Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
mirrors on the ceiling, pink champagne on ice
Today we’re doing a crew safety drill. We have to be at our stations (chelle and I are each station E, deck 5, but she is starboard and I am port side) We have to remember that there are 18 life boats and 65 life rafts, and the lifeboats hold 150 people each and the rafts hold 25 each. And that the extra life jackets are deck 4 on the open deck, on both sides. Cause the Coast Guard might ask us those things. Oh, and if a person goes overboard, we are first to throw them a life ring, and then find a phone and dial the emergency number and tell them which side the person went over on – because that determines which way they turn the ship, and if we accidentally tell them the wrong side, then the person will get run over when we turn in the wrong direction. Red the sailor left port.
There’s another drill, a passenger drill, later, but apparently since we’re station e, we just have to the crew one, not the passenger one. So that’s nice, although we are supposed to stay in our cabins during it. So that sounds like a good time for a nap.
On a typical day, we play 3 sets of 45 minutes or an hour each. Every once in a while there is a formal night, (tomorrow is one) where we get to dress very snazzily and play in the fancy restaurant instead of just the Cova Café. I like the cova café a lot though, where we play overlooks the grand staircase, so when we play you can hear us all over, two floors down. We’ve made friends with the waitstaff in the café, too. Bojan, who can’t stand classical music, but who loves the tangos. Por Una Cabeza in particular, so he gets all excited whenever we play it (which we are trying not to do too often – we are trying to cover a lot of new music. We have enough that we could very well play a new set each night and never have to repeat things) (but it is nice to repeat things. I like playing the things I know, and the tangos are fun)
So far, we have not been busy, but we have not been bored. There have been things we are required to do, but we are not working very hard except when we play, in the evenings. It tends to happen that we stay up late, get up early, but then we have a few hours in the afternoon to nap. Kind of the exact opposite of what I am used to, but it works out. For the next couple weeks, we have a scattered schedule of training sessions, for various things. A few of them are going to be boring and pointless, like the one we have to go to in two days, about filling out time cards (which we already know how to do) – while we’re in the Cayman islands! Bah! At least it’s in the morning. We’re going to try to get off the ship then anyway.
Friday, March 26, 2010
updates, a few days behind! internet finally.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010, round 1am - so actually very early on March 25
Well, I am currently writing from the most fabulous hotel room, ever. Maybe its only fabulous cause its all mine, and that has never happened before, but its definitely pretty amazing.
Getting here was quite an adventure. We flew from DC to Bogota, which took way longer than we all expected, partly because we go back an hour, and so when we didn’t land at 9:01 we all kinda realized that there was another hour to the flight. Fortunately in this day and age, each person gets their own TV with movies already in it, so even though I’d been planning on watching something on my laptop, I didn’t even have to open it. I found it just a LITTLE hilarious that the two brawny men to my left were each watching New Moon.
We only had about 45 minutes between our flights, so we got off in Bogota and started trying to find where to go, in a place where apparently no one spoke English. (we all knew about the same level of Spanish – catching words here and there but not enough to really communicate with anyone) (even though one of the members of our quartet works at rosetta stone – hmm!) Went through customs pretty painlessly – the line looked long, but the lovely woman behind us assured us that it was a very small airport and nothing ever took very long. After that, we were told to get on a bus to go to where we were supposed to catch our connecting flight. The bus drove around in circles, sometimes literally, for about 10 minutes before dumping us off at a section of the airport that reminded me rather of the Glen Burnie Mall (Maryland folks know what I mean.. TN folks, just picture kind of deserted looking with low lighting and crappy tiles) Anyhow, we asked someone where to go, they pointed us in a direction, so we went in that direction until it looked like we were in the wrong place. Asked another person, who pointed us in the direction that we had just come. Went back across the airport, found customer service, who told us where to go. We finally found where we were supposed to be…. And were informed that the plane had left.
