Mom,
The girls I'm working with are fairly new to ships, but they're cool. The crossing of the Atlantic will be a challenge because we only have about 12 kids, age 2-17, and they may all want to be involved. What do a 2-year old and a 12-year old have in common? Abbey and Melanie are used to having only a couple of kids in program, whereas I love a group of at least 15 so we can play games and get loud. But I've always thought I'm resilient and adaptable. I'll be fine.
I'm rooming with Una again, as she asked the assistant cruise director (ACD) if he would put us together. So that's cool, but our room isn't as nice as our palace on the Norway. It's small and dimly lit, and the previous girl left stuff because she is returning in Spain (but to a different cabin). There are several familiar faces and the ship is just as I remember her sister, the Wind.
I love you around the world and back again, literally.
Your daughter, Genoa
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
3/22/03: My Next Adventure
As another vacation draws to a close, I find myself looking back and looking forward. I suppose I do this often. My life has so many small chapters lately.
I've had a wonderful vacation. My mom was on vacation, too, so we spent a lot of time together, including in Paris, London, Bath, Warwick, and Edinburgh. We had a blast, taking the tube (London Underground subway system) everywhere and exploring castles and lovely old architecture.
While I wasn't in Britain, I've spent the last five weeks taking a quick trip to Vegas, spending quality time with friends, having my wisdom teeth removed, and smushing my face in the soft fur of my cat and dog. I also did my fair share of laying on the couch, under an afghan, curled up next to my mom, watching movies. It's funny the things you miss when you're away.
I'm leaving on Wednesday to cruise as a passenger on the Norwegian Sea for 5 days in the Bahamas to see a friend. On March 31st, I'll walk off the Sea and onto the Dream. We'll set sail from Miami to Civitavecchia, Italy.
I'm expecting to be on the Dream until July 21st. The ship does two cruises in the Mediterranean and then heads up to Scandinavia (England, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway). There aren't supposed to be very many children, and I will miss that part, but I'm sure there will be plenty of playtime anyway.
I hope you all have an awesome next four months. Remember to notice the beautiful parts of every day and reach out to each other with love. Everyone deserves to be loved. Please take care of each other and of yourselves.
Love, Genoa
I've had a wonderful vacation. My mom was on vacation, too, so we spent a lot of time together, including in Paris, London, Bath, Warwick, and Edinburgh. We had a blast, taking the tube (London Underground subway system) everywhere and exploring castles and lovely old architecture.
While I wasn't in Britain, I've spent the last five weeks taking a quick trip to Vegas, spending quality time with friends, having my wisdom teeth removed, and smushing my face in the soft fur of my cat and dog. I also did my fair share of laying on the couch, under an afghan, curled up next to my mom, watching movies. It's funny the things you miss when you're away.
I'm leaving on Wednesday to cruise as a passenger on the Norwegian Sea for 5 days in the Bahamas to see a friend. On March 31st, I'll walk off the Sea and onto the Dream. We'll set sail from Miami to Civitavecchia, Italy.
I'm expecting to be on the Dream until July 21st. The ship does two cruises in the Mediterranean and then heads up to Scandinavia (England, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway). There aren't supposed to be very many children, and I will miss that part, but I'm sure there will be plenty of playtime anyway.
I hope you all have an awesome next four months. Remember to notice the beautiful parts of every day and reach out to each other with love. Everyone deserves to be loved. Please take care of each other and of yourselves.
Love, Genoa
1/30/03: Genoa's Dream
Hello all,
I finally get to go on the Dream! I'll join in Miami for the repo to Europe. I'm so excited! I can't wait. There are two cruises to Genoa, Italy! Will you still be there on March 31st, Matt? Is anyone else going to be there? Europe, here I come! Far away places that are more than 100 years old. Yippee!! I hope you're all doing fabulously. Big hugs and best wishes to you all.
Love always, Genoa
St. Thomas
I finally get to go on the Dream! I'll join in Miami for the repo to Europe. I'm so excited! I can't wait. There are two cruises to Genoa, Italy! Will you still be there on March 31st, Matt? Is anyone else going to be there? Europe, here I come! Far away places that are more than 100 years old. Yippee!! I hope you're all doing fabulously. Big hugs and best wishes to you all.
