It’s been a while since I’ve last written. My computer won’t charge and is being a pain as usual! So, I don’t have the internet time to sit and write a blog entry! But I found a way around it – so we shall see if this method works!
I’ve been on a couple excursions since the last time I’ve written. In Burnie, Tasmania I went on an excursion called “Taste of Tasmania”. We went to the Anvers Chocolate Factory, the Tassie Wildlife Center and the Honey Farm.
The chocolate factory was amazing! It’s just an old cottage style house surrounded by tons of flowers. This guy started – about 20 years ago – just making truffles and chocolates as a hobby for friends, family and selling small batches to locals. One day a Japanese business owner said he wanted to purchase enough for all of his staff for Christmas, but since it was nine months away he would fax his order because he wanted to make sure not to forget anyone. Well, this guy who makes the chocolate thought nothing of it – just another small sale. Three weeks later he receives the fax to find out that this guy had hundreds of employees and wanted something along the lines of 2 tons of chocolate. The guys said, I’m sorry, I don’t have the time/money/manpower to produce that for you. The Japanese business man told him to check his bank account tomorrow and he’d put enough money in for him to hire some people to make all those chocolates. The next morning, sure enough, he had $180,000 AUD in his account to produce all of this chocolate! Pretty cool story, eh? So that was the beginning of the Anvers Chocolate Factory!
Anyways, we got there and were served tea and each seat had either a [HUGE] slice of chocolate cake or chocolate/mint cheesecake. I hate mint, but the cheesecake was absolutely fabulous – top notch! We went outside following the cake and sampled their vanilla fudge, truffles, and other kinds of chocolates that they make and I’ve never had fudge I’ve like that much. (Yes, Aunt Louise, I want to send you some but shipping is out of this world!) I saved the card so maybe when I’m rich I can order some and have it shipped!
The next stop was the Tassie Wildlife Center where we saw wombats, Tasmanian Devils (they’re vicious!), kangaroos, wallabies, koalas and several Joey’s! We didn’t get to hold them like when I went to the wildlife park in Brisbane several years ago – but it was so cool to see them. At the park, they served us a bar-b-q lunch with lamb-burgers and salads, but they all had curry! Yuk!
As if we hadn’t had enough foods and sweets, we went to a Honey farm in Chudleigh, Tasmania. They produced tons (like 40-50) different kinds of honey. I don’t like honey, but I did try a few and it was interesting to see the different types that they created. We also were treated to ice creams they made from honey, which again I didn’t think I would like, but I tried a Vanilla Honey Ice Cream and it was by far the second best Ice Cream I’ve ever tasted. (The first is the Hokey Pokey Ice Cream they make in New Zealand with vanilla and real honeycomb pieces – trying to find out if there’s a way to ship that too ;) )
Spent another day in Melbourne after that – walking around just for fresh air and exercise! In Sydney I had IPM AGAIN. We only have one more turnaround day in Sydney so I’m praying I can do SOMETHING like the bridge climb before leaving here!
When we hit Tasmania again on this cruise, I went on a Pioneer Museum and Unique Crafts tour. I was a bit nervous that it was going to be boring and cheesy – but it ended up being quite cool. We went to a place called Creative Paper. They make paper out of cotton, denim, plants, lavender, and ‘roo poo’! Yes, kangaroo poo! It was neat how they did it and we even got to make our own. Unfortunately, we weren’t there long enough to let it dry so we couldn’t bring it home, but they did give us another piece. There were huge statues made out of paper mache – really cool place to see how it’s all done!
We stopped at Burnie Park and walked to a small waterfall which was pretty and then onto a museum, which was the anticipated boring – but the paper place was worth it!
Other than the excursions, life is pretty good here. I’ve made lots of friends – especially because Whitney from my last ship is now leaving here March 1st instead of May like originally planned to be with her boyfriend on another ship! Honestly, I’ve being hanging out with the Filipino Security guards and other guys in the Crew Mess and the PO (Petty Officer’s Bar). They seem to be some of the most fun people on board! They all told me they though I was snobby when I first got on – just because I was quiet- now I’m one of the only females they hang out with. I’m having fun though! Only 3 kids on board this week so it’s been pretty quiet and I’m just trying to relax and enjoy!
