This summer I got to go on the annual Big Kids trek to Canada. When I was in college I took part in a wilderness orientation trip that took us canoeing in Algonquin Provincial Park in Canada for two weeks before school started. It was an amazing trip and I worked as a Peer Counselor for the program during all four of my college years. When some of my PC peeps graduated they couldn’t imagine not going up to the park every summer so they started what has come to be known as the Big Kids trip. So every year, since about 1995, there has been a group that makes an annual pilgrimage up to the park to paddle for a week. There is a core group of us who tend to cycle in and out over the years but the trip is open to anyone. Over the years it has grown to include friends, spouses, other former students (there is even talk of creating a new version of the trip for all the folks with kids). Some years there are as few as 5 of us and other years as many as 20+. I think it’s an awesome and amazing legacy and I’m proud to be a part of it.
Anyway it had been about four years since I last paddled so it was great to get up to the park and catch up with friends. Going up to the park has always been a reflective place for many of us – a place that allows us to get totally away from the distractions of the real world and focus on what is important in life. A time to reflect on where we stand in life and what we want out of life. Boy did I need that this summer! Unfortunately no lightning bolt of enlightenment hit me while we were paddling but I did start thinking about why we did this trip as part of orientation for college.
At the end of each trip with the university, Dave – the director of the program, would get all of the trail crews together around the campfire at the outfitters and begin to weave a connection between the highs and lows of the trail experience with the challenges and triumphs that awaited the new students in college. The tough portages, the sunny paddles, the friends made, the flooded tent, the help from others that got you through, the laughter, the tears, the aches and pains, etc – all of it is an analogy for life. It was a phenomenal metaphor for thinking about life – and not just college life. Dave would talk about remembering this trip when hitting the rough patches. Remember that long portage when you were wet, tired, muddy, exhausted, your spirit felt broken and didn’t think you could take another step? But you did do it. You did make it and whatever tough time you’re going through – you’ll get through it too. I’ve come back to that lesson more than once throughout my life.
Well this summer I started thinking about that metaphor and where I am in the journey. Even though I’m going through this very uncertain transition period I’m certainly not on that sweaty, exhausting, spirit-breaking portage. But I’m also far from that relaxing paddle or the portage when you get in the zone and cruise. So where am I? It only took me a minute to decide. I’m sitting in the middle of a sunny lake looking at the map and trying to figure out how the hell to find the next portage. That sums up my position in life at the moment perfectly.
Being on a lake trying to make sense of the map so you can figure out which direction to head to find the next portage can be fun, challenging, confusing and frustrating all at the same time. It can try your patience, be totally discouraging, and feel scary at moments (ahhh….I’m totally lost). It can also be super rewarding when you spot the sign or the landmarks and the map suddenly “click” and become crystal clear.
There are fellow paddlers who will stress you out, make you feel stupid, and confuse you even further or push you to pick a direction before you are sure. There are also fellow paddlers who will talk it through with you, sit patiently while you study the map, think of a new alternative (let’s pull off for lunch and then move on), yell out landmarks as they spot them and those that will offer an insight or new perspective that helps things click for you on the map.
Sometimes you get it wrong – that island you thought was an island is not an island…the turn in the lake is actually a cove and not your way out…the sign you spotted is actually a bunch of leaves. Sometimes the wind picks up or the threat of rain presses you to think quickly and make a decision. When you do figure things out and spot the sign or see the next major landmark you were expecting it can be exhilarating and your energy and momentum soar.
All of that is my life right now. I’m getting ready to transition to my next “portage” and the exact location of that portage is not clear to me quite yet. I’m feeling the same feelings, the same energy boosts and road blocks, the same supports and hindrances as being in the middle of that lake.
This is a very comforting metaphor to me right now. The wind might pick up and press me to choose a course or I might just have to pull over to eat lunch and clear my head or I may just need the help of a friend or colleague to help me see a new opportunity or a new perspective on the landmarks surrounding me --- whatever happens I know that I will get through it successfully. Eventually I will find my course that takes me to the next portage…the “right” portage…the one that will take me where I’m supposed to go next. I just need to take a deep breath, keep studying the map and remembering to use the resources all around me. I haven’t gotten permanently lost on a lake yet and ….
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Taking Time
I apologize for the long delay in postings. The summer just flew by and I can’t believe it’s already the end of October. I have no idea where the time has gone. Time literally seems to fly at warp speed when you are not working full time.
And let me tell you - all this time off has been quite amazing! So what have I been doing? Basically I’ve been doing the simple things. When the summer began and the economy and job market weren’t looking so hot I made a decision – if I was going to be unemployed for any significant length of time I had to put this time to good use and not just sit around waiting for a job to come along. I committed to myself that I was going to do all the things everyone always wants to do but can never find enough time to do.
So what is that for me? Lots of things – soaking up the sun on the beach…reading good books…staying up late to watch the Olympics (and now the Phillies!!)…cooking big dinners (and having it on the table before 7pm)…taking every exercise class under the sun…sleeping late…enjoying every little giggle and new development in little Zach’s life…delighting in getting to see him almost everyday…having him smile when I walk in the room…spending a week with Parker and Campbell rather than just a brief, fleeting weekend…stopping by the Four Seasons to visit my old colleagues before heading off to NYC for a spontaneous weekend in the city…I could go on and on.
Being able to help out with the small things and being more spontaneous has been especially nice. Stay at my sister and brother-in-law’s all day while the painter is working? No problem! Come over to watch Zach while my sister showers and cleans the house or just takes a nap? Give me 20 minutes and I’m there! Drag my suitcase from the train station to center city to have brunch with a friend before hauling it back to the station to catch my train? Cake! Take an extra day to get home from Williamsburg so I can stay overnight in Baltimore and catch up with my college roommate? Of course! Decide just two weeks before to join my grad school roommate on her road trip to Nova Scotia to work on an organic farm for two weeks? Yup – did it! The freedom to help out at the drop of a hat and plan things at the very last minute has been fabulous.
I did have some specific goals during this time. The first is one I’ve already mentioned – spending time with friends and family. When absorbed into real life it is always difficult to make time to catch up with everyone – especially when there is travel involved. With at least four trips to NYC, three trips to Williamsburg, three trips to Baltimore, two trips to Canada and probably 10+ trips to Philly already logged along with the countless hours with Zach and the family I think I’ve been fairly successful in hitting this goal.
My second goal was to focus on my fitness. I’ve always had great hopes of exercising every day but sadly reality usually falls much below that when I’m living in a “normal” work world. In July I broke down and decided to suck up the cost to join a gym. Since then I have been working out 5-6 days a week – boot camp, circuit training, cardio, yoga, pilates, and weightlifting every week. I’m probably in the best shape of my life right now and it feels great. I’m really hoping I can keep the momentum going when I’m eventually back in the “real world”.
Now before you start getting too jealous I can tell you that life is not all hearts and flowers. Having to look for a job while no money is coming in, no home to call my own and a job market that just seems to keep spiraling into deeper and deeper pits of despair can be downright depressing at times. Job searching while being unemployed can wreak havoc on your confidence and feel like things are moving slower than molasses (if at all). I’ll sometimes go two or three weeks without finding any worthwhile job prospects and then when I don’t hear anything back from the ones I do apply for the little spark that was there gets totally trampled. It can be tiresome and it is definitely an emotional rollercoaster. I’ve definitely had my fair share of moments of doubt, frustration and fear. But, overall, I have to say I’m pretty proud at how I’ve been managing this search. I don’t think I’ve slipped into desperation mode – applying for anything and everything and entertaining the idea of positions or places that would be a terrible fit for me. That can so easily happen when you are searching while unemployed. I know that I just have to continue to be diligent in my search and, more than anything, I have to be patient while I seek out the “right fit”.
As I sit here typing and thinking about the last six months I’m realizing that there has been some progress on the job front. As each job prospect comes and goes and I seek out new resources or explore new things my thoughts and feelings about what I want to do and where I want to be have slowly been evolving, defining and redifining themselves. Can I tell you right now exactly what I want to do or where I want to be? Of course not. But the best decisions I’ve made in my life have been made on instinct – they just felt right – and, thankfully, they always were. Despite that, believe it or not, I struggle to hear and listen to my instinct. So as more and more time passes, I’m trying to listen more and more deeply for that voice throughout this process. And, I am finding it easier to hear it as time goes on.
Sounds easy, right? Well not always. I may be hearing the voice more clearly but it’s not always easy to listen and to obey what that voice is telling me. How do I turn down a job prospect that would pay me loads of money; move me to a warm, beautiful, exotic place; and offer challenging work? Especially when there are no other prospects in the picture? Not easily – I’ll tell you that. But in the end if it doesn’t feel like it would be the right fit for me I just can’t go forward with it. SOOOOO not easy when fear and stress are trying constantly to stifle that voice and contradict it with all the reasons why I need to just get a job.
So how do I combat fear and stress and all of the messages that they send me? First off, as that voice from within gets clearer and stronger it gets easier to trust it and listen to it. If something feels right I need to go with it and if something doesn’t feel right I need to let it go – all other evidence be damned. Secondly, instinct has never steered me wrong before. There have been times when people have thought I was crazy to take a certain position or switch fields but trusting myself and my instinct has always paid off in spades. I also know that if I don’t listen to that voice and take a job that doesn’t feel like the right fit for me I will pay for it later. Whatever uneasiness or apprehension I have will only grow and could ultimately lead to me feeling like I made a mistake or a bad decision.
So for all those reasons I know that I just have to stay knee deep in the uncertainty and doubts for now, knowing that eventually things will become clear and the right fit will come along. Sounds magical, right? I wish there was some magic involved but in reality it’s messy, self-esteem-pummeling and just plain icky. BUT I know that this is all part of the process. All things happen for a reason – even this long transition period. I’m supposed to learn something here. I’m supposed to focus on fitness, cherish my time with friends and family, keep exploring job options, expand my mind by reading more, reflect more, and come up with some new goals for the next couple of months. Somewhere in all of that I know and trust that I will discover the path I’m supposed to take next in this journey called life – I will find the “right fit” that is next for me.
And let me tell you - all this time off has been quite amazing! So what have I been doing? Basically I’ve been doing the simple things. When the summer began and the economy and job market weren’t looking so hot I made a decision – if I was going to be unemployed for any significant length of time I had to put this time to good use and not just sit around waiting for a job to come along. I committed to myself that I was going to do all the things everyone always wants to do but can never find enough time to do.
So what is that for me? Lots of things – soaking up the sun on the beach…reading good books…staying up late to watch the Olympics (and now the Phillies!!)…cooking big dinners (and having it on the table before 7pm)…taking every exercise class under the sun…sleeping late…enjoying every little giggle and new development in little Zach’s life…delighting in getting to see him almost everyday…having him smile when I walk in the room…spending a week with Parker and Campbell rather than just a brief, fleeting weekend…stopping by the Four Seasons to visit my old colleagues before heading off to NYC for a spontaneous weekend in the city…I could go on and on.
Being able to help out with the small things and being more spontaneous has been especially nice. Stay at my sister and brother-in-law’s all day while the painter is working? No problem! Come over to watch Zach while my sister showers and cleans the house or just takes a nap? Give me 20 minutes and I’m there! Drag my suitcase from the train station to center city to have brunch with a friend before hauling it back to the station to catch my train? Cake! Take an extra day to get home from Williamsburg so I can stay overnight in Baltimore and catch up with my college roommate? Of course! Decide just two weeks before to join my grad school roommate on her road trip to Nova Scotia to work on an organic farm for two weeks? Yup – did it! The freedom to help out at the drop of a hat and plan things at the very last minute has been fabulous.
I did have some specific goals during this time. The first is one I’ve already mentioned – spending time with friends and family. When absorbed into real life it is always difficult to make time to catch up with everyone – especially when there is travel involved. With at least four trips to NYC, three trips to Williamsburg, three trips to Baltimore, two trips to Canada and probably 10+ trips to Philly already logged along with the countless hours with Zach and the family I think I’ve been fairly successful in hitting this goal.
My second goal was to focus on my fitness. I’ve always had great hopes of exercising every day but sadly reality usually falls much below that when I’m living in a “normal” work world. In July I broke down and decided to suck up the cost to join a gym. Since then I have been working out 5-6 days a week – boot camp, circuit training, cardio, yoga, pilates, and weightlifting every week. I’m probably in the best shape of my life right now and it feels great. I’m really hoping I can keep the momentum going when I’m eventually back in the “real world”.
Now before you start getting too jealous I can tell you that life is not all hearts and flowers. Having to look for a job while no money is coming in, no home to call my own and a job market that just seems to keep spiraling into deeper and deeper pits of despair can be downright depressing at times. Job searching while being unemployed can wreak havoc on your confidence and feel like things are moving slower than molasses (if at all). I’ll sometimes go two or three weeks without finding any worthwhile job prospects and then when I don’t hear anything back from the ones I do apply for the little spark that was there gets totally trampled. It can be tiresome and it is definitely an emotional rollercoaster. I’ve definitely had my fair share of moments of doubt, frustration and fear. But, overall, I have to say I’m pretty proud at how I’ve been managing this search. I don’t think I’ve slipped into desperation mode – applying for anything and everything and entertaining the idea of positions or places that would be a terrible fit for me. That can so easily happen when you are searching while unemployed. I know that I just have to continue to be diligent in my search and, more than anything, I have to be patient while I seek out the “right fit”.
As I sit here typing and thinking about the last six months I’m realizing that there has been some progress on the job front. As each job prospect comes and goes and I seek out new resources or explore new things my thoughts and feelings about what I want to do and where I want to be have slowly been evolving, defining and redifining themselves. Can I tell you right now exactly what I want to do or where I want to be? Of course not. But the best decisions I’ve made in my life have been made on instinct – they just felt right – and, thankfully, they always were. Despite that, believe it or not, I struggle to hear and listen to my instinct. So as more and more time passes, I’m trying to listen more and more deeply for that voice throughout this process. And, I am finding it easier to hear it as time goes on.
Sounds easy, right? Well not always. I may be hearing the voice more clearly but it’s not always easy to listen and to obey what that voice is telling me. How do I turn down a job prospect that would pay me loads of money; move me to a warm, beautiful, exotic place; and offer challenging work? Especially when there are no other prospects in the picture? Not easily – I’ll tell you that. But in the end if it doesn’t feel like it would be the right fit for me I just can’t go forward with it. SOOOOO not easy when fear and stress are trying constantly to stifle that voice and contradict it with all the reasons why I need to just get a job.
So how do I combat fear and stress and all of the messages that they send me? First off, as that voice from within gets clearer and stronger it gets easier to trust it and listen to it. If something feels right I need to go with it and if something doesn’t feel right I need to let it go – all other evidence be damned. Secondly, instinct has never steered me wrong before. There have been times when people have thought I was crazy to take a certain position or switch fields but trusting myself and my instinct has always paid off in spades. I also know that if I don’t listen to that voice and take a job that doesn’t feel like the right fit for me I will pay for it later. Whatever uneasiness or apprehension I have will only grow and could ultimately lead to me feeling like I made a mistake or a bad decision.
So for all those reasons I know that I just have to stay knee deep in the uncertainty and doubts for now, knowing that eventually things will become clear and the right fit will come along. Sounds magical, right? I wish there was some magic involved but in reality it’s messy, self-esteem-pummeling and just plain icky. BUT I know that this is all part of the process. All things happen for a reason – even this long transition period. I’m supposed to learn something here. I’m supposed to focus on fitness, cherish my time with friends and family, keep exploring job options, expand my mind by reading more, reflect more, and come up with some new goals for the next couple of months. Somewhere in all of that I know and trust that I will discover the path I’m supposed to take next in this journey called life – I will find the “right fit” that is next for me.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Olympic Year
I have thoroughly enjoyed being glued to the TV these last two weeks watching the Summer Olympics. I watched everything – swimming, gymnastics, track, volley ball, beach volley ball, rowing, rhythmic gymnastics, diving, opening/closing ceremonies and on and on. I think I enjoyed this Olympics more than any previous just because I could stay up late to catch all the excitement (and not feel guilty or exhausted at work).
Throughout the two weeks of coverage the commentators talked a lot about things that happened in the 2004 Athens Olympics. It got me thinking a lot about what I was doing in 2004 and what has taken place in my life since then. In some ways 2004 seems like it was yesterday and in other ways it feels like a lifetime ago.
In 2004 I was living in Owings Mills and had been Director of Orientation at Towson for almost three years. SINCE 2004 I have traveled around the world TWICE….Visited 22 countries…Switched jobs three times…Lived on a ship for a cumulative of one year…Moved my life to Center City Philly….switched career fields…and the best part - became a God mother AND an Aunt. YIKES – that’s a lot of changes in just four years!
2004 – that last summer Olympic year was a big year for me because that was the year that I decided to leave Towson, pack up my life and work for Semester at Sea. That decision (as most big life decisions) changed the trajectory of my career and life. Now here I am in 2008 – another summer Olympics year and another year of big changes for me. I’m excited to see how the rest of this year will play out for me and what direction my life and work will take next. Watching all the athletes’ dedication, passion and commitment has been inspiring to me as I explore and seek out options and opportunities for this next leg of my life and career journey. It also makes me wonder what amazing and great things will take place in my life (and all of our lives) over the next four years. Where will be when the next Summer Olympics begin in London in 2012? I guess that’s all part of the adventure and excitement of being on this journey that we call life.