Love always, Genoa
St. Thomas
1/30/03: The World is Mine! :-)
Family and friends,
After nearly a year and a half, I'm finally going to cruise Europe! I've been begging to go on the Norwegian Dream, and I'M GOING!!! I go on vacation from the Norway on February 16 and I'll be roaming around for six weeks, so hopefully I can see everyone in America's Finest City. Then on March 31, I'll join to Dream in Miami. She will cruise across the Atlantic and hit Genoa, Italy, along with other amazing Mediterranean ports and over to Rome, or thereabouts. That's one cruise, then there's another one, Rome to London. From there, we'll be in Scandinavia--Finland, Russia, Sweden, Norway--for the summer. Yippee!! I can't wait to see everything! Load me up with camera film. I'll finish my contract July 21st.
I hope you're all doing great, too. I miss you all.
LIVE LAUGH LOVE
Love always, Genoa
After nearly a year and a half, I'm finally going to cruise Europe! I've been begging to go on the Norwegian Dream, and I'M GOING!!! I go on vacation from the Norway on February 16 and I'll be roaming around for six weeks, so hopefully I can see everyone in America's Finest City. Then on March 31, I'll join to Dream in Miami. She will cruise across the Atlantic and hit Genoa, Italy, along with other amazing Mediterranean ports and over to Rome, or thereabouts. That's one cruise, then there's another one, Rome to London. From there, we'll be in Scandinavia--Finland, Russia, Sweden, Norway--for the summer. Yippee!! I can't wait to see everything! Load me up with camera film. I'll finish my contract July 21st.
I hope you're all doing great, too. I miss you all.
LIVE LAUGH LOVE
Love always, Genoa
1/28/03: The Dream!!!
Mom,
I am on the schedule for the Dream!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It goes to Genoa, Italy, twice and other ports in the Med, then up to Scandinavia! I can't believe it! I don't know when I'm going except that it's in March, so we should do our trip to England/Scotland in early March, just to be safe. It's cheaper for NCL to fly me to Miami on the 31st, vs. S. America earlier, but I don't want to push it. Pass the word. Yippee!!!
Love, Genoa
I am on the schedule for the Dream!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It goes to Genoa, Italy, twice and other ports in the Med, then up to Scandinavia! I can't believe it! I don't know when I'm going except that it's in March, so we should do our trip to England/Scotland in early March, just to be safe. It's cheaper for NCL to fly me to Miami on the 31st, vs. S. America earlier, but I don't want to push it. Pass the word. Yippee!!!
Love, Genoa
1/9/03: The Legendary S/S Norway
The Legendary S/S Norway was described to me as an old lady. She was originally the S/S France, built around 1961 as an ocean liner. And (the description continues), like other old ladies (though certainly none I know), she needs a lot of makeup to look as good as these new ships. She's also called the Big Blue Canoe. Her lower half is painted royal blue. She's so long that the carpet is different colors to tell you if you're forward or aft. The forward half of the ship has blue carpet with blue criss-crosses, and the aft of the ship has red criss-crosses. The decks are referred to by their names, not by their numbers. This is quite confusing at first. I live on the 8th deck, which is the Viking deck. I remember this by saying, "I am a Viking." Below me is the Norway deck, and the Atlantic deck, and so on. On the other ships I've been on, there are 5 or 6 vertical fire zones. There's a fire team for each, and fire screen doors that can isolate a zone in case of a fire. The Legendary S/S Norway has EIGHT fire zones. Because the ship used to be an ocean liner, it's not perfectly equipped for the types of cruises we do now. Troll Land is the room we use for 6-12 year olds in low season, which just begun after the holidays. The murals on the wall are also 42 years old, and are estimated to cost $1.5 million. The room was originally the second class children's room. The Concierge's office, which is a nice size for him, was the first class children's room. Also beautifully painted, but way too small for kids to run around in. Poor rich kids. For the 2-5 year olds, we use a room called the Porthole. It used to be the dog kennel. It's long and narrow, and if you are predisposed to claustrophobia, don't stop by. Fortunately, there's an outside area (for the dogs to run in) which gives us more space for those little monkeys. In high season, we split off and use a conference room for the 10-12 year olds.
During my first week here, There was a power outtage. There were a few emergency lights, including low level lighting, which is a glow-in-the-dark striping along the bottom of all walls. I felt my way to my cabin, and left the door open to let in some light. It was neat, a little excitement for my day, but it caused us to be several hours late in leaving port. Due to that and poor weather conditions, we couldn't reach our private island that week.