The sympathetic security guards led the dejected quartet back to customer service, where we tried to see if our luggage at least had stayed in Bogota, if we were going to. Chad was getting nervous because he wasn’t sure if his cello had survived being checked, and really just didn’t want his cello going to Cartegena without us.
Suddenly, there was an uproar in Spanish! We didn’t know what was going on, but we understood that we were to follow this security guard, and to hurry! Run!
So we ran.
Across the airport.
To where the plane to Cartegena had not yet taken off.
So we flew to Cartegena.
Both flights left a half hour late, but arrived at the time that they said they would. I think these laid back south Americans just assume that they’re going to be late, so they just add the extra time.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Day 1
I can’t believe it’s only been 24 hours since 24 hours ago. So much has happened, I have seen so much, we already played our first couple sets – it just feels like three days crammed into one. I’ll try to give it justice, but I am awfully tired.
First, the cabin definitely is as tiny as everyone said. We are on the first floor, which right above the water level, but there are at least two more levels below us, with more and more cabins, so it could be a lot worse. The ship is huge, huge! And they fit an incredibly number of people onto it.
I am rooming with Chelle, and I have the bottom bunk, which is fine. The bed is small and I am small, so it works out nicely. We have curtains that we can pull, and we each have our own light inside our bunk-caves. It’s quite lovely, and we can feel the ship rocking.
For as little as I felt like I packed, and as much as I simplified what I brought, once I got here I felt way over-prepared. It’s very humbling to realize how little we actually truly need to live on. Also I brought things that I realize are unnecessary, and left things home that I need (like hairspray) – but, we manage.
It’s hard to believe we’re going to be living here for four whole months. I still feel like this is just a tiny vacation, a week or so gig. It’s a little weird.
So let me back up and tell you about the day. Last night, in the taxi on our way from the airport to the Hotel Caribe, we were informed over the phone that we would be picked up at 9:30 the next morning, in the lobby of the hotel. I set my alarm for early, thinking I’d wake up, take a nice long shower, eat a nice long breakfast, and be able to wander around before 9:30. An hour later than I planned, I woke up without my alarm, which was good because my alarm hadn’t gone off. I suppose it would’ve worked better if I had turned the alarm on instead of just setting the time that I wanted it to go off. Fortunately, there was no hot water, so my shower wasn’t long at all. I walked outside to a very humid but gorgeous view. (I took a few foggy pictures before realizing my camera lense had completely steamed up) I could see Chelle and Chad walking over by the pool (I was looking down from the 5th floor) and a lovely breakfast in the cafeteria on the other side of the pool. By the time I got all the way down there, Chelle and Chad were gone, so I ate alone. Then I wandered around for a bit. There was a random deer. And a sloth! I thought it was a log on the side of the sidewalk, but then it moved! I hoped for a second that it was a monkey, but it was a very adorable sloth. I watched it cross the sidewalk at a very slow pace. And took a picture.
We met another Celebrity musician there, Andres, who had done a bunch of cruses before and was only filling in on the Infinity for 2 weeks. So we were picked up in a van. And our luggage thrown into the back of a pickup truck and bungee corded down. (we all were thankful that we had brought our instruments into the van with us) We were then taken to an immigration office that was not air conditioned. It was very hot, very humid, and we waited there for a very, very long time waiting to get our passports stamped. Also we weren’t allowed to take pictures, but we snapped a few before security confiscated Chad’s camera. We worried more about the instruments in the heat than ourselves.
Anyhow, then we got back in our little van and drove to the ship. It didn’t take too much time to board the ship, although it was very hot and sunny so it felt like longer. The bandmaster, Jeff, was there to greet us and take us to where we filled out some paperwork and got all of our orienting info. There’s a lot to remember, but it all comes down to the guests coming before us.
Over the afternoon, we had plenty of time to wander around, so we have walked all over the ship. Also, the first thing we did was try to get lunch, because it was already about 1:30 and Lee had not had breakfast, and so we were all hungry. Unfortunately, we didn’t know our way around yet, and happened to be at a staircase that wasn’t next to an elevator, so we walked up 10 flights of stairs to get to food. The second thing we did was find an elevator.