Throughout the two weeks of coverage the commentators talked a lot about things that happened in the 2004 Athens Olympics. It got me thinking a lot about what I was doing in 2004 and what has taken place in my life since then. In some ways 2004 seems like it was yesterday and in other ways it feels like a lifetime ago.
In 2004 I was living in Owings Mills and had been Director of Orientation at Towson for almost three years. SINCE 2004 I have traveled around the world TWICE….Visited 22 countries…Switched jobs three times…Lived on a ship for a cumulative of one year…Moved my life to Center City Philly….switched career fields…and the best part - became a God mother AND an Aunt. YIKES – that’s a lot of changes in just four years!
2004 – that last summer Olympic year was a big year for me because that was the year that I decided to leave Towson, pack up my life and work for Semester at Sea. That decision (as most big life decisions) changed the trajectory of my career and life. Now here I am in 2008 – another summer Olympics year and another year of big changes for me. I’m excited to see how the rest of this year will play out for me and what direction my life and work will take next. Watching all the athletes’ dedication, passion and commitment has been inspiring to me as I explore and seek out options and opportunities for this next leg of my life and career journey. It also makes me wonder what amazing and great things will take place in my life (and all of our lives) over the next four years. Where will be when the next Summer Olympics begin in London in 2012? I guess that’s all part of the adventure and excitement of being on this journey that we call life.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Free Time...
Believe it or not it is a blessing AND a curse. Since I’ve been home I’ve had quite a bit of free time. There are lots of amazing perks to having a lot of free time. I know many of you have been envious of my ability to take this kind of time between jobs. I know that I am AMAZINGLY lucky.
It’s been really nice to be able to sleep in, help my sister out with the baby, be available to do things whenever I want, visit friends all over the East Coast whenever it works for them, catch up on reading magazines, sit on the beach on a gorgeous day during the middle of the week and basically be the boss of my schedule 24-7. It is great!
There is, unfortunately, a darker down side to all of this free time. First off there is this little concept called inertia that operates in life just as much as it does in the physical world. When I have a lot to do I am able to be super productive in all areas of my life. When I don’t have as much to do it can feel tortuous to get motivated and inspired to do anything at all. I procrastinate and feel super low energy around even the simplest things. Let me tell you how fun that can make staying on task with a job search.
Secondly, having all this free time has meant I spend a bit more time by myself. Now don’t get me wrong – I enjoy my own company and have no problem spending lots of time with just me. The problem is that all this time by myself gives me nothing but time to live in my head and think about things – and unfortunately all that thinking can sometimes lead to obsessing. Which then leads to plenty of opportunity for doubts, fears and negative thoughts to burrow into my head, fester, grow and multiple until they get out of control. I’ve stressed over everything from the job search, to my health, to where I want to live next, to what I want out of life, to money, and on and on.
Unfortunately much of this stressing and thinking has been unhealthy and unproductive. Not the kind of thinking and reflecting that leads to grand revelations or solid decisions about life, but thinking that can shatter confidence and paralyze with fear. I can see it when it happens and feel it when it happens and I know that it’s totally irrational but, at times, I’ve felt helpless to control it – I just can’t get out of my head. Let me tell you that is an icky place to be.
Luckily I have been able to recognize it for what it is – unhealthy, distorted, obsessive, harmful thinking. Just recognizing the irrational-ness of this kind of thinking helps me to regain some perspective and distance myself from the potential negative impacts this kind of thinking can have on life.
In recent weeks I’ve tried to do some things differently in my schedule to lessen the types of situations and time that leaves me most vulnerable to all this obsessive thinking. I’ve tried to give myself more to do. I’m focusing on catching up on current events and world affairs (I was almost completely out of the loop for 8 months)…I’m working on a gigantic home improvement project at my mom’s house (refinishing floors and painting)….I’m exercising more (this helps a lot)…I’m giving myself goals for writing on my blog...I’m spending time on the beach soaking up the rays (the beach has always been a place for positive, productive thinking for me).
The other thing I’ve been conscious about doing is spending more time with different people and getting away on a regular basis. I don’t know how stay at home moms do it. Spending whole days watching Zach have been great but they can also drive me to the edge and cause me to become a bit batty. I’ve found the need to be super intentional about making sure that I get plenty of adult time (again – to help me get out of my head). Also, running away for a couple days to visit friends has been tremendously helpful too. Nothing helps snap me out of a negative thought pattern faster than to move myself to a different physical environment and spend time with different friends. That has been the best medicine for helping me keep perspective and get out of my head.
Who knew that having so much free time would be so much darn work, right?? I think this struggle with my thoughts is all part of the process of transitioning back and starting down the road of figuring out what is next for me. This road is definitely going to be longer than it was last time I returned. My job right now is just to try and develop the right habits and routines that will keep me in the proper mindset for finding out what I’m supposed to do and where I’m supposed to be next in life.
It’s been really nice to be able to sleep in, help my sister out with the baby, be available to do things whenever I want, visit friends all over the East Coast whenever it works for them, catch up on reading magazines, sit on the beach on a gorgeous day during the middle of the week and basically be the boss of my schedule 24-7. It is great!
There is, unfortunately, a darker down side to all of this free time. First off there is this little concept called inertia that operates in life just as much as it does in the physical world. When I have a lot to do I am able to be super productive in all areas of my life. When I don’t have as much to do it can feel tortuous to get motivated and inspired to do anything at all. I procrastinate and feel super low energy around even the simplest things. Let me tell you how fun that can make staying on task with a job search.
Secondly, having all this free time has meant I spend a bit more time by myself. Now don’t get me wrong – I enjoy my own company and have no problem spending lots of time with just me. The problem is that all this time by myself gives me nothing but time to live in my head and think about things – and unfortunately all that thinking can sometimes lead to obsessing. Which then leads to plenty of opportunity for doubts, fears and negative thoughts to burrow into my head, fester, grow and multiple until they get out of control. I’ve stressed over everything from the job search, to my health, to where I want to live next, to what I want out of life, to money, and on and on.
Unfortunately much of this stressing and thinking has been unhealthy and unproductive. Not the kind of thinking and reflecting that leads to grand revelations or solid decisions about life, but thinking that can shatter confidence and paralyze with fear. I can see it when it happens and feel it when it happens and I know that it’s totally irrational but, at times, I’ve felt helpless to control it – I just can’t get out of my head. Let me tell you that is an icky place to be.
Luckily I have been able to recognize it for what it is – unhealthy, distorted, obsessive, harmful thinking. Just recognizing the irrational-ness of this kind of thinking helps me to regain some perspective and distance myself from the potential negative impacts this kind of thinking can have on life.
In recent weeks I’ve tried to do some things differently in my schedule to lessen the types of situations and time that leaves me most vulnerable to all this obsessive thinking. I’ve tried to give myself more to do. I’m focusing on catching up on current events and world affairs (I was almost completely out of the loop for 8 months)…I’m working on a gigantic home improvement project at my mom’s house (refinishing floors and painting)….I’m exercising more (this helps a lot)…I’m giving myself goals for writing on my blog...I’m spending time on the beach soaking up the rays (the beach has always been a place for positive, productive thinking for me).
The other thing I’ve been conscious about doing is spending more time with different people and getting away on a regular basis. I don’t know how stay at home moms do it. Spending whole days watching Zach have been great but they can also drive me to the edge and cause me to become a bit batty. I’ve found the need to be super intentional about making sure that I get plenty of adult time (again – to help me get out of my head). Also, running away for a couple days to visit friends has been tremendously helpful too. Nothing helps snap me out of a negative thought pattern faster than to move myself to a different physical environment and spend time with different friends. That has been the best medicine for helping me keep perspective and get out of my head.
Who knew that having so much free time would be so much darn work, right?? I think this struggle with my thoughts is all part of the process of transitioning back and starting down the road of figuring out what is next for me. This road is definitely going to be longer than it was last time I returned. My job right now is just to try and develop the right habits and routines that will keep me in the proper mindset for finding out what I’m supposed to do and where I’m supposed to be next in life.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Public Transportation
I love it! Through all of my travels over the years I’ve gotten pretty savvy at navigating and using all types of public transportation. My two years in Philly really confirmed my love of public transportation. I relied on the buses and subways to get me around the city when I didn’t have my car in the city (which was 90% of the time). It was easier, cheaper and more convenient than using my car all the time.
Since I’ve returned home from TSS and felt the shock of outrageous gas prices I’ve found myself relying on public transportation more than ever before. Eight weeks home and I have been on 16 trains, 2 buses, multiple subways and a handful of trolleys. All of which have turned out to be more economical and cheaper than if I had driven. I am usually a big road tripper but I’ve only road tripped twice since returning home and that was only because public transportation was not available.
There is a bit of an adjustment when moving from relying on a car to using public transportation. It does sometimes take a little bit longer to get where I am going, I have to be more strategic about when I travel and I can’t take tons of stuff with me because I do have to haul it around a little bit. Those minor inconveniences are easy to adjust to and they will always pale in comparison to the benefits. I can relax, sleep, read and write while I’m traveling, I never have to sit in traffic or get stressed out about it, I don’t have to stop to pee or get food while traveling and with current gas prices it is officially cheaper for me use any and all forms of public transportation (including trains which aren’t the cheapest) rather than driving.
My one wish would be that cities in the US had better public transportation systems. The US is a car country. Public transportation is sometimes not as consistent, thorough or convenient as it could or should be. Unfortunately I think that discourages people from using it. Other cities around the world have WAY better and more elaborate public transportation systems than most places in the US. Perhaps one of the positive side effects of high gas prices could be that cities look to expand and improve their public transportation options. Wishful thinking? Perhaps, but a girl can dream can’t she?
If you live near a metropolitan area and have felt the crunch of gas prices I would encourage you to check out the public transportation options available to you. You might be surprised at how easy, convenient and economical the options might be.
Since I’ve returned home from TSS and felt the shock of outrageous gas prices I’ve found myself relying on public transportation more than ever before. Eight weeks home and I have been on 16 trains, 2 buses, multiple subways and a handful of trolleys. All of which have turned out to be more economical and cheaper than if I had driven. I am usually a big road tripper but I’ve only road tripped twice since returning home and that was only because public transportation was not available.
There is a bit of an adjustment when moving from relying on a car to using public transportation. It does sometimes take a little bit longer to get where I am going, I have to be more strategic about when I travel and I can’t take tons of stuff with me because I do have to haul it around a little bit. Those minor inconveniences are easy to adjust to and they will always pale in comparison to the benefits. I can relax, sleep, read and write while I’m traveling, I never have to sit in traffic or get stressed out about it, I don’t have to stop to pee or get food while traveling and with current gas prices it is officially cheaper for me use any and all forms of public transportation (including trains which aren’t the cheapest) rather than driving.
My one wish would be that cities in the US had better public transportation systems. The US is a car country. Public transportation is sometimes not as consistent, thorough or convenient as it could or should be. Unfortunately I think that discourages people from using it. Other cities around the world have WAY better and more elaborate public transportation systems than most places in the US. Perhaps one of the positive side effects of high gas prices could be that cities look to expand and improve their public transportation options. Wishful thinking? Perhaps, but a girl can dream can’t she?
If you live near a metropolitan area and have felt the crunch of gas prices I would encourage you to check out the public transportation options available to you. You might be surprised at how easy, convenient and economical the options might be.
Friday, June 13, 2008
More Postings on the Way
I apologize for being MIA lately on my blog. I have a number of new posts in the works. Check back in the coming weeks. Thanks for your patience...
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Playing Catch Up
So I’ve had all kinds of posts kicking around in my head these past two weeks but my motivation level and time to write has been low, low, low. I finally got inspired last night and cranked out some of the things that have been bouncing around my head. So I’m posting a bunch of stuff today. Sorry for jamming up the works with so many posts in one day. Enjoy the catch up…
Friends
I am very lucky.
In every job I’ve held and every place I have lived I found friends…good friends.
Not just friends of convenience or circumstance but friends of affinity, connection and friends of the heart.
Every time I dive into a new job or a new place I think to myself, “Will I find people I like? Will I find people who like me? Who I feel comfortable with? Who I connect with? Or have I hit my max on friends?” But time and time again I am blessed to meet more amazing people that become life long friends. I have friends who support each other, challenge each other, console each other and cheer each other on through every twist and turn that life brings our way. Friends I love to laugh with, gossip with, talk trash TV with, catch up with, hang out with, travel with, hurt with and celebrate with.
Best of all they are friends that even if we haven’t seen each other in months or even years we can easily slip back into the comfortableness and ease of our friendship as if no time has passed at all – with no judgment, blame or awkwardness. That is special …and rare.
Life has taken many of us in different directions and down very divergent paths, plus with all the moving and transitions I’ve taken on in my own life it makes staying in touch on a regular basis not always easy. I used to worry and stress that if we didn’t stay in touch regularly that my friendships would fade away. But what I’ve found over the years is that with true, real friendships time and distance don’t matter that much.
As I sit in the middle of my current life transition getting ready to figure out where I’m headed next in life I’m feeling two things: 1) I’m excited about the future friends that could come my way in this next turn in life; 2) I am feeling very confident and grounded (even though life is VERY ungrounded at the moment) because I know that I have the support, love, encouragement, good wishes and positive vibes from all of my wonderful friends.
I AM one of the luckiest people in the world.
Thank you for reading my mush and thank you for being my friend.
In every job I’ve held and every place I have lived I found friends…good friends.
Not just friends of convenience or circumstance but friends of affinity, connection and friends of the heart.
Every time I dive into a new job or a new place I think to myself, “Will I find people I like? Will I find people who like me? Who I feel comfortable with? Who I connect with? Or have I hit my max on friends?” But time and time again I am blessed to meet more amazing people that become life long friends. I have friends who support each other, challenge each other, console each other and cheer each other on through every twist and turn that life brings our way. Friends I love to laugh with, gossip with, talk trash TV with, catch up with, hang out with, travel with, hurt with and celebrate with.
Best of all they are friends that even if we haven’t seen each other in months or even years we can easily slip back into the comfortableness and ease of our friendship as if no time has passed at all – with no judgment, blame or awkwardness. That is special …and rare.
Life has taken many of us in different directions and down very divergent paths, plus with all the moving and transitions I’ve taken on in my own life it makes staying in touch on a regular basis not always easy. I used to worry and stress that if we didn’t stay in touch regularly that my friendships would fade away. But what I’ve found over the years is that with true, real friendships time and distance don’t matter that much.
As I sit in the middle of my current life transition getting ready to figure out where I’m headed next in life I’m feeling two things: 1) I’m excited about the future friends that could come my way in this next turn in life; 2) I am feeling very confident and grounded (even though life is VERY ungrounded at the moment) because I know that I have the support, love, encouragement, good wishes and positive vibes from all of my wonderful friends.
I AM one of the luckiest people in the world.
Thank you for reading my mush and thank you for being my friend.
Job Searching Woes
When I returned from my first voyage in 2005 I was ready to do a job search – I was excited to do a job search. I was ready for the challenge and the structure of a regular job. I was sad to leave my home in Maryland but I was ready.
This time I am not ready. I am tired…I need a rest…I’m not motivated…I want a summer vacation…I worry that I will not find something I want to do…I worry that I won’t find something I like in a place I want to live…I worry that I won’t find something that challenges me…I worry that I won’t find a job that pays me what I deserve and need to live comfortably… I worry that it will be a long process this time around.
I’ve been home for two weeks now and I haven’t even begun to think about the job search…haven’t looked at one website…haven’t looked at my resume…haven’t even sent out feelers to anyone. Zip, zero, nothing.
I think it’s different this time because the TSS job drained me to the core – I need to catch up on some serious down time and weekends. I need to re-energize a bit before I dive into this job search full force. I’m trying to give myself permission to leave it alone for awhile. I know it will come…I just need to be patient and allow myself some time to rest, rejuvenate, reconnect, re-energize and motivate.
All good things come to those who wait…right? Yup – I’m gonna keep thinking that. J
This time I am not ready. I am tired…I need a rest…I’m not motivated…I want a summer vacation…I worry that I will not find something I want to do…I worry that I won’t find something I like in a place I want to live…I worry that I won’t find something that challenges me…I worry that I won’t find a job that pays me what I deserve and need to live comfortably… I worry that it will be a long process this time around.
I’ve been home for two weeks now and I haven’t even begun to think about the job search…haven’t looked at one website…haven’t looked at my resume…haven’t even sent out feelers to anyone. Zip, zero, nothing.
I think it’s different this time because the TSS job drained me to the core – I need to catch up on some serious down time and weekends. I need to re-energize a bit before I dive into this job search full force. I’m trying to give myself permission to leave it alone for awhile. I know it will come…I just need to be patient and allow myself some time to rest, rejuvenate, reconnect, re-energize and motivate.
All good things come to those who wait…right? Yup – I’m gonna keep thinking that. J
Phones
I love em and I hate em. When I left for the ship I was glad to be rid of them. As most of you know I have a bit of a phone phobia. They totally stress me out. I lament, worry and stress about making even the simplest of calls. I can’t explain it or tell you why – it’s just always been that way for me. I’ve gotten way better over the years but anxiety still exists.
I have to admit it though – I missed my cell phone while I was away. The convenience and ease that cell phones offer just can’t be denied. It’s difficult to make plans and meet up with folks without one. Phones are also great for sharing a quick story with a friend or telling someone you were thinking about them, hearing about someone’s day or simply passing the time.
