Happy Thanksgiving!

I have so many things to be grateful for this year. I have a wonderful, supportive family; a job I love; amazing, fun friends both on land and at see; and, most importantly, a knowledge of the Savior and his gospel. Although today was far from a traditional Thanksgiving holiday (we are at sea so I worked a full day and had dinner in the Lido as usual), I was glad to have to opportunity to reflect in the many blessing I have.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Congratulations, Stevie!

This post is several weeks overdue, but my little brother, Stevie, recently learned that he gets to live his dream of becoming a naval aviator.

Stevie has talked about joining the military since he was three years old (we split the blame pretty equally between my grandpa who was a colonel in the army and Top Gun) and for most of that time he has talked about being a pilot (we blame that entirely on Top Gun). There were times that he talked about being a coach or an architect (and at one point an astronaut but a large number of astronauts were originally Navy pilots), but those ideas never lasted long; he always went back to his original plan. When he started university at South Carolina’s Citadel (the Confederacy’s answer to West Point and now a state-run school that functions just like the federal academies except for the fact that it feeds to all four military branches) he had one goal in mind: earn a pilot slot after graduation. He has work hard on both Navy assignments and academics assignments and even passed up an opportunity to walk on to the wrestling team so he could focus on his grades (as a state-ranked wrestler all through high school that was a huge sacrifice). I was extremely anxious for him the week assignments were due to come out, but I knew he had done everything he could and that if he was assigned elsewhere it just wasn’t meant to be. I was thrilled when I called my parents one night and my mom told me that assignments had come out and I needed to give him a call. She wouldn’t tell me what he got, but she did tell me he was in his barracks watching Top Gun and I knew he wouldn’t torture himself like that if he had been assigned elsewhere.

Congratulations, Stevie! You deserve it and I have never been more proud of you. Just remember: Your ship may be able to beat up my ship, but my ship is still more fun.

My Five Week Plan

I like to know exactly where my life is going and I am a bit of a control freak, and for those reasons “ten-year-plans” don’t work for me. The concept is good, but ten years is a long and a lot of things can change, and when that happens I feel lost because my life isn’t where I planned it to be ten-years before (silly, I know). For example, when I was fifteen I wrote out a ten-year plan that included a husband, a house, at least one kid, and a job as a teacher. When I was about twenty-three I revised the plan to include law school within five years. Twenty-five was a really hard birthday for me because I had none of the things I had planned and my job at a law firm had cured my desire for law school; I felt like I had failed and I wasn’t sure where to go next (learning to go with the flow is an on-going process for me). In retrospect, I am glad my plans did not pan out because at fifteen I had no clue of the amazing things the Lord had in store for me. While I would love to be a wife and a mother, that opportunity has not yet come along yet and I still have time. I have had so many enriching and fulfilling experiences over the past decade that I wouldn’t have been able to if I were married but will make me a better wife and mother (my mission for the LDS church and traveling the world with my job are among the most significant). As for law school, I would be miserable if I had followed that plan; a career in law is definitely not for me. Instead of writing out ten year plans I find it’s much better for me to have long-term goals. Goals are much more flexible than trying to determine exactly where my life will be.

All that having been said, I have decided that short-term plans, those within the foreseeable future, are perfectly okay. So, I decided to write out a five-week plan of all the things I hope to accomplish by the end of my contract.

My Five-Week Plan (a lot of it is food based, don’t judge):

-Eat as much paella as my stomach can hold (I’ve done it before – I was uncomfortably full – and I’ll do again)

-Taste wrinkly potatoes (a specialty of the Canary Islands)

-Take a picture of Rick’s Café

-Buy myself a parasol in Cadiz, Spain (by the time I decided I wanted one last time the shop was closed for siesta)

-Acquire a healthy “glow” (My dermatologist would kill me if she found out I was tanning and I usually go straight to red, but it would be nice to go back home a shade or two darker than pasty white)

-Quote Casablanca as many times as humanly possible while in the city of Casablanca

-Find really unique Christmas presents

-Find a monkey charm in Gibraltar

-Find something to be in awe of each day

-Eat pizza in Italy

-Try to use the language of the country as much as possible, even if it's as simple as saying “gracias” instead of “thank you;” I'm in their country

-Buy Italian yarn

-Take time, when visiting churches, to step out of tourist-mode for a moment and spend a moment reflecting or being reverent

-Eat a lot of pastries

-Take time to notice the people and the character of the city instead of focusing solely on the major landmarks

-Enjoy myself

I'll try to keep you updated on whether or not I stick to the plan. These next five weeks will be a great way to end the contract.

