Psychology of Ships
I know this isn't the journal about Rome you were all expecting but some of my favorite ones to write are the ones that have absolutely nothing to do with ports. Ship culture; and entirely unique environment with a specific code of ethics, social condoct, interactions. Without goinging into too many specifics, thenature of ship relationships is that of a very casual passing of aquaintances - no one is ever really sure how much something means to someone else and with the constant looming presence of a deadline (sign off date) the casualness to generally accepted by all as inevitable. I have know of handful of situations and people who have made it work, and logically so. You are drawn to ships my common interests or passions, that unite you as people, so as personalities you're compatible but over all things are seen as take what you can get and the rest doesn't really matter.
That's my concern with a majority of the people I meet. I'm never really seem as anything more than a means to an end, even when I've never spoken a word to them and at the end of the night you can tangibly feel the walls closing in around you. And by walls I mean the crazy men on board who think ever girl they meet will throw themselves at them. It's really rather tiresome because you want to go out for good time with your coworkers (the girls) and you end up feeling so stalked you forget altogether that you're supposed to be having a good time and the only thing you can think about is how much you want to leave or how exposed and vulnerable you feel.
This is all a vent of course, and I'm sorry for that, but I would love to conduct an ethnographic study of ships and the romantic relationships that occur, because god knows it's all public knowledge either way.
Another young woman on our staff was being stalked, for all legitimate definitions that was what was happening, by another guy on board. But when you're on a ship you have no where to go to be safe. You can't switch cabins so they stop calling you 15 times a day, you can't start going to a different bar when you know they'll be waiting for you every night, becuase there's only one place to go and you can't spend time with other people because everyone knows everything about anyone willing to confide in another. I love ships, but I've realized the culture is only amusing when you are sitting just on the edge of it watching from the rim; the second you chose to step in farther, or let yourself be pulled in by pushy personalities, you become desperately close to loosing yourself in the circus of people, parties, and an appearance of love. There is no reality!
That's my concern with a majority of the people I meet. I'm never really seem as anything more than a means to an end, even when I've never spoken a word to them and at the end of the night you can tangibly feel the walls closing in around you. And by walls I mean the crazy men on board who think ever girl they meet will throw themselves at them. It's really rather tiresome because you want to go out for good time with your coworkers (the girls) and you end up feeling so stalked you forget altogether that you're supposed to be having a good time and the only thing you can think about is how much you want to leave or how exposed and vulnerable you feel.
This is all a vent of course, and I'm sorry for that, but I would love to conduct an ethnographic study of ships and the romantic relationships that occur, because god knows it's all public knowledge either way.
Another young woman on our staff was being stalked, for all legitimate definitions that was what was happening, by another guy on board. But when you're on a ship you have no where to go to be safe. You can't switch cabins so they stop calling you 15 times a day, you can't start going to a different bar when you know they'll be waiting for you every night, becuase there's only one place to go and you can't spend time with other people because everyone knows everything about anyone willing to confide in another. I love ships, but I've realized the culture is only amusing when you are sitting just on the edge of it watching from the rim; the second you chose to step in farther, or let yourself be pulled in by pushy personalities, you become desperately close to loosing yourself in the circus of people, parties, and an appearance of love. There is no reality!