Every turnaround day, I seem to be stuck on IPM, which means I have to stand at the Gangway and greet all oncoming passengers. I swear if I hear “Is that your real name?” one more time I’m going to scream! All the guys on the lido always say…Sydney’s in Sydney or Sydney’s moving to Melbourne! It’s funny though – on the ship everyone has started calling me Syd – that never happens! It’s all fun though!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Saturday, January 12, 2008
God's Got this Under Control!! :)
January 12, 2008
Ok – So it’s been awhile, I know. I had some computer trouble. Our cabin steward cleaned our carpets without warning and I had my computer under the desk on the floor. He picked it up to clean it, but put the computer back on the wet carpet and it seeped into the computer! It took it a few days to dry out…made me really nervous for a bit! So we’ll see how long it lasts from here!
I went on the Maori excursion where we went into the city of KeriKeri (pronounced KittyKitty) and saw the oldest stone building in New Zealand then it was onto the Manginangina Forest to walk through and show us some native plants to New Zealand and what the Maori’s first came across when going into the Bush. Nothing really other than GIANT trees - second largest tree to the California Redwood. It takes 8 people holding hands to reach around the entire circumference of the largest tree.
Next was the Maori tribal house where the local tribe actually meets. The South Island Maori’s allow people to come in and go through the typical protocol and visit the house, unlike the North Island Maori’s. So, we got to go in and see the inside –it was lined with intricate carvings of their typical faces signifying the sacred lives of ancestors that have been lost and the walls were lined with photographs of all the local tribe’s ancestors. Really neat to listen to them speak their native tongue and see how sacred it truly is to each of the members. I loved it!
Last stop was Waitangi Treaty Grounds where all the treaties were originally signed. There was a HUGE canoe that some of the Maori’s came to the island on. Beautiful property right along the beach!
That night we had a surprise birthday for Arnout, one of our engineers. He’s dating Christina, a cruise staff. Christina bought black lights for the OB (officer’s bar) and she filled alcohol bottles with water and dropped glow sticks in all of them so the room lit up. We all wore white t-shirts and wrote not-the-most-appropriate things on our shirts with highlighters so we all lit up! It was tons of fun! We all enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.
Didn’t get an excursion in Taraunga so I went to the gym in the morning and headed out to walk around the city for a few minutes and hit the most beautiful beach for an hour or so. The sun here is way different than back home, so an hour is a lot. Got a little burned and I had 15 sun block on – but still better then having nothing, right? The beach was beautiful though – neat to see beaches with huge trees growing all around!
My favorite place is now Picton, New Zealand. I didn’t get off the first cruise because I had IPM, but this cruise I walked around for a while. Great little city (reminds me of a town slightly bigger than Ray City, GA) – lots of local crafts and store to see and visit! So I walked around for a few hours and it was wonderful – cold but wonderful!
Today I went on the Taieri Gorge Railway. It was a train that took us through the beautiful scenic parts of Dunedin. This is how I remember New Zealand with the rolling hills and just beautiful scenery! It was a 5 hour trip with lunch, wine and tea and just a wonderful day. We opened the windows and just enjoyed the fresh air. Its times like that when I take a deep breath and remember why I love my life right now! Phenomenal day! You should see the sand spurs that they have here…they are the size of ping pong balls, but they don’t hurt – they’re quite soft and pretty colors. I took a picture if I ever get to post any!
I think that’s all for now – lots to update on, I know! I love hearing from you all so thank you for all the emails! Makes me feel loved J
Hope all is well and everyone’s New Year is going fantastically!
Ok – So it’s been awhile, I know. I had some computer trouble. Our cabin steward cleaned our carpets without warning and I had my computer under the desk on the floor. He picked it up to clean it, but put the computer back on the wet carpet and it seeped into the computer! It took it a few days to dry out…made me really nervous for a bit! So we’ll see how long it lasts from here!
I went on the Maori excursion where we went into the city of KeriKeri (pronounced KittyKitty) and saw the oldest stone building in New Zealand then it was onto the Manginangina Forest to walk through and show us some native plants to New Zealand and what the Maori’s first came across when going into the Bush. Nothing really other than GIANT trees - second largest tree to the California Redwood. It takes 8 people holding hands to reach around the entire circumference of the largest tree.
