There's No Place Like Home

I know I’m sporting a “Gulf tan” under my layers of winter clothing, as I brave the Island’s pelting rain and comparably unbearable cold… and I couldn’t be giddier about it. No amount of wet weather or dreary skies can dampen my joys of being home. I did managed to earn some rather odd looks from my fellow Victorians, though, when I arrived at the airport, wearing nothing but a t-shirt, jeans, and flip-flops. So, I wasn’t exactly ready to give up my hot Oriental weather yet, is that so wrong? Hong Kong was like something out of any Chinatown across Canada, only to the extreme and filled with incredibly hospitable people. We were fortunate enough to have arrived with the commencement of the Chinese New Year, and stayed for the duration of the festivities. The lights and decorations that adorned every alleyway vendor to the most extravagant of skyscrapers were breathtaking. We enjoyed a gorgeous fireworks display that outshone any I’d been spectator to before (save New Year’s Eve in Sydney Harbour), and with a show duration of over 25 minutes was enough to make this ol’ Edmontonian patron jealous. Miniature orange trees were just as abundant as the appearance of cute pigs and the traditional red and gold palette (this year is the year of the pig, or boar). I managed to make the most of my time in Hong Kong, especially as this was to be my last port before flying home. I was sure to sample all forms of local cuisine – just doesn’t sound right to ask a local where we can find some great “Chinese food,” you know? The strangest of the dishes was purchased by a friend of mine; shark fin soup. After experiencing the mucus consistency of the broth, we quickly escorted him to the McDonald’s line up for a Big Mac… trust me, he earned it! One of the best parts of travelling in the Eastern countries of the world is the cost of food. The portion sizes were just as plentiful, if not more, and yet we were paying next to pennies for some of the best food I have tasted. Just to put things into a more western perspective for you; a Big Mac Meal with an extra Quarter Pounder with cheese burger would cost a North American about $8 - $10. In Hong Kong, for example, it works out to $3.25. It was stuff like this that consistently had me questioning who was really the “civilized” society. There is a lot to be said about a culture that attaches more value to life’s necessities, thus making it more attainable to the masses. Going from the bustle of Hong Kong, to the slower pace of Langford, BC should have been such a relief… but it was overwhelming in a way. It wasn’t so much that I was trying to find my path amongst so many faces I didn’t recognize, but that all the faces were white. Strange to say, I know, but after spending close to 6 months in close quarters with 230 of your closest friends in Middle Eastern and Asian nations, where you are the token white people, can make coming home a bit of a shock. I actually caught myself staring at fellow Canadians in the airports and listening closely to the accents of home. Exciting when you realize you are almost home in those friendly tones and rosy-cheeked smiles, but a bit frightening too. Just makes you notice that you are quickly leaving your element and will be jumping back into your old life again. So far, so good though. I’ll write more about my Hong Kong experience later, cause the longer I take to recount the tale, the longer all of you are waiting to hear from me. Will write again soon. To those of you reading from the boat – I miss you guys… BBQ at my place when you get back! I’m going through withdrawal – go figure!

Big News!

