What’s in a number? How do you measure time? 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Ever seen the musical Rent? It’s my second all-time favorite Broadway show (behind Wicked). There’s a song titled “525,600 minutes – how do you measure a year?” It’s been spinning through my mind as I compose this post.
Care to guess what the big whoop is about 108? Ah-ha – I knew one of my sharp readers might nail it….we’ve been home for 108 days today. (with one caveat: not as I publish this post, rather when I wrote it originally last week!) And, that’s precisely how long we were gone on our voyage. Those of you who know me well remember that I am a”dates” person. Usually my date recall is spot-on…truly it’s a gift that probably makes you green with envy. Alas, I’ve found myself doing a fair amount of reminiscing these days.
And I’m not the only one. No kidding, Vivian started rummaging around her immaculate (not) room, plucking various mementos from the voyage one morning recently. She’s the one who actually gave me the idea for this post. Before I knew it, she had assembled a little shrine to showcase memories from Semester at Sea. Naturally I had to snap a photo to share with y’all.
Truth be told, time passed at a snail’s pace when we were on the ship. The quick days in each port gave me whiplash, but life at sea was another matter. Writhing on your cabin bed from seasickness I guess will do that to the average person. So will heading to the dining room for your three squares a day, which aren’t so appetizing after a few short weeks. Or attempting to convince your children to do more than 20 minutes of school work a day ( my knowledge and experience as a teacher meant nada to Vivian and William!) Ahh, those were the days…
But, like pregnancy and childbirth….the more distance that separates us makes the experience that much sweeter. As overjoyed as I was to arrive back home, I’m already missing what I can’t have back as a land lubber. Our recent beach trip and hike out to the tip of Cape Lookout reminded me of those infinite ocean vistas that I took for granted.
I’ve always been a view junkie, but really, I didn’t GET how spectacular those ocean views were when I had them 24-7. Check out how the panorama ocean backdropped my everyday life: Outdoor dining on deck 6 at the Garden Lounge. P.E. with the kids on the deck 7 Miller Court. Yoga on B days on deck 5 aft. Sunrise through the faculty lounge windows when I stumbled in, bleary-eyed at 6 a.m. to pour my coffee and head to the computer lab to upload my blog posts. Trying to check my e-mail at the pool deck in the afternoons(because the server shut down on me that morning), when I wasn’t supervising “P.E.” Jogging back and forth on deck 7 (opposite Miller Court) when I couldn’t score one of the two treadmills….the oceans of the world kept me in a bear hug for almost 4 months and I didn’t appreciate them a lot of the time.
After experiencing the Caribbean Sea, the Amazon River, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, South China Sea, and the southern-ish Pacific, I’ve gained a different perspective on the Oregon coast. The Oregon coast distinguishes itself from stereotypical west coast beaches due to its abundance of rugged beauty. I have to admit there are plenty of other beaches I’d choose for a vay-cay over the Oregon coast. Why? I like to be warm. However, it’s hard to surpass nature’s aesthetics here in the Northwest. Verdant stands of timber literally roll into the coast line and wide, mellow beaches link the mighty Pacific with the mountains. No doubt, we’re talking gorgeous scenery with a capital G. But….it’s usually cold. Frequently windy. Often rainy or misty.
On our summer trip to the coast (thanks to my sister Mary and her new hubby Doug who graciously let us stay in their beach house while they honeymooned in Ireland!) the majestic Pacific bowled me over in the auditory sense. I never, ever recall being aware of how LOUD the ocean is here in Oregon. Breakers as deep as a football field thundered so loud you’ve got to practically yell to be heard .The rumbly waves dwarfed my kids’ shrieks of delight as they pranced in the liquid ice. If I couldn’t see their joyful smiles I’d have had no way of knowing they were lovin’ every minute.
Now where was I? Oh yeah, swept up in my ocean dreams….let’s get back on track. At 108 days out, what else do I miss? Well, the people. It took a little while to get used to the social dynamic on the ship, but the friendships we made I think will last. I feel fortunate I get to talk with a couple friends regularly and Facebook makes it easy to keep in touch with many more. On some levels I miss the sense of community that ship life afforded. Such an intense shared adventure will never be duplicated.
I miss that nervous, excited feeling of anticipation that filled me every time before we docked at a new port. That adrenalin buzz fueled me each instance as we wondered about the new country. After “surface research” using guide books checked out 2 hours at a time from the MV Explorer’s library, hit-and-miss Internet searches, perusing my binder of Semester at Sea sponsored field trips (which we didn’t do many of), and LOTS of talking to other shipmates, we’d have our game plan mapped out.
The Pre-Port lecture the night before arrival would arm us with the most up-to-date info regarding money, language, transportation, and necessary cultural insight. Then the morning of…slathering on sunscreen, often bug repellant, stuffing the backpack and money belt with all the essentials, waiting to get cleared from immigration (that process varied dramatically from country to country), and then finally….walking down the gangway. Relief (to be on land) and trepidation (how would we find our way?), mixed with the thrill of exploration produced the ultimate rush for me. Now, those WERE the days…
What I’m about to reveal to you is a little bit surprising to me. I didn’t think I’d need to scratch that itch so soon. The yearning to GO is alive and kicking inside me. Like an addict, travel is my drug and I need my fix. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had a blast on our camping trips and local excursions this summer. I love where I live – somebody should pay me to be the poster child for Oregon tourism (oh wait they used to – but that’s another post)! But the desire to explore new and faraway places is burning through my fingertips as I type this. We live on a wild and wonderful planet and I got to take a bite of it on Semester at Sea! But there’s no going back for seconds at my table for now. Sigh. Financially we’ve got to take care of some other priorities and since I quit my J-O-B to try this writing gig full time, well….now’s the time to be prudent.
So, dear readers, thanks for sticking with me all these months. I’ll still keep prattling away on this Experiential Passage. Share with me your travel aspirations and adventures! I love that. Reading around the world is the next best thing. Can I get an Amen?!
I feel the itch, too! I realize I AM traveling but moving to Los Angeles, but there is just something about crossing an ocean or some large body of water that gets me every time.
AMEN!!!!!! love you Jen…talk soon, oh yes, school is about to begin…what are you thinking? Susanne
Jennifer,
We embark tomorrow! Just reading your posts has me so excited. I’m even ready to tackle the long ship days (I think). Thanks to starting some lessons this summer with my kids, I have already experienced the whining about school. We are ready to see more of our world and now I’ll make a concentrated effort to appreciate the long stints of ocean views. Thank you for sharing!
JJ:
Great post! Just like the SAS days. Cape Lookout looks pretty neat.
Keep up the outstanding work.
Granddad
Jen, darling, you’re giving me a big ol’ case of the itchy feet! Glad you posted this!