My cabin is outside the disco. There's a door to the right of mine which leads to an anteroom with a door to the ladies room, then another door which opens to the disco. When the both of the doors get opened at night, as when someone leaves the disco, I can hear the music. It doesn't bother me, but I think that's why it's a crew cabin, in amongst passenger cabins. Last week I was working with teens, and two of them were in a cabin across from mine. Luckily they were cool and didn't play any pranks on me or Una. Una is my roommate. She's from Latvia and she's such a sweetheart. I thought I was lucky with my last roommate--I must be on a streak. Una's a sports afloat coordinator, so she does aerobics classes, yoga, fitness walks, etc. Our room is like a suite, especially in comparison to others I've seen on other ships. I'm on the top bunk, which is smaller than the bottom, but still roomy. Una's bunk, which I'll move down to in a few weeks when she signs off, is huge. We have a vanity and plenty of shelf space. I even got someone's old DVD player for free. There's a woman from Belgium here named Dagmar. Can you believe it? So cool. When I first got here, I thought the Norway was like a white elephant. You have to act so grateful if she's in your fleet, but she requires so much upkeep that she's a bit of a pain. Now that I'm in my fourth week here, I love her. I'm so glad my request to come here was granted. It's so neat wandering around, finding new places to explore. And now that I know my way from one place to another, I feel quite at home.
I hope you're doing marvelously. I wish you all the best for the new year. For those of you who sent cards or packages, my most heartfelt thanks. Everyone loves mail. Like I said before, I don't have as much time to email as before, so please don't send me forwards or large files. But please do drop me the occasional note to let me know you're still out there.
Love always, Genoa
Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the things you did.
During my first week here, There was a power outtage. There were a few emergency lights, including low level lighting, which is a glow-in-the-dark striping along the bottom of all walls. I felt my way to my cabin, and left the door open to let in some light. It was neat, a little excitement for my day, but it caused us to be several hours late in leaving port. Due to that and poor weather conditions, we couldn't reach our private island that week.
My cabin is outside the disco. There's a door to the right of mine which leads to an anteroom with a door to the ladies room, then another door which opens to the disco. When the both of the doors get opened at night, as when someone leaves the disco, I can hear the music. It doesn't bother me, but I think that's why it's a crew cabin, in amongst passenger cabins. Last week I was working with teens, and two of them were in a cabin across from mine. Luckily they were cool and didn't play any pranks on me or Una. Una is my roommate. She's from Latvia and she's such a sweetheart. I thought I was lucky with my last roommate--I must be on a streak. Una's a sports afloat coordinator, so she does aerobics classes, yoga, fitness walks, etc. Our room is like a suite, especially in comparison to others I've seen on other ships. I'm on the top bunk, which is smaller than the bottom, but still roomy. Una's bunk, which I'll move down to in a few weeks when she signs off, is huge. We have a vanity and plenty of shelf space. I even got someone's old DVD player for free. There's a woman from Belgium here named Dagmar. Can you believe it? So cool. When I first got here, I thought the Norway was like a white elephant. You have to act so grateful if she's in your fleet, but she requires so much upkeep that she's a bit of a pain. Now that I'm in my fourth week here, I love her. I'm so glad my request to come here was granted. It's so neat wandering around, finding new places to explore. And now that I know my way from one place to another, I feel quite at home.
I hope you're doing marvelously. I wish you all the best for the new year. For those of you who sent cards or packages, my most heartfelt thanks. Everyone loves mail. Like I said before, I don't have as much time to email as before, so please don't send me forwards or large files. But please do drop me the occasional note to let me know you're still out there.
Love always, Genoa
Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the things you did.
12/26/02: Another Group Email
Happy New Year! (It's too late to say Happy Hanukkah or Merry Christmas.) It's crazy busy on the LEGENDARY S/S Norway. Thankfully, the workload is balanced out by all the parties! Everything is awesome here. I'll write more another time, but the email rates just went up (it's 25 cents after 5pm on port days and only 10 cents before 5pm). I have scarce free time to email here, so please bear with me as I communicate less frequently. If I haven't been in contact with you much anyway, this shouldn't come as any big shock hee hee). I wish you all the best for the new year.
Love always, Genoa
Love always, Genoa
12/11/02: Rolling with the Punches
I found out last night that I'm transferring to the S/S Norway this weekend. I leave the Sun and the Western Caribbean on Saturday, stay in a Miami hotel overnight, and join the Norway on Sunday. She goes to St. Maarten, St. Thomas (both of which I've seen), and Great Stirrup Cay. She's about 43 years old, and is a classic ocean liner. They have documentaries about her, and I've been wanting to cruise her. The kids korner is called Troll Land and has murals worth millions of dollars. The down side to leaving is that I like this ship and these ports. I like my roommate and the girls I work with. I won't be able to meet up with my friends on the Dawn. But, overall, it's a very good change. It just came out of left field.