I was surprised at how much I missed my phone this time around. Cell phones have become much more intertwined and have a lot more of an impact on everyday life and connections than when I sailed in 2005. I didn’t miss my phone all that much when I sailed that first time. But when I lived in Philly I found myself using my phone a lot more – calling people while I walked home, dialing someone up when I was bored, etc. I didn’t realize quite how much I communicated on the phone until the phone went away and I felt the big hole that was left.
I adjusted though and I did end up enjoying not having any dependence on a phone. It was great to have to connect with people in person – no way to hide behind the phone. By the end of eight months though I was tired of the inconvenience and missed connections of not having a phone. I was ready to be back in the connected world.
Funny thing is – since I’ve been back I haven’t used my phone much. I got so used to being unconnected that I now forget that I CAN call people. I think it works both ways – people are out of the habit of calling me too. Mark called the other day and said he just realized that we hadn’t talked in awhile and he forgot that we could. It’s also weird with my friends from the ship. Phones were never a way that we communicated and now it’s the only way but it feels weird. I call them up to talk? Doesn’t feel quite right yet.
Ok I have to admit that a small part of me not using my phone much since I’ve been back probably does have to do with my phobia (I talk myself out of making about 70% of calls) but a lot of it has to do with the habit. I’m out of the habit but I’m sure I’ll be back in it quick enough. Back in the real world I am!
I have to admit it though – I missed my cell phone while I was away. The convenience and ease that cell phones offer just can’t be denied. It’s difficult to make plans and meet up with folks without one. Phones are also great for sharing a quick story with a friend or telling someone you were thinking about them, hearing about someone’s day or simply passing the time.
I was surprised at how much I missed my phone this time around. Cell phones have become much more intertwined and have a lot more of an impact on everyday life and connections than when I sailed in 2005. I didn’t miss my phone all that much when I sailed that first time. But when I lived in Philly I found myself using my phone a lot more – calling people while I walked home, dialing someone up when I was bored, etc. I didn’t realize quite how much I communicated on the phone until the phone went away and I felt the big hole that was left.
I adjusted though and I did end up enjoying not having any dependence on a phone. It was great to have to connect with people in person – no way to hide behind the phone. By the end of eight months though I was tired of the inconvenience and missed connections of not having a phone. I was ready to be back in the connected world.
Funny thing is – since I’ve been back I haven’t used my phone much. I got so used to being unconnected that I now forget that I CAN call people. I think it works both ways – people are out of the habit of calling me too. Mark called the other day and said he just realized that we hadn’t talked in awhile and he forgot that we could. It’s also weird with my friends from the ship. Phones were never a way that we communicated and now it’s the only way but it feels weird. I call them up to talk? Doesn’t feel quite right yet.
Ok I have to admit that a small part of me not using my phone much since I’ve been back probably does have to do with my phobia (I talk myself out of making about 70% of calls) but a lot of it has to do with the habit. I’m out of the habit but I’m sure I’ll be back in it quick enough. Back in the real world I am!
Finding a Family
8 months…17 countries…over 41,000 nautical miles...123 days at sea…100 days on land --- that is how much time about 24 of us on the TSS staff spent with each other living together, working together, traveling together, building together, creating together, making mistakes together and succeeding together. Whoa – that’s an intense work and living environment! It could easily be a recipe for implosion and disaster. I was very lucky though to work with an outstanding group of people on this crazy endeavor of creating a university on a ship. They were all passionate, professional and committed. We all worked crazy, insane hours in a very unique environment. It was definitely not always hearts and flowers between everyone but we always worked through the bumps – keeping our eyes on the mission and goals of what we were trying to create -- and in the end it seems absolutely amazing to think about what we, as a team, accomplished this past year.
It is awesome what we accomplished this past year and I am proud of that but there is another aspect of our lives together that I find myself appreciating today. This crazy, intense, isolated work and living environment created a very unique closeness and familiarity that developed over our months together. We knew each other habits, patterns, schedules, moods, likes, dislikes, pet peeves, hot buttons, and what things made each other smile.
This fact really struck me hard during our last couple of days on the ship. At every meal, during every event, throughout every interaction I realized just how intimate and comfortable we had become with one another. We could get each other what we needed during a meal without evening asking, we would share food off each other’s plates, conversation would flow freely or we could sit comfortably in silence. The comfortableness and familiarity that we developed went far beyond that of a normal work family. Because we not only worked together but lived together, ate together, played together, cried together and shared together in such an isolated environment we truly became like a family.
I think that is what made me so sad to leave on that last day. I recognized, again, what a unique environment that I was living in – an environment that would never be exactly the same ever again and never could it be recreated. How bitter sweet. I feel very lucky and honored to have been a part of that environment – to have developed such a strong closeness and intimacy with such an amazing group of people. I knew that being a part of the TSS inaugural staff would have a lot of highs and lows, a lot of uncertainties, a lot of opportunities and that the entire experience would be unique and intense. What I didn’t know, and was surprised and pleased to discover, is that I would find a family in the process. How great is that?
It is awesome what we accomplished this past year and I am proud of that but there is another aspect of our lives together that I find myself appreciating today. This crazy, intense, isolated work and living environment created a very unique closeness and familiarity that developed over our months together. We knew each other habits, patterns, schedules, moods, likes, dislikes, pet peeves, hot buttons, and what things made each other smile.
This fact really struck me hard during our last couple of days on the ship. At every meal, during every event, throughout every interaction I realized just how intimate and comfortable we had become with one another. We could get each other what we needed during a meal without evening asking, we would share food off each other’s plates, conversation would flow freely or we could sit comfortably in silence. The comfortableness and familiarity that we developed went far beyond that of a normal work family. Because we not only worked together but lived together, ate together, played together, cried together and shared together in such an isolated environment we truly became like a family.
I think that is what made me so sad to leave on that last day. I recognized, again, what a unique environment that I was living in – an environment that would never be exactly the same ever again and never could it be recreated. How bitter sweet. I feel very lucky and honored to have been a part of that environment – to have developed such a strong closeness and intimacy with such an amazing group of people. I knew that being a part of the TSS inaugural staff would have a lot of highs and lows, a lot of uncertainties, a lot of opportunities and that the entire experience would be unique and intense. What I didn’t know, and was surprised and pleased to discover, is that I would find a family in the process. How great is that?
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Amsterdam
It was weird to end the voyage and this entire experience in a new port. I was so focused on saying goodbye, packing up my stuff and thinking about home when all of a sudden it hit me…”Wait, we have one more place to explore!” My mom and I spent three days in Amsterdam before heading home. We walked all over the place – visiting churches, souvenir shopping, eating and just soaking in all the sites. It was so nice to stay in a nice hotel in a nice part of the city. It felt so luxurious.
Amsterdam is a beautiful little city. Canals and bridges everywhere. Quaint row houses, cafes and cobblestone streets at every turn. Interesting feel and character to the city - a mix of old, elegant Europe and the free, open attitude of sex, drugs and everything goes. I found it quite hilarious when we went to visit the Old Church that is located in the Red Light district. Here is this grand old church surrounded by sex shops, marijuana shops and prostitutes hanging out in windows offering their wares. Quite a contrast.
I think my mom enjoyed her first experience abroad. I’m glad that I could be there to show her around and explore a new country with her. The only down side was how expensive it was. Amsterdam is EXPENSIVE! It was, by far, the most expensive port we visited in eight months. It even beat Barcelona which was pretty darn expensive. $5 for a small bottle of Coke, $35-55 cab rides, $16 for two days of tram rides, $35-50 a piece for every meal. It killed me how expensive it was at every turn – and they got you at every turn. We paid $20 to visit the Keukenhoff Flower Gardens (they were beautiful) and then they charged 40 cents to use the bathroom and $4.50 for a map! Ridiculous.
All in all though it was a nice place to end the voyage. It was fun to run into students all over the city but kind of sad too because we knew we couldn’t say, “see you back at the ship”. Hmmm…still feels weird that it is over.
More on my return home to come...
Amsterdam is a beautiful little city. Canals and bridges everywhere. Quaint row houses, cafes and cobblestone streets at every turn. Interesting feel and character to the city - a mix of old, elegant Europe and the free, open attitude of sex, drugs and everything goes. I found it quite hilarious when we went to visit the Old Church that is located in the Red Light district. Here is this grand old church surrounded by sex shops, marijuana shops and prostitutes hanging out in windows offering their wares. Quite a contrast.
I think my mom enjoyed her first experience abroad. I’m glad that I could be there to show her around and explore a new country with her. The only down side was how expensive it was. Amsterdam is EXPENSIVE! It was, by far, the most expensive port we visited in eight months. It even beat Barcelona which was pretty darn expensive. $5 for a small bottle of Coke, $35-55 cab rides, $16 for two days of tram rides, $35-50 a piece for every meal. It killed me how expensive it was at every turn – and they got you at every turn. We paid $20 to visit the Keukenhoff Flower Gardens (they were beautiful) and then they charged 40 cents to use the bathroom and $4.50 for a map! Ridiculous.
All in all though it was a nice place to end the voyage. It was fun to run into students all over the city but kind of sad too because we knew we couldn’t say, “see you back at the ship”. Hmmm…still feels weird that it is over.
More on my return home to come...
The Last Legs
Our leg from Istanbul to Lisbon was a time for wrap up and closing of all things work related for me. I sorted and burned files to disks, passed final documents onto my boss, and sat in meetings to offer my advice and suggestions for future voyages. It felt very weird to not be super busy or have a next port to prepare for or worry about. The shipboard community was in full swing with final activities as well. We had our Masquerade Ball, an original musical was performed, final exams finished and grades were submitted.
Our day in Lisbon was quite nice. For those of us who had sailed both voyages it felt like the circle was complete – coming back to our first port of call from September. I think I’ll actually remember more from our one day in Lisbon than I do of our entire seven day stop there in September. I found that what was more important than seeing the city on that day was spending time with friends from the ship. Many of us spent time reminiscing and bringing up all kinds of memories from not just Portugal but all of our ports. In the afternoon the alumni association hosted a happy hour at an Irish pub just down the street from the ship and boy did everyone take advantage of that! There were more than a few folks who stumbled back to the ship just before On ship time.
The last three days to Amsterdam literally flew by. They flew by so quickly that I can’t even remember everything that happened. Grade appeals, Intercultural Show, Graduation, Closing ceremonies and, of course, packing, packing, packing. Not only did we have to pack up our personal belongings and get ready to debark, but we also had to pack up the entire ship. TSS leases the ship so everything had to be broken down and packed up…classrooms, library, computers, copiers, offices, gym equipment, etc. We had to pack up everything related to TSS – no small task.
But we did it and we packed our own stuff as well. And all of a sudden we were in Amsterdam. The day we arrived and all said goodbye was beyond bittersweet and one of the most exhausting days I can remember. I was exhausted from staying up late the night before but I think it was the emotion of the day that drained me the most. How do you say goodbye to people that you have lived and worked with in such an intense environment for almost a year? I just couldn’t quite wrap my brain around the fact that I won’t see any of these folks on a daily basis anymore. We won’t eat meals together, travel together, support each other through the frustrations and tough spots, laugh and celebrate with each other, or just hangout together in this same way ever again. I will hopefully stay in touch with many of them but we will never live in such a close, tight-knit community all together again. Whoa – it makes me tear up to even write this. I’m working on another blog posting to share the uniqueness of the shipboard community and what it has meant to me…so stay tuned for that one.
The day we arrived in Amsterdam was particularly tricky for me because not only was I trying to say goodbye and manage the emotions of leaving but my mom came to the ship to meet me so I also had to manage the hellos and the thoughts of home and the future that came along with seeing her. It really was like two worlds colliding – how do I wrap up things in this world while at the same time taking my first step into whatever world is next? It wasn’t easy. I was very glad that my mom came to see the ship, meet some of my friends and spend time in Amsterdam it just felt weird to be making introductions and then turning right back around to say goodbyes.
This posting feels like it is pretty disjointed and all over the place but I think that might be appropriate because that is exactly how my last days on the ship felt. One moment I was excited about coming home and thinking about what is in store for me next and the very next minute I was sad about leaving my friends and this crazy, intense, unique world on the ship that I called home these last 8 months. I wanted it to end….I didn’t want it to end. We couldn’t get to Amsterdam fast enough….I didn’t want our time on the ship to ever end. I was glad to see my mom and get my stuff off the ship….I wanted her to not be there so I could spend every last minute with friends from the ship and not thinking about wheeling my last bag out of my cabin for the last time.
This entire eight months has been a roller coaster and, in true form, it came through with some extra intense twists and turns right up until the end. I’m sorry I’ve been behind in getting this posted. I have a few more posts that I want to write to catch you up on all the flurry of Amsterdam and coming home – so, again, stay tuned and I’ll try and write and post them in the next couple of days.
Our day in Lisbon was quite nice. For those of us who had sailed both voyages it felt like the circle was complete – coming back to our first port of call from September. I think I’ll actually remember more from our one day in Lisbon than I do of our entire seven day stop there in September. I found that what was more important than seeing the city on that day was spending time with friends from the ship. Many of us spent time reminiscing and bringing up all kinds of memories from not just Portugal but all of our ports. In the afternoon the alumni association hosted a happy hour at an Irish pub just down the street from the ship and boy did everyone take advantage of that! There were more than a few folks who stumbled back to the ship just before On ship time.
The last three days to Amsterdam literally flew by. They flew by so quickly that I can’t even remember everything that happened. Grade appeals, Intercultural Show, Graduation, Closing ceremonies and, of course, packing, packing, packing. Not only did we have to pack up our personal belongings and get ready to debark, but we also had to pack up the entire ship. TSS leases the ship so everything had to be broken down and packed up…classrooms, library, computers, copiers, offices, gym equipment, etc. We had to pack up everything related to TSS – no small task.
But we did it and we packed our own stuff as well. And all of a sudden we were in Amsterdam. The day we arrived and all said goodbye was beyond bittersweet and one of the most exhausting days I can remember. I was exhausted from staying up late the night before but I think it was the emotion of the day that drained me the most. How do you say goodbye to people that you have lived and worked with in such an intense environment for almost a year? I just couldn’t quite wrap my brain around the fact that I won’t see any of these folks on a daily basis anymore. We won’t eat meals together, travel together, support each other through the frustrations and tough spots, laugh and celebrate with each other, or just hangout together in this same way ever again. I will hopefully stay in touch with many of them but we will never live in such a close, tight-knit community all together again. Whoa – it makes me tear up to even write this. I’m working on another blog posting to share the uniqueness of the shipboard community and what it has meant to me…so stay tuned for that one.
The day we arrived in Amsterdam was particularly tricky for me because not only was I trying to say goodbye and manage the emotions of leaving but my mom came to the ship to meet me so I also had to manage the hellos and the thoughts of home and the future that came along with seeing her. It really was like two worlds colliding – how do I wrap up things in this world while at the same time taking my first step into whatever world is next? It wasn’t easy. I was very glad that my mom came to see the ship, meet some of my friends and spend time in Amsterdam it just felt weird to be making introductions and then turning right back around to say goodbyes.
This posting feels like it is pretty disjointed and all over the place but I think that might be appropriate because that is exactly how my last days on the ship felt. One moment I was excited about coming home and thinking about what is in store for me next and the very next minute I was sad about leaving my friends and this crazy, intense, unique world on the ship that I called home these last 8 months. I wanted it to end….I didn’t want it to end. We couldn’t get to Amsterdam fast enough….I didn’t want our time on the ship to ever end. I was glad to see my mom and get my stuff off the ship….I wanted her to not be there so I could spend every last minute with friends from the ship and not thinking about wheeling my last bag out of my cabin for the last time.
This entire eight months has been a roller coaster and, in true form, it came through with some extra intense twists and turns right up until the end. I’m sorry I’ve been behind in getting this posted. I have a few more posts that I want to write to catch you up on all the flurry of Amsterdam and coming home – so, again, stay tuned and I’ll try and write and post them in the next couple of days.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Life in Port
So I promised long ago that I would write about what life is like in port and even though we are essentially done with our time in port (only one day in Lisbon left and that’s it) I want to hold true to my promise.
Living and traveling on a ship makes our time in each country very different than it would be if we traveled there by other means. Two things make that the case: 1) we are traveling the world with over 200 potential travel companions and 2) none of us have cell phones.
Normally when I travel to a country I do lots of research about what I want to do, where I want to go and how to do everything while I’m there. And of course I always know who I am traveling with. All that goes out the window on the ship. Often times I’m too busy to do any serious research about where we are going or what there is to do there. And, because I usually can’t travel too far from the ship I find that NOT making plans that are too concrete actually works to my benefit. Leaving my plans open gives me the opportunity to join up with people at the last minute and usually have better, fuller days than if I had planned it all out.
Let me use Turkey as an example. I arrived in Turkey not knowing anything about Istanbul or what there was to do there. The most I did was browse through the Lonely Planet on the first day and jot down things I might like to do. The last few days before we arrive in a port are inevitably spent chatting about people’s plans and what they would like to do – it gives you the chance to scope out who might have similar interests and who is staying close to the ship and who plans to travel. Often times I will tentatively plan to do certain things with certain people but we always know that it is subject to change at any time if other plans come up. In Turkey I didn’t even make any tentative plans with anyone. I arrived totally blind with absolutely nothing planned. No problem there.
