I just wanted to relay a few of the emotions of our stop in Bali. About 40% of the crew are Indonesian, so just landing on Indonesian soil was a thrill for them. It is their homeland. Many of the crew could not have their families come to Bali due to the expense of travel and the length of travel, but those who were lucky enough to have family reunions were flying high. They had smiles on their faces that just wouldn’t leave.
The ship had to dock in the harbor, so we were all tendered in to shore. I felt so sorry for those meeting family because they had to wait until all of the passengers were tendered in. They were lined up in the crew area, so anxious to see their families. I had hoped that there would be one tender just for them, but the passengers are the paying customers, so the crew had to wait. I went down into the crew area, just to observe.
Gradually, families began to filter onto the ship and it was a joyous sight and sound. There were children’s voices, happy faces and tenderness shown by mothers and wives to their sons and husbands. While we were riding the tender back to the ship we observed a crew member with his mother, wife and children. The mother sat between the wife and husband, gently touching her son’s shoulder. Then the wife would reach behind her mother-in-law and gently stroke her husband’s back. I was almost in tears.
The families were allowed on the ship, taking tours of the passenger and crew areas. They also were able to eat in the Lido, the children SO happy to have ice cream. They all sat quietly, in awe of seeing their Dad’s workplace. It was impressive.
Then came the sad time of departure. I couldn’t stand to watch and had to return to the room. At 5pm there was a general announcement made that all visitors needed to return to shore. The time seemed so short and many of these people won’t be able to be reunited for 8-9 months……I guess we have to be happy that they had this time, even if it is only a snippet.
February 23, 2008
Quick note. Yesterday I decided I was going too gray, so I decided it was time to color my hair. I had announced to Carter that I thought he would be a good helper……He wasn’t so sure. I had tried to get one of the hair dressers to do it, but they are so booked that I have to wait several weeks. So after lunch, we headed downstairs to take care of business. On the way, Carter was mentioning this to a new friend (a nurse practitioner) and she volunteered to help. Carter instantly disappeared.
Well, my hairdresser from Seattle had sent along all the color, the brush, etc., so all I needed were the gloves and towel. So we set to work. We decided that each of us has sat there watching the color being applied to ourselves, so we could do it. And lo’ and behold, it doesn’t look bad! It is a little darker than usual, but that is probably because of the color itself. So far only one person noticed (not Carter), so I guess it is pretty good. I was worried because I had a little stain on the side of my face, but I scrubbed it clean – now it is a little red, but that is better than brown. Success!
Labels: Personal
posted by Hills @ 6:30 PM
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