In the Arabian Sea (Personal)
As we settle into “at sea” time there is a sense of peace on the ship. I think all the ports of call are stressful for people. There is added stress right now because the places are so different from what we are used to. When we are at sea, life resumes a routine that is comforting. In the last 2 days I have had numerous people say they would like to skip ports and just keep sailing. I can see both sides, but I would hate to never stop anywhere. We would be true isolationists. I think I enjoy the conversations and discussions that have come forth from this trip to SE Asia and India. It truly takes people out of their (and my) comfort zone.
Yesterday the ship celebrated St. Patrick’s Day and guess who had forgotten to bring anything green. Carter had an excuse because he had to wear his uniform, but not I. We were invited to a cocktail party and were soon festooned with green necklaces, hats and tiaras. Looked a little ridiculous.
Carter and the clinic continue to be on a non-stop patient flow, so I thought we might have to miss our hosting a table last night. But never fear, he got away. This time we were placed with a table of 5 women and one man. Most of the people were from Wisconsin and the table conversation revolved around fishing and all sorts of names of fish I had never heard of. Many of them were ex-teachers, so I could make conversation about that. One older woman said she was on the cruise because her husband had Alzheimer’s and she had to use up all their money so he could be financially covered under Medicare. That made me sad and angry with our health care system.
I was perusing the table and noticed 2 containers of condiments. One I was sure was a ranch-like dressing, but the other one looked like a very soft Stove Top dressing. I asked and was told it was horseradish. The container must have had at least a medium jar’s worth of horseradish in it. We wouldn’t use that in our family in a year! Within minutes of the serving of the shrimp cocktails, the container was emptied. Of course, Carter joined in to help deplete it. The man at the table said that he has 2 shrimp cocktails every evening – and on top of that he had 4 lobster tails last night!
Do the Midwesterners eat that much horseradish?
Tomorrow we are going to Oman and have to take a man to the hospital. Carter said I can tag along and do the “site visit” forms for Holland America. Sounds interesting to me.
Labels: Personal
posted by Hills @ 8:38 AM
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