Next was the Maori tribal house where the local tribe actually meets. The South Island Maori’s allow people to come in and go through the typical protocol and visit the house, unlike the North Island Maori’s. So, we got to go in and see the inside –it was lined with intricate carvings of their typical faces signifying the sacred lives of ancestors that have been lost and the walls were lined with photographs of all the local tribe’s ancestors. Really neat to listen to them speak their native tongue and see how sacred it truly is to each of the members. I loved it!
Last stop was Waitangi Treaty Grounds where all the treaties were originally signed. There was a HUGE canoe that some of the Maori’s came to the island on. Beautiful property right along the beach!
That night we had a surprise birthday for Arnout, one of our engineers. He’s dating Christina, a cruise staff. Christina bought black lights for the OB (officer’s bar) and she filled alcohol bottles with water and dropped glow sticks in all of them so the room lit up. We all wore white t-shirts and wrote not-the-most-appropriate things on our shirts with highlighters so we all lit up! It was tons of fun! We all enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.
Didn’t get an excursion in Taraunga so I went to the gym in the morning and headed out to walk around the city for a few minutes and hit the most beautiful beach for an hour or so. The sun here is way different than back home, so an hour is a lot. Got a little burned and I had 15 sun block on – but still better then having nothing, right? The beach was beautiful though – neat to see beaches with huge trees growing all around!
My favorite place is now Picton, New Zealand. I didn’t get off the first cruise because I had IPM, but this cruise I walked around for a while. Great little city (reminds me of a town slightly bigger than Ray City, GA) – lots of local crafts and store to see and visit! So I walked around for a few hours and it was wonderful – cold but wonderful!
Today I went on the Taieri Gorge Railway. It was a train that took us through the beautiful scenic parts of Dunedin. This is how I remember New Zealand with the rolling hills and just beautiful scenery! It was a 5 hour trip with lunch, wine and tea and just a wonderful day. We opened the windows and just enjoyed the fresh air. Its times like that when I take a deep breath and remember why I love my life right now! Phenomenal day! You should see the sand spurs that they have here…they are the size of ping pong balls, but they don’t hurt – they’re quite soft and pretty colors. I took a picture if I ever get to post any!
I think that’s all for now – lots to update on, I know! I love hearing from you all so thank you for all the emails! Makes me feel loved J
Hope all is well and everyone’s New Year is going fantastically!
Kia Ora
January 3, 2008
Day 16 out of this 18 day cruise is almost over!!! Let’s just say this many days with the same kids is a long long time! We finally got sound in Club Hal – the electrician came in and fixed it all for me J I told him he was my best friend and he just laughed at me like I was crazy! But that made my day yesterday. Our Explorations Café Manager was quarantined yesterday for 3 days, so I didn’t even work in Club Hal yesterday – I just worked in the library to help out. She’s not the most organized person – all of the shelves are out of order and it looks like a bomb went off in there – so me and a couple cruise staff got it looking pretty spectacular!
Today I went on an excursion called Kiwifruit and Tarangua Sights. (We’re in the city of Tarangua in New Zealand) We went to a place called Kiwi 360 which was a huge Kiwi Orchard that grew primarily Kiwi fruit, but had lots of the stone fruits and tons of other various fruits growing on trees. I can’t believe how amazing Kiwi’s are! They are basically a self-sufficient fruit – they never get water or have a water supply going to them, the roots just dig themselves deep enough into the ground to seek water. They have the green Kiwi Fruits and the gold kiwi fruits. I didn’t get to taste the gold, but everyone said it was delicious. There are these huge pine-looking trees growing all around the orchards to protect the Kiwi’s from the winds. I also didn’t realize that they grew just like grapes do!
After we took a tour of the Orchard, we went inside to the store (of course!), but in the Courtyard they served scones with Kiwi Jam and home made whipped cream, slices of Kiwi (that they picked back in April and they still tasted amazing!), and Kiwi Juice along with Tea. Quite a cool trip – learned a lot! Did you know that a kiwi has more Vitamin C than an orange and more potassium than a banana?