A Perfect (but rainy) Montreal Morning

My job has given me friends scattered across every inhabited continent and many countries. I love the fact that I can go so many places and know someone. I also love the fact that my job often takes me to my friends’ home town. Unfortunately, because my friends also work on ships it is a rare that I actually get to see someone (Remember England? I had three friends I planned to see and all three of them ended up being gone). That’s why it was such a treat to have breakfast with my friend Jen and her husband Chris in Montreal.

Last summer, Jen and I were roommates for two weeks on the Volendam. We hit it off and became good friends, but she only did that one contract. When I posted on Facebook that the Maasdam would be out of Montreal, Jen wrote and said that she would love to meet up sometime. The first day of a cruise is always crazy busy and I don’t have any time off after 11:00am so we could just never make it work. Yesterday, however, was our last Montreal call of the season, so I knew that we had to make it work because I really wanted to see her.

Jen and Chris picked me up and we headed into the Old Port for breakfast. It can often be awkward to go out with a friend and their significant other because someone ends up being the third wheel (be it the significant other or the single friend), but it was not like that at all. We all enjoyed each others’ company and enjoyed laughing at the cheesy French Café music in the restaurant. The rain cleared up while we were eating, so we were able to walk around a bit and enjoy the beautiful fall colors before I had to get back to the ship. I wish I had had more time to explore the city; I will have to take Jen and Chris up on their offer to visit them again.

Beautiful city, good food, and great company: A formula for a perfect morning!

Huh?

Before I even donned my first orange polo on the Volendam, a fellow crew member issued this warning: “The most common thing people forget to pack is their brain.” It’s true. For the most part, people just don’t think their questions through before they ask, but sometimes the questions are just flat out dumb.  Anyone who knows me well knows I usually have a smart-mouthed response to almost anything (probably not my best attribute), but I usually bite my tongue at work (the only exceptions are when I have a relationship with the guests and I know they appreciate a little sarcasm). Keeping my comments to myself at work does not mean I have to keep them to myself on the blog.

Guest: Can you tell me where One-oh-nine, deck eight is?

Me (with confusion): Where?

Guest: That’s what the program says: Some Roman numerals, then deck eight.

Me (looking at a copy of the daily program): Let me see... Ma’am, that says ‘mix.’

First, it would have been 1009. Second, I might understand if it had been the first day, but this was day six and MIX lounge is always heavily advertised.

American Guest to my friend Simone

Guest (hearing her accent): Where are you from?

Simone: From London.

Guest: Where?

Simone: London, in the UK.

Guest (after thinking for a moment): Oh, well you’re English is very good my dear.

There is a reason for that. Obviously geography was never his best subject.

Crazy Lady: Do you have any say on where the library is located?

Me: What do you mean?

Crazy Lady: Well, when you come on the ship do you get to say where you want the library, or is it usually already set up?

Me: No, the rooms on the ship are pretty much set.

Crazy Lady: Well, can you recommend moving the casino? I know you can’t move it now, because if you move it mid-cruise people will get confused and upset, but maybe before the start of next cruise you can move it to a more out-of the location, maybe somewhere in the back of the ship.

Me (not knowing how to respond, but not wanting to upset the crazy woman): You can always make suggestions by turning in a comment card to guest relations.

Guest: I already did. They were dumb and confused and said it couldn’t be done.

It can’t be done. Perhaps you are the one who is dumb and confused.

Guest: I am returning this travel book.

Me: Thank you, sir. Just so you know for the remainder of the cruise, travel books are reference materials and cannot be checked out.

Guest: I Know. That’s why I didn’t check it out; I just took it to my room to read.

You’re right, you didn’t check it out; you stole it. Maybe that “Please Do Not Remove From the Exploration’s Cafe” sticker needs to be clearer.