Our first set we were to play was at 5:30, so we had the afternoon free to unpack, get settled, and find our way around. Chelle and I walked all around. The very coolest part of walking around was at the very top of the ship, and unfortunately I didn’t have my camera at that time, but it was absolutely glorious. The hot breeze blew all around and the view was incredible. Very summerish and wonderful.
The 5:30 set was only 45 minutes, and we played mostly songs we had played on the cd, since they were ones we knew. We had an hour and a half between sets, so we sat down and figured out a set list for our 7:45 set, and then went back to the rooms and finished unpacking.
After our second set, we were done for the evening, both sets went fine. We played them in the Cova Café, which is a coffee bar sort of place. We play next to a bolted down piano, and we don’t have a lot of room, but we’re still adjusting. It works well enough.
Well – I’m sure I have more to say, but I’m awfully tired so I’ll see what I can do in the morning.
And so far, no hint of seasickness. I was more nauseous on the plane than I was coming here.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Day 2
Its about 1:30 in the afternoon, but we’re playing three sets tonight, ending at 11:30, so since I haven’t really shifted my sleeping schedule yet I’m writing now. Also we’re not playing til 6, and I missed the office hours this morning to get my ID card to sign up for internet, so I don’t have a lot to do right now anyhow. It is kinda nice to be not able to be reached though. I was able to borrow an internet from a very cute guy, a broadcast manager whose name I can’t remember anymore, to send a quick email to dad to let them know I got on the boat ok.
We took off yesterday, and the ship has been rocking ever since. The rocking is fine – I’m almost already used to it – but since our cabins are towards the front of the ship, whenever we hit a wave the wrong way, every once in a while, there is a loud noise as if we’ve hit something. A couple times during the night I woke up, thinking “the ship is going down! Ahh!” But I’m sure I’ll get used to it soon.
As entertainers, we truly have the best jobs on the ship – the bartenders and waitstaff have already expressed their jealous/bitterness at the huge difference between how much free time we have and how much free time they have. But, there is a large amount of friendliness between all of the crew members. There are many crew members, but many of them have welcomed us, introduced themselves, given us tips for living aboard. Everyone is ridiculously nice – and people greet each other in the hallways. It’s almost like a New Yorker being in the south for the first time. Do I know you? Why are you being nice to me? It’s a mild culture shock. But really great. The majority of the crew is not american. It would’ve been nice to know Spanish before coming here. But of course everyone all speaks English, its just a very wide variety of accents. It’s pretty cool.
Tonight is formal night, so we get to dress up and play in one of the restaurants instead of just the Cova Café. Well, the third set is in the café, but the first two are in the restaurant. Should be fun!
____
It takes a very long time to upload pictures - so for now, none, but I will see what I can do. I may end up linking you over to a facebook album. Stay tuned.
Love!
Well, I am currently writing from the most fabulous hotel room, ever. Maybe its only fabulous cause its all mine, and that has never happened before, but its definitely pretty amazing.
Getting here was quite an adventure. We flew from DC to Bogota, which took way longer than we all expected, partly because we go back an hour, and so when we didn’t land at 9:01 we all kinda realized that there was another hour to the flight. Fortunately in this day and age, each person gets their own TV with movies already in it, so even though I’d been planning on watching something on my laptop, I didn’t even have to open it. I found it just a LITTLE hilarious that the two brawny men to my left were each watching New Moon.