Each day I woke up with a couple ideas of what I might like to do – I thought if I found someone to do them with great – if I didn’t find anyone that’s fine too. Turns out that I didn’t follow up on most of my plans because better opportunities came up. At breakfast people will chat about what they are doing or what they might like to do and simply just invite each other to come along or decide together on a whim what to do together. On day 2 in Turkey just after I finished the AFP departures there were four staff members meeting on the gangway and they invited me to go along for the ferry trip down the Bosphorous – bingo – had something to do with my day. That trip then progressed into a trip to the Turkish bath, a great dinner and some time watching the Turkish team play soccer on TV…couldn’t have planned a better day. Another day I was feeling a bit tired so I laid down after breakfast and a friend knocked on my door to return something – we chatted about plans for the day and the next thing I know we are off for a day of shopping and exploring the old city. Some of the best and most memorable days in port have been days when I had no plans to begin with and I just “went with the flow” allowing things to evolve spontaneously and organically.
This method of “planning” not only allows me to squeeze in most of things I want to do in a port but it also allows me to spend time with lots of different people. One day with this person, another day with that person – we never get sick of each other or feel tied to traveling with just one or two people. This not only happens with whole days but in small pieces throughout the day sometimes as well. There might be three of us visiting one site and we run into a few others at that site – chat about the rest of our day commences and the next thing you know two folks from our group join up with their group and a couple of them join our group because we all want to do different things with our afternoon. Voila! Everyone gets to do what they want. The freedom and flexibility are great.
Some of this spontaneity comes from having so many potential people to travel with every single day but also because of our lack of cell phones. You chat with someone and realize you want to do what they are doing – you just have to go. There is no catching up or connecting later. Run into people in port and want to do the same thing with your afternoon? Join up now. Know that you are not going to be able to get of the ship until noon because of work and you run into one other person who won’t be heading off the ship until later? Join forces now and set a time to meet up and see how your day might develop.
Traveling on a ship, to me, is a very unique way to explore a country. I’ve never operated from such an extreme “go with the flow” attitude and had it work out so well so often. It’s been a good lesson to me to remember that planning, planning, planning doesn’t always create the best adventures or experiences. When this is over I’m going to miss being able to travel with so many different people throughout a single week and I’m going to miss the spontaneity of letting things unfold so organically.
Living and traveling on a ship makes our time in each country very different than it would be if we traveled there by other means. Two things make that the case: 1) we are traveling the world with over 200 potential travel companions and 2) none of us have cell phones.
Normally when I travel to a country I do lots of research about what I want to do, where I want to go and how to do everything while I’m there. And of course I always know who I am traveling with. All that goes out the window on the ship. Often times I’m too busy to do any serious research about where we are going or what there is to do there. And, because I usually can’t travel too far from the ship I find that NOT making plans that are too concrete actually works to my benefit. Leaving my plans open gives me the opportunity to join up with people at the last minute and usually have better, fuller days than if I had planned it all out.
Let me use Turkey as an example. I arrived in Turkey not knowing anything about Istanbul or what there was to do there. The most I did was browse through the Lonely Planet on the first day and jot down things I might like to do. The last few days before we arrive in a port are inevitably spent chatting about people’s plans and what they would like to do – it gives you the chance to scope out who might have similar interests and who is staying close to the ship and who plans to travel. Often times I will tentatively plan to do certain things with certain people but we always know that it is subject to change at any time if other plans come up. In Turkey I didn’t even make any tentative plans with anyone. I arrived totally blind with absolutely nothing planned. No problem there.
Each day I woke up with a couple ideas of what I might like to do – I thought if I found someone to do them with great – if I didn’t find anyone that’s fine too. Turns out that I didn’t follow up on most of my plans because better opportunities came up. At breakfast people will chat about what they are doing or what they might like to do and simply just invite each other to come along or decide together on a whim what to do together. On day 2 in Turkey just after I finished the AFP departures there were four staff members meeting on the gangway and they invited me to go along for the ferry trip down the Bosphorous – bingo – had something to do with my day. That trip then progressed into a trip to the Turkish bath, a great dinner and some time watching the Turkish team play soccer on TV…couldn’t have planned a better day. Another day I was feeling a bit tired so I laid down after breakfast and a friend knocked on my door to return something – we chatted about plans for the day and the next thing I know we are off for a day of shopping and exploring the old city. Some of the best and most memorable days in port have been days when I had no plans to begin with and I just “went with the flow” allowing things to evolve spontaneously and organically.
This method of “planning” not only allows me to squeeze in most of things I want to do in a port but it also allows me to spend time with lots of different people. One day with this person, another day with that person – we never get sick of each other or feel tied to traveling with just one or two people. This not only happens with whole days but in small pieces throughout the day sometimes as well. There might be three of us visiting one site and we run into a few others at that site – chat about the rest of our day commences and the next thing you know two folks from our group join up with their group and a couple of them join our group because we all want to do different things with our afternoon. Voila! Everyone gets to do what they want. The freedom and flexibility are great.
Some of this spontaneity comes from having so many potential people to travel with every single day but also because of our lack of cell phones. You chat with someone and realize you want to do what they are doing – you just have to go. There is no catching up or connecting later. Run into people in port and want to do the same thing with your afternoon? Join up now. Know that you are not going to be able to get of the ship until noon because of work and you run into one other person who won’t be heading off the ship until later? Join forces now and set a time to meet up and see how your day might develop.
Traveling on a ship, to me, is a very unique way to explore a country. I’ve never operated from such an extreme “go with the flow” attitude and had it work out so well so often. It’s been a good lesson to me to remember that planning, planning, planning doesn’t always create the best adventures or experiences. When this is over I’m going to miss being able to travel with so many different people throughout a single week and I’m going to miss the spontaneity of letting things unfold so organically.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Turkey
Turkey was such an interesting country and a really fabulous last port on this journey. Turkey really is a total mix of East and West. In many ways it felt very European but in equally as many ways it felt Middle Eastern, Asian and Indian. It was great to end with this port because it does truly feel like we have come full circle. We began this journey in Europe back in August and since then have circumnavigated the globe -- those of us on both voyages celebrated this landmark when we passed Athens a couple days before our arrival in Istanbul. During our voyages we spent a large chunk of our time (almost 3 months to be exact) in Asia. We are now back to Europe and Turkey felt like a great way to tie the two parts of the world together.
I really enjoyed Turkey. Unfortunately I didn’t get to travel too far outside Istanbul (alas work did not permit) but the city had plenty to keep me busy throughout the week. Turkey was the first Islamic country that I had been too so I loved visiting the mosques and hearing the call to prayer every couple of hours. I hit all the big sites: The Blue Mosque, Aya Sofya, the Hippodrome, the Basilica Cistern, Topkapi Palace, Dolmabahce Palace, the Spice Bazaar, the Grand Bazaar, a ferry trip to a small fishing village on the Black Sea, ferry trip to the Asian side of Istanbul, etc.
It’s interesting because Islam is a religion that shares a lot of the same beliefs as Christianity and Judaism and Istanbul is a city where all of those religions have crossed each other’s paths again and again throughout their histories. Take the Aya Sofya for example – it was originally built as a church. People in Turkey claim that it was the first really grand, large church in the world. Many of the Apostles came through that church while spreading the word of Jesus. It was a church for 900 years then it was turned into a mosque for the next 500 years (humbles me to think about how short US history is). When it was converted to a mosque they covered up all the walls with plaster (because the Islamic faith does not allow depictions of people to be used as decoration). Since the mid-1900s the Aye Sophia has been a museum and they have been trying all this time to uncover the Christian paintings beneath the plaster. Plaster is a tricky thing though – hard to destroy without destroying everything underneath it. They just recently found a compound that can dissolve the plaster without ruining the paintings beneath. So when I visited you can see all of the Islamic art and tile work (beautiful) and now you can faintly see the beginnings of the Christian artwork being revealed as the plaster is dissolved. Very cool.
I learned a lot about Islam and I also learned a lot about the Ottoman Empire – pretty powerful (and gigantic) in it’s day. Topkapi Palace and Dolmabahce Palace were both palaces built for the Sultans during the Ottoman Empire – Topkapi was built in the 1200’s and Dolmabahce was built in the 1800’s. Topkapi palace was particularly interesting because of it’s age and because of the ancient artifacts housed there. They had traditional outfits worn by the Sultans, swords and military gear, gorgeous thrones, horse-drawn carriages, and jewelry all on display. The jewelry was the most extravagant I had ever seen. Emeralds and rubies the size of golf balls and an 86 carat brilliant diamond – unbelievable.
The most interesting exhibit was what they call the sacred artifacts exhibit. This is what it included: Moses’ staff, David’s sword (as in David and Goliath), a bowl used by Abraham, Joseph’s turban (as in the coat of many colors) and Mohammed’s footprint. The most interesting relic was a gold hand and arm that held the remains of an actual hand in it. There was also a gold piece that covered a piece of skull. Both the skull and the hand are said to be John the Baptist’s. Don’t know if I believe all of them but it was a strong reminder of just how ancient that part of the world is.
Turkey was also our last place to bargain while shopping (thank goodness). Probably about half of the countries we visited were places where you had to play the bargaining game. Thank goodness Turkey was the last and not the first place to bargain because it was tough. The men selling were aggressive and often times not very nice. I was so drained and turned off by their tactics that I didn’t buy much. It was amazing to walk through the Grand Bazaar though. The Grand Bazaar is a GIGANTIC covered market – over 4,000 shops. You just had to wonder aimlessly and forget trying to get to a particular place or out a certain exit. It was an amazing and overwhelming place.
I do believe my highlight of the week was my second day in port. My day started off with a ferry ride down the Bosphorus with four friends from the ship. The ride took about two hours and at the end we arrived at a small fishing village at the mouth of the Black Sea. We climbed up a very large steep hill to be greeted by the remains of an ancient castle and a beautiful view of the Black Sea. We enjoyed the views for awhile and then trekked down to have a yummy seafood lunch. Two hours more on the ferry and we were back in Istanbul. We wandered the streets listening as the 5pm call to prayer began and then we wandered into a bakery where we each bought some Turkish delight and/or baklava to nibble on and some of us got some Turkish tea to sip (everybody drinks Turkish tea here – A LOT).
Two of our group left to catch a train for an overnight trip so the three of us who were left decided that we wanted to go to a Turkish bath. Turkish baths (or hamams) started back in the day when people did not have washing facilities in their homes. Literally people went there to get bathed. They have since evolved and now include other services – massages, facials, etc. but the basics are still the same.
We chose to go to one of the hamams that was recommended in the Lonely Planet. It is super old and beautiful. When you go to a hamam the men and women are separated. We noticed that the men’s side had a lot of local Turkish men but the women’s side had more tourists (I don’t think it’s very common for Turkish women to go to the baths). I’ve heard that on the men’s side the masseurs can be quite rough and they scrub your body with very rough cloths. The women’s side was a bit gentler.
We changed out of our clothes – some women wear bathing suit bottoms in the bath but traditionally you would be naked. Since we did not start our day planning to go to the bath we went the “traditional” way. Probably about 80% of the women in the bath when we were there were naked so it didn’t feel too weird. You get a little cloth wrap and wooden sandals to walk into the bath but once you get inside you drop the wrap. They give you the wooden shoes so that you don’t slip on the marble. It was quite a funny site watching us shuffle around the room with nothing on but these clunky wooden flip flops. Because they were huge sandals that didn’t stay on your feet we simply had to shuffle, shuffle, shuffle everywhere we went. The bath is a gigantic marble room with a beautiful dome ceiling that has tiny windows in it. The entire room is marble – the ceilings, floors, walls, sinks, etc.
First you just find a place to sit on the step that circles the room. It is hot in the room – not quite as hot as a steam bath but close – very warm and humid. You just sit, breathe and relax. There are marble sinks built into the walls with small bowls that you can use to cool yourself off. After awhile a Turkish lady (usually quite a large woman) will come over, take your hand and lead you to the center of the room. There is a large octagon shaped raised piece of marble in the center of the room. She has you lie down on your back and stretch your arms above your head (no modesty here folks!). She then proceeds to scrub your body with an exfoliating cloth (not too rough like on the men’s side). She then has you go rinse off with buckets of water from the sink and then return to your spot on the marble slab. Next she massages your body with olive oil soap…it was a nice massage – not the best I ever had but relaxing. Then she takes you over to one of the sinks and dumps lots of water on you to get the soap off. She also washes your hair – I totally felt like I was three years old getting a bath in the tub. When the bathing is done you can stay in the hamam for as long as you like.
Being in the hamam really did feel like stepping back in time – sitting on the ancient marble, peering up at the tiny windows in the dome ceiling. I left the bath feeling totally relaxed but energized – my skin felt great too! After the hamam we found a place to have a nice dinner with traditional Turkish food – we even tried a very popular after dinner drink – Raki which is a very strong black licorice liquor.
On our way home we stopped into a Nargilem – there was a whole strip of them just outside the ship. A nargileh is a water pipe (hookah) – EVERYONE in Turkey smokes them. I don’t care for them but the tobacco they smoke is much more pleasant to smell then cigarette smoke. The nargilems just off the ship were relaxing and cozy – bean bag chairs everywhere – inside and out. At a nargilem all you do is smoke hookah and drink tea….lots of tea. Turkish tea is served in tiny glasses with sugar cubes. They are also big on flavored teas – really they aren’t teas but rather hot, fruity drinks. Apple tea is the most popular.
We stopped at the nargilem on the way home because there was a very big soccer game on TV. One of the Turkish teams was playing Chelsea – a British team. There was lots of excitement and yelling so we had to stop in to watch the last bit of the game. It was exciting – Turkey won 1-2 and the last goal they scored was the most amazing shot I have ever seen. There was lots of yelling, jumping, kissing and hugging when they won. What a great way to spend a day in Istanbul!
Some of the things that stood out to me while in Istanbul:
-The service in restaurants is amazing – they are super attentive and don’t mind if you sit and linger long after your meal is done.
-The fruits and vegetables were the freshest and most colorful I have ever seen. I ate salad every chance I got. Even the street vendors had super fresh vibrantly colored lettuce, carrots, and tomatoes. I also loved that every other shop had fresh squeezed orange juice for just 2 YTL (about $1).
-Men did treat women differently – I never felt unsafe (I actually felt safer than many other countries) but I definitely noticed a lot of wandering eyes and lots of comments about our looks – we got odd looks from men especially after dark if we were just a group of women alone.
-Tea – like I said already (twice) – everyone drinks it all day. One night I drank so much tea that I could still taste in my mouth the next day (and, yes, I had brushed my teeth – more than once).
-They sell handguns in every other store on the street. It was weird. I don’t know who is buying them but they are everywhere. In display cases and mounted to the walls in the shops – everywhere. You could buy your cell phone, TV, car radio and hand gun all in the same place.
-Cats – they were everywhere. A lot of dogs too but the cats were overrunning the place. Everywhere you looked there was a stray cat.
-The history of this part of the world is amazing, lengthy, complicated and really does have influences across the world over.
Turkey is a place I’d love to come back to some day and explore more. Since Croatia is on my list of places I’d like to visit coming back to Turkey may just be a possibility. I can’t believe we are done our last seven day port stay. We are crossing the Mediterranean now and we’ll have just one day in Lisbon before we head up to Amsterdam to debark. So essentially the voyage is about over. Doesn’t seem real. I’m not really sad but I’m not really happy either – honestly I don’t know how I am feeling (other than tired). I’ll have to think on this and get back to you.
I really enjoyed Turkey. Unfortunately I didn’t get to travel too far outside Istanbul (alas work did not permit) but the city had plenty to keep me busy throughout the week. Turkey was the first Islamic country that I had been too so I loved visiting the mosques and hearing the call to prayer every couple of hours. I hit all the big sites: The Blue Mosque, Aya Sofya, the Hippodrome, the Basilica Cistern, Topkapi Palace, Dolmabahce Palace, the Spice Bazaar, the Grand Bazaar, a ferry trip to a small fishing village on the Black Sea, ferry trip to the Asian side of Istanbul, etc.
It’s interesting because Islam is a religion that shares a lot of the same beliefs as Christianity and Judaism and Istanbul is a city where all of those religions have crossed each other’s paths again and again throughout their histories. Take the Aya Sofya for example – it was originally built as a church. People in Turkey claim that it was the first really grand, large church in the world. Many of the Apostles came through that church while spreading the word of Jesus. It was a church for 900 years then it was turned into a mosque for the next 500 years (humbles me to think about how short US history is). When it was converted to a mosque they covered up all the walls with plaster (because the Islamic faith does not allow depictions of people to be used as decoration). Since the mid-1900s the Aye Sophia has been a museum and they have been trying all this time to uncover the Christian paintings beneath the plaster. Plaster is a tricky thing though – hard to destroy without destroying everything underneath it. They just recently found a compound that can dissolve the plaster without ruining the paintings beneath. So when I visited you can see all of the Islamic art and tile work (beautiful) and now you can faintly see the beginnings of the Christian artwork being revealed as the plaster is dissolved. Very cool.
I learned a lot about Islam and I also learned a lot about the Ottoman Empire – pretty powerful (and gigantic) in it’s day. Topkapi Palace and Dolmabahce Palace were both palaces built for the Sultans during the Ottoman Empire – Topkapi was built in the 1200’s and Dolmabahce was built in the 1800’s. Topkapi palace was particularly interesting because of it’s age and because of the ancient artifacts housed there. They had traditional outfits worn by the Sultans, swords and military gear, gorgeous thrones, horse-drawn carriages, and jewelry all on display. The jewelry was the most extravagant I had ever seen. Emeralds and rubies the size of golf balls and an 86 carat brilliant diamond – unbelievable.