For those of you fretting about my Christmas and birthday and for-no-reason presents not getting to me on my new ship, my address should be the same for letters and packages, with the one change of the ship's name from Sun to Norway. And if you've already sent them, the ships are both our of Miami, so, with only a slight delay, they will find me.
As for my friends on ships, with every ship change brings old faces back into view. I hope to see you again soon.
Love always, Genoa
For those of you fretting about my Christmas and birthday and for-no-reason presents not getting to me on my new ship, my address should be the same for letters and packages, with the one change of the ship's name from Sun to Norway. And if you've already sent them, the ships are both our of Miami, so, with only a slight delay, they will find me.
As for my friends on ships, with every ship change brings old faces back into view. I hope to see you again soon.
Love always, Genoa
11/28/02: What an Awesome Week
I've had the best week. We've had lots of kids this cruise, because of the Thanksgiving holiday. Very few monkeys; the kids have been great.
I went to a turtle farm in Grand Cayman on Monday. They raise green sea turtles. The conditions aren't the best, but they release some of them and the rest are consumed (bad), but at least they aren't taking them from the ocean anymore (good). Anyway, the babies were about 6 inches long, and I saw one beast at least 5 feet long, and that was just his shell! It was so awesome to see them. The midsized ones are in a tank where you can pick them up. Some of them squirmed too much, and I let them go, but the ones who would take it got Genoa hugs. I can't wait to see the pictures.
Yesterday I went cave tubing in Belize. Fifty passengers and I took a bus an hour and a half to a rain forest. We donned our life vests and hiked, carrying our inter-tubes, about 45 minutes. It started to rain very hard. I mean HUGE raindrops! Pouring. Cats and dogs. This San Diego native has rarely seen precipitation like this. Then it let up, and someone ahead of me on the trail sang, "The other day." So I, recognizing the repeat song, responded, "The other day." We began to sing the song about an interaction with a bear, until he didn't know the next line, so I sang, and he responded. It was cool, singing along with some guy I couldn't even see. When we got to the top of the cave system, we got in the water on our tubes, with flash lights affixed by elastic to our foreheads. We entered the caves at a lazy pace (no rapids here), and more than one person was inspired to sing, "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me." (For those of you who don't recognize that, it's the theme song for Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean ride. That's what it looked like inside.) At one point, someone yelled, "Lights out!" and we all turned 'em out and floated in pitch blackness. The caves are spacious, and we saw fruit bats on the ceiling and cool formations all around. Someone also sang, "Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall," and the rest of us continued with the rest of the line. It was a great group of people, as might be evident. When we got out of the water, we were fed a local dish, then we took the bus back to the pier.
Today, I met up with my very good friend David, whose ship was also in Cozumel today. We went to Playa Del Carmen by ferry with a few other youth counselors, which is mainland Mexico (Central America, neat). The beach was beautiful, and when we got back to Cozumel, I picked up my clean, folded laundry from a laundromat (oh what luxuries one appreciates when away from home).
One of my favorite parts of living on a ship is having a room steward. I tip Iran (from Jamaica) $10 a week and every day he makes my bed, takes out the trash, cleans the bathroom, vacuums, replaces my towels, toilet paper and kleenex, and he changes my sheets weekly. I love this service! And they call this work?!
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and Happy Hanukkah.
Love always, Genoa
I went to a turtle farm in Grand Cayman on Monday. They raise green sea turtles. The conditions aren't the best, but they release some of them and the rest are consumed (bad), but at least they aren't taking them from the ocean anymore (good). Anyway, the babies were about 6 inches long, and I saw one beast at least 5 feet long, and that was just his shell! It was so awesome to see them. The midsized ones are in a tank where you can pick them up. Some of them squirmed too much, and I let them go, but the ones who would take it got Genoa hugs. I can't wait to see the pictures.
Yesterday I went cave tubing in Belize. Fifty passengers and I took a bus an hour and a half to a rain forest. We donned our life vests and hiked, carrying our inter-tubes, about 45 minutes. It started to rain very hard. I mean HUGE raindrops! Pouring. Cats and dogs. This San Diego native has rarely seen precipitation like this. Then it let up, and someone ahead of me on the trail sang, "The other day." So I, recognizing the repeat song, responded, "The other day." We began to sing the song about an interaction with a bear, until he didn't know the next line, so I sang, and he responded. It was cool, singing along with some guy I couldn't even see. When we got to the top of the cave system, we got in the water on our tubes, with flash lights affixed by elastic to our foreheads. We entered the caves at a lazy pace (no rapids here), and more than one person was inspired to sing, "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me." (For those of you who don't recognize that, it's the theme song for Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean ride. That's what it looked like inside.) At one point, someone yelled, "Lights out!" and we all turned 'em out and floated in pitch blackness. The caves are spacious, and we saw fruit bats on the ceiling and cool formations all around. Someone also sang, "Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall," and the rest of us continued with the rest of the line. It was a great group of people, as might be evident. When we got out of the water, we were fed a local dish, then we took the bus back to the pier.
