Saturday, February 20, 2010Tonight's picture was taken in our home last February. Ann came to visit Mattie, and she played with him for several hours. As you can see from Ann's picture, Mattie is multitasking. He was eating a Dunkin Donut's vanilla frosted donut that Ann brought him in his left hand, and the right hand was busy washing cars in a big pot of water. I particularly love the look of joy on his face!
Poem of the day: Flight by Claire Perkins
I stopped to watch the birds in flight
Though day was done, ’twas not quite night
The sinking sun set wings aglow
They swerved and dived and turned just so -
And disappeared before my eyes
I caught my breath in sharp surprise
Then suddenly it all was clear
As wings did shift and reappear
They were still there, though gone from sight
Still strong and graceful in their flight
When turned toward light they’re lost from view
Yet ever to their path are true
With wings aglow we’re all in flight
And when we’ve turned toward the Light
We’re never gone, just out of sight
Still on our path, still strong in flight
On our sail away from Aruba, Peter snapped some beautiful pictures. I would like to share one with you. This picture with the pink building in it gives you a feeling for the Dutch influence in the Island’s architecture. We have been at sea since we left Aruba at 5pm on Friday, and will continue to be at sea until early Sunday morning when we arrive back in San Juan, Puerto Rico. On Friday night, the ship had a formal night, in which passengers were asked to dress in formal attire. We have grown very fond of our waiter, Ignacio (from the Philippians) and our assistant waiter, Arman (also from the Philippians). These two men can’t do enough to make us happy. So much so, that last night, when lobster was served, they came over to deshell it for us. They did not want my mom and me to mess up our clothing. It is their kind and considerate actions that I will always remember. I will remember them because they work VERY hard. The dining room sits around 500 people each sitting, and in order to serve everyone in a timely fashion, there is a whole rhythm between the crew in the kitchen and the waiters. In fact, after two nights of watching the waiters work so hard coming in and out of the kitchen with trays, I had to switch seats with Peter. I had to turn my back to the commotion because I was feeling the stress that the waiters must obviously be experiencing. We took two pictures at the table last night, which I thought you would like to see.
Left: Ignacio, my mom, and Arman
Right: Vicki, Peter, and Vicki's parents
Though we have been at sea today, the ship has a ton of activities planned to keep you occupied and engaged. My mom and I attended a cooking demonstration this morning which was hosted by the chef and the Maitre d’ of the restaurants. Both of these men are Italian, and have a long history with the Princess line. In fact, the Maitre d’ explained to the audience that he came to work for Princess when he was only 17 years old. Thirty four years later, he is still working for the same cruise line. I wasn’t sure what this cooking demonstration was going to entail, but the dynamics between the chef and the Maitre d’ was fabulous. They were witty, VERY funny, and clearly in love with food. What a wonderful combination to experience. I thought they were the best entertainment on the ship, and I couldn’t help but laugh at their jokes, the dialogue between them, and particularly their inexact way of measuring certain ingredients. Have you noticed that all great chefs seem to just know how much of things to add, without using any formal way of measuring things? It is wonderful to watch, however, trying to replicate what they are doing becomes a challenge.
We were given a handout of the galley (kitchen) facts. Some of which I would like to share with you. The kitchens are divided into many sections: 1) a fish preparation area, 2) a meat preparation area, 3) a cold kitchen (for salads and other cold dishes), 4) a soup, pasta, and vegetable area, 5) a bakery, 6) a pastry shop, 7) a fruit and cheese pantry, 8) a coffee pantry, and 9) a dishwashing area. I am sure none of this sounds particularly stunning. But how about these facts: 1) 1500 lbs of fish are prepared daily, 2) 2100 lbs of beef is prepared daily, 3) 1600 lbs of salad is served daily, 4) 28 gallons of mayonnaise is used daily, 5) 2000 lbs of potatoes are cooked daily, 6) 1700 lbs of flour is used daily, 7) 90 gallons of ice cream is made daily, 8) 7000 lbs of fresh fruit is served daily, 9) 470 gallons of coffee is consumed daily, 10) 400 lbs of sugar is consumed daily, 11) 70,000 dishes are WASHED daily, and 12) 21,500 glasses are washed daily. I am not sure about you, but these statistics left me speechless. Also consider that these are just the reported facts for passenger food preparation. However, the kitchens also cook for the 1100 crew members each day.