The most interesting exhibit was what they call the sacred artifacts exhibit. This is what it included: Moses’ staff, David’s sword (as in David and Goliath), a bowl used by Abraham, Joseph’s turban (as in the coat of many colors) and Mohammed’s footprint. The most interesting relic was a gold hand and arm that held the remains of an actual hand in it. There was also a gold piece that covered a piece of skull. Both the skull and the hand are said to be John the Baptist’s. Don’t know if I believe all of them but it was a strong reminder of just how ancient that part of the world is.
Turkey was also our last place to bargain while shopping (thank goodness). Probably about half of the countries we visited were places where you had to play the bargaining game. Thank goodness Turkey was the last and not the first place to bargain because it was tough. The men selling were aggressive and often times not very nice. I was so drained and turned off by their tactics that I didn’t buy much. It was amazing to walk through the Grand Bazaar though. The Grand Bazaar is a GIGANTIC covered market – over 4,000 shops. You just had to wonder aimlessly and forget trying to get to a particular place or out a certain exit. It was an amazing and overwhelming place.
I do believe my highlight of the week was my second day in port. My day started off with a ferry ride down the Bosphorus with four friends from the ship. The ride took about two hours and at the end we arrived at a small fishing village at the mouth of the Black Sea. We climbed up a very large steep hill to be greeted by the remains of an ancient castle and a beautiful view of the Black Sea. We enjoyed the views for awhile and then trekked down to have a yummy seafood lunch. Two hours more on the ferry and we were back in Istanbul. We wandered the streets listening as the 5pm call to prayer began and then we wandered into a bakery where we each bought some Turkish delight and/or baklava to nibble on and some of us got some Turkish tea to sip (everybody drinks Turkish tea here – A LOT).
Two of our group left to catch a train for an overnight trip so the three of us who were left decided that we wanted to go to a Turkish bath. Turkish baths (or hamams) started back in the day when people did not have washing facilities in their homes. Literally people went there to get bathed. They have since evolved and now include other services – massages, facials, etc. but the basics are still the same.
We chose to go to one of the hamams that was recommended in the Lonely Planet. It is super old and beautiful. When you go to a hamam the men and women are separated. We noticed that the men’s side had a lot of local Turkish men but the women’s side had more tourists (I don’t think it’s very common for Turkish women to go to the baths). I’ve heard that on the men’s side the masseurs can be quite rough and they scrub your body with very rough cloths. The women’s side was a bit gentler.
We changed out of our clothes – some women wear bathing suit bottoms in the bath but traditionally you would be naked. Since we did not start our day planning to go to the bath we went the “traditional” way. Probably about 80% of the women in the bath when we were there were naked so it didn’t feel too weird. You get a little cloth wrap and wooden sandals to walk into the bath but once you get inside you drop the wrap. They give you the wooden shoes so that you don’t slip on the marble. It was quite a funny site watching us shuffle around the room with nothing on but these clunky wooden flip flops. Because they were huge sandals that didn’t stay on your feet we simply had to shuffle, shuffle, shuffle everywhere we went. The bath is a gigantic marble room with a beautiful dome ceiling that has tiny windows in it. The entire room is marble – the ceilings, floors, walls, sinks, etc.
First you just find a place to sit on the step that circles the room. It is hot in the room – not quite as hot as a steam bath but close – very warm and humid. You just sit, breathe and relax. There are marble sinks built into the walls with small bowls that you can use to cool yourself off. After awhile a Turkish lady (usually quite a large woman) will come over, take your hand and lead you to the center of the room. There is a large octagon shaped raised piece of marble in the center of the room. She has you lie down on your back and stretch your arms above your head (no modesty here folks!). She then proceeds to scrub your body with an exfoliating cloth (not too rough like on the men’s side). She then has you go rinse off with buckets of water from the sink and then return to your spot on the marble slab. Next she massages your body with olive oil soap…it was a nice massage – not the best I ever had but relaxing. Then she takes you over to one of the sinks and dumps lots of water on you to get the soap off. She also washes your hair – I totally felt like I was three years old getting a bath in the tub. When the bathing is done you can stay in the hamam for as long as you like.
Being in the hamam really did feel like stepping back in time – sitting on the ancient marble, peering up at the tiny windows in the dome ceiling. I left the bath feeling totally relaxed but energized – my skin felt great too! After the hamam we found a place to have a nice dinner with traditional Turkish food – we even tried a very popular after dinner drink – Raki which is a very strong black licorice liquor.
On our way home we stopped into a Nargilem – there was a whole strip of them just outside the ship. A nargileh is a water pipe (hookah) – EVERYONE in Turkey smokes them. I don’t care for them but the tobacco they smoke is much more pleasant to smell then cigarette smoke. The nargilems just off the ship were relaxing and cozy – bean bag chairs everywhere – inside and out. At a nargilem all you do is smoke hookah and drink tea….lots of tea. Turkish tea is served in tiny glasses with sugar cubes. They are also big on flavored teas – really they aren’t teas but rather hot, fruity drinks. Apple tea is the most popular.
We stopped at the nargilem on the way home because there was a very big soccer game on TV. One of the Turkish teams was playing Chelsea – a British team. There was lots of excitement and yelling so we had to stop in to watch the last bit of the game. It was exciting – Turkey won 1-2 and the last goal they scored was the most amazing shot I have ever seen. There was lots of yelling, jumping, kissing and hugging when they won. What a great way to spend a day in Istanbul!
Some of the things that stood out to me while in Istanbul:
-The service in restaurants is amazing – they are super attentive and don’t mind if you sit and linger long after your meal is done.
-The fruits and vegetables were the freshest and most colorful I have ever seen. I ate salad every chance I got. Even the street vendors had super fresh vibrantly colored lettuce, carrots, and tomatoes. I also loved that every other shop had fresh squeezed orange juice for just 2 YTL (about $1).
-Men did treat women differently – I never felt unsafe (I actually felt safer than many other countries) but I definitely noticed a lot of wandering eyes and lots of comments about our looks – we got odd looks from men especially after dark if we were just a group of women alone.
-Tea – like I said already (twice) – everyone drinks it all day. One night I drank so much tea that I could still taste in my mouth the next day (and, yes, I had brushed my teeth – more than once).
-They sell handguns in every other store on the street. It was weird. I don’t know who is buying them but they are everywhere. In display cases and mounted to the walls in the shops – everywhere. You could buy your cell phone, TV, car radio and hand gun all in the same place.
-Cats – they were everywhere. A lot of dogs too but the cats were overrunning the place. Everywhere you looked there was a stray cat.
-The history of this part of the world is amazing, lengthy, complicated and really does have influences across the world over.
Turkey is a place I’d love to come back to some day and explore more. Since Croatia is on my list of places I’d like to visit coming back to Turkey may just be a possibility. I can’t believe we are done our last seven day port stay. We are crossing the Mediterranean now and we’ll have just one day in Lisbon before we head up to Amsterdam to debark. So essentially the voyage is about over. Doesn’t seem real. I’m not really sad but I’m not really happy either – honestly I don’t know how I am feeling (other than tired). I’ll have to think on this and get back to you.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Spain
Barcelona is an absolutely beautiful city! I’m not big on art or architecture but the architecture in Barcelona is intriguing and eye catching. Balconies on almost every building, fancy details and accents everywhere you look, gigantic gothic cathedrals, stately, regal museums and government buildings and the Gaudi buildings are indescribable! I had never heard of the Spanish-Catalan architect – Antoni Gaudi – until I came to Barcelona but his work is amazing! He designed everything from houses, cathedrals and parks. My three favorite – Park Guell, Sagrada Familia, and Casa Batllo. It’s too difficult to describe in words what his work looks like. The best I can do is say it’s a cross between a Dr. Suess vision and something you would imagine in a fairytale. Look him up on the internet – I promise you won’t be disappointed. I’m sorry I don’t have pictures to share – the internet is just too slow for me to post pictures.
I actually didn’t do a whole lot in Barcelona. It’s super expensive – I think we all had sticker shock coming to our first European country (boy is the USD in the dumper compared to the Euro!). I rode the tourist bus, visited Park Guell, toured Poble Espanyol (a mock Spanish village), walked La Rambla (the main drag) and the surrounding quaint, stone-paved roads and alleyways. I drank a lot of sangria and ate a lot of paella and chocolate churros. It was not a port for crazy adventures or travel but all in all it was a good week.
I have to say though that the biggest highlight of the week for me didn’t have anything to do with Spain. The highlight of my week actually took place on a pay phone outside of the port. Yup. That’s because on Wednesday, March 26 at 10:39am EDT (3:39pm Barcelona time) my nephew, Zachary, was born!
I knew my sister’s due date was while we were in Spain but I thought the chances of her actually having the baby while I was in port (and I could easy get to a phone) would be slim to none (I just don’t have that kind of luck and who delivers on their actual due date anyway??). Turned out I did have that kind of luck! Not only did she have him while I was in port, but she had to have a scheduled C-section so I got to call just before she went in for the delivery and I talked to my mom just after she saw him for the first time. It was excellent – it made it feel like I wasn’t so far away. I was really sad about the prospect of missing the entire event – if we had been sailing I might not have known about the birth until after it was long over. It was nice to feel somewhat a part of things even though I am halfway around the world.
Mom and baby are both doing well. I talked to Becky on the 27th and I heard Zachary over the phone – that was crazy and made it feel more real to me (they really DO have a baby). They should get out of the hospital today or tomorrow. And I’ll be home in just 24 days to meet Zachary!
Only two more days before we arrive in Turkey…
I actually didn’t do a whole lot in Barcelona. It’s super expensive – I think we all had sticker shock coming to our first European country (boy is the USD in the dumper compared to the Euro!). I rode the tourist bus, visited Park Guell, toured Poble Espanyol (a mock Spanish village), walked La Rambla (the main drag) and the surrounding quaint, stone-paved roads and alleyways. I drank a lot of sangria and ate a lot of paella and chocolate churros. It was not a port for crazy adventures or travel but all in all it was a good week.
I have to say though that the biggest highlight of the week for me didn’t have anything to do with Spain. The highlight of my week actually took place on a pay phone outside of the port. Yup. That’s because on Wednesday, March 26 at 10:39am EDT (3:39pm Barcelona time) my nephew, Zachary, was born!
I knew my sister’s due date was while we were in Spain but I thought the chances of her actually having the baby while I was in port (and I could easy get to a phone) would be slim to none (I just don’t have that kind of luck and who delivers on their actual due date anyway??). Turned out I did have that kind of luck! Not only did she have him while I was in port, but she had to have a scheduled C-section so I got to call just before she went in for the delivery and I talked to my mom just after she saw him for the first time. It was excellent – it made it feel like I wasn’t so far away. I was really sad about the prospect of missing the entire event – if we had been sailing I might not have known about the birth until after it was long over. It was nice to feel somewhat a part of things even though I am halfway around the world.
Mom and baby are both doing well. I talked to Becky on the 27th and I heard Zachary over the phone – that was crazy and made it feel more real to me (they really DO have a baby). They should get out of the hospital today or tomorrow. And I’ll be home in just 24 days to meet Zachary!
Only two more days before we arrive in Turkey…
Thursday, March 20, 2008
I'm Tired
It’s been 204 days since I first boarded the ship in Athens. While the last 7 months have definitely had HUGE ups and downs, right now during this home stretch I’m feeling more tired than anything else.
I’m tired of internet that is slower than dial up
I’m tired of no weekends
I’m tired of not being able to call people whenever I want
I’m tired of email being my only avenue of communication for long stretches
I’m tired of not being able to wear my pajamas out of my cabin (without feeling silly or running into the Dean)
I’m tired of never being able to have a lazy day
I’m tired of my social life and my travel time being inextricably intertwined with work
I’m tired of working a job that is 24-7 that I can never totally get time away from
I’m tired of hand washing my clothes
I’m tired of no radio and no TV to distract me once in awhile
I’m tired of having to type every little thing I want to tell or share with people from home
I’m tired of eating the same food every day
I’m tired of no orange juice or good coffee
I’m tired of the clothes I brought
I’m tired of having so few clothing options
I’m tired of not having any friends that I can truly vent to about work because I work with them all!
I’m tired of never having time to research and plan out my time in each country we visit
I’m tired of having to give up some of my days in port to work
I’m tired of not being able to cook what I feel like eating
It’s been quite a ride but I’ll be ready for April 19th to be here!
I’m tired of internet that is slower than dial up
I’m tired of no weekends
I’m tired of not being able to call people whenever I want
I’m tired of email being my only avenue of communication for long stretches
I’m tired of not being able to wear my pajamas out of my cabin (without feeling silly or running into the Dean)
I’m tired of never being able to have a lazy day
I’m tired of my social life and my travel time being inextricably intertwined with work
I’m tired of working a job that is 24-7 that I can never totally get time away from
I’m tired of hand washing my clothes
I’m tired of no radio and no TV to distract me once in awhile
I’m tired of having to type every little thing I want to tell or share with people from home
I’m tired of eating the same food every day
I’m tired of no orange juice or good coffee
I’m tired of the clothes I brought
I’m tired of having so few clothing options
I’m tired of not having any friends that I can truly vent to about work because I work with them all!
I’m tired of never having time to research and plan out my time in each country we visit
I’m tired of having to give up some of my days in port to work
I’m tired of not being able to cook what I feel like eating
It’s been quite a ride but I’ll be ready for April 19th to be here!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Cape Verde
With only 12 hours in port I don’t have a whole lot to report about Saint Vincent Island in Cape Verde. I spent the morning on a tour of Mandelo (the main town on the island) and surrounding area. We walked the streets, visited a fish market and vegetable market, had snacks and listened to local music at a restaurant and drove up to the look out point on Mount Verde. I spent the afternoon and early evening hanging out with friends from the ship – eating good food and just relaxing at two different local restaurants.
Saint Vincent (and all the other islands that make up Cape Verde) is a volcanic island that so rarely gets rain that the entire island is dry and barren. I’ve never been to an island that is so…well…brown and desert-like. I know understand why we couldn’t find a travel guide for Cape Verde – I don’t think it would be on the top of anyone’s list of tourist destinations.
Even though it wasn’t the prettiest island I had ever seen it did have a comfortable, small town feel and the people were very friendly and helpful. In many ways the culture reminded me of Brazil. Not too surprising because, like Brazil, Cape Verde was originally a Portuguese colony.
It was a brief stay but a much needed break from sea travel. We just finished a 10 day leg and now we have 5 days until Spain (I miss counted the days in my last posting – it’s 5 not 6 days to Barcelona).
For those who celebrate – have a Happy Easter!
Saint Vincent (and all the other islands that make up Cape Verde) is a volcanic island that so rarely gets rain that the entire island is dry and barren. I’ve never been to an island that is so…well…brown and desert-like. I know understand why we couldn’t find a travel guide for Cape Verde – I don’t think it would be on the top of anyone’s list of tourist destinations.
Even though it wasn’t the prettiest island I had ever seen it did have a comfortable, small town feel and the people were very friendly and helpful. In many ways the culture reminded me of Brazil. Not too surprising because, like Brazil, Cape Verde was originally a Portuguese colony.
It was a brief stay but a much needed break from sea travel. We just finished a 10 day leg and now we have 5 days until Spain (I miss counted the days in my last posting – it’s 5 not 6 days to Barcelona).
For those who celebrate – have a Happy Easter!
Friday, March 14, 2008
A Wedding at Sea
March 10 was a no class day on the ship and it was also a wedding day for one of our professors and her partner. Yes, Kersten and Gianni decided at the beginning of the voyage that they wanted to tie the knot while sailing the high seas. What a great day it turned out to be for the entire community!
The entire community got in on the planning. They played wedding themed movies every night for a week leading up to the big day. There were groups of students and staff responsible for decorations, for flowers, for music, and for different pieces of the ceremony and festivities. The ceremony took place at 5pm on the back deck of the ship. It was hot and the sun was bright but everyone came out dressed to the nines. The attire was “creative formal” so there were Scottish kilts, Indian Saris, beautiful Thai and Chinese silks, African-inspired dresses, etc. It was the most colorfully dressed affair I’ve ever been to. The bride wore a brightly colored Chinese-style long dress full of oranges, reds, yellows and purples. The groom wore a beautiful orange Thai silk shirt. I know it sounds quite loud and gaudy but it wasn’t – it was tasteful and beautiful.
The captain officiated the ceremony and when he pronounced them husband and wife they blew the ship’s whistle – very cool. Our Academic Dean led a Buddhist wedding tradition (she was a Buddhist monk for awhile) of everyone tying strings around each other’s wrists to symbolize not only the couple’s union but the entire community’s connection. Next some of the Moroccan students led everyone in a dance and song that is a festive Moroccan wedding tradition. Some of the staff and students had formed a “wedding band” including guitars, violin and trumpet so they shared a song during the ceremony as well.
After the ceremony we all headed to the middle of the Lido deck for a nice dinner. The crew had carved animals out of fruits and vegetables for all of the table centerpieces. The head table had a full size watermelon carved into the shape of a cage with two love birds inside.
After dinner we headed back out to the pool deck for a toast and cake. Notes of congratulation from the bride and groom’s families were shared aloud and the couple danced their first dance. After the tossing of the bouquet off the upper most deck, we headed into the Student Center where some students shared a repeat performance of their elaborate Bollywood dance that they had put together before our stop in India and the students from Ghana repeated one of their popular dance traditions.
The students continued their festivities in the Student Center while much of the Staff migrated to the Starlight Lounge at the front of the ship for live music and good South African wine. The crew band that had performed during Crew Talent night was asked to perform and many of the crew were invited to the reception. It was so nice to be able to all celebrate together and I think the crew were honored to be asked to participate and perform.