Today, I met up with my very good friend David, whose ship was also in Cozumel today. We went to Playa Del Carmen by ferry with a few other youth counselors, which is mainland Mexico (Central America, neat). The beach was beautiful, and when we got back to Cozumel, I picked up my clean, folded laundry from a laundromat (oh what luxuries one appreciates when away from home).
One of my favorite parts of living on a ship is having a room steward. I tip Iran (from Jamaica) $10 a week and every day he makes my bed, takes out the trash, cleans the bathroom, vacuums, replaces my towels, toilet paper and kleenex, and he changes my sheets weekly. I love this service! And they call this work?!
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and Happy Hanukkah.
Love always, Genoa
11/19/02: It's Not Sunny on the Sun
Everything's going great here. My new lead is awesome, and the three of us youth counselors get along great. We'll get Thanksgiving seasonal youth counselors next week. The kids room is so cool. I'll have to take some pictures of it filled with monkeys (my term of endearment for wild children). There was a huge storm, and we sailed all day yesterday instead of going to Grand Cayman. The seas were really rough, and even I of strong constitution felt a bit green. People were getting sick (one child on the table and herself), so we moved midship to the library. Think about a teeter totter - it's calmer in the middle. The waves move you in a figure eight. When laying in bed, your body moves left/down, up, right/down, up. It's cool, but you lose your balance when walking a lot. Last week in Roatan on the taxi ride back from Tabyana beach, I saw all kinds of interesting stuff. Roatan is a Bay Island 36 miles off the coast of Honduras, and part of that country. It's third world, and the children's first English is "one dollar?" I saw a mama dog with sagging teats flopping beneath her. A group of young and presumably mother cows meandering along the road. Lots of houses, many made of cinder blocks, on stilts to guard against the tides and storms. There were baby waves about 100 feet out, but the water came all the way in to the porches. There were unpaved roads and shoeless children waving to us. I saw an abandoned bus and canoe along the road. There are handmade docks with palm-thatched roofs. Some passengers feel bad for these people, but not me. They have family loyalty and support that many never know, and they don't know much about our privileges. I think it's neat to see such a different lifestyle, and I think it's really important for our passengers to see it. Things are going well here. We're in Roatan today, but it's rainy, so I'm going to the gym with my lead, Laura. We'll hit Belize tomorrow, but it's not supposed to be nice until Cozumel on Thursday. Maybe next week. I love the sunshine, but the storms are cool, too. It's like rainy day schedule at school. The teachers have to work more, but it's a break from routine, which I get a kick out of.
Love always, Genoa
Love always, Genoa
11/16/02: It's Raining, It's Pouring
I've been stuck in the immigration process for hours, so I have scarce little time until I have to work. All is great here. I spent as much time this past week with an old friend who was here as I could. He left today for another ship. Huge bummer. I'm sitting at a computer in the Seamans' center in Miami, and I heard a weird noise coming from all around suddenly. It's POURING outside. I love this stuff! I'm going to walk through it as I return to the ship. My roommate is the wardrobe girl for the dancers. Her name is Caroline. She's British and very nice. She even let me have the bottom bunk. My lead was very meticulous and particular, and she'd talk your ear off, but she left today. The kids korner is huge and great. I went scuba diving in Cozumel and we saw a plane wreck. I'm in such a rush, but I'll try to email again soon.
Love always, Genoa
Love always, Genoa
11/06/02: Out to Sea Again
Everyone,
Here I go again. I had an awesome vacation, with trips to Iowa and Denver, Halloween and early Thanksgiving celebrations, and great times with friends and family. For those of you on ships, I hope to see you soon. I'll be on the Norwegian Sun, which leaves from Miami and goes to Belize, Honduras, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. As promised, I'll get the info on friends and family cruise rates as soon as I can. I always welcome guests. I don't know when I'll be home again, but it will probably be February or March. As I won't be able to check my email as much, I again request no forwards, but I love hearing from you personally. I just might not be able to reply very quickly. I hope you all have a great year's end, with all that that entails.