We only had about 45 minutes between our flights, so we got off in Bogota and started trying to find where to go, in a place where apparently no one spoke English. (we all knew about the same level of Spanish – catching words here and there but not enough to really communicate with anyone) (even though one of the members of our quartet works at rosetta stone – hmm!) Went through customs pretty painlessly – the line looked long, but the lovely woman behind us assured us that it was a very small airport and nothing ever took very long. After that, we were told to get on a bus to go to where we were supposed to catch our connecting flight. The bus drove around in circles, sometimes literally, for about 10 minutes before dumping us off at a section of the airport that reminded me rather of the Glen Burnie Mall (Maryland folks know what I mean.. TN folks, just picture kind of deserted looking with low lighting and crappy tiles) Anyhow, we asked someone where to go, they pointed us in a direction, so we went in that direction until it looked like we were in the wrong place. Asked another person, who pointed us in the direction that we had just come. Went back across the airport, found customer service, who told us where to go. We finally found where we were supposed to be…. And were informed that the plane had left.
The sympathetic security guards led the dejected quartet back to customer service, where we tried to see if our luggage at least had stayed in Bogota, if we were going to. Chad was getting nervous because he wasn’t sure if his cello had survived being checked, and really just didn’t want his cello going to Cartegena without us.
Suddenly, there was an uproar in Spanish! We didn’t know what was going on, but we understood that we were to follow this security guard, and to hurry! Run!
So we ran.
Across the airport.
To where the plane to Cartegena had not yet taken off.
So we flew to Cartegena.
Both flights left a half hour late, but arrived at the time that they said they would. I think these laid back south Americans just assume that they’re going to be late, so they just add the extra time.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Day 1
I can’t believe it’s only been 24 hours since 24 hours ago. So much has happened, I have seen so much, we already played our first couple sets – it just feels like three days crammed into one. I’ll try to give it justice, but I am awfully tired.
First, the cabin definitely is as tiny as everyone said. We are on the first floor, which right above the water level, but there are at least two more levels below us, with more and more cabins, so it could be a lot worse. The ship is huge, huge! And they fit an incredibly number of people onto it.
I am rooming with Chelle, and I have the bottom bunk, which is fine. The bed is small and I am small, so it works out nicely. We have curtains that we can pull, and we each have our own light inside our bunk-caves. It’s quite lovely, and we can feel the ship rocking.
For as little as I felt like I packed, and as much as I simplified what I brought, once I got here I felt way over-prepared. It’s very humbling to realize how little we actually truly need to live on. Also I brought things that I realize are unnecessary, and left things home that I need (like hairspray) – but, we manage.
It’s hard to believe we’re going to be living here for four whole months. I still feel like this is just a tiny vacation, a week or so gig. It’s a little weird.
So let me back up and tell you about the day. Last night, in the taxi on our way from the airport to the Hotel Caribe, we were informed over the phone that we would be picked up at 9:30 the next morning, in the lobby of the hotel. I set my alarm for early, thinking I’d wake up, take a nice long shower, eat a nice long breakfast, and be able to wander around before 9:30. An hour later than I planned, I woke up without my alarm, which was good because my alarm hadn’t gone off. I suppose it would’ve worked better if I had turned the alarm on instead of just setting the time that I wanted it to go off. Fortunately, there was no hot water, so my shower wasn’t long at all. I walked outside to a very humid but gorgeous view. (I took a few foggy pictures before realizing my camera lense had completely steamed up) I could see Chelle and Chad walking over by the pool (I was looking down from the 5th floor) and a lovely breakfast in the cafeteria on the other side of the pool. By the time I got all the way down there, Chelle and Chad were gone, so I ate alone. Then I wandered around for a bit. There was a random deer. And a sloth! I thought it was a log on the side of the sidewalk, but then it moved! I hoped for a second that it was a monkey, but it was a very adorable sloth. I watched it cross the sidewalk at a very slow pace. And took a picture.
We met another Celebrity musician there, Andres, who had done a bunch of cruses before and was only filling in on the Infinity for 2 weeks. So we were picked up in a van. And our luggage thrown into the back of a pickup truck and bungee corded down. (we all were thankful that we had brought our instruments into the van with us) We were then taken to an immigration office that was not air conditioned. It was very hot, very humid, and we waited there for a very, very long time waiting to get our passports stamped. Also we weren’t allowed to take pictures, but we snapped a few before security confiscated Chad’s camera. We worried more about the instruments in the heat than ourselves.