As some of you may already be aware, I have been fortunate enough to have been offered a career course. This course is the same engineering course that Kevin is currently on, and is a requirement to progress in our trade. It means a posting ashore at the Fleet School (located on base in Esquimalt) for 20 months and is rather academically rigorous. The catch is the course commences on the 2nd of April this year. Therefore, in order to still take my earned holiday time after completing a Gulf deployment, I will be flown home early out of Hong Kong. The good news is, no more threat of ‘death by seasickness’ at the mercy of the Alaskan coastal waters! Yes, I am absolutely thrilled and relieved. Although, part of me is rather depressed by the prospect of leaving all my sailing companions behind, only a few weeks from our scheduled homecoming. I was really looking forward to pulling alongside the jetty to all the media and fanfare. But those sad thoughts are quickly replaced with excitement at the prospect of sleeping in my own bed and cooking in my own kitchen… and of course having Kevin close enough to hug. Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone! I hope it was an enjoyable one for you all. Holidays aren’t really that big of a deal out here lately. Although I’ve discovered it has a lot to do with our homecoming approaching so quickly. Everyone is anxious to see there loved ones, so the festivities have been somewhat subdued with our thoughts on home. We did have ‘chick flicks’ playing in the lounge (Cave) all day though and chocolate cake for dessert with supper. Since I wrote last we have visited Male, Maldives. It is a small island that seems to exist purely for its having an airport. There really wasn’t much to see or do there, which wasn’t such a disappointment as we only had an overnight stop to take on fuel. I did manage to window shop and enjoy a wonderful outdoor buffet dinner with friends though. After Male (pronounced MAL-LAY) with steamed on to Port Klang, Malaysia. What a beautiful country. We were docked about an hour drive from Guala Lumpur and enjoyed 5 well earned days alongside. I learned that Malaysia is actually pronounced MALAY- SEE-AH by the locals. The country is ruled by a constitutional monarchy, much like Canada, where the parliament has all power. However, instead of one royal family, the Malaysians have 8! Every 5 years a new Sultan from a different family is voted in as ruler… which, like Canada, is mainly as a figurehead of the country. I spent my time taking in the downtown sights; the Petronas Twin Towers, with a 4-story shopping mall; and the Menara Kuala Lumpur, is the world’s 5th tallest communication tower which had incredible views of the city and an informative tour via mp4 player (it plays videos). Of course there was plenty of shopping as well, with some great buys. I even managed to fill my camera’s memory card to the limit in this port – so lots of pictures to add to the site once I return home and have a good internet connection again. I stayed at the Holiday Inn Glenmarie in Klang along with several others from the ship. Our Logistics PO managed to make all the arrangements and get us all an excellent rate on our rooms ($52/night). The hotel had two golf courses, several restaurants and pubs, as well as my personal favourite, a fully equipped spa. The spa quickly became the highlight of everyone’s stay as we all managed to make a visit there for some much needed relaxation and pampering. I was lucky enough to be in port (and not Duty) for my birthday, which we celebrated mostly on the 11th. I was spoiled by my Mom and Oma, who both sent me ‘birthday-in-a-box’ packages containing all sorts of party decorations and goodies. Two of the guys took on the duties of party coordinators and confiscated all of my decorations, as the “birthday girl shouldn’t be burdened with such tasks.” That evening, after spending nearly 5 hours at the spa with everyone, I was surprised with a poolside party, complete with decorations, candles, sparklers, balloons floating in the pool and a large decadent chocolate cake personalized with my name spelt correctly (huge bonus!) and a group of great friends singing. What a wonderful way to ring in a new year of your life! I was completely spoiled and am so grateful to these people for making my birthday so special and truly memorable. The next morning, my actual birthday (at least on Malay time), I shared breakfast with the two party coordinators prior to our trip back to the boat and was surprised yet again with another piece of cake, complete with icing wishes and candle glow. Can you understand why it is going to be so hard to leave this place? The following morning I was up at 3 am to get all the machinery flashed up for our departure of Malaysia. At 6:00am the rest of the ship was awaked with the typical whistle blast over the loudspeaker and the traditional “Wakey, Wakey. Hands to breakfast” pipe. I was in the MCR (Machinery Control Room) when the first bars of a very familiar song start to play across the airwaves. I was in shock and kept searching the faces around me asking, “Who did this? Who put this on?” No one really understood what I was going on about until the first verse began, “Corrina, Corrina.” I was welling up at this point, but still needed to perform my roundsman duties. I was in the engine space when the song ended and the CO came over the pipe wishing me a “Happy Birthday from your Mommy.” What a wonderful surprise! He came down to the MCR to congratulate me shortly after and explain that he wanted to wait to play the song until the 13th as that was when everyone would be onboard for our departure. I don’t know how you managed to pull it off, Mom. He is a pretty tough sell when it comes to playing songs on the broadcast system. It’s the whole, “if we do it for one, then we have to do it for all” adage. I believe that saying I had a memorable birthday experience would be a terrible injustice to the emotions and pride I was privileged to feel those few days. The well wishes posted on the Guestbook website and all the emails and messages sent via my Blog where gift enough. I felt so loved and close to all of you. To be honest, I don’t know how I would have coped these past months if it weren’t for the ability to communicate with my loved ones through such real-time means. I don’t think having to rely on “snail mail” would have cut it. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read my words and share your strength with me. I’m looking forward to telling you all about the next port! With the Chinese New Year upon us, there should be plenty to share in the next entry. Oh! What a silly thing to nearly forget to tell. We also received our SWASM medals and ribbon for our deployment to the Persian Gulf on our first day in Malaysia. The Commodore presented them to us with much praise and gratitude for our sacrifices. It’s really shiny! I’m pretty excited about the whole ceremony of it all. I’ll try to include a picture that was taken when I was presented the medal. Of course I couldn’t keep my personality from shining through though. The Commodore approached, I saluted and began a friendly conversation with him… not really the typical “parade” protocol. I managed to make him laugh though when he asked me if he was pronouncing my name correctly, to which I replied, “Yes Sir. The P is only there for conversation.” I think he’ll remember me. All for now!

I thought everyone would truely enjoy these words written by Rick Mercer. http://www.theindependent.ca/article.asp?AID=1333&ATID=6 Hope to write again soon... computer time is hard to come by these days. The bosses are all working on our quaterly reviews and in desperate need of all available computers. But I'll sneak on when I can to keep you all posted. Two nights ago I was the lucky recipient of a "Spa Package" that was won by my buddy Charlie Chamberlain. Charlie wasn't really interested in the package which included an one hour massage and bath in the sickbay soaker tub... I'm lucky to have been the one he thought to give it to! I managed to bring in my MP3 player and a small set of speakers, some shampoo to make bubbles, and a mint chocolate (courtesy of my brother, Mike). So I enjoyed a bubble bath with dim lighting while Enya serenaded me. Something really cool about taking a bath on a war ship in the middle of the ocean. The bath water moved with the gentle rocking of the ship. I'm not sure if we are in the northern or the southern hemisphere though - I could tell which way the water went down the drain. Will try to write again soon!