Love always, Genoa
Here I go again. I had an awesome vacation, with trips to Iowa and Denver, Halloween and early Thanksgiving celebrations, and great times with friends and family. For those of you on ships, I hope to see you soon. I'll be on the Norwegian Sun, which leaves from Miami and goes to Belize, Honduras, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. As promised, I'll get the info on friends and family cruise rates as soon as I can. I always welcome guests. I don't know when I'll be home again, but it will probably be February or March. As I won't be able to check my email as much, I again request no forwards, but I love hearing from you personally. I just might not be able to reply very quickly. I hope you all have a great year's end, with all that that entails.
Love always, Genoa
9/14/02: Leaving Alaska
I have just had the best four weeks ever. It's been the perfect amount of time on the Wind. People who live in places with four distinct seasons who spent the whole summer in Alaska regret that they missed the sunshine. I have loved every minute of it. But then, I live in America's Finest City, and when I go home in two weeks, it will be sunny. And when I go to the Caribbean 6 weeks after that, I'll be in sunshine up to my eyeballs.
We sail back to Vancouver later today, then from there, on Monday, we sail for Hawaii. It will take six days at sea, which will be lots of kid time. We're going to have to get very creative to keep the munchkins entertained for so long on the ship. I hope we get a good group.
My time here has been a constant post card. I'm so happy I was sent here. I've seen harbor seals on ice floes near the beautiful Sawyer Glacier. I saw Stellar sea lions and humpback whales on a whale watching trip. I saw killer whales and dolphins out the window on the ship. I helicoptered to a glacier. I went to a salmon bake. I hiked and saw a black bear. I went bear watching on a bus and saw brown bears fishing for salmon. I went dogsledding and held a 12-day old puppy. I took a tram 1,800 feet above Juneau. I bought lots of souvenirs. I ate Alaska King crab and reindeer jerky. I road tripped to the Yukon. I biked 18 miles up and down big hills. I saw bald eagles everywhere. I went to a salmon fishery. I saw salmon spawning and swimming upstream everywhere.
I wanted to come to Alaska to see wildlife. Boy have I. And I've had the best time. If you haven't been and get the chance, come up here for sure. The natural beauty of Alaska is unparalleled.
To those of you on ships, I hope to see you on the seas soon. To those of you in San Diego, I'll be home from September 27th through November 9th.
The world is a beautiful place, full of wonderful people. I've been very fortunate to see and meet so many. Live, laugh, love.
Love always, Genoa in Ketchikan
We sail back to Vancouver later today, then from there, on Monday, we sail for Hawaii. It will take six days at sea, which will be lots of kid time. We're going to have to get very creative to keep the munchkins entertained for so long on the ship. I hope we get a good group.
My time here has been a constant post card. I'm so happy I was sent here. I've seen harbor seals on ice floes near the beautiful Sawyer Glacier. I saw Stellar sea lions and humpback whales on a whale watching trip. I saw killer whales and dolphins out the window on the ship. I helicoptered to a glacier. I went to a salmon bake. I hiked and saw a black bear. I went bear watching on a bus and saw brown bears fishing for salmon. I went dogsledding and held a 12-day old puppy. I took a tram 1,800 feet above Juneau. I bought lots of souvenirs. I ate Alaska King crab and reindeer jerky. I road tripped to the Yukon. I biked 18 miles up and down big hills. I saw bald eagles everywhere. I went to a salmon fishery. I saw salmon spawning and swimming upstream everywhere.
I wanted to come to Alaska to see wildlife. Boy have I. And I've had the best time. If you haven't been and get the chance, come up here for sure. The natural beauty of Alaska is unparalleled.
To those of you on ships, I hope to see you on the seas soon. To those of you in San Diego, I'll be home from September 27th through November 9th.
The world is a beautiful place, full of wonderful people. I've been very fortunate to see and meet so many. Live, laugh, love.
Love always, Genoa in Ketchikan
9/2/02
I saw a pod of killer whales yesterday and last night the executive chef gave us a Thanksgiving-like feast in the staff mess. Complete with mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, candied carrots, ham, turkey, ice cream, and so much more. I was stuffed, but it was such a treat, and such a welcome change from the regular slop. Early I know, but while I'm thinking of it, Happy Rosh Hashana.
Love always, Genoa
Love always, Genoa
8/26/02: Coming Home
Don't ask me why, but I'm coming home next month for a six week vacation. I should arrive home four weeks from today (September 27?), and fly to the Caribbean the second week in November (the 9th, maybe). This means I can hopefully go to the three family weddings in October. I hope they don't overlap! Thank you so much for the great emails. I can't wait to see you all. Aunt Kathy, I can't wait to see Iowa. Send me the info and I'll do my best to come. When are Jason's and Uncle Ron's weddings?
