oh the adventures!

October 29, 2013
It’s 6am, I’ve been awake for an hour (gotta love all the time changes I've gone through in the past week, my brain apparently thinks it’s Mid-Atlantic time I think). I’ve spent the last half hour reading, after spending half an hour attempting to go back to sleep and giving it up as a lost cause (again). Of course now is the time when I get nostalgic. Two days ago I was on a ship, more than ready to get off, to get away from the place I’ve been for 4 months straight, surrounded by the same rooms, the same people and always being “on.” It’s only been two days, one full day of being away and I already miss it, I still need this time away though, I need to clear my head.

This contract has felt like one of the longest I’ve had, well it was the longest I’ve had so far, but only by a week. So much has happened that it doesn’t seem like it could have all happened in so short a time. There’s a long list of things that have happened, and of course a long list of things that I wish did, and another of things I wish didn’t. It’s been a summer to remember that’s for sure.
I may have made some lifelong ship-friends, I rode a donkey in Greece, I swam in the Mediterranean, I jumped off a cliff, I fell hard for someone, I attended a crew party in Club HAL, I lost a friend and still don’t know why, I visited Pompeii, I spent a day just lying on the beach in Spain, I wandered the streets of Barcelona at night (with friends of course), I got lost in Venice, I visited the ruins of Ephesus, I walked past mosque after mosque in Istanbul, I visited the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, I danced for 5 hours straight, I went ice skating in France (with rental skates, yikes), I watched more movies than I can count, I introduced one person to the movie UP and another to Doctor Who, I ate more carbs than good for me, I went to the Akropolis in Athens, I bought people-specific souvenirs, I ran out of band-aids, I walked around Old town Dubrovnik holding hands with someone, I hiked a mountain in Montenegro, I had my first real experience with a death of a crew member, I cried at a memorial ceremony for someone I hardly knew but felt rather close to, I had a proper tour of Rome, I went to an aquarium in Monaco, I had a heart-to-heart about breakups, I had a beach day alone in Argostali, I watched a beautiful sunset with no land in sight, I survived 7 days at sea with 10 very different kids, I lay down on a picnic table on the bow and watched a meteor shower, I stayed up until 4:30 am sitting on the bow talking and watching another cruise ship dock in Venice, I sailed past an active volcano (though I didn’t see it, someone told me they saw it shoot some lava), I went three days without setting foot outside, I fought past the language barrier of two great kids from the Ukraine, I befriended some kids and helped them fit in with the others, I played too many games of air hockey and foosball, I helped introduce card games like Skip-Bo and Phase 10 to the OB, I won a game of darts, I lost many games of darts, I bought perfume, I treated a friend and roommate to glasses of wine, I listened to the bands play, I watched a hilarious tech rehearsal of a show, I gave advice to parents, I watched a lightning storm from the safety of Club HAL as a “cloud of doom” stopped over the ship in Greece, I’ve explained numerous times why I don’t curse or set out to get drunk, I stopped two of my friends from stepping out in front of a car, I watched many of my friends walk down the gangway not knowing when we’ll see each other again, I got isolated in a small cabin with no working TV for 24 hours, I was accused of being "addicted to meat," I kept the photo department entertained sometimes on formal nights, I danced alone, I danced with people, I had a week or two of insomnia, I showed up for line dancing, I pet a goat and a newborn kitten on the same day, I never got close to the ship leaving without me (except in a dream), I talked about life and love and God with my roommate, I wore a fake engagement ring in Turkey and still got too much attention for my liking, I had the bartender remember I love goldfish and give me two cups of them, I was called “shady, guacamole, ketchup and preppy” (by different people, but all in 24 hours), I sat on top of a taxicab (in Club HAL), I stopped adults from taking pictures of said taxicab while children were in the room, I acted like I didn’t care when someone hurt me, I met up with an old friend from another ship and wandered around Venice, I found Dr. Pepper in various countries, I ate octopus (and got sick from it), I kept secrets for my friends and for myself, I added more magnets to my collection, I tipped when I didn’t have to, and also forgot to tip when I might should have, I learned how to answer the phone without freaking out (too much), I learned how to tell the truth but say it in a way that doesn’t give too much away or make a guest angry at me or the company, I shelved books to help my roommate out, I blasted music in my room as I got ready in the morning, I went days without a hug and had to settle for a virtual one, I sat on the bow completely alone just to watch the stars and be amazed at God’s creation, I made faces at the cast during a show to see how much they could take before almost messing up, I found out that tourist information desks are my friend, I got off at the wrong metro stop in Barcelona, I made faces at fish and petted animals at a pet store in Athens, I picked up seashells and splashed around an empty beach on a date in Katakolon, I agreed to work for someone so that they could go to a waterpark, I acted like a tourist, I acted like a local, I fell asleep watching "101 Dalmations" twice in one night, I worked tendering and refrained from crying as guests got upset at me, I got a taxi to stop and pick us up when others couldn’t, I never actually saw the sunrise, I attended a raft drill and managed to control my breathing and not faint, I was victim to the rumour mill for the first time ever, I was complimented on my dancing, I had a conversation so long that I missed a meal, I wondered why some parents bring kids on a cruise just to leave them in Club HAL all day every day, I celebrated birthdays with children, their grandparents/parents, and fellow crew members, I considered adopting a bunny and attempting to smuggle it onto the ship for the crossing, I laughed too much, I cried too much, I listened to my friends as they complained and celebrated with them when something good happened,I had really good days and really bad days and days in the middle, I went further from home than I’ve ever been before, I sat on the bow watching the horizon with lights from Ft Lauderdale get closer by the minute.
I took over 3,000 pictures, I realized that my life is anything but normal and that I’m perfectly okay with that. I seem to have written the longest sentence ever just now.

Some of these things are big, not everyone has a chance to do them in their lifetime, others of these things are small and seem insignificant to most of you but they’re all part of my life, they’ve shaped me. I may look mostly the same, I may have the same lack of accent that I’ve always had, but I have changed, I’m not the person who set out to fly to Barcelona and join the largest ship in Holland America’s fleet all those 4 months ago. Oh the adventures I’ve had, and the adventures I have to look forward to!