Written Comment Card

Guest: Please get rid of Fox news. It is only for the uninteligint.

The following comment may come across as a joke but I can assure you it was not. The guest was clearly upset.

Guest: You shouldn’t have books that will take longer than a week to read. It’s not fair. If we can’t read it in a week don’t tease us with it!

Some people read fast; some guests stay on for two weeks at a time; we have one cruise that lasts six weeks. If you don’t want to read it, don’t read it! It’s that simple.

*That same cruise I had another guest read the controversial book in two days.

A Monday Morning Conversation

Guest: I need to know who won the football game.

Me: It should be on the back page of the NYTimes Digest, right there ma’am.

Guest: The game isn’t until tonight, but I need to know who won!

Well, my crystal ball is broken so you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.

FINISHED!

It took a while, but I am (finally) finished with my first knitting project: my scarf. I ripped out several portions and redid them (other people probably would not have noticed the imperfections, but I would have known they were there), but overall I think it turned out pretty well for a first try. I am excited to wear it this winter.

Now I am on to my next project: a crocheted hat. The pattern says it is supposed to be easy, but I have ripped it out and restarted at least three times (what you see below is after two hours of knit club, that's how much ripping I did). I refuse to let things be misshapen or funky-looking just because I made them; if I am going to take the time to make it, I might as well do it right.  It might be a while before I finish the hat, but I am definitely enjoying learning new skills!

Mo

*I hope this post doesn’t make me sound like an emotional basket-case, but I am in tears as I write it so maybe I am.*

Let’s be honest: Last contract, at least the first four months, was not great for me. I won’t go into all the gory details, but there was more than one occasion when I called my parents or best friend in tears, wanting them to tell me it was okay to quit and come home (fortunately my parents are amazing and, after listening to me cry, always gave me a loving yet firm “put on a smile, fake it ‘til you make it, and tough this contract out” lecture). I like to call it my “growing contract.”

I believe firmly that the Lord never leaves us alone in tough situations. He is always near to comfort and strengthen, but he often places someone near us to hold us up, give perspective, or simply give a hug when needed. On the Rotterdam, that person was my roommate Simone. Mo once came into the room to find me sobbing on the floor and she took an hour out of her day to pull me (literally) up off the floor, hold me in her arms, listen to my dilemma, offer advice, listen to me talk through my options, then give me a pep talk and send me off to face what I had to do. It was the next best thing to having my mom (I don’t care how old you are, sometimes you just want your mom). Later that night she pulled me off my bed, sent me into the bathroom with a bottle of Visine and an outfit she had plucked from my closet, then dragged me down to the OB where she had already alerted our friend Claire to have a soda waiting. She never breached confidences, but she let a few people know what had happened so they could be there for me as well. That day, more than any other, stands out as a day that she was there when I couldn’t do it alone and I will always love her for it. Mo was not the only one whom I leaned on during that contract (special shout-out to Claire, Laura, Karyn, Paul, Glen, Ace, Anna, Andrew, and James), but as my roommate she was there day or night and I hope I was also there for her on her bad days.

I don’t want it to sound like every day was bad, because it wasn’t and we made a lot of fun memories. There were nights of room service and movies, evenings out in the Crow’s Nest or MIX with Claire or Glen, trips into port (Maui will always make me think of Mo and smile –I think it’s the only port where we went out together every time), thousands of jokes that no one else would find funny, and countless hours spent laughing until tears streamed down our faces. The combination of good and bad times helped us to form a unique bond. We were incredibly close and enjoyed spending time together, but neither of us was hurt when the other made plans with someone else. We were also brutally honest with each other, but it was always constructive and never offense. Even though we live an ocean apart, I hope we always remain dear friends.

Because I would visit Southampton on the Voyage of the Vikings, Mo planned to drive down from London to spend the day with me. A few weeks before my visit she was offered a last minute contract on the Eurodam. I was disappointed, so I was thrilled to receive an email from my Hotel Director informing the crew that we would be docked next to the Eurodam in Quebec City. I sent Mo an email and made plans to meet for lunch.