Next we headed to a winery called Mills Reef. They didn’t grow the grapes there, but at a vineyard 5 hours away. We sampled wines for about 30 minutes, but none of them really impressed me…they were all really dry! And that was really all there was to the excursion!
Other than that, life is going good….just relaxing a lot lately. The ship is a lot quieter than my last one, but I’m trying to give it a chance!
That’s all for now! Another excursion tomorrow about my favorites – the Maori’s. Will update soon!
Day 16 out of this 18 day cruise is almost over!!! Let’s just say this many days with the same kids is a long long time! We finally got sound in Club Hal – the electrician came in and fixed it all for me J I told him he was my best friend and he just laughed at me like I was crazy! But that made my day yesterday. Our Explorations Café Manager was quarantined yesterday for 3 days, so I didn’t even work in Club Hal yesterday – I just worked in the library to help out. She’s not the most organized person – all of the shelves are out of order and it looks like a bomb went off in there – so me and a couple cruise staff got it looking pretty spectacular!
Today I went on an excursion called Kiwifruit and Tarangua Sights. (We’re in the city of Tarangua in New Zealand) We went to a place called Kiwi 360 which was a huge Kiwi Orchard that grew primarily Kiwi fruit, but had lots of the stone fruits and tons of other various fruits growing on trees. I can’t believe how amazing Kiwi’s are! They are basically a self-sufficient fruit – they never get water or have a water supply going to them, the roots just dig themselves deep enough into the ground to seek water. They have the green Kiwi Fruits and the gold kiwi fruits. I didn’t get to taste the gold, but everyone said it was delicious. There are these huge pine-looking trees growing all around the orchards to protect the Kiwi’s from the winds. I also didn’t realize that they grew just like grapes do!
After we took a tour of the Orchard, we went inside to the store (of course!), but in the Courtyard they served scones with Kiwi Jam and home made whipped cream, slices of Kiwi (that they picked back in April and they still tasted amazing!), and Kiwi Juice along with Tea. Quite a cool trip – learned a lot! Did you know that a kiwi has more Vitamin C than an orange and more potassium than a banana?
Next we headed to a winery called Mills Reef. They didn’t grow the grapes there, but at a vineyard 5 hours away. We sampled wines for about 30 minutes, but none of them really impressed me…they were all really dry! And that was really all there was to the excursion!
Other than that, life is going good….just relaxing a lot lately. The ship is a lot quieter than my last one, but I’m trying to give it a chance!
That’s all for now! Another excursion tomorrow about my favorites – the Maori’s. Will update soon!
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Looking back but Stepping Forward
January 1, 2008
So my New Year’s Eve was much better than anticipated! For after hours sitting we only had 2 sign up and the other girl (well..she’s 32,so not a girl) said she’d do it because she had no interest in celebrating. So I gladly got my formal dress on and dressed up and headed out! In our Van Gough Lounge we had a huge countdown with champagne toast for the New Year. Our band was playing on the stage and people were dancing everywhere. Lots of the crew piled into the lounge too for the countdown so we celebrated together. My New Years Eve kiss was Whitney because both of our boys are elsewhere L But we had no problem enjoying ourselves.
After the countdown we headed up to the Crow’s Nest (the ship nightclub) which was abosolutely packed – but all of the cruise staff (4 of them) a few of the officers and myself were on the dance floor for about 2 hours straight. You can see the pictures start out great – we all look fresh and good and they end with our hair up and we’re sweating like crazy!!! But it’s one of the best New Year’s I’ve ever had! Finally!!!!
I must say that looking back, this is the first year I’ve ever fulfilled a New Year’s Resolution…to lose 20 pounds and be happy! I doubled it!! Woohoo! I definitely want to lose another 15-20, but for now, I’m content with keeping it off and maintaining what I’ve done already! I think my resolution for this year is just to keep up what I’ve accomplished in the last year – getting rid of the negative crap and just relying on myself for happiness! Really…at this point in my life, looking at it all – what more could a 23 year old ask for???
I hope everyone at home has a wonderful New Year’s – you guys should be celebrating in the next few hours! Enjoy it!
Happy 2008 friends!