All That Glitters IS Gold Part Three

Where did I leave off? Right… “LEFT at the feral cat.” I decided to spend my last day off in Dubai away from the temptation of jewels, gold and high fashion items and participate in a day safari. The Day Safari entailed a 4-wheel drive through the sand dunes of the Arab desert with a stop in a traditional Bedouin village for an evening meal, henna tattooing and belly dancing demonstration. The SUVs would pick us up and dropped us off right at the ship, so there was no arguing the convenience factor. I was in awe of the scenery as we followed the freeway out to a sea of sand. It may sound odd, but the landscape really reminded me of Alberta in the winter. I know, I know… how can the Arabian Desert under the unforgiving sun remind me of a snow covered prairie province? Well, the freeway for one was incredibly straight as it cut a path through the never-ending sand dunes. Something about the desolate quiet of the open plains was mirrored in the fenced off sections of sand dotted with the occasional camel or ATV. You could see almost to the horizon in any direction… and the desert reflected the suns rays much like a prairie field after a snowfall. Funny how you can find memories of home half way around the world. Our driver reminded me of my father, if only for his dark hair and presence. He too had that rare twinkle in his eye that instantly made me feel comfortable around him, and yet curious of what mischief he might chase. He didn’t speak barely a word during our drive out to the dunes, leaving us to wonder if he spoke any English at all. But once our 7-seater SUV started challenging those sand dunes, I quickly became aware of the universal language of “holy shits” and uncontrollable laughter. This man really was like my Dad. Tackling each dune with a little boy grin and a daredevil attitude. He continually hung back from the convoy of other vehicles so we could have the maximum room to careen about and send sand flying over the hood. The more we laughed and hollered, the more he swerved and laid on the gas. What a great experience! I don’t think the pictures can ever do the moment justice. There were 4 of us in the truck, so we were able to each take turns in the front seat, where the view was the best. I was the last to make my way up to the panoramic sights of the windshield. It was then that our driver and I started to talk. This man could speak very good English; I think he just appreciated having someone try to engage him in conversation. He told us all about the area we were in and all the growth Dubai had seen in the past year alone. He even spoiled us with a trip off the main roads to the Bedouin camp that involved a lot of fresh sand and blind embankments to climb over. We even managed to capture a few photos of the sun setting just before finding the cluster of tents in a small “sand valley.” The Bedouin camp was fantastic. I had the opportunity to dress up in a traditional burka complete with veil (this is the long black gowns you see the women wearing). I was surprised to learn that the women who wear the burkas only wear them while out in public and underneath they are wearing full outfits in the latest fashions. Even the veils are removed once a woman becomes comfortable with a new guest. And to answer Mary Ellen’s question, I did not have to be covered up at all while in any of the Middle Eastern countries. I tried to dress respectably – basically, if you wouldn’t wear it for a round of golf, it probably should stay in the closet. Dubai was incredibly modern, much like a European city, so there were no issues at all. In fact, I would say I received a lot of attention there, all positive, while out sightseeing and window-shopping. Anyway, the food was delicious. I tasted the best lamb chops that were prepared over an open flame and hand made pita bread that was a bit sweet to the palate. While we enjoyed our meal, all eaten with our fingers in true Bedouin style, we were dazzled by the belly dancer who spun her body around on several fine Persian carpets, with all of us diners circled around her. It was amazing how this woman could control every muscle in her core. She invited several of us up to dance alongside her – yet again, we were overtaken by fits of laughter as we tried vainly to mimic her motions. A few of us girls were inspired and purchased belly-dancing costumes with aspirations of taking lessons when we return to Victoria! A special addition to the night’s festivities was the rising of a full moon over the camp. Mystical is perhaps the only word I could use to describe it. Upon our return to the ship that night, I asked permission to hug our driver good-bye rather than shake his hand. He didn’t understand what I was asking at first so I just made the motions and was greeted with a huge smile and hug (that I secretly pretended was from my Dad) and a kiss on the cheek. Oh, and I managed to get a picture with him too at the camp next to a little Christmas tree – weird, I know. So, there you have it. A window into my memorable time in Dubai. I would return in a heartbeat. And not just because the monotony of the sail has been wearing on my lately. I have been busy with the daily chores of a sailor and stoker, and continually find my thoughts drifting to home and all the things I would like to do upon my return. But we’re not too far from that now, I suppose. Until I see that jetty filled with wives, husbands, family and media I plan to stay focused on enjoying each port as we inch closer to home… and I choose the word “inch” for a reason!

I'm still here...

Hello everyone, I just wanted to send out a quick note to let you all know that, yes, I am still bobbing around out here in open water. I haven't been able to write another entry regarding my Dubai adventures for a bit here due to the turbulence of the seas... it's just not playing nice with my tummy. But I am proud to report that I am still Gravol-Free as of Dubai! I am looking forward to writing you all again soon... just not now as I am currently "on watch" and therefore should be monitoring machinery rather than sneaking onto the computer to write Blog entries... (hee, hee)