November 29, 2003
Thanksgiving at Sea
Well, I can see the end is in sight, because the amount of time I'm spending on the computer is less and less. Thanksgiving was a bit of an interesting day, being as I am now pretty much the only American crew member left on the ship. It's funny what one takes for granted as an American, I had a remarkable number of people ask me "What is Thanksgiving for?", but we had a nice turkey dinner down in the Officer's Mess (though I had to explain cranberry sauce a few times) with Pumpkin gnocchi, and polenta with sweet potatoes in it, (but no mashed potatoes), and a really really yummy pumpkin pie for dinner. It lacked a certain fellow feeling and camaraderie - since for all my fellow diners it was just another meal in the mess, but they were prevailed upon to join in the Thanksgiving tradition of overeating and ordering two desserts. (THe pumpkin creme brulee was very tasty as well).
November 19, 2003
Rainy Season
I intended to be more regular about my posting this cruise, but the crew internet proved difficult. There always seems to be someone who has less free time than I do breathing down my neck to use the internet, and it feels frivolous to be posting to my web site when someone else wants to email his wife. Of course, more often than not, they're just checking rugby scores, but the guilt remains. Only two cruises left to go, and I'm getting sad, as much as I'm looking forward to being home, with real shopping, this has been a truly idyllic place to spend 3 months. If any of you are thinking of doing this job, this is a nice little ship. The classes aren't very busy, and everyone is super friendly. The itinerary is amazing (but be prepared to leave cities behind, and if you want an English language newspaper, it's going to cost you $5), however, there is not much in this world that competes with spending your morning resting your chin on the edge of an infinity pool overlooking the harbor where your ship is docked.
November 09, 2003
One Month Left
Well, I have a month to the day left in my contract, and I'm starting to get a little sad. I'm working my way up to a fantastic tan, and three days ago I was watching flocks (schools?) of flying fish wing their way away from the wake of the ship. Yesterday was Moorea in the morning and Papeete and a crazy transvestite Piano Bar in the evening. What a life. Here are some pictures. The first one is from a hike we took in Raiatea up to the top of a very steep bluff. I had a headache when I was done, but the view was worth it. The second is the view of Papeete from the ship, which is the biggest city I've seen in 2 months.
November 05, 2003
Raiatea
Well, not a bad day today - had a girly "facials night" with Frank the art auctioneer, and Peter the future cruise sales guy last night - and this morning we did a macho hike up this bluff in Raiatea - FANTASTIC view of the island, if you don't mind hiking up past the wild dogs and domesticated pigs. Got back more or less just in time for lunch followed by a very satisfying web design class, where I got to teach HTML and all sorts of things I haven't even had time to think about in the last two months. We're in port all night, so I just returned from a very nice french dinner (what a nice break from ship food, which, while very tasty, never changes much). I have some great pictures, but Papeete will have to be soon enough for posting.
November 01, 2003
At Sea
Here begins another 24 hours at sea and my big heavy teaching day - which is still less work than a full day at the library. Did some amazing snorkeling in Huahine today - got out in a surprise current which drifted me out to a litte reef, where the current obligingly died down so I could watch the pretty fish and then swim back to shore. It was very difficult to wrest myself off the beach to teach this afternoon. Now I know I'm getting spoiled.