So my New Year’s Eve was much better than anticipated! For after hours sitting we only had 2 sign up and the other girl (well..she’s 32,so not a girl) said she’d do it because she had no interest in celebrating. So I gladly got my formal dress on and dressed up and headed out! In our Van Gough Lounge we had a huge countdown with champagne toast for the New Year. Our band was playing on the stage and people were dancing everywhere. Lots of the crew piled into the lounge too for the countdown so we celebrated together. My New Years Eve kiss was Whitney because both of our boys are elsewhere L But we had no problem enjoying ourselves.
After the countdown we headed up to the Crow’s Nest (the ship nightclub) which was abosolutely packed – but all of the cruise staff (4 of them) a few of the officers and myself were on the dance floor for about 2 hours straight. You can see the pictures start out great – we all look fresh and good and they end with our hair up and we’re sweating like crazy!!! But it’s one of the best New Year’s I’ve ever had! Finally!!!!
I must say that looking back, this is the first year I’ve ever fulfilled a New Year’s Resolution…to lose 20 pounds and be happy! I doubled it!! Woohoo! I definitely want to lose another 15-20, but for now, I’m content with keeping it off and maintaining what I’ve done already! I think my resolution for this year is just to keep up what I’ve accomplished in the last year – getting rid of the negative crap and just relying on myself for happiness! Really…at this point in my life, looking at it all – what more could a 23 year old ask for???
I hope everyone at home has a wonderful New Year’s – you guys should be celebrating in the next few hours! Enjoy it!
Happy 2008 friends!
Sunday, December 30, 2007
The bright side of life...
December 30, 2007
Today was a pretty boring day! I had In Port Manning, so I couldn’t leave the ship – so I slept in kinda late, went to the gym, took a shower and didn’t start work until 4 p.m.! But what does suck is that I found out we have to babysit until midnight tomorrow night – so there’s no celebrating with friends AGAIN! Damn…Then, I heard that the one day we’re in Russia, no crew is allowed to get off!! What kinda crap is that??????
Yesterday was great though – I was up really early for an excursion that was a tour of Christchurch and Canterbury. We started the morning by heading out to a lookout point just to look over the city of Christchurch, which is beautiful (as is all of New Zealand…maybe I should marry a Kiwi??). Then we headed out to Riccarton House and Bush (which means forest). Riccarton House is a Victorian home which is one of the oldest buildings in the Canterbury plains owns by the Deans family who is highly influential here. The house was beautiful with tons of imported woods and luxurious things around the home. The gardens around the home were spectacular – as is every garden here. Christchurch is known as “The Garden City.”
Next, we headed off to Homebush Stables in Homebush. We started with a sheep herding demonstration and there were sheep that were only about weeks old. You’ll have to see them when I eventually post the pictures! I also have a video of the sheep herding as well as the sheep shearing demonstration. The sheep he sheared (?) had 18 months worth of wool on it, so I think it lost about 30 pounds of wool!! We walked around the property which was amazingly beautiful and the family still lives in the home there! There was a woman who turned the wool into thread and we watched her use a New Zealand made spinner to thread it all around a spool. After all of that, we headed inside for a great dinner that was made for us – food was fantastic!!!
The next stop was the Antarctic Center. Basically, the US Antarctic Research Center is located there also. But, you can go on a Hagglund ride and see blue New Zealand penguins. There is also the Antarctic experience where they give you booties and a jacket and send you into a room covered in ice and snow (really slippery!!) with a snow slide and an igloo. The lights dim down really low, the wind picks up and the temperatures drop to -17 degrees Celsius! It was a bit cold for my taste. We didn’t get to explore too much because the rest of the tour was quite rushed, so we only have 45 minutes to see the entire attraction unfortunately! L
Our last stop was the Art Center of the City. We literally had about 20 minutes there which really stunk because there were lots of local artists there who had tons of beautiful jewelry and I had no time to look! I also found some New Zealand wool boots – I think I might be investing in some before we leave here J They had a great fudge store – I wish it wasn’t so expensive to ship because I’d love to send some to Aunt Louise! It’s fantastic – they had bailey’s fudge and double chocolate and probably 15 other flavors!
