frenzy and now free...now to be



krista and i

it has taken me a couple of days to get back here as the days and nights have been filled with a certain frenzy i remember so well from voyages gone by. everyone is trying to settle in, figure out their footing and their jobs and their place, getting settled and balanced all within a 24 hour day~i remembered feeling the frenzy yet i found myself in it along with everyone else! everyone spent the first 2 days orienting themselves to the ship, to each other and to what lies ahead of us as individuals, yet we kept "bumping" into each other, noticing the web of the need of connectedness, saying hello to new strangers, unusual surroundings and all while the ground which we knew beneath us was now rockin and rollin us out of sync and balance. and again, although i had been in this space 3 times before, i was in it all anew, just like everyone else, along with my body having a cold running through it and throwing me off balance even more.

and yet, i remembered that once we set sail, once we got our sea legs and once  the first ""a" day started, our our regular routine would develop, life would settle down, folks would calm down and a certain rythym called spring, 2011 would begin to take shape...and it has...starting with today...

i woke up to yoga & meditation in the am which i plan to do daily and decided that i would attempt to sit in on a class this time around the world. i met an amazing professor early this time around and she shared about her anthropology class on food and culture~of course i was intrigued and asked if i could sit in~she abliged! her class is at 0800 on a days, so there i was up at the crack of dawn, sleepy eyed along with 35 or so students and life long learners. i can see already that it will be an interesting class! i also met with the alumni ambassadors today and we set our regular meeting times as well as our larger group times-we won't start up with those until we get our grounding together after Dominica, our first port of call in 2 days!

i also helped out in the main office and was the admin assistant for the afternoon, as Julia was still getting her sea legs and the deans memo and copying needed to happen~so there i was hangin out with Marti for the afternoon~our asst. executive dean~Marti and I sailed together 22 years ago to almost the day as Resident Directors and I have not seen her for 21 years-my, how time flies by, yet it seemed like yesterday as we sat and laughed and got the job done. I also spent some time with a new/small world friend from Santa Barbara~Krista is our Field Office Coordinator and of course as the world has it, we have many mutual friends in SB, including Susan, who is taking care of my cat, several folks from the U and this was only 1 conversation! I know I have found a new lifelong friend!
and of course some of my fall 2006 bff's -we keep "bumping "into each other and having great times and it is only day 2...of course Jane and Dwight get off in Brazil, but not before we spend 4 days on the Amazon together~what an amazing time that will be!


jane, dwight, debbie and i

and yesterday was literally a whirlwind orientation day though, again where students were required to sit for 9 hours listening, taking tests and figuring out how this all works...i even had a tough time sitting with them-needless to say, everyone was in bed and exhausted by days end!

and of course the day before was check in day, when students got on board and the to do of the day was meeting and greeting family, parents and friends. i took a good walk with Deb into town to take a break  but that was about it~we picked a couple more munchies for our little gatherings which we will start up soon.

so, tomorrow will be b day and time "to be" for the rest of the voyage~my b days will be less filled, with only 2 commitments, one to attend global studies and one with my ambassadors. i am sure the day will be filled with continued preparations for organizing our education campaign, building an agenda for our large group meeting and meeting more folks on board~my goal is to sit with new people at every meal, meet 4 LLL's a day and 6 students to try and make a dent in the 800+ folks on board!

we did loose 3 folks tonight as we came into puerto rico though to bunker fuel, which was somewhat sad to note~ a life long learner couple who's husband fell in an airport on his way to the ship and after xrays realized his knee was shot~left to have surgery along with this wife. The wild part was Priscilla hired my boss Jill at work and Les the President of SAS for their first jobs as Resident Directors with Semester At Sea back in 1982 and this was her first sail since then! She said they will come back at a future sail! Another was a student's father suddenly passed away, so he flew home, with hopes that he may be able to rejoin us in Brazil.


tender to shore

bunker vessel starboard

so, now on to being restful...until tomorrow then...good night!
worldlyheart ro

Authentic Connections~committed to a world where peace, passion and love are present for everyone ​as they transition gracefully from one chapter of their lives to the next. 

https://www.worldlyheartcoaching.com

"Greatness is not in where we stand, but in what direction we are moving. We must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it -- but sail we must and not drift, nor lie at anchor." - Oliver Wendell Holmes