Anyhow, then we got back in our little van and drove to the ship. It didn’t take too much time to board the ship, although it was very hot and sunny so it felt like longer. The bandmaster, Jeff, was there to greet us and take us to where we filled out some paperwork and got all of our orienting info. There’s a lot to remember, but it all comes down to the guests coming before us.
Over the afternoon, we had plenty of time to wander around, so we have walked all over the ship. Also, the first thing we did was try to get lunch, because it was already about 1:30 and Lee had not had breakfast, and so we were all hungry. Unfortunately, we didn’t know our way around yet, and happened to be at a staircase that wasn’t next to an elevator, so we walked up 10 flights of stairs to get to food. The second thing we did was find an elevator.
Our first set we were to play was at 5:30, so we had the afternoon free to unpack, get settled, and find our way around. Chelle and I walked all around. The very coolest part of walking around was at the very top of the ship, and unfortunately I didn’t have my camera at that time, but it was absolutely glorious. The hot breeze blew all around and the view was incredible. Very summerish and wonderful.
The 5:30 set was only 45 minutes, and we played mostly songs we had played on the cd, since they were ones we knew. We had an hour and a half between sets, so we sat down and figured out a set list for our 7:45 set, and then went back to the rooms and finished unpacking.
After our second set, we were done for the evening, both sets went fine. We played them in the Cova Café, which is a coffee bar sort of place. We play next to a bolted down piano, and we don’t have a lot of room, but we’re still adjusting. It works well enough.
Well – I’m sure I have more to say, but I’m awfully tired so I’ll see what I can do in the morning.
And so far, no hint of seasickness. I was more nauseous on the plane than I was coming here.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Day 2
Its about 1:30 in the afternoon, but we’re playing three sets tonight, ending at 11:30, so since I haven’t really shifted my sleeping schedule yet I’m writing now. Also we’re not playing til 6, and I missed the office hours this morning to get my ID card to sign up for internet, so I don’t have a lot to do right now anyhow. It is kinda nice to be not able to be reached though. I was able to borrow an internet from a very cute guy, a broadcast manager whose name I can’t remember anymore, to send a quick email to dad to let them know I got on the boat ok.
We took off yesterday, and the ship has been rocking ever since. The rocking is fine – I’m almost already used to it – but since our cabins are towards the front of the ship, whenever we hit a wave the wrong way, every once in a while, there is a loud noise as if we’ve hit something. A couple times during the night I woke up, thinking “the ship is going down! Ahh!” But I’m sure I’ll get used to it soon.
As entertainers, we truly have the best jobs on the ship – the bartenders and waitstaff have already expressed their jealous/bitterness at the huge difference between how much free time we have and how much free time they have. But, there is a large amount of friendliness between all of the crew members. There are many crew members, but many of them have welcomed us, introduced themselves, given us tips for living aboard. Everyone is ridiculously nice – and people greet each other in the hallways. It’s almost like a New Yorker being in the south for the first time. Do I know you? Why are you being nice to me? It’s a mild culture shock. But really great. The majority of the crew is not american. It would’ve been nice to know Spanish before coming here. But of course everyone all speaks English, its just a very wide variety of accents. It’s pretty cool.
Tonight is formal night, so we get to dress up and play in one of the restaurants instead of just the Cova Café. Well, the third set is in the café, but the first two are in the restaurant. Should be fun!
____
It takes a very long time to upload pictures - so for now, none, but I will see what I can do. I may end up linking you over to a facebook album. Stay tuned.
Love!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
in 24 hours I will be on my way to Colombia!
Ok. Looks like I need to take out some shoes.
.....and some clothes.
and some books.
.....and some clothes.
and some books.
Friday, March 19, 2010
so the adventure begins
"Dad says to slow down," texted my mother. They don't like it when I make the Nashville-Pasadena drive in in way less time than they do, although I wasnt going too fast for most of it. Also, I think going a little over the speed limit is safer than getting and responding to texts while driving :)
The cop that pulled me over happened to agree with Dad. "Where are you headed in such a hurry?" (only 9 over) (I didnt mention how at the moment I was pulled over I happened to be singing Toby Keith to Eliz over the phone and actually, probably, was driving slower because of that.)