I guess that’s about all for now – I still haven’t posted any pictures like I said because the internet is so freakin slow! I will try and find a place tomorrow in Wellington that I can get some!
Happy New Year! I’ll be celebrating it long before you all will, but I guess there’s not much celebration with 3-7 year olds!
Here’s to a great 2008!
Today was a pretty boring day! I had In Port Manning, so I couldn’t leave the ship – so I slept in kinda late, went to the gym, took a shower and didn’t start work until 4 p.m.! But what does suck is that I found out we have to babysit until midnight tomorrow night – so there’s no celebrating with friends AGAIN! Damn…Then, I heard that the one day we’re in Russia, no crew is allowed to get off!! What kinda crap is that??????
Yesterday was great though – I was up really early for an excursion that was a tour of Christchurch and Canterbury. We started the morning by heading out to a lookout point just to look over the city of Christchurch, which is beautiful (as is all of New Zealand…maybe I should marry a Kiwi??). Then we headed out to Riccarton House and Bush (which means forest). Riccarton House is a Victorian home which is one of the oldest buildings in the Canterbury plains owns by the Deans family who is highly influential here. The house was beautiful with tons of imported woods and luxurious things around the home. The gardens around the home were spectacular – as is every garden here. Christchurch is known as “The Garden City.”
Next, we headed off to Homebush Stables in Homebush. We started with a sheep herding demonstration and there were sheep that were only about weeks old. You’ll have to see them when I eventually post the pictures! I also have a video of the sheep herding as well as the sheep shearing demonstration. The sheep he sheared (?) had 18 months worth of wool on it, so I think it lost about 30 pounds of wool!! We walked around the property which was amazingly beautiful and the family still lives in the home there! There was a woman who turned the wool into thread and we watched her use a New Zealand made spinner to thread it all around a spool. After all of that, we headed inside for a great dinner that was made for us – food was fantastic!!!
The next stop was the Antarctic Center. Basically, the US Antarctic Research Center is located there also. But, you can go on a Hagglund ride and see blue New Zealand penguins. There is also the Antarctic experience where they give you booties and a jacket and send you into a room covered in ice and snow (really slippery!!) with a snow slide and an igloo. The lights dim down really low, the wind picks up and the temperatures drop to -17 degrees Celsius! It was a bit cold for my taste. We didn’t get to explore too much because the rest of the tour was quite rushed, so we only have 45 minutes to see the entire attraction unfortunately! L
Our last stop was the Art Center of the City. We literally had about 20 minutes there which really stunk because there were lots of local artists there who had tons of beautiful jewelry and I had no time to look! I also found some New Zealand wool boots – I think I might be investing in some before we leave here J They had a great fudge store – I wish it wasn’t so expensive to ship because I’d love to send some to Aunt Louise! It’s fantastic – they had bailey’s fudge and double chocolate and probably 15 other flavors!
I guess that’s about all for now – I still haven’t posted any pictures like I said because the internet is so freakin slow! I will try and find a place tomorrow in Wellington that I can get some!
Happy New Year! I’ll be celebrating it long before you all will, but I guess there’s not much celebration with 3-7 year olds!
Here’s to a great 2008!
So Sleepy!
December 28, 2007
I am so tired right now, so we’ll just type and see how this ends up! After three very long sea days, we finally found Dunedin, New Zealand today! I went on an excursion called “Dunedin Highlights” which was literally driving around in a bus with a few stops along the way. We saw several Cathedrals, went to the most photographed Railroad station and walked around, the Olveston Experience that was owned by a wealthy family – basically a small castle – absolutely beautiful! We also drove by Baldwin Street, which is the steepest street in the World, Otago University and Unity Park where we could catch a glimpse of the entire city from on top of a small mountain. It was a nice way to see what the city has to offer. We passed the Cadbury factory which really made me want some chocolate!
I’m going to attempt to post some pictures, but we’ll see how fast the internet is running tonight before I do that! There are lots of pictures from our Christmas dinner where you will see us eating something – they’re called Tim Tam ?? cookies – you bite off opposite corners and suck either coffee or hot tea through it and it melts in your hand and tastes like a Kit Kat. They are amazing! So that’s what all those crazy pictures are. No fantastic pictures just yet, but I will try and get some soon J
Hope all is well with everyone and I’m going on an excursion tomorrow in Christchurch that’s called “Christchurch and Canterbury” so it should be great – it’s 8.5 hours long! So it will cover several things I’m sure!
