things strategically or trying to look ahead and be proactive. It’s really hurt us in Port Programs because our department does not have a voice around the Executive Team table. So changes that impact our area have been made and we are never informed or consulted. It’s kind of infuriating. No matter how hard we try and keep the channels of communication flowing and no matter how many times things get screwed up because one of their changes has an impact that they didn’t realize (because they didn’t ask us!) our pleas seem to be falling on deaf ears. I was really hoping that after Portugal things would be less reactive and communication channels would be developed and utilized more but unfortunately that doesn’t seem to be happening.
I’m hanging in there though. I am really holding on to the idea that things should slow down after Ecuador. After Panama we only have three days before we arrive in Ecuador so we are scrambling to get everything done for both Panama and Ecuador simultaneously. Also Panama and Ecuador are tricky ports because of where we will be. In Panama we will be using tender boats part of the time and then once we get to shore it’s a 30 minute drive to the city. The other half of the time we will be in a highly restricted, high security fueling port that does not allow any vehicles to drive in nor can you just walk in – we will have to use shuttles to get us in and out of the port area. In Ecuador we are going to be berthed in an area where there is essentially nothing and it’s a 40 minute drive to the closest city. Both of those port situations will be particularly tough for those of us who have to work some during our port stay. You can’t just run off the ship and escape for a brief period. After Ecuador all of our berths are right in the middle of the cities we are in. So I’m hanging on til after Ecuador.
I hope that all is well with everyone at home. I think of all of you often and am missing seeing and talking to each of you. Take care – I’ll post again after Panama!
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