It was a great day and fabulous way to break up this long leg up the coast of Africa. I’m glad the Kersten and Gianni wanted to share their special day with all of us on the ship.
Tomorrow we are in Cape Verde for one day (ugh…just one day) and then we have six more days to arrive in Spain on Good Friday.
The entire community got in on the planning. They played wedding themed movies every night for a week leading up to the big day. There were groups of students and staff responsible for decorations, for flowers, for music, and for different pieces of the ceremony and festivities. The ceremony took place at 5pm on the back deck of the ship. It was hot and the sun was bright but everyone came out dressed to the nines. The attire was “creative formal” so there were Scottish kilts, Indian Saris, beautiful Thai and Chinese silks, African-inspired dresses, etc. It was the most colorfully dressed affair I’ve ever been to. The bride wore a brightly colored Chinese-style long dress full of oranges, reds, yellows and purples. The groom wore a beautiful orange Thai silk shirt. I know it sounds quite loud and gaudy but it wasn’t – it was tasteful and beautiful.
The captain officiated the ceremony and when he pronounced them husband and wife they blew the ship’s whistle – very cool. Our Academic Dean led a Buddhist wedding tradition (she was a Buddhist monk for awhile) of everyone tying strings around each other’s wrists to symbolize not only the couple’s union but the entire community’s connection. Next some of the Moroccan students led everyone in a dance and song that is a festive Moroccan wedding tradition. Some of the staff and students had formed a “wedding band” including guitars, violin and trumpet so they shared a song during the ceremony as well.
After the ceremony we all headed to the middle of the Lido deck for a nice dinner. The crew had carved animals out of fruits and vegetables for all of the table centerpieces. The head table had a full size watermelon carved into the shape of a cage with two love birds inside.
After dinner we headed back out to the pool deck for a toast and cake. Notes of congratulation from the bride and groom’s families were shared aloud and the couple danced their first dance. After the tossing of the bouquet off the upper most deck, we headed into the Student Center where some students shared a repeat performance of their elaborate Bollywood dance that they had put together before our stop in India and the students from Ghana repeated one of their popular dance traditions.
The students continued their festivities in the Student Center while much of the Staff migrated to the Starlight Lounge at the front of the ship for live music and good South African wine. The crew band that had performed during Crew Talent night was asked to perform and many of the crew were invited to the reception. It was so nice to be able to all celebrate together and I think the crew were honored to be asked to participate and perform.
It was a great day and fabulous way to break up this long leg up the coast of Africa. I’m glad the Kersten and Gianni wanted to share their special day with all of us on the ship.
Tomorrow we are in Cape Verde for one day (ugh…just one day) and then we have six more days to arrive in Spain on Good Friday.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
A Day on the Ship
So what is a typical day on the ship for me? On a good day this is what my schedule might look like:
7:15am – Full body workout class or yoga class
8:15am – breakfast
8:45am – shower
9:15 – work – meetings and office work
12:30 – lunch
1:30 – catch some sun at the pool
3pm – work – meetings and office work
6:30pm – dinner
After dinner – do some hand washing, watch an episode of Gilmore girls, work on a blog posting, watch a movie, hang out in the staff lounge, or attend a student event. I have also been teaching a couple RAD classes in the evenings.
On a not-so-good day I don’t get any time at the pool, I have meetings over meals and sometimes work at night after dinner. Luckily this semester has been a bit more even keeled.
Above I listed a typical CLASS day for me on the ship – we also have Pre-Port Days and Post-Port days where I sit in on multiple meetings, and coordinate some of the Pre-Port and Post-Port sessions.
Just wanted to give you glimpse of what ship life is like for me.
Since I posted the “Ship Life” post I thought of a couple more unique things about ship life…
Only on a ship do I not have to drive anywhere
Only on a ship do I never have to shop for food.
Only on a ship can I have my personal space in my cabin but I can easily walk out my door and have people to socialize with and eat with.
Only on a ship can I travel around the world with my bedroom!!!
I know that those all no brainers but I think they are important to mention because I think in the real world we spend an exorbitant amount of time driving and shopping. This life seems a lot more healthy. Ironically ship life also seems a lot less isolating than the real world in many ways. In the real world people can spend whole evenings and weekends never talking to another soul if they don’t leave their house or apartment. Again, this life seems a lot more healthy.
Since my bedroom is never far away I never have to worry about forgetting something at home or forgetting to pack something. THAT is the most fabulous!!!
There are a lot of challenges living in ship world and working on a ship creates an intensity unlike any other job but overall ship life is good.
Next installment? Life in port…
7:15am – Full body workout class or yoga class
8:15am – breakfast
8:45am – shower
9:15 – work – meetings and office work
12:30 – lunch
1:30 – catch some sun at the pool
3pm – work – meetings and office work
6:30pm – dinner
After dinner – do some hand washing, watch an episode of Gilmore girls, work on a blog posting, watch a movie, hang out in the staff lounge, or attend a student event. I have also been teaching a couple RAD classes in the evenings.
On a not-so-good day I don’t get any time at the pool, I have meetings over meals and sometimes work at night after dinner. Luckily this semester has been a bit more even keeled.
Above I listed a typical CLASS day for me on the ship – we also have Pre-Port Days and Post-Port days where I sit in on multiple meetings, and coordinate some of the Pre-Port and Post-Port sessions.
Just wanted to give you glimpse of what ship life is like for me.
Since I posted the “Ship Life” post I thought of a couple more unique things about ship life…
Only on a ship do I not have to drive anywhere
Only on a ship do I never have to shop for food.
Only on a ship can I have my personal space in my cabin but I can easily walk out my door and have people to socialize with and eat with.
Only on a ship can I travel around the world with my bedroom!!!
I know that those all no brainers but I think they are important to mention because I think in the real world we spend an exorbitant amount of time driving and shopping. This life seems a lot more healthy. Ironically ship life also seems a lot less isolating than the real world in many ways. In the real world people can spend whole evenings and weekends never talking to another soul if they don’t leave their house or apartment. Again, this life seems a lot more healthy.
Since my bedroom is never far away I never have to worry about forgetting something at home or forgetting to pack something. THAT is the most fabulous!!!
There are a lot of challenges living in ship world and working on a ship creates an intensity unlike any other job but overall ship life is good.
Next installment? Life in port…
Friday, March 7, 2008
South Africa
Of all the countries on this voyage that were repeats for me, Cape Town was the one I was most looking forward to and it didn’t disappoint. We had gorgeous weather – it is the end of summer down here so it was warm and sunny but not humid at all.
Cape Town is a very western city so it was an easy city to play in and it offered all the amenities we haven’t had for the last few ports. I strolled through the downtown area, went to the beach, climbed Table Mountain for a second time, visited the District Six Museum (sort of an Apartheid Museum), rode the topless bus all through the city and around the coast, watched the sea lions play in the harbor, went on an all day wine tasting tour in the winelands, and ate some yummy food.
I think my favorite part of the week was the evening township tour that I did with two other staff members from the ship. I had been on township tours the last time I visited South Africa but the evening tour that we did was very unique. The townships are the areas outside of Cape Town where the blacks, Indians and coloreds (that’s what they call people of mixed races and it’s apparently not an offensive term) were moved to during Apartheid. Most parts of most of the townships are full of extreme poverty. Quite a huge contrast to the wealth and prosperity of the waterfront and downtown areas of Cape Town.
We visited a township called Langa – which is one of the largest black townships in the Cape Flats. Our guide – Thandis - lived in Langa so we got quite a candid view of life in the Township. First we stopped in the middle of the township where there were women preparing and selling boiled sheep’s heads. It is one of the main staples in the townships. There was a table full of sheep heads and each woman had an open fire burning so that they could heat strips of scrap metal and burn the hair off the head so as not to waste any of the meat. Next they would split the head in half and put it in a big barrel of boiling water before they would put it out to sell. There were lots of friendly people walking by chatting with us.
Next we visited one of the old, unrenovated hostels. The hostels were originally built for the men who worked in Cape Town. The women and children were sent to townships further outside the city but the men who worked in the city were each given a bed. When Apartheid ended all of those men brought their families to Langa. So instead of one man per bed it became one family per twin bed. That meant 16 families per “apartment”. The hostels are very basic – concrete walls, floors, bed frames and tables. I think there is one bathroom per apartment and one kitchen sink – some have a stove and a refrigerator. The government is in the process of renovating the hostels but it is a painfully slow process. And when they renovate a building it goes from holding 64 families to only housing 22 families. The rent also goes from 20 rand a month (about $3) to 300 rand a month (about $43). They have pretty much run out of land to build new hostels so each renovated building displaces dozens of families. So these renovations are very mixed blessings.
Next we visited a renovated hostel and had a drink of soda with the family in the apartment. They were super nice and hospitable. The woman their had the most adorable 6 month old daughter. As we got ready to leave the sun had gone down so the streets were full of people laughing, talking and hanging out. There were children running everywhere – coming up to us to hold our hands and follow us. It struck me that even though the people lived in an extremely poor conditions they had an extremely strong, vibrant, close-knit community.
Next we headed off to the most memorable part of the evening – the shanty town. During the time of Apartheid when the hostels filled up shanty towns rose up all around the outskirts of the townships. The shanties that we visited were considered formal townships because they had a row of public outhouses, a public water spout and each shack had it’s own electricity box. Each shack is built out of scrap wood and corrugated aluminum. We went to a shabeen – a pub (I use that term loosely). It was a shack with about 5 or 6 people in it (including one man rolled in a blanket on the floor sleeping). We sat down on a bench and some of the old men tried chatting with us – they were super jovial and friendly (as well as a little drunk). It was difficult to understand them and they had difficulty understanding us – their main language is Koso so their English was not as strong.
One of the women brought out a big silver bucket of frothy liquid. Turned out it was a homemade beer that was popular in the townships because it can be made in just a few days. We proceeded to pass the bucket around and each take a sip. It was kind of gross but I’m glad I got the chance to try it.
Then everyone in the shack started dancing and singing. Their voices were so soulful and beautiful. They got us up dancing with them. It was a little difficult because the shack was barely tall enough for us to stand. I always worry about tours like this feeling contrived or having a “human zoo” feel to them but I didn’t feel that way at all during our visit.
After leaving the shanty area we made a quick drive through our guide’s neighborhood to meet his son and his sister. Then we headed to our final destination – dinner with a family. We visited the house of a woman – Lorraine whose sister and mother lived with her. They lived in a shack-like house but it was much nicer than the shacks in the shanty area. They had siding on their house and it was painted and festive inside. They had three bedrooms and a full kitchen. They also had three dogs that lived out in the front of their house for protection.
The meal we had was wonderful – chicken, rice, cabbage and vegetables. Nothing fancy but quite yummy. Lorraine, Vanessa and Flora were very nice and enjoyed chatting with us. They were watching a South African awards show on TV while we were there. It was great fun to watch them guess the winners and celebrate or lament the decisions – they spoke a lot in Koso which is a fascinating language.
After Thandis dropped us back off at the waterfront area to get to the ship I was struck yet again at the huge disparity between the haves and have-nots in Cape Town. It also struck me that all of it had been created, condoned and perpetuated by a political government system. I couldn’t decide if our experience in the townships felt more surreal to me or if walking among the shops, restaurants and tourists on the waterfront felt more surreal. I do know that the visit to the township felt more like “real life” as opposed to the “Disneyworld-like isolation and blinders” that exist in the tourist parts of the city. They say that Apartheid has been gone for over 15 years but the impacts and effects of Apartheid will be around for decades and decades to come.
We are now back at sea for our longest leg – 10 days until we get to Cape Verde for one day and then back at sea for 6 more days to Barcelona. Lots of activities and events happening during this leg – Casino night, North American Intercultural night, a Drag show, Open Mic night, European Cultural night, Global Scholar lectures, language classes, Salsa classes, Capoiera classes, another RAD class AND A WEDDING! Yes, I said a wedding!! More to come on that one….
Cape Town is a very western city so it was an easy city to play in and it offered all the amenities we haven’t had for the last few ports. I strolled through the downtown area, went to the beach, climbed Table Mountain for a second time, visited the District Six Museum (sort of an Apartheid Museum), rode the topless bus all through the city and around the coast, watched the sea lions play in the harbor, went on an all day wine tasting tour in the winelands, and ate some yummy food.
I think my favorite part of the week was the evening township tour that I did with two other staff members from the ship. I had been on township tours the last time I visited South Africa but the evening tour that we did was very unique. The townships are the areas outside of Cape Town where the blacks, Indians and coloreds (that’s what they call people of mixed races and it’s apparently not an offensive term) were moved to during Apartheid. Most parts of most of the townships are full of extreme poverty. Quite a huge contrast to the wealth and prosperity of the waterfront and downtown areas of Cape Town.
We visited a township called Langa – which is one of the largest black townships in the Cape Flats. Our guide – Thandis - lived in Langa so we got quite a candid view of life in the Township. First we stopped in the middle of the township where there were women preparing and selling boiled sheep’s heads. It is one of the main staples in the townships. There was a table full of sheep heads and each woman had an open fire burning so that they could heat strips of scrap metal and burn the hair off the head so as not to waste any of the meat. Next they would split the head in half and put it in a big barrel of boiling water before they would put it out to sell. There were lots of friendly people walking by chatting with us.
Next we visited one of the old, unrenovated hostels. The hostels were originally built for the men who worked in Cape Town. The women and children were sent to townships further outside the city but the men who worked in the city were each given a bed. When Apartheid ended all of those men brought their families to Langa. So instead of one man per bed it became one family per twin bed. That meant 16 families per “apartment”. The hostels are very basic – concrete walls, floors, bed frames and tables. I think there is one bathroom per apartment and one kitchen sink – some have a stove and a refrigerator. The government is in the process of renovating the hostels but it is a painfully slow process. And when they renovate a building it goes from holding 64 families to only housing 22 families. The rent also goes from 20 rand a month (about $3) to 300 rand a month (about $43). They have pretty much run out of land to build new hostels so each renovated building displaces dozens of families. So these renovations are very mixed blessings.
Next we visited a renovated hostel and had a drink of soda with the family in the apartment. They were super nice and hospitable. The woman their had the most adorable 6 month old daughter. As we got ready to leave the sun had gone down so the streets were full of people laughing, talking and hanging out. There were children running everywhere – coming up to us to hold our hands and follow us. It struck me that even though the people lived in an extremely poor conditions they had an extremely strong, vibrant, close-knit community.
Next we headed off to the most memorable part of the evening – the shanty town. During the time of Apartheid when the hostels filled up shanty towns rose up all around the outskirts of the townships. The shanties that we visited were considered formal townships because they had a row of public outhouses, a public water spout and each shack had it’s own electricity box. Each shack is built out of scrap wood and corrugated aluminum. We went to a shabeen – a pub (I use that term loosely). It was a shack with about 5 or 6 people in it (including one man rolled in a blanket on the floor sleeping). We sat down on a bench and some of the old men tried chatting with us – they were super jovial and friendly (as well as a little drunk). It was difficult to understand them and they had difficulty understanding us – their main language is Koso so their English was not as strong.
One of the women brought out a big silver bucket of frothy liquid. Turned out it was a homemade beer that was popular in the townships because it can be made in just a few days. We proceeded to pass the bucket around and each take a sip. It was kind of gross but I’m glad I got the chance to try it.
Then everyone in the shack started dancing and singing. Their voices were so soulful and beautiful. They got us up dancing with them. It was a little difficult because the shack was barely tall enough for us to stand. I always worry about tours like this feeling contrived or having a “human zoo” feel to them but I didn’t feel that way at all during our visit.
After leaving the shanty area we made a quick drive through our guide’s neighborhood to meet his son and his sister. Then we headed to our final destination – dinner with a family. We visited the house of a woman – Lorraine whose sister and mother lived with her. They lived in a shack-like house but it was much nicer than the shacks in the shanty area. They had siding on their house and it was painted and festive inside. They had three bedrooms and a full kitchen. They also had three dogs that lived out in the front of their house for protection.
The meal we had was wonderful – chicken, rice, cabbage and vegetables. Nothing fancy but quite yummy. Lorraine, Vanessa and Flora were very nice and enjoyed chatting with us. They were watching a South African awards show on TV while we were there. It was great fun to watch them guess the winners and celebrate or lament the decisions – they spoke a lot in Koso which is a fascinating language.
After Thandis dropped us back off at the waterfront area to get to the ship I was struck yet again at the huge disparity between the haves and have-nots in Cape Town. It also struck me that all of it had been created, condoned and perpetuated by a political government system. I couldn’t decide if our experience in the townships felt more surreal to me or if walking among the shops, restaurants and tourists on the waterfront felt more surreal. I do know that the visit to the township felt more like “real life” as opposed to the “Disneyworld-like isolation and blinders” that exist in the tourist parts of the city. They say that Apartheid has been gone for over 15 years but the impacts and effects of Apartheid will be around for decades and decades to come.
We are now back at sea for our longest leg – 10 days until we get to Cape Verde for one day and then back at sea for 6 more days to Barcelona. Lots of activities and events happening during this leg – Casino night, North American Intercultural night, a Drag show, Open Mic night, European Cultural night, Global Scholar lectures, language classes, Salsa classes, Capoiera classes, another RAD class AND A WEDDING! Yes, I said a wedding!! More to come on that one….
