Back by popular demand

OK, so I was going to leave off with Guatemala but it seems there's interest in the rest of the journey that followed, so I guess I'll go ahead and fill you all in.

After Guatemala (and my ankle the size of a freaking cantaloupe), I took it easy for a day or so. That wasn't hard to do as I had a decent book (Time Traveler's Wife, OMG I *loved* it!) and since The Kid was not at all interested in my company because after all who's interested in mom when there are *friends* in the world.

Our first day back on the ship was a class day and the next as well. Ricardo was beyond happy to be done with classes despite the mountains of grading that awaited him. (As an aside, one should not sit on a vinyl desk chair in one's underwear in late August in Charlottesville, since one will be inclined to slide off said chair). The students were eager for the end as well and we were all antsy about starting to pack and get ready for re-entry.

Reading day was quiet on the MV Explorer. It was a little disconcerting, really. Everywhere you went people were writing, studying, reading. It was actually like a college! Which begs the question of why it wasn't like that more often on board, but whatever.

The 19th was finals and all work was due. Ricardo spent the day grading furiously and I spent the day packing furiously. We'd shipped plenty of boxes and despite losing clothing to laundry mishaps, wildlife refuges, and generalized traveling, as well as using up medicines, cosmetics, etc we had purchased an alarming amount of items. In the auction we'd bought a duffel bag but I was still concerned about getting everything to fit. In the end we still ended up taking a bunch of stuff to UPS and sending it in an additional box. End total: 8 boxes, 3 duffel bags, 3 large backpacks, 3 small backpacks, one Ecuadorian bag, a DVD player, and a purse. Whew!

Having finished the packing, and having finally seen the sun, The Kid and I went up to the pool. For the first time that voyage it was full, literally full of students. There was no room around the edge of the pool and you had to step over lithe thighs to even find the stairs. Not that the pool is large to begin with, but it was so full of students, that finding space to stand and not have my ankle messed with was a challenge. The students were cutting loose by flipping each other and doing belly flops (it is a miracle that no one died, frankly). When told they could no longer do this, they made a whirlpool. The kids loved it! Jaime took The Kid and Paul (two of the most beloved students of the faculty's kids) took The Kid's Friend and they began to spin the pool water. They played sharks and minnows, did relay races, and made sure the kids were included in what they were doing.

The night of the 19th was the Ambassador's Ball. This was a huge fancy dinner, served in the main dining room of the ship. Everyone dressed up and it really was a ball. Dinner was, for once, delicious. And after we took pictures of one another, we all went to the Union to dance. Later that night, after The Kid had gone to bed, Ricardo and I went to the Faculty/Staff Lounge for some drinks and to talk. We've made tentative plans to head to Bali next summer, finances permitting, with some of the other faculty.

The 20, the last day on the ship was very subdued. The pool had been drained, and there were no classes. People had packed and the accounts had been closed. It was not unlike waiting for a bus all day. We just waited. The seas were very calm and the captain took that opportunity to kick the Explorer up to full throttle. For a 1/2 hour that day we cooked along at 33 knots. Most people came out to see the rooster tail created by the speed, and enjoyed the sun. That afternoon, there was a commencement and Ricardo gave a hilarious speech (check out his blog for it) which helped us laugh despite our sadness that the time was coming to a close.


Despite being up until about 1 am, we still managed to wake the next morning for the sunrise, breakfast and to pull into San Diego. We shared the deck with many crying, laughing, hugging students, and we watched as the pilot came on, steered us into the bay and then into our berth in the Port of San Diego.

We cleared customs easily although the customs agent mentioned she wanted to try the chocolate we'd bought as gifts (it was sealed in boxes to be shipped). Then we waited for the permission to leave the ship. Once off we could not come back on. And here again we were eager and also reluctant. We were waiting with anticipation, and dreading the departure. We continued to say good bye and to hug and to talk and to plan our reunions.

The thing about Semester at Sea is that it creates this intense, focused, academical village where as faculty you live, travel and work with students. But even as family, the life on the ship is one of extension. We ate with students daily. We traveled with them. We cared for them when they were sick. They babysat for us, played with our kids, found us in remote places, asked our advice and told us their stories. They cheered our children in the Sea Olympics, at the Talent Show, and in their play. They played soccer with them non-stop, taught them things, read to them and treated them as people. We complained about the food together, plotted ways of getting extra desert, and took each other's pictures. We talked endlessly about the voyage, the program, and Latin America today. We danced together, drank together, shared and lived.

It's almost impossible now to be home and not to see everyone. I know that many are close by and we're actually having a huge number to our house the Sunday of Labor Day Weekend. But it's not the same. Getting up this morning and making my own breakfast I was struck by the quiet, the lack of laughing, the calm and the peace (as well as how freaking delicious my own goddamn coffee is, AMEN!). I am both happy to be home in my own, fabulous, comfortable bed, with my electric toothbrush, my excellent water, and my delicious smelling laundry which does not eat my clothes and send them back to me torn, yellowed, and otherwise ratty, but also lonely without the ship.

And despite how many people are near by, there are many who are not. Many are in California, or Chicago, or Pittsburgh, or Colorado. Some are in New Mexico, Arizona, and Ecuador. Others are in Germany, Paris, and soon China. And I feel that loss as much as I feel the relief that I am home.

When we first got on the ship, Rebecca told us that by the time we'd left, we'd be plotting about how to get back on it for the next go around.

Wheels are in motion.