Peace out!
I am so tired right now, so we’ll just type and see how this ends up! After three very long sea days, we finally found Dunedin, New Zealand today! I went on an excursion called “Dunedin Highlights” which was literally driving around in a bus with a few stops along the way. We saw several Cathedrals, went to the most photographed Railroad station and walked around, the Olveston Experience that was owned by a wealthy family – basically a small castle – absolutely beautiful! We also drove by Baldwin Street, which is the steepest street in the World, Otago University and Unity Park where we could catch a glimpse of the entire city from on top of a small mountain. It was a nice way to see what the city has to offer. We passed the Cadbury factory which really made me want some chocolate!
I’m going to attempt to post some pictures, but we’ll see how fast the internet is running tonight before I do that! There are lots of pictures from our Christmas dinner where you will see us eating something – they’re called Tim Tam ?? cookies – you bite off opposite corners and suck either coffee or hot tea through it and it melts in your hand and tastes like a Kit Kat. They are amazing! So that’s what all those crazy pictures are. No fantastic pictures just yet, but I will try and get some soon J
Hope all is well with everyone and I’m going on an excursion tomorrow in Christchurch that’s called “Christchurch and Canterbury” so it should be great – it’s 8.5 hours long! So it will cover several things I’m sure!
Peace out!
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
All I want for Christmas is YOU!
December 25, 2007
I’m sitting here and it’s just about midnight on the 25th – so Christmas is over already and I’m looking at my clock and it says it is 7:34 a.m. back home where Christmas is just getting started – pretty amazing how the world works, eh?
The ship is decorated beautifully for the Holidays. The atrium fountain is full of fake snow and gifts. There are several large Christmas trees around the ship and just the overall feel of the holidays is here!
So last night we had a Christmas party for the kids with Christmas crafts and Gingerbread men etc. After that, I participated in an International Christmas Choir. It was last night about 10:45 p.m. for all the passengers. There was a Filipino Choir that sang, an Indonesian Choir then the “International” Choir with everyone else. It was pretty neat and made it feel a little bit more like Christmas for me – getting to sing in it and all. We did four carols and while one of the cast members was singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” we were all standing behind her and “snow” began to fall on the stage – it gave me goosebumps – it was nice to have that special holiday feel. We concluded the performance with all the participating crew (about 100-125 of us) lining the stairs and the lounge with candles singing “Silent Night.” It was beautiful!
This morning was a great Christmas morning- while it was hard not being home with all those things that I’m used to on Christmas morning. We set up the lounge with lots of Christmas décor and the captain made an announcement that “a large flying object with lots of animals and a red nose leading the way” was making its way towards our ship. Eventually, about 10 minutes later, the Captain came on again and made the announcement that the unidentified object was Santa and he had landed on the bow of our ship. Patrick (a guy from my old ship) and myself were told we were hosting the event. He’s the DJ/Emcee on the ship, so I assumed he’s be on the mic the whole time and I would just kinda gather the kids and keep it flowing. Well, apparently, he called the kids up by age group and I had to provide the entertainment and be on the mic the ENTIRE time. I was talking to the kids about what they wanted/what they got etc. I was actually quite comfortable and ended up getting several compliments from my bosses, the event manager and the cruise director, so I was very excited about that! The snow was falling and we gave out gifts (backpacks) to all the kids and did photographs with kids of all ages. Everyone really enjoyed it and it put us in the Christmas spirit!
Tonight, they had a cocktail party for the crew at 5:15, where all cocktails were free. Then, we were served a dinner on the Lido deck by the volunteer cabin stewards. It was great to be served and we had tons of fun having a nice dinner all dressed up. The Filipinos and Indonesians were also served by volunteer Entertainment/Deck and other departments – so everyone got their well deserved relaxing time to be served and waited on!
All in all, a nice Christmas – my first official Christmas away from home. I guess I really am growing up?!?!
