i'm in paradise

the crossing went well... lots of busy days because we were overloaded with duties to keep the passengers busy, but it's better than sitting around doing nothing for seven sea days while on red level. thankfully we're back to green, which means all our deck privileges are reinstated (horray for the upstairs world with real people!).


i don't really have any words to describe how beautiful it is here... here's some pictures to give you a sneak peek. first is the azores islands in the middle of the atlantic... the town is on a geothermic fault line and there's hot springs everywhere. next is antigua, and then the virgin gorda and tortola.

















today i'm in st. kitts, and i'm taking a day off the beach to give my skin a break (only a little sunburnt so far, thanks to spf 50). my new stepbrother RJ lives here to go to veterenary school, so i'm going to try and meet up with him this afternoon for coffee.



seriously, if anyone expects christmas cards, you'd better get me those addresses! love you!

hi team... not much to update this week, but we start the crossing today and it'll probably be a long while until i have reliable access to the internet again. the party went incredibly well... the whole team pulled together and helped with everything, we laughed our asses off while we were decorating and the bar was packed. a good time had by all.

in less thrilling news, we're on red alert again, and i ended up getting sick early tuesday morning. i was in quarantine in the medical centre (a.k.a. solitary confinement) until thursday evening, and it was, quite possibly, one of the most miserable experiences of my adult life. definitely the worst three days i've spent on the ship so far... the medical staff treated me absolutely horribly. all i had with me was the pyjamas i was wearing and my key to my room, and i was left alone in the hospital ward with no water, blankets, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, towels, tampons, and initially until i asked for it, toilet paper. i eventually got a hold of my friends (the phone only dialed out and wasn't working for several hours) and on the second day they brought me some clean underwear and my toothbrush. the nurses blamed me for starting the outbreak (i was the 26th case), and told me not to count on the fact that i would have a job when i got out of quarantine because i would likely be fired for not following medical protocol (?). when i was released i hadn't eaten in sixteen hours, because we weren't allowed to order any food or drinks outside clinic hours, which is only six hours per day. needless to say, i'm a little upset about it (as are the other 2 members of my cast who were also in quarantine), and we had a meeting today with the personnel manager and the staff captain to make sure something like this doesn't happen again to someone else...


okay, my negative rant is over. i'm healthy and happy again, and being alone with nothing to do gave me an opportunity to remember how lucky i am. i have discovered that living on water can leave you feeling unsettled... partially in a very physical way, because what you walk on is constantly moving and you are forced to adjust your balance, but also in a way that is less tangible...i am discovering that it takes more effort to feel grounded. it's a work in progress.

i've uploaded some pictures that i had a hard time with last week, the signal is better today. other than that, we're all looking forward to going to the caribbean... i'll miss the med, but i'm excited for beaches and warm weather!

this one time i was attacked by a monkey

seriously, though.

pompeii was incredible, in every sense. one of the best day's i've had...i almost got lost about a hundred times, just staring at the frescoes while the rest of the group moved on...

i went to rome again to try and see the sistine chapel, but the line was three hours long and we didn't have enough time... so we went out for lunch instead, and i ate more pizza than is ever acceptable for one person to consume... but t was SO good =).


we finally got a chance to go up the rock in gibraltar and visit the caves. they were so unbelievably beautiful, the pictures do them absolutely no justice. inside, there is a natural ampitheatre created out of the stalactite in the rock, and they've built a seating area for concerts... the acoustics are perfect.

everywhere you look on the rock are monkeys. in all seriousness, there are thousands of them, and because they are so acclimatized to humans they aren't afraid when you come close to them...in fact, they like to play. so perhaps attacked is not entirely accurate, but the picture is only one of many with them climbing all over me.

in terms of our day-to-day-life, we've started to settle into a semblance of a routine. i'm starting to get a little bored with the amount of time off we have (please don't confuse this with complaining, my job rocks... but in fairness, there's not much to do except drink....), so i made a poster and taped it above my bed. it goes like this:

BORED?
do these things.

-write a song
-draw
-play piano
-read a book
-sew something
-take pictures
-practice guitar
-stretch
-write a letter
-play a game
-study: french, spanish, sign, ports
-paint a mug (ceramics)
-work out
-explore
-clean your room
-go for a walk
-write a poem
-colour
-do laundry
-call home
-choreograph something
-write in your journal


now whenever i catch myself bitching about having nothing to do, i can prove myself wrong. i've left space at the bottom of my poster, so if you feel there's anything relevant that i should add, feel free to contribute.

we have a couple of birthdays coming up, so to celebrate we got some money from the crew club to throw a party for all the staff and crew.... we're hosting an 80's prom in the crew bar on monday, so i've been occupying myself with making posters and decorations. i'll post pictures and let you know how it goes...

miss you all...we have one more week cruise here in the med, and then next saturday we're off to the caribbean! my new address will be:

Corrina Keeling
Entertainment Department
mv. Sea Princess
c/o Platinum Port Services inc.
Suite 201 Building #4
Harbour Business Park
Bridgetown
Barbados, W.I.

OR

Corrina Keeling
Entertainment Department
mv. Sea Princess
c/o Lannaman & Morris Ltd.
2 Seventh Avenue
Newport West
Kingston 15
Jamaica

the first is my embarkation or 'home' port which we're in every second saturday, and the second is in montego bay, which we are in halfway through each two week cruise.

sorry there aren't more pictures... the signal cuts out all the time. i've been told that once we get to the caribbean, it's easy to find wireless at almost every port, so i'm hoping that keeping in touch will be easier. please feel free to send me your addresses so i can send you goodies... snail mail takes longer, but it's way more fun. miss you all!