Well I know I haven't kept in touch (its harder than I anticipated) but in short the first week here I was searching for the quickest route home! I was living in a fish bowl. I was the new girl and in a living environment where you live, work, and play together. A new person is a BIG DEAL. Not only was I new, I was a new AMERICAN (one of about 20 on the ship). The crew is mostly Phillipino (don't think I spell that correctly). Let me tell you first hand that if you can ever have the opportunity to be a complete minority...do it. It's not easy but it is certainly a learning experience. There are 56 difference countries represented on the Spirit. Every country has what is called a mafia. I'm obviously apart of the US mafia which is a good thing currently because all of the tech guys are American so I have first dibs on getting my computer fixed or new dvd's, phone cards and so on.
All in all everything is an adjustment. The first week was the hardest. Fortunately time can go by fast here. When you don't think of weeks as weeks but as cruises, a month goes by in no time.
And this week as I was finally starting to get into the groove of ship life I was introduced to the splendor (insert sarcasm) of GI which is a slang term for norfolk virus. Norfolk virus is a HIGHLY contagious virus that is caught for any number of things. WELL... without getting into too many gruesome details, I spent many hours in the bathroom where I was quarantined in my cabin for 24 hours. Yep no leaving. You have no idea what not seeing sunlight or fresh air can do to you. Thankfully being healthy and having a good immune system helped me fight it off fairly quickly and I'm ok.
Now I have to go back to the ship for training....which seems never ending.
I love and miss you all.