Right now we’re sitting in the middle of nowhere – we have 3 straight sea days (rough sea days at that) sailing from Tasmania to New Zealand. All the Christmas trees have fallen over several times! The kids are loving the wave pool and the walking crooked – I, however, hate looking like I’m drunk all the time!
I hope everyone back home has a blessed and wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year. I know I am extremely grateful for all that God has given me and changed in my life over the course of the last year. Every single thing was for the better and every decision I made appeared to lead me in the right direction, despite my hesitation on some of them. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been and overall, I feel the best I’ve ever felt and I hope and pray that my life continues to go the positive direction.
Like I said, I’ll continue to update you all as much as possible. Not too much has happened yet – I’ve been working so much trying to get Club Hal in order I haven’t had much time for anything else with all of the holiday activity!
Love you guys and miss you all!
I’m sitting here and it’s just about midnight on the 25th – so Christmas is over already and I’m looking at my clock and it says it is 7:34 a.m. back home where Christmas is just getting started – pretty amazing how the world works, eh?
The ship is decorated beautifully for the Holidays. The atrium fountain is full of fake snow and gifts. There are several large Christmas trees around the ship and just the overall feel of the holidays is here!
So last night we had a Christmas party for the kids with Christmas crafts and Gingerbread men etc. After that, I participated in an International Christmas Choir. It was last night about 10:45 p.m. for all the passengers. There was a Filipino Choir that sang, an Indonesian Choir then the “International” Choir with everyone else. It was pretty neat and made it feel a little bit more like Christmas for me – getting to sing in it and all. We did four carols and while one of the cast members was singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” we were all standing behind her and “snow” began to fall on the stage – it gave me goosebumps – it was nice to have that special holiday feel. We concluded the performance with all the participating crew (about 100-125 of us) lining the stairs and the lounge with candles singing “Silent Night.” It was beautiful!
This morning was a great Christmas morning- while it was hard not being home with all those things that I’m used to on Christmas morning. We set up the lounge with lots of Christmas décor and the captain made an announcement that “a large flying object with lots of animals and a red nose leading the way” was making its way towards our ship. Eventually, about 10 minutes later, the Captain came on again and made the announcement that the unidentified object was Santa and he had landed on the bow of our ship. Patrick (a guy from my old ship) and myself were told we were hosting the event. He’s the DJ/Emcee on the ship, so I assumed he’s be on the mic the whole time and I would just kinda gather the kids and keep it flowing. Well, apparently, he called the kids up by age group and I had to provide the entertainment and be on the mic the ENTIRE time. I was talking to the kids about what they wanted/what they got etc. I was actually quite comfortable and ended up getting several compliments from my bosses, the event manager and the cruise director, so I was very excited about that! The snow was falling and we gave out gifts (backpacks) to all the kids and did photographs with kids of all ages. Everyone really enjoyed it and it put us in the Christmas spirit!
Tonight, they had a cocktail party for the crew at 5:15, where all cocktails were free. Then, we were served a dinner on the Lido deck by the volunteer cabin stewards. It was great to be served and we had tons of fun having a nice dinner all dressed up. The Filipinos and Indonesians were also served by volunteer Entertainment/Deck and other departments – so everyone got their well deserved relaxing time to be served and waited on!
All in all, a nice Christmas – my first official Christmas away from home. I guess I really am growing up?!?!
Right now we’re sitting in the middle of nowhere – we have 3 straight sea days (rough sea days at that) sailing from Tasmania to New Zealand. All the Christmas trees have fallen over several times! The kids are loving the wave pool and the walking crooked – I, however, hate looking like I’m drunk all the time!
I hope everyone back home has a blessed and wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year. I know I am extremely grateful for all that God has given me and changed in my life over the course of the last year. Every single thing was for the better and every decision I made appeared to lead me in the right direction, despite my hesitation on some of them. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been and overall, I feel the best I’ve ever felt and I hope and pray that my life continues to go the positive direction.
Like I said, I’ll continue to update you all as much as possible. Not too much has happened yet – I’ve been working so much trying to get Club Hal in order I haven’t had much time for anything else with all of the holiday activity!
Love you guys and miss you all!
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