Love always and see you soon, Genoa
Love always and see you soon, Genoa
8/23/02: Seeing It All!
I don't even know where to begin, so much has happened in my first week on the Wind. I arrived on Monday to Vancouver. We sailed through the Inside Passage on Tuesday, then to Sawyer Glacier on Wednesday. Yesterday we went to Skagway during the day and Haines at night. We hit Juneau today and tomorrow we'll go to Ketchikan. I've had such a full week, it's as if I were a passenger. Youth Counselors don't really do cruise staff duties here, so when we're not in program (at sea), we're off duty.
This morning I went on a whale watching tour. Unlike the ones I did through Sea World, the whales here were close and there were lots of them. We saw humpbacks left, right, and center. It was awesome. We also saw Stellar sea lions and bald eagles. Then, when I got back to my room, I was just in time to catch two of the girls I work with on their way to a salmon bake. So I went along, and had a wonderful lunch. Mmmm, good. I ate reindeer sausage and roasted marshmallows on a real stick! Not a hanger, but a wood stick, like from a tree! Plus there were huge, steep, green, heavily tree-ed mountainsides rising up, with skinny waterfalls trailing down them.
Yesterday, five of us rented a car and drove to the YUKON!!! We saw the world's smallest desert, which is in Carcross. Weird to see sand in such a cold, otherwise green place. I forget how it formed, sorry. We went to the Yukon capital, White Horse, and I finally saw a Tim Hortons (It's a doughnut/coffee/sandwich/soup shop for all you non-Canadians). Right near the ship, we saw salmon spawning in a shallow creek. You could reach out and touch them, they were so close. And apparently, lots of morons do, which disrupts their reproduction. So if you are ever really close to spawning salmon, show a little respect for Mother Nature, please.
The day before, as we sailed to Sawyer Glacier, we took the kids outside to watch it. Parts of it were deep blue, because the pressure of the compacted ice squeezes all the oxygen out of it. There were seals on ice floes as we passed by. They looked like Harbor seals, and someone who seemed to know confirmed it for me. As we stood on deck 11 and looked down at them, my lead, a really cool girl named Donna, got the kids to bark at the seals. For those of you who didn't grow up working at SeaWorld, let me inform you that seals, being more solitary creatures, rarely bark. You're thinking of sea lions, who are very social, and therefore, also very vocal. But I guess I can let it pass. It's a little like one of the Canadians I work with telling one of the kids nachos were small tacos! I didn't know what a quarry was until Jenn told me. It's all about where you grow up, I guess.
Tomorrow, I'm planning on going mountain biking with some of the girls. I LOVE ALASKA! It's so beautiful, in such a rugged way.
That's all the email time I can afford right now. I'll email again soon.
~~~Love always, Genoa~~~
This morning I went on a whale watching tour. Unlike the ones I did through Sea World, the whales here were close and there were lots of them. We saw humpbacks left, right, and center. It was awesome. We also saw Stellar sea lions and bald eagles. Then, when I got back to my room, I was just in time to catch two of the girls I work with on their way to a salmon bake. So I went along, and had a wonderful lunch. Mmmm, good. I ate reindeer sausage and roasted marshmallows on a real stick! Not a hanger, but a wood stick, like from a tree! Plus there were huge, steep, green, heavily tree-ed mountainsides rising up, with skinny waterfalls trailing down them.
Yesterday, five of us rented a car and drove to the YUKON!!! We saw the world's smallest desert, which is in Carcross. Weird to see sand in such a cold, otherwise green place. I forget how it formed, sorry. We went to the Yukon capital, White Horse, and I finally saw a Tim Hortons (It's a doughnut/coffee/sandwich/soup shop for all you non-Canadians). Right near the ship, we saw salmon spawning in a shallow creek. You could reach out and touch them, they were so close. And apparently, lots of morons do, which disrupts their reproduction. So if you are ever really close to spawning salmon, show a little respect for Mother Nature, please.
The day before, as we sailed to Sawyer Glacier, we took the kids outside to watch it. Parts of it were deep blue, because the pressure of the compacted ice squeezes all the oxygen out of it. There were seals on ice floes as we passed by. They looked like Harbor seals, and someone who seemed to know confirmed it for me. As we stood on deck 11 and looked down at them, my lead, a really cool girl named Donna, got the kids to bark at the seals. For those of you who didn't grow up working at SeaWorld, let me inform you that seals, being more solitary creatures, rarely bark. You're thinking of sea lions, who are very social, and therefore, also very vocal. But I guess I can let it pass. It's a little like one of the Canadians I work with telling one of the kids nachos were small tacos! I didn't know what a quarry was until Jenn told me. It's all about where you grow up, I guess.