So my adventure begins in the middle of Virginia, to stay with my lovely sister Elizabeth and her husband on my way home:
Tea, cheese, flipsides, and fig pudding (I won't go until I get some), and in the morning it shall be homemade granola, 3 more hours of driving, then a wedding, and then doing my best to organize myself as much as possible by Wednesday!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
sad to leave, but excited to go
Well, I'm mostly packed up. I'm heading home to Maryland for the weekend, and then off to Colombia on Wednesday! I posted my whole itinerary on another page, which you can find in a link to your right.
Also, many people have been asking how to contact me. Email is the best/quickest way to reach me. I won't be facebooking a lot, as my internet will be spotty most of the time, but I intend to keep up with email and this blog. But we'll see. Phone use will also be spotty, as we will be bouncing on and off the U.S.
My practical side and my girly side are fighting over how many shoes to pack.
"Are you really going to use this huge variety of shoes?"
"What if I neeeeeeed them!"
Friday, March 12, 2010
one week away
It still hasn't really hit me that I'm actually leaving Nashville for a long time. I feel like I'm just preparing for a week or maybe two, away, not actually moving away. It makes me sad, so I don't think about it. But not thinking about it is a horrible way to prepare for something.
Monday, March 8, 2010
course is laid and the anchor weighed
I feel that a blog is the best way to mass communicate with people. Email newsletters are annoying. This way, if you want to keep up with my trip, you can, but it won’t be forced on you. I’ll try to keep it as interesting as possible, and use many pictures to make y’all jealous.
So, if you’re just tuning in, I got a job playing the violin in a string quartet on a cruise ship, for four months. We will play lovely, classy background music a few hours each evening. We're going down to the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal, then up to Alaska.
The preparation is the hardest part about leaving on a voyage. I will be gone for almost exactly 4 months, and although I can buy things I need on the ship, it would be better/cheaper to arrive as prepared as possible. I have so many lists going on right now: things to buy, things to not forget, people to see before I leave, things to finish before I leave, stuff going into storage, stuff going home to be cared for by my parents. So many forms to fill out, and clothes to make sure I have. So many things that are possibly overlooked. This is a rough few weeks for someone who is a poor multi-tasker.
So, as stressful as it is now, I am absolutely looking forward to actually leaving.
On the 20th of March I am leaving this city that I love, taking some things to my parent’s house in Maryland. (like my car and my instruments that I’m not taking – things I can’t put into storage)
On the 24th of March, we are flying to Colombia. Once I meet up with my quartet I will feel a lot better about things. I have this paranoia about getting lost by myself in a Spanish speaking country (donde esta el bano?)
So, if you’re just tuning in, I got a job playing the violin in a string quartet on a cruise ship, for four months. We will play lovely, classy background music a few hours each evening. We're going down to the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal, then up to Alaska.
The preparation is the hardest part about leaving on a voyage. I will be gone for almost exactly 4 months, and although I can buy things I need on the ship, it would be better/cheaper to arrive as prepared as possible. I have so many lists going on right now: things to buy, things to not forget, people to see before I leave, things to finish before I leave, stuff going into storage, stuff going home to be cared for by my parents. So many forms to fill out, and clothes to make sure I have. So many things that are possibly overlooked. This is a rough few weeks for someone who is a poor multi-tasker.
So, as stressful as it is now, I am absolutely looking forward to actually leaving.
On the 20th of March I am leaving this city that I love, taking some things to my parent’s house in Maryland. (like my car and my instruments that I’m not taking – things I can’t put into storage)
On the 24th of March, we are flying to Colombia. Once I meet up with my quartet I will feel a lot better about things. I have this paranoia about getting lost by myself in a Spanish speaking country (donde esta el bano?)
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