It was so great to see her. We ended up going to lunch with four guys we were friends with on the Rott who are all now on the Maasdam with me. We ate pizza while enjoying the gorgeous day and each others' company.  It had been almost six months since any of us had seen Simone, but it felt like we had never  left. That's one of the amazing things about ship friendships: It's so easy to pick up exactly where you left off.

With our friends Pieter, Jim, and Mac

Thanks for a great afternoon, Mo! I can't wait until the next time our paths cross!

The End of An Era

I have always gotten along with the other members of the Explorations Team (what you might call the cruise staff), but I have never worked with a team whom I felt close to as a team (though that’s not to say that I haven’t felt close to individuals on the team). We were always able to work together without any problems, but there has always been at least one person who does his own things socially and I would never say that we were all good friends. This contract, however, has been different; this contract I consider the team to be my closest friends.

Me, Rashida (Shore Excursion Staff), Jo, Krista, and Amber at the Officer's Ball

Krista, Jacob, Jo, Amber, Benji, and I have all become good friends over the past few months. We’re not cliquish or exclusive (I hope), but we have our inside jokes, we go ashore together, we eat dinner together, and we often spend our evenings together whether telling stories in the OB or watching videos in someone’s room.

Me, Amber, and Jo celebrating Jo's Birthday

This week marks the end of the era. One person leaves at the end of each cruise until I leave in November. Krista leaves tomorrow, Amber leaves next Saturday, Jacob leaves October 6, Benji leaves October 19 after a thirteen-day repositioning, and I leave in November after a 42-day cruise (Jo is here until at least January).I’ve been living in denial that Krista is actually leaving, but once she got her flights I had to accept it. I’m sure everyone who comes will be great and we may all be just as close, but it will still be different. We will have to have a different set of inside jokes, a different routine, and different things in common. In short, I look forward to meeting new people, but I am very sad to see everyone go.

Krista, Me, and Jo enjoying a night in the Crow's Nest

Here’s to the end of an era... Thanks for the fun memories, the many laughs, and two great months. Safe travels and I hope to work with each of you again!

At Dessert Extravaganza

You Might Work on a Cruise Ship If...

 Somebody asks what day it is and your reply is a city, not a day of the week.

You have a wallet full of bills and coins but not one of them is from your home country or the country in which you are.

You don’t know have any of your friends’ cell phone numbers.

You think clocking fifty hour constitutes an easy work week.

Weight and packability are among your requirements when shopping for clothes.

You have visited dozens of countries since renewing your passport but only have a handful of stamps, most of them from your home country.

You think a group with an average age of 58 is a “young crowd.”

It's funny because it's true. Feel free to leave a comment with your own scenarios.

St. John's, Newfoundland

Due to weather challenges, we skipped another port and docked in St. John’s the evening before our scheduled arrival. Jo got off early the next morning for a run and scouted out a route for her “Homes and Gardens” tour.

I followed Jo up the streets of St. John’s (I came back from the Voyage of the Viking with awesome calf muscles) and there was plenty to see. The houses were colorful to say the least. After walking for a while I spotted a cemetery and knew it was out destination.

We spent almost an hour exploring. Cemeteries are neither creepy nor morbid to me, but they have so many stories to tell. Unlike in Scandinavia, the majority of this cemetery’s occupants had lived short lives and many head stones told stories of how they had died. This cemetery was also interesting because some sections were divided by occupation. There were a few sections dedicated to priests, a section for the teachers of the city, a section of nuns, and several sections military. I think we could have spent much longer there. Although the cemetery was old and could have used a little TLC, it was beautiful. Another great adventure in another great port.

Akureyri, Iceland

One of the reasons Jo and I enjoy exploring ports together is we both enjoy going off the beaten tourist track and exploring other parts of the city; we call it Jo’s Homes and Gardens Tours. Jo is an avid knitter and crocheter and someone had told her that a grocery store about two miles from the port had a basement dedicated to yarn, so we left the ship and started to climb. Although it was all uphill, it was a nice climb and lived up to the title of “Homes and Gardens Tour;” we passed everything from beautiful historic homes to shabby apartment buildings.

The store had so much yarn in so many colors! Jo was like a kid in a candy store and her enthusiasm was contagious; I ended up with two skeins of wool so I could learn to knit. I’m not sure how much wool Jo ended up with but it was two bags full.

