"3 days is like 3 weeks..."

Completed my first complete week onboard today. While I don't feel like a salty sea veteran, I do feel like I know my way around the ship a little better now. I don't get lost very often anymore. This is quite an accomplishment, I think, because all of the hallways in the crew area look the same. Doors, hallways, stairs…it can be a little overwhelming. But, I now can get around with relative ease. It is interesting how time goes by on the ship. I've only been here a week, but, it feels like I've been onboard for a month. Not a bad thing, necessarily, just interesting to notice.

One of the things I enjoy most about the ship is the diversity of the crew (and passengers, for that matter). The current crew is made up of people from 62 different countries. This makes for pretty interesting conversations on the back deck. Last night, I was sitting at a table with people from the Netherlands, Canada, Italy, and the USA. The subject of national pride came up. The guy from Italy knew a GREAT deal about Italian history. Furthermore, he pointed out how it was very important to him to know his family background. My roommate (also at the table) is 1st generation Italian-American (he actually lives in Ecuador…go figure). He made it clear that it was important for him to know not only his Italian heritage, but, also his American story. For instance, he knows when his parents came to the US, where they lived before and where they moved to, what kind of work they did when they arrived. The question was posed to me about my Polish, French/Irish heritage. It occurred to me that while it is interesting for me to know where my family comes from, it does not define who I am as much as it seemed to for my friends at the table last night. That's not exactly the right verbiage, but, it's close. I guess what I'm saying is that life on the cruise ship has made me feel more like a citizen of the globe than ever before.

Other interesting tidbits from the ship: 

-The ceiling in the guest gym is too low for me to run on the treadmill. The ceiling in the crew gym is also too low. However, in the crew gym, there is an area cut out of the ceiling so I CAN fit. Problem is, it's like having my head in a bubble that's not clear. All I can see is the rounded ceiling tile right in front of my face. It's kind of like running full speed in a closet.

-It's incredible how many people ask me about my height onboard. WAY more often than in the states.

-When asked where I'm from, I now say "The States" instead of Michigan/Indianapolis, etc. Usually I'm talking to someone who has no idea where certain cities are within the US. Takes a little getting used to. For the first day or two, I was answering that question with "Indianapolis" or "Michigan originally" and I got a lot of smiles and nods. People don't know where that is, they know that I don't get that they don't know, but, they are nice enough not to point it out.

-Onboard pools are filled with salt water. Would've been nice to have that information before I hopped in for life raft training the other day.