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Ship Life
I know some of you are wondering what life is like living on a ship. Here are some of the unique things about ship life…
Time revolves around meals – breakfast 7am-9am, lunch 11:45-1:30pm, dinner 5:45-7:30pm. Your body gets on a strict eating schedule with these hours. If you want food between meal times you can purchase stuff at the snack bar.
You eat breakfast outside on the top deck of the ship – sometimes a bit chilly, rainy or crazy hot. Lunch and dinner are served in a large dining room, 5 decks down from the top.
You never know what date or day of the week it is. We operate on Blue Days, Green Days, Pre- and Post-Port Days. Even in port we don’t think in terms of days of the week or dates. We just think….Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
Really rough days at sea (like today) – EVERYTHING creaks. Since this ship is mostly made out of wood (unusual these days) it creaks horribly when it’s rough. I have to use earplugs at night just to sleep. Another weird thing happens when it’s rough – the plumbing system goes crazy – the toilets gurgle and spit and sometimes a horrible sewer smell oozes out of them all day and night.
When the seas are rough class and work become challenges – they always continue but can be a struggle to get through. There’s always kind of a strange vibe on the ship during rough seas – it’s a little bit like a snow day – a mixture of excitement, caution, fear and sympathy for those who are not well. I’m lucky – I rarely feel nauseous – usually I just get a little bit lethargic or headachy.
Laundry – you can get your laundry done on the ship for $5 per bag but you risk not getting items back or having things returned damaged. For those reasons I opt for hand washing most of my clothes. I only sent two bags to the laundry last semester.
There is a gym on the ship with free weights, machines and cardio equipment. There is also some cardio equip up on one of the top decks so you can look out at the ocean. Can’t say I’ve made it to the gym too often – I’m sticking to the fitness classes to keep active.
There are exercise classes in the mornings, dance classes, language classes and RAD classes in the evenings.
About every other night or so there is some sort of event or activity – Cultural show, Movie night, Picture showcase from our prior port, Theatre performance, Crew Talent Show, etc.
We are in a completely different country and sometimes different continent every 3-12 days – THAT is really crazy for me to wrap my brain around!
You are NEVER away from work. People will catch you at meals, in the staff lounge, while you’re watching a movie or working out and jump right into work questions or issues. That can become tiresome and it’s difficult to create boundaries.
You don’t have any private space other than your cabin. Because you live with the people you work with it feels a tad inappropriate to be walking around the ship in pajamas. Some people do it but I always feel compelled to be presentable – brush my hair and put some real clothes on. This can be a pain when you’ve slept late and want to grab breakfast before it ends – who has to get dressed just to grab some cereal for breakfast?
One person’s behavior or circumstance affects everyone. Someone gets very ill or hurt? The entire ship is impacted when we have to divert the ship to medically evacuate him/her. Someone does something stupid, inappropriate or offensive? The entire ship can get up in arms about it very quickly. Rumors fly like wildfire too.
The close quarters also creates a very tight community – people rally around those who are sick, birthday celebrations can get quite festive and become a community affair, people quickly engage to confront issues to keep peace in the community. We really are a dynamic and intense international village floating out in our own isolated world.
Coming up in a future installment - I’ll share a typical day for me on the ship…that’ll probably be posted after South Africa.
Time revolves around meals – breakfast 7am-9am, lunch 11:45-1:30pm, dinner 5:45-7:30pm. Your body gets on a strict eating schedule with these hours. If you want food between meal times you can purchase stuff at the snack bar.
You eat breakfast outside on the top deck of the ship – sometimes a bit chilly, rainy or crazy hot. Lunch and dinner are served in a large dining room, 5 decks down from the top.
You never know what date or day of the week it is. We operate on Blue Days, Green Days, Pre- and Post-Port Days. Even in port we don’t think in terms of days of the week or dates. We just think….Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
Really rough days at sea (like today) – EVERYTHING creaks. Since this ship is mostly made out of wood (unusual these days) it creaks horribly when it’s rough. I have to use earplugs at night just to sleep. Another weird thing happens when it’s rough – the plumbing system goes crazy – the toilets gurgle and spit and sometimes a horrible sewer smell oozes out of them all day and night.
When the seas are rough class and work become challenges – they always continue but can be a struggle to get through. There’s always kind of a strange vibe on the ship during rough seas – it’s a little bit like a snow day – a mixture of excitement, caution, fear and sympathy for those who are not well. I’m lucky – I rarely feel nauseous – usually I just get a little bit lethargic or headachy.
Laundry – you can get your laundry done on the ship for $5 per bag but you risk not getting items back or having things returned damaged. For those reasons I opt for hand washing most of my clothes. I only sent two bags to the laundry last semester.
There is a gym on the ship with free weights, machines and cardio equipment. There is also some cardio equip up on one of the top decks so you can look out at the ocean. Can’t say I’ve made it to the gym too often – I’m sticking to the fitness classes to keep active.
There are exercise classes in the mornings, dance classes, language classes and RAD classes in the evenings.
About every other night or so there is some sort of event or activity – Cultural show, Movie night, Picture showcase from our prior port, Theatre performance, Crew Talent Show, etc.
We are in a completely different country and sometimes different continent every 3-12 days – THAT is really crazy for me to wrap my brain around!
You are NEVER away from work. People will catch you at meals, in the staff lounge, while you’re watching a movie or working out and jump right into work questions or issues. That can become tiresome and it’s difficult to create boundaries.
You don’t have any private space other than your cabin. Because you live with the people you work with it feels a tad inappropriate to be walking around the ship in pajamas. Some people do it but I always feel compelled to be presentable – brush my hair and put some real clothes on. This can be a pain when you’ve slept late and want to grab breakfast before it ends – who has to get dressed just to grab some cereal for breakfast?
One person’s behavior or circumstance affects everyone. Someone gets very ill or hurt? The entire ship is impacted when we have to divert the ship to medically evacuate him/her. Someone does something stupid, inappropriate or offensive? The entire ship can get up in arms about it very quickly. Rumors fly like wildfire too.
The close quarters also creates a very tight community – people rally around those who are sick, birthday celebrations can get quite festive and become a community affair, people quickly engage to confront issues to keep peace in the community. We really are a dynamic and intense international village floating out in our own isolated world.
Coming up in a future installment - I’ll share a typical day for me on the ship…that’ll probably be posted after South Africa.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Seychelles
We just spent the last two days in the Seychelles. Now if you’re anything like I was a year ago you may not have a clue where in the world the Seychelles are. The Seychelles are a small group of islands in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa and just north of Madagascar. Tourism is the main industry here but I was surprised at how few tourists we saw. I think one of the draws to this country is the fact that you can still find pristine beaches where you feel like you are the only one around.
The Seychelles was one of our break ports – which means we are only here for a couple days and there are no Academic Field Programs happening. Really these break ports exist to break up our really long legs so we don’t have to be at sea for longer than two weeks. It was really nice to sort of have a weekend.
I stayed on the main island – Mahe – for both days. It’s actually quite large and has everything you’d want. My only goal was to find a beach and camp out – I didn’t have any grand interest in going to other islands or doing anything adventurous like diving or exploring the interior of the island. I definitely met my goal.
The unfortunate part of our two days in the Seychelles was that we arrived on a Sunday when pretty much EVERYTHING is shut down – including shops and restaurants. So two other staff folks and I negotiated a cab to take us to the closest beach and we spent the entire day there. We were at the largest and most heavily populated of the beaches on the island. There were still wide stretches of beach with no one – “heavily populated” is definitely a relative term. Since it was the weekend there were a lot of local folks out enjoying the fabulous weather and gorgeous water. It was nice to be on this “busier” beach on a Sunday because we were able to find a couple of restaurants open for lunch and dinner.
Money here is interesting. Their currency is Seychellois Rupees (no relation to Indian Rupees) and everything is advertised in Rupees but a new law took effect in January – foreigners can ONLY pay in US Dollars or Euros at most restaurants, shops, hotels, etc. You can have fistfuls of rupees and you can’t spend a penny. Here is the kicker – if you pay in US cash or Euros you get your change in rupees. Some places enforce the rule and others do not - it’s kind of weird and can be confusing and frustrating. Luckily I brought a lot of $1 bills so I always had exact change but unfortunately I had also exchanged money so I had to be very strategic in spending rupees – dollars here, rupees there. It was strange.
On our second day we joined a faculty member and his son who had rented a car. We drove down the coast and lounged on another beach all morning. For lunch we headed up into the mountains of the interior of the island to a Spice Garden (it’s kind of like a botanical garden of all spices). We didn’t actually go into the garden – it didn’t look like it was worth the $6 entrance fee but we ate lunch at the restaurant. Another weird thing here – they openly post and charge VERY different prices for locals and foreigners: the entrance fee for locals was only 24 rupees ($3). I know a lot of tourist places try and rook foreigners and charge a lot more than normal but I’ve never been to a place that is so blatant and the tiered rates so institutionalized.
Lunch was great – the outdoor restaurant had an AMAZING view of the coast and we were surrounded with gorgeous trees, flowers and plants – hibiscus, gardenia, guava trees, orange trees, bread fruit trees, etc. There were these really cool animals – flying foxes – that were flying high above all the vegetation catching insects. Flying foxes look like enormous, graceful bats. They were pretty cool. There were also some brilliantly colored birds – reds, oranges and white.
My favorite part of lunch was dessert. They made homemade ice cream on the premises and we got the house special – three scoops of their signature flavors – cinnamon, spearmint and lime. Sounds like a weird combo but they were delicious and all made from fresh spices in the garden. Yummy.
Next we drove across the island and up the west coast – we found a fabulously secluded beach – there was almost no one else around. The water was unbelievable warm and there were lots of pretty shells and old coral along the shore. It was the perfect way to wrap up our time in the Seychelles.
These two days have been very relaxing and I’m thankful that I got some beach time in – this may be my last chance to hit a beach for the rest of this voyage! I think I feel about the Seychelles the same way I did about Tahiti – I’m glad I got the chance to come here and it was a nice diversion from the normal chaos of the ship but I don’t think I’ll have any burning desire to come back here again. It’s a beautiful place and it just makes me more thankful of ALL of the tremendously beautiful beaches and places I’ve had the opportunity to visit throughout my travels.
The Seychelles was one of our break ports – which means we are only here for a couple days and there are no Academic Field Programs happening. Really these break ports exist to break up our really long legs so we don’t have to be at sea for longer than two weeks. It was really nice to sort of have a weekend.
I stayed on the main island – Mahe – for both days. It’s actually quite large and has everything you’d want. My only goal was to find a beach and camp out – I didn’t have any grand interest in going to other islands or doing anything adventurous like diving or exploring the interior of the island. I definitely met my goal.
The unfortunate part of our two days in the Seychelles was that we arrived on a Sunday when pretty much EVERYTHING is shut down – including shops and restaurants. So two other staff folks and I negotiated a cab to take us to the closest beach and we spent the entire day there. We were at the largest and most heavily populated of the beaches on the island. There were still wide stretches of beach with no one – “heavily populated” is definitely a relative term. Since it was the weekend there were a lot of local folks out enjoying the fabulous weather and gorgeous water. It was nice to be on this “busier” beach on a Sunday because we were able to find a couple of restaurants open for lunch and dinner.
Money here is interesting. Their currency is Seychellois Rupees (no relation to Indian Rupees) and everything is advertised in Rupees but a new law took effect in January – foreigners can ONLY pay in US Dollars or Euros at most restaurants, shops, hotels, etc. You can have fistfuls of rupees and you can’t spend a penny. Here is the kicker – if you pay in US cash or Euros you get your change in rupees. Some places enforce the rule and others do not - it’s kind of weird and can be confusing and frustrating. Luckily I brought a lot of $1 bills so I always had exact change but unfortunately I had also exchanged money so I had to be very strategic in spending rupees – dollars here, rupees there. It was strange.
On our second day we joined a faculty member and his son who had rented a car. We drove down the coast and lounged on another beach all morning. For lunch we headed up into the mountains of the interior of the island to a Spice Garden (it’s kind of like a botanical garden of all spices). We didn’t actually go into the garden – it didn’t look like it was worth the $6 entrance fee but we ate lunch at the restaurant. Another weird thing here – they openly post and charge VERY different prices for locals and foreigners: the entrance fee for locals was only 24 rupees ($3). I know a lot of tourist places try and rook foreigners and charge a lot more than normal but I’ve never been to a place that is so blatant and the tiered rates so institutionalized.
Lunch was great – the outdoor restaurant had an AMAZING view of the coast and we were surrounded with gorgeous trees, flowers and plants – hibiscus, gardenia, guava trees, orange trees, bread fruit trees, etc. There were these really cool animals – flying foxes – that were flying high above all the vegetation catching insects. Flying foxes look like enormous, graceful bats. They were pretty cool. There were also some brilliantly colored birds – reds, oranges and white.
My favorite part of lunch was dessert. They made homemade ice cream on the premises and we got the house special – three scoops of their signature flavors – cinnamon, spearmint and lime. Sounds like a weird combo but they were delicious and all made from fresh spices in the garden. Yummy.
Next we drove across the island and up the west coast – we found a fabulously secluded beach – there was almost no one else around. The water was unbelievable warm and there were lots of pretty shells and old coral along the shore. It was the perfect way to wrap up our time in the Seychelles.
These two days have been very relaxing and I’m thankful that I got some beach time in – this may be my last chance to hit a beach for the rest of this voyage! I think I feel about the Seychelles the same way I did about Tahiti – I’m glad I got the chance to come here and it was a nice diversion from the normal chaos of the ship but I don’t think I’ll have any burning desire to come back here again. It’s a beautiful place and it just makes me more thankful of ALL of the tremendously beautiful beaches and places I’ve had the opportunity to visit throughout my travels.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
India
Incredible India – that is the tag line that is currently used on all the tourist maps and brochures. There is not a truer statement. India is incredible. It has incredible poverty and incredible wealth…incredible beauty and incredible trash and pollution…incredible kindness and incredible ruthlessness….there are incredible smells, sights and sounds at every turn. India is an incredible assault on your senses, your values, beliefs and comfort zones.
I was really nervous coming back to India, particularly Chennai (Madras). Last time I was here Chennai drained me, overwhelmed me, and frustrated me. I didn’t dislike India I had just had never been to a country that so constantly and completely decimated my energy (and sometimes my spirit) on a regular basis. There really is no way to describe India and no way to prepare for the experience. Hence, my apprehension as we approached India last week.
I am happy to report that I had a great time in India. It still zapped my energy and strength and challenged my nerves and comfort zones but I didn’t feel as shell-shocked and battle-weary 24-7 as I did last time. Why did it seem easier this time? Because I had been here before and knew what to expect? Because I am a more savvy traveler and better bargainer than I was two years ago? Because this is the first port in six months that catapulted me completely out of what is familiar and comfortable to me (the part of traveling that I love)? I think all of those reasons played a part in why I enjoyed India more this second time around.
I spent the first few days working a bit – I attended pieces of the Academic Field Programs but I also spent some time shopping and eating good food. I didn’t get hassled too much by rickshaw drivers and I knew where to go to find the rickshaw drivers that were less likely to rip you off (on our first day they were trying to charge 400 rupees for a ride that – even with tourist inflation – should have only cost around 50 rupees (about $1)). Because things were going well I was in much better frame of mind to SHOP!! India has some amazingly beautiful fabrics and clothes. I bought some really fun clothes while I was there – I can’t wait to show them off when I get home.
Well I guess things were going a little too easy so what do I decide to do? I decide it would be a good idea to take a public bus four hours south to a little town called Pudacherry (recently changed from Pondicherry). Now I don’t know if any of you have ever ridden a public bus in a foreign country but it is always an interesting adventure and boy did India come through on the adventure part.
Getting to Pudacherry was not too difficult – we negotiated a rickshaw ride across town to the bus station and at the bus station we found out that we just get on a bus and pay for our ticket. The buses to Pudacherry leave every 20 minutes so it’s not difficult to get on a bus. The bus is not air conditioned so all of the windows are open. It’s actually not too hot once the bus is moving. The worst part was that we had a driver that REALLY liked to use his horn. He used it CONSTANTLY – he probably hit the horn an average of every 30 seconds to a minute – for FOUR HOURS! Other than that it was an uneventful trip. The trip home was another story.
On our trip home we arrived at the bus station at 7pm and found it to be mad chaos. People were swarming and pushing to get on buses. It was noisy, loud, hot and dirty. You still buy your ticket onboard but people seemed to have pieces of paper that had some significance about whether or not they got on the bus. We wandered around trying to figure out this crazy system. Finally someone directed us to a ticket window with a CRAZY long line in front of it. Apparently you can’t buy tickets at the window but you can pay 10 rupees for a reservation on a bus.
So we get in this crazy long line – all of us debating if we should go back to Pudacherry and stay another night and give up on this mess. Luckily a very nice woman pointed out to us that there was a Ladies’ line and a Men’s line. The men’s line was crazy long – the women’s line was much shorter. An interesting thing about India – you tend only to see men out and about. Men are everywhere in restaurants and public places but women are rarely out. It’s kind of weird to see just men everywhere. One of the women I went to Pudacherry with went to a dance club one night and she and two other western women were the only women in the whole place. Odd.
So we get into the women’s line and the pushing and pressing to the window begins. All of the women were very nice but India (like most of the Asian countries we’ve been to) has a different sense of personal space and waiting in lines than we do in the west. The theory is push and shove and press until you get to the front. If you can push past other people than you go first. I ended up being the one that played the line squeezing game all the way to the window. The entire time there are men trying to get the women to buy tickets for them. I had to constantly tell men no while I jockeyed for position with the women – oh and I had to do all this while carrying my two bags and making sure no one could get to where my money was.