Tomorrow, I'm planning on going mountain biking with some of the girls. I LOVE ALASKA! It's so beautiful, in such a rugged way.
That's all the email time I can afford right now. I'll email again soon.
~~~Love always, Genoa~~~
8/19/02: The Wind
Well,
I arrived on the Norwegian Wind in Vancouver today. I'm still settling in, but I wanted to let you all know I'm safe and sound. My lead sounds nice on the phone. I'm in a passenger cabin with one other youth counselor. I don't know much else yet, but I can't wait to see Alaska!
Love always, Genoa
I arrived on the Norwegian Wind in Vancouver today. I'm still settling in, but I wanted to let you all know I'm safe and sound. My lead sounds nice on the phone. I'm in a passenger cabin with one other youth counselor. I don't know much else yet, but I can't wait to see Alaska!
Love always, Genoa
8/2/02: On the Open Sea
Just a brief update of my meanderings. I'm now on my second ship, the Norwegian Star, in Hawaii. My two roommates leave Sunday, and presumably will be replaced by one. The room is huge when it's not at full occupancy (six!). Working with ten girls is a new experience for me. We hang out in each other's rooms and play with hair and give massages, while talking about guys. I'm not kidding.
For those who wanted to send care packages, always appreciated, I always forget to bring the address to the computers. I'll email it soon. I'm leaving for Alaska in two weeks, but if you're that determined...
This itinerary has a lot less free time than the Majesty, but it's fun. We put on a talent show with the kids, and it's a big hit with the parents. Last night, we spun cotton candy in Planet Kids. I'm working with Lyana this week, with the 6-9 year olds. She kept feeding me cotton candy so my energy level would be up there with the kids'. We had a blast.
Last Saturday, my friends and I rented a convertible Mustang (silver) and drove around Kauai to the Waimea canyon. It's like the Grand Canyon, and it was beautiful.
We also visit Fanning Island, which is not developed much at all. The people have wide feet because they don't wear shoes. You can often see children sitting under tables eating candy that our passengers have brought them. When you walk past them, they give you the biggest, sweetest smiles. Some of the passengers return to the ship sad at the conditions in which these people live, but they're fools. These people aren't starving and they're in no way unfortunate for living without tv or malls. Their island is only a few degrees from the equator, and it's breathtakingly beautiful. The water is a million shades of blue, which punch out so much more with my new polarized sunglasses.
In two weeks time, I fly to Vancouver to join the Wind. I've looked at the itinerary, which you, too, can see on ncl.com, and it looks awesome.
I hope you're all very well. I'm in an especially great mood today. I think emailing you all brings me up even higher. I love thinking about all of you at the same time.
Message for today:
Live, laugh, love, everyday.
Love always, Genoa
For those who wanted to send care packages, always appreciated, I always forget to bring the address to the computers. I'll email it soon. I'm leaving for Alaska in two weeks, but if you're that determined...
This itinerary has a lot less free time than the Majesty, but it's fun. We put on a talent show with the kids, and it's a big hit with the parents. Last night, we spun cotton candy in Planet Kids. I'm working with Lyana this week, with the 6-9 year olds. She kept feeding me cotton candy so my energy level would be up there with the kids'. We had a blast.
Last Saturday, my friends and I rented a convertible Mustang (silver) and drove around Kauai to the Waimea canyon. It's like the Grand Canyon, and it was beautiful.
We also visit Fanning Island, which is not developed much at all. The people have wide feet because they don't wear shoes. You can often see children sitting under tables eating candy that our passengers have brought them. When you walk past them, they give you the biggest, sweetest smiles. Some of the passengers return to the ship sad at the conditions in which these people live, but they're fools. These people aren't starving and they're in no way unfortunate for living without tv or malls. Their island is only a few degrees from the equator, and it's breathtakingly beautiful. The water is a million shades of blue, which punch out so much more with my new polarized sunglasses.
In two weeks time, I fly to Vancouver to join the Wind. I've looked at the itinerary, which you, too, can see on ncl.com, and it looks awesome.
I hope you're all very well. I'm in an especially great mood today. I think emailing you all brings me up even higher. I love thinking about all of you at the same time.
Message for today:
Live, laugh, love, everyday.
Love always, Genoa
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