Akureyri was so steep that walking downhill was just as slow as walking up. We still had some time when we got back near the port, so we visited the local church and wandered through a few of the shops. I tried to get Jo to take a picture with a troll, but she refused. Too bad, it would have been a nice memory.

Seydisfjordur, Iceland

Seydisfjordur is a tiny, rustic town in Iceland; it is absolutely beautiful. Jo and I had planned on hiking some waterfalls, but that didn’t end up happening. Instead we walked through town (that didn’t take long) and along the river.

 We passed a cemetery, so on our way back we decided to spend a few minutes exploring; Jo shares my fascination. 

There isn’t a whole lot to say about Seydisfjordur, so I’ll just let the pictures do the talking.

Tόrshavn, Faroe Islands

I only had a few minutes in Tόrshavn because I was on IPM so I had to be back on board before Krista finished work. It was okay, though, because the day we were there was a Danish holiday, so most places were closed. But, I did manage to get some pictures of this beautiful island.

Dublin

Although we did not arrive in Ireland until noon, I woke up early that morning like a child on Christmas. Through my grandmother was born in the United States, she was 100% Irish and spoke with an Irish brogue until the day she died, so I have always wanted to visited the land of her heritage.

My friend Jo and I hopped on the port shuttle bus and headed downtown. Just before the bus stop we saw this store. We just looked at each other and nodded, there was no question as to where we would stop first. We loaded up on chocolate (and Jo had what she described as the best mocha she has ever had) before we started to explore.

We wandered in and out of the shops along Durbin Street, Dublin’s main road. We found a shop that sold fascinators and spent a good ten minutes trying them on. I have an obsession fascinators and if I ever move to the British Isles I will wear one on a regular basis. We walked into a cheese shop because every adventure with Jo involves cheese, chocolate, or both. We found a street cart selling jewelry where I found a dainty shamrock charm for my bracelet.

At the end of Durbin Street we found a park, but the park was packed full with thousands of zombies. We weren’t real sure what we had gotten ourselves into the middle of, but we found out later that it was a parade to support cancer research. It made for an exciting end to the afternoon.

The next morning none of my friends wanted to get off, so I headed into the city on my own. I wanted to see St. Patrick’s cathedral, but it was closed for mass and it’s fenced off so it was difficult to get a great exterior shot for the front. A city park lines the back of the cathedral, so I got a few shots from there. From the cathedral I headed to Dublin castle, but on my way it started POURING down rain and as rain was not in the forecast I was not prepared. I walked past the castle and kept on walking until I got to the shuttle bus stop. I looked like I had jumped into a pool, but that’s okay.

When things cleared up a little later I was able to get a few nice shots from the sports deck. I definitely need to go back and spend a week or two to see everything I wanted to see.

Plymouth, England

In Plymouth I decided that I want to live on the English sea shore. I don’t really want to live at the beach, but the beach and the seashore are two very different things; the beach implies sand and surf and sun (all nice, but sand gets stuck in every crevice and they do not make an SPF high enough for my Swedish/Danish/Irish complexion) while the seashore implies a rocky shoreline and lighthouse and ships sailing gracefully past. I’ve added it to my bucket list.

Shortly after docking, my roommate Alyssa and I got off to explore. We had planned to walk downtown, but apparently Plymouth has two city centers; we headed towards the first one. It was a nice city, but similar to many places in America with chain stores and fast-food restaurants lining the streets.

When we found the city center it had been turned into an Olympic park of sorts. Olympic flags surrounded a seating area that faced a giant screen and official vendors lined the perimeter. JACKPOT! I love the Olympics and was sad to be missing them (even though we spent two days in England right in the middle of the games). My family began collecting Olympic pins for the Atlanta Olympics and continues when the games were in Salt Lake City, so I couldn’t resist adding a London pin to our collection. Time was limited because we docked late (we were actually there early but the ship using the pier before us was an hour late leaving), so I watched about twenty minutes of swimming before I had to head back. It may not have been the most exciting city on the itinerary, but I got to watch twenty minutes of the Olympics live and that was exciting to me!