The whole time I was stressed because I didn’t know what bus they were giving reservations for. I was imagining it was for the 11:30pm bus which would put us back in Chennai at 3:30am – not a trip we want to do in the middle of the night. So I finally get to the window and the funny thing is they only had one person working the window – for both the ladies’ and the men’s lines. They were very nice to me and I got our reservations and luckily it was for the 8:20pm bus – woo, hoo!
Next I had to push my way out of the line and then our next challenge was to figure our where to find the 8:10pm bus. Having a reservation only means you get on the bus it doesn’t mean you get a seat (yes some people stand for the entire 4 hours) so you need to be there right when the bus arrives.
Luckily there were many nice people that tried to help us find where the bus would be. We didn’t even ask for help – people just offered and really tried to take care of us. It was very nice. So we are standing in front of the 7:50pm bus because we’ve been told that the 8:10pm bus will arrive in that spot as soon as the 7:50pm bus leaves. All of a sudden the guy who seems to be in charge of the 7:50pm bus comes up to us and motions for us to get on the bus. We try and explain we have reservations for the 8:10pm bus but he insists we should come with him. We ask if there are seats and he indicates yes (with the head bobble nod that Indians are famous for). Sure enough there are seats and we are now going on the 7:50pm bus. I’m not sure how that happened but it did.
So we think we were home free at this point. Boy were we wrong. Little did we know that we had just gotten on the suicide bus from hell. Our driver did not use his horn quite as much as our first driver but this guy was a speed demon! He whipped around curves and around speed barriers. There was one stretch in the middle where all of us were just praying that the bus wouldn’t tip over. The driver spent the entire trip trying to pass vehicles – he drove on the wrong side of the road trying to pass on curves and barely making it past and swerving into our lane before the oncoming vehicle came by. When he didn’t have a vehicle in front of him he flew down the road at Mach 5 and we watched as vehicles passing cars in the opposite direction barely got over before we flew past. It was one crazy ride. We did make it safely back to Chennai in one piece and after that experience I felt a bit like I did during my first visit to India – stressed, frazzled and drained.
So let me tell you a little bit about Pudacherry. It was the only French colony in India – it’s a small seaside town that is becoming popular with both domestic and foreign tourists. They speak Tamil, French and English there. It was quite funny to walk down the street and have Indian kids saying, “Bonjour!” So why did I go to Pudacherry? Well there isn’t a whole lot to see and do on the south east part of the country where Chennai is. I really wanted to get over to the south west part of the country and visit Kerala but with only two and half days I didn’t think it was worth the hassle of traveling 12 hours on the overnight train. So Pudacherry was a reasonable distance and seemed reasonably interesting.
I headed down there with three other staff members – Ashley, Amanda and Bonita. Ashley is our PR officer, Amanda is an IRC (residence life staff member) and Bonita works in the Media lab. We spent two nights in a guest house on the beach. Our days were spent walking, shopping and eating. It was quite relaxing and nice to be away from the ship.
On our second day we got Ayurvedic massages (yes, apparently I am on the world tour of massages). I had never had an Ayurvedic massage before – it was quite an experience and quite different from any massage I’ve ever had before. First off you are completely and totally naked – no sheets or coverings. They completely douse you in oil. I’m not talking a little bit of oil like a Swedish massage….I’m talking drowning in oil – dumped it on your head – spread liberally all over – eyes, face, ears and every part of your body. There was so much oil that my skin felt kind of suffocated and I literally felt like I would slide right off the table. It was pretty comical. The funniest part was when it was all over they give you a tiny bar of soap, a bucket of water and a small faucet. There was so much oil that that tiny bar of soap had no hope of overpowering the oil. I must have been quite a sight trying to get enough lather on the soap to attempt to get enough oil off my body to at least put my clothes back on. It was quite a process. It’s been three days (and many good showers) and I STILL feel like there is oil coming out of my pores.
I’m glad I came back to India and I would come to India again if the opportunity arose. One of my favorite things was to see all of the beautiful sarees and outfits that women wear. Women dress beautifully and elegantly every day. The beautiful and brilliant colors and patterns are incredible. It’s quite a contrast – men wear pretty much anything they want – shabby clothes, dirty towels and wraps as pants – anything goes but the women (even those without much) are dressed in beautiful clothes. It’s also weird to see women dressed so beautifully – including sequins, shimmer materials and jewelry -- in the heat and dirt of the city and the heat and dirt of the villages. No matter where you went or what level of society the women seemed very put together wearing gorgeous fabrics.
Coming to a place like India always teaches you lessons. I think the biggest lesson I will take away from India is one that I learned the first time I was here – this trip was a big reminder that I live a VERY comfortable life – we all do. I have a comfortable bed to sleep in, a shower to bathe in and I know where my next meal is coming from. I cannot describe to you how many people in India do not lead such comfortable lives or have any assurance that their basic needs will be met. When we took a rickshaw back to the ship at midnight after our death bus ride back from Pudacherry I couldn’t believe the throngs and throngs of people sleeping on the street. These weren’t just the beggars and homeless that you see out on the street day in and day out. These were the shop keepers, stall workers, rickshaw drivers, and street sweepers.
When I’m back in the “real world” I tend to stress and worry about things that are minor in the grand scheme of things. Work pressures, frustrations with companies or stores, money worries, challenges with friends or family all seem so huge at times – it gets that way for all of us. That’s why I appreciate coming to a place like India – it helps me to shift my perspective back to what truly is important in life and what is worth worrying about and spending energy on. All of the stresses, frustrations and worries that tend to consume our lives at times are ridiculously stupid BECAUSE we know where we are sleeping tonight and where our next meal is coming from.
So that was Incredible India for me – thanks for reading.
I was really nervous coming back to India, particularly Chennai (Madras). Last time I was here Chennai drained me, overwhelmed me, and frustrated me. I didn’t dislike India I had just had never been to a country that so constantly and completely decimated my energy (and sometimes my spirit) on a regular basis. There really is no way to describe India and no way to prepare for the experience. Hence, my apprehension as we approached India last week.
I am happy to report that I had a great time in India. It still zapped my energy and strength and challenged my nerves and comfort zones but I didn’t feel as shell-shocked and battle-weary 24-7 as I did last time. Why did it seem easier this time? Because I had been here before and knew what to expect? Because I am a more savvy traveler and better bargainer than I was two years ago? Because this is the first port in six months that catapulted me completely out of what is familiar and comfortable to me (the part of traveling that I love)? I think all of those reasons played a part in why I enjoyed India more this second time around.
I spent the first few days working a bit – I attended pieces of the Academic Field Programs but I also spent some time shopping and eating good food. I didn’t get hassled too much by rickshaw drivers and I knew where to go to find the rickshaw drivers that were less likely to rip you off (on our first day they were trying to charge 400 rupees for a ride that – even with tourist inflation – should have only cost around 50 rupees (about $1)). Because things were going well I was in much better frame of mind to SHOP!! India has some amazingly beautiful fabrics and clothes. I bought some really fun clothes while I was there – I can’t wait to show them off when I get home.
Well I guess things were going a little too easy so what do I decide to do? I decide it would be a good idea to take a public bus four hours south to a little town called Pudacherry (recently changed from Pondicherry). Now I don’t know if any of you have ever ridden a public bus in a foreign country but it is always an interesting adventure and boy did India come through on the adventure part.
Getting to Pudacherry was not too difficult – we negotiated a rickshaw ride across town to the bus station and at the bus station we found out that we just get on a bus and pay for our ticket. The buses to Pudacherry leave every 20 minutes so it’s not difficult to get on a bus. The bus is not air conditioned so all of the windows are open. It’s actually not too hot once the bus is moving. The worst part was that we had a driver that REALLY liked to use his horn. He used it CONSTANTLY – he probably hit the horn an average of every 30 seconds to a minute – for FOUR HOURS! Other than that it was an uneventful trip. The trip home was another story.
On our trip home we arrived at the bus station at 7pm and found it to be mad chaos. People were swarming and pushing to get on buses. It was noisy, loud, hot and dirty. You still buy your ticket onboard but people seemed to have pieces of paper that had some significance about whether or not they got on the bus. We wandered around trying to figure out this crazy system. Finally someone directed us to a ticket window with a CRAZY long line in front of it. Apparently you can’t buy tickets at the window but you can pay 10 rupees for a reservation on a bus.
So we get in this crazy long line – all of us debating if we should go back to Pudacherry and stay another night and give up on this mess. Luckily a very nice woman pointed out to us that there was a Ladies’ line and a Men’s line. The men’s line was crazy long – the women’s line was much shorter. An interesting thing about India – you tend only to see men out and about. Men are everywhere in restaurants and public places but women are rarely out. It’s kind of weird to see just men everywhere. One of the women I went to Pudacherry with went to a dance club one night and she and two other western women were the only women in the whole place. Odd.
So we get into the women’s line and the pushing and pressing to the window begins. All of the women were very nice but India (like most of the Asian countries we’ve been to) has a different sense of personal space and waiting in lines than we do in the west. The theory is push and shove and press until you get to the front. If you can push past other people than you go first. I ended up being the one that played the line squeezing game all the way to the window. The entire time there are men trying to get the women to buy tickets for them. I had to constantly tell men no while I jockeyed for position with the women – oh and I had to do all this while carrying my two bags and making sure no one could get to where my money was.
The whole time I was stressed because I didn’t know what bus they were giving reservations for. I was imagining it was for the 11:30pm bus which would put us back in Chennai at 3:30am – not a trip we want to do in the middle of the night. So I finally get to the window and the funny thing is they only had one person working the window – for both the ladies’ and the men’s lines. They were very nice to me and I got our reservations and luckily it was for the 8:20pm bus – woo, hoo!
Next I had to push my way out of the line and then our next challenge was to figure our where to find the 8:10pm bus. Having a reservation only means you get on the bus it doesn’t mean you get a seat (yes some people stand for the entire 4 hours) so you need to be there right when the bus arrives.
Luckily there were many nice people that tried to help us find where the bus would be. We didn’t even ask for help – people just offered and really tried to take care of us. It was very nice. So we are standing in front of the 7:50pm bus because we’ve been told that the 8:10pm bus will arrive in that spot as soon as the 7:50pm bus leaves. All of a sudden the guy who seems to be in charge of the 7:50pm bus comes up to us and motions for us to get on the bus. We try and explain we have reservations for the 8:10pm bus but he insists we should come with him. We ask if there are seats and he indicates yes (with the head bobble nod that Indians are famous for). Sure enough there are seats and we are now going on the 7:50pm bus. I’m not sure how that happened but it did.
So we think we were home free at this point. Boy were we wrong. Little did we know that we had just gotten on the suicide bus from hell. Our driver did not use his horn quite as much as our first driver but this guy was a speed demon! He whipped around curves and around speed barriers. There was one stretch in the middle where all of us were just praying that the bus wouldn’t tip over. The driver spent the entire trip trying to pass vehicles – he drove on the wrong side of the road trying to pass on curves and barely making it past and swerving into our lane before the oncoming vehicle came by. When he didn’t have a vehicle in front of him he flew down the road at Mach 5 and we watched as vehicles passing cars in the opposite direction barely got over before we flew past. It was one crazy ride. We did make it safely back to Chennai in one piece and after that experience I felt a bit like I did during my first visit to India – stressed, frazzled and drained.
So let me tell you a little bit about Pudacherry. It was the only French colony in India – it’s a small seaside town that is becoming popular with both domestic and foreign tourists. They speak Tamil, French and English there. It was quite funny to walk down the street and have Indian kids saying, “Bonjour!” So why did I go to Pudacherry? Well there isn’t a whole lot to see and do on the south east part of the country where Chennai is. I really wanted to get over to the south west part of the country and visit Kerala but with only two and half days I didn’t think it was worth the hassle of traveling 12 hours on the overnight train. So Pudacherry was a reasonable distance and seemed reasonably interesting.
I headed down there with three other staff members – Ashley, Amanda and Bonita. Ashley is our PR officer, Amanda is an IRC (residence life staff member) and Bonita works in the Media lab. We spent two nights in a guest house on the beach. Our days were spent walking, shopping and eating. It was quite relaxing and nice to be away from the ship.
On our second day we got Ayurvedic massages (yes, apparently I am on the world tour of massages). I had never had an Ayurvedic massage before – it was quite an experience and quite different from any massage I’ve ever had before. First off you are completely and totally naked – no sheets or coverings. They completely douse you in oil. I’m not talking a little bit of oil like a Swedish massage….I’m talking drowning in oil – dumped it on your head – spread liberally all over – eyes, face, ears and every part of your body. There was so much oil that my skin felt kind of suffocated and I literally felt like I would slide right off the table. It was pretty comical. The funniest part was when it was all over they give you a tiny bar of soap, a bucket of water and a small faucet. There was so much oil that that tiny bar of soap had no hope of overpowering the oil. I must have been quite a sight trying to get enough lather on the soap to attempt to get enough oil off my body to at least put my clothes back on. It was quite a process. It’s been three days (and many good showers) and I STILL feel like there is oil coming out of my pores.
I’m glad I came back to India and I would come to India again if the opportunity arose. One of my favorite things was to see all of the beautiful sarees and outfits that women wear. Women dress beautifully and elegantly every day. The beautiful and brilliant colors and patterns are incredible. It’s quite a contrast – men wear pretty much anything they want – shabby clothes, dirty towels and wraps as pants – anything goes but the women (even those without much) are dressed in beautiful clothes. It’s also weird to see women dressed so beautifully – including sequins, shimmer materials and jewelry -- in the heat and dirt of the city and the heat and dirt of the villages. No matter where you went or what level of society the women seemed very put together wearing gorgeous fabrics.
Coming to a place like India always teaches you lessons. I think the biggest lesson I will take away from India is one that I learned the first time I was here – this trip was a big reminder that I live a VERY comfortable life – we all do. I have a comfortable bed to sleep in, a shower to bathe in and I know where my next meal is coming from. I cannot describe to you how many people in India do not lead such comfortable lives or have any assurance that their basic needs will be met. When we took a rickshaw back to the ship at midnight after our death bus ride back from Pudacherry I couldn’t believe the throngs and throngs of people sleeping on the street. These weren’t just the beggars and homeless that you see out on the street day in and day out. These were the shop keepers, stall workers, rickshaw drivers, and street sweepers.
When I’m back in the “real world” I tend to stress and worry about things that are minor in the grand scheme of things. Work pressures, frustrations with companies or stores, money worries, challenges with friends or family all seem so huge at times – it gets that way for all of us. That’s why I appreciate coming to a place like India – it helps me to shift my perspective back to what truly is important in life and what is worth worrying about and spending energy on. All of the stresses, frustrations and worries that tend to consume our lives at times are ridiculously stupid BECAUSE we know where we are sleeping tonight and where our next meal is coming from.
So that was Incredible India for me – thanks for reading.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Only on a Ship
Only on a ship do I take socks in the shower with me to wash them.
Only on a ship do I feel comfortable sitting down with people I don’t know at any meal.
Only on a ship can I take a break to swim, sunbathe and shower in the middle of my work day.
Only on a ship does my toilet gurgle and spit at me.
Only on a ship do I have zero idea what is going on in world news, politics, music, movies or pop culture.
Only on a ship do I hoard small boxes of cereal in my cabin.
Only on a ship do I tape my drawers and closets shut.
Only on a ship do I have a healthy fear of furniture flying across the room at any given moment.
Only on a ship would I ever schedule a breakfast meeting, lunch meeting AND dinner meeting.
Only on a ship can I teach RAD on the very top deck with a beautiful view of the ocean.
Only on a ship do I have raw hands from hand washing my clothes.
Only on a ship do I wear the same shoes every single day for months at a time.
Only on a ship do I treat my Gilmore Girls DVDs like valuable, precious booty.
Only on a ship do I get the gift of a 25 hour day on a regular basis.
Only on a ship do I NEVER have any idea what day of the week it is.
Only on a ship do I only have two t-shirts, one dress and one pair of jeans
Only on a ship do I have to stop a meeting so that we can all look out the window to watch the dolphins jumping.
What a strange and unusual world I work and live in at the moment.
Only on a ship do I feel comfortable sitting down with people I don’t know at any meal.
Only on a ship can I take a break to swim, sunbathe and shower in the middle of my work day.
Only on a ship does my toilet gurgle and spit at me.
Only on a ship do I have zero idea what is going on in world news, politics, music, movies or pop culture.
Only on a ship do I hoard small boxes of cereal in my cabin.
Only on a ship do I tape my drawers and closets shut.
Only on a ship do I have a healthy fear of furniture flying across the room at any given moment.
Only on a ship would I ever schedule a breakfast meeting, lunch meeting AND dinner meeting.
Only on a ship can I teach RAD on the very top deck with a beautiful view of the ocean.
Only on a ship do I have raw hands from hand washing my clothes.
Only on a ship do I wear the same shoes every single day for months at a time.
Only on a ship do I treat my Gilmore Girls DVDs like valuable, precious booty.
Only on a ship do I get the gift of a 25 hour day on a regular basis.
Only on a ship do I NEVER have any idea what day of the week it is.
Only on a ship do I only have two t-shirts, one dress and one pair of jeans
Only on a ship do I have to stop a meeting so that we can all look out the window to watch the dolphins jumping.
What a strange and unusual world I work and live in at the moment.
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