Konnichiwa & Sayonara

Like sands through the hourglass, these are the new days of our lives

I cannot describe how strange it felt to finally leave the ship. We all piled onto a water taxi near the port around 10 AM on Dec 11, life jackets in tow and luggage thrown on board this shady little vessel. The Revelle couldn’t actually make it to the port for a couple more days because a cruise ship was in the way. So we were was just hanging out within clear view of my imminent, luxurious hotel room at the Radisson Blu in Phuket, Thailand. The water taxi only took about 5 minutes to reach land. Leaving, seeing the ship get smaller, seeing the whole thing at once, seeing a different view of it – it was all very exciting and somewhat disorienting. Waving good-bye to those still on board, wondering whether it was all just a dream. My brain was completely fried by this point! No days off work for 35 days, too many thoughts and data to process correctly, seriously in need of a beer. I also wondered what life would be like after saying good bye to some very close friends. Luckily, we all got to spend 50-ish fun-filled hours in Phuket before I left for Tokyo. This included happy hour and water polo at the hotel swim-up bar, trying to get some tailor made dresses ordered, pedicures, facials, massages, amazing food, coconut shakes, ping pong (not the same kind of game you are accustomed to), reggae bars, walking on the beach, ... complete enjoyment of Thailand hospitality.

Things I desperately missed and was happy to experience again - 

o   Living plants and trees

o   Sticking my toes in the sand and the grass

o   Getting to relax with people who I had been at work with for over a month

o   Swimming (ironic right, because we had been around plenty of water?)

Things I was surprised by –

o   The ground didn’t stop swaying for about 2 hours after we got on land

o   Going to sleep without the waves or the sound of the sea

o   There were Christmas Carols playing at the hotel?!

o   Children

o   Seeing the ship from shore!

Before I left town, Owen and I got back on the ship to train Matt and Adele for Cruise 4. It was very confusing to get onboard and sit down at our workstation again. It was also very hard to describe our job, starting from scratch, when it took Owen and I a couple days to master it in November and most of it had become second nature. 

Bon Voyage

Thanks for reading about the aquatic adventure. My story telling couldn’t possibly do it justice, but I hope this rendition helped bring science and ship-life to a broader audience. I would recommend this experience to anyone and everyone. I will miss the ocean and the people who call it their home very much.

I hope to write an entry about the mystique and wonder of Tokyo once I am back in Oklahoma for Christmas. I have been visiting my cousin Sarah in the Land of the Rising Sun for the past 5 days. It’s taken a while to get used to walking on the left side of traffic, not being able to speak, and cold weather. Japanese people, language, culture, and cuisine are all incredibly beautiful, so this big-city experience has been a fantastic culture shock – one of many in the past two months.