During the cooking demonstration, the chef introduced us to several men working behind the scenes in the kitchen. Many of whom work around the clock, day and night! The chef explained that the kitchen has staff members in it from over 34 countries. He says they all live in harmony in the kitchen, and work and eat together. You should note that the average work contract for a ship employee is six months. So each person you interact with at sea, is stationed at sea for six months, and then gets a four month vacation. Many of the crew members are young individuals from all over the world, who are working very hard to save money, and many are supporting their families back home. Our cabin steward for example is from Thailand, and she explained to Peter and me that she rarely leaves the ship during her six month contract. She prefers not to disembark in ports, so that she can continue to save her money. This is hard to do when you are in a port, because there is always the temptation to shop and purchase something. I took a picture of some of the kitchen staff, and also photographed the galley. I am having trouble with the ship's internet service, so I will post more pictures tomorrow.
After our cooking demonstration and galley tour, my mom and I went to a line dancing class. My mom is a very good line dancer. She has been taking classes for years. However, the last time I line danced was 10 years ago. Nonetheless, dancing has been a part of my life for many years, and despite my mental state, I had no trouble jumping right in and learning the steps. In the later part of the afternoon, I went to the ship’s spa and had a massage. I continue to be a bundle of stress and therefore it is very hard to give me a massage, because there is just so much to concentrate on. Before I received the massage, the person first consulted with me, and wanted to know why I was so stressed out. Well since she asked, I told her. She handled it well, and then began to tell me what stress does to my muscles and blood. According to her, she says that stress makes your blood more acidic. In order for the body to compensate for this, and bring one’s pH back into balance, the body strips calcium from the bones. It is the calcium that comes out of the bones, that forms muscle knots. I have no idea if any of this is true, and I don’t have the energy at this point to look it up. But it sounds plausible. However, after the massage, she wanted to sell me a product to prevent calcium from being taken from my bones. Not unlike any other aspect of the cruise, commercialism was alive and well in the spa. I had no problem shooting down her suggestions, but having to fight off this hard sell, really does reduce the effects of the 50 minute massage.
As we begin to pack up to return home tomorrow, I have realized that seven days has flown by. Peter and I are so stressed out, that it most likely would take several weeks for us to even find a balance in our lives again. Assuming that such a thing is even possible. With that said, I haven’t been on a cruise in ten years, and either I have changed dramatically or cruising is not what it used to be. Probably both are true. I couldn’t help but observe how commercialism is alive and well on cruise ships. It seems to me no matter where you are on the ship something is being pitched to you to purchase. Everything from drinks, photographs, wine tastings, specialty coffees, cookbooks, unlimited sodas, flowers, art, exercise classes, and spa treatments (my favorite flyer that I have seen around was lose weight instantly with new age technology!). The assault of products also puts me on the edge and prior to Mattie’s death, I most likely could put all of this into context, but now my system gets overloaded easily. I find myself walking around like Charlie Brown, in his famous Christmas TV special. Like Charlie Brown, I am trying to appreciate the actual experience or time away to find meaning in my life, but instead, I am bombarded with materialism (like when everyone made fun of Charlie Brown for buying the smallest and most fragile Christmas tree, rather than a more substantial and glitzy one). The problem with all of this is I seem to be the only one troubled by this bombardment (well Peter and my parents are too, so I know I am not alone in my feelings at least), and I can’t help but see a connection between the issues we see present in our society and how I see the cruise industry changing. I am so bothered by this that I actually told Peter and my parents that I wanted to write an article for a newspaper about my observations.
We thank you for checking in with us this week, and keep us in your thoughts as we travel home tomorrow. Re-entry into our daily life I know won’t be easy. I would like to end tonight’s posting with a message from my friend, Charlie. Charlie wrote, "I love this picture of Mattie being Mattie. All boy, all joyful noise and enthusiasm. It's so hard to grasp that with all the strides he made after the surgeries, that he could lose the war. Some days I just can't wrap my head around it so I can't even imagine what it is like for you. What fascinating things you are learning as you tour the islands; I can almost see myself on these tours with you. Like you, I think how fascinated Mattie would have been by things like the color changes flamingos go through and probably asking about whether eating other things might turn them other colors...? He had an amazingly inquisitive spirit. I do find your change of spirit about the cruise interesting; you did not want to go but now you are reluctant to return back here to DC not that anyone would question that); it seems that although there is much sorrow regardless of where you are, the trip has been good for you overall. As always I hold you gently in my thoughts."
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