Into the Wild
If you have noticed my usual absence from LJ, it is because I am back at sea and I have for the last month and a half. I have to say that this contract is going like a breeze and I am enjoying it much more than my last. I really like Alaska and Vancouver, but I am very busy with work given we have three sea days a week, which in the cruise industry means more work.
I have been enjoying my time working on ships, but in the back of my mind I know that I do not want to do this forever. I am staying mainly out of desire to travel the world and the long vacations between contracts. I am planning my trip to India in the winter time, which is somewhere I have wanted to go since I started traveling nearly 10 years ago and the desire is getting stronger as I approach 30. Nonetheless, the anxiety everyone I work with has about leaving the cruise industry is the fact that there seems to be a shortage of jobs in our home countries. I am still hoping, probably too much that things will clean up in a year, which is when I want to leave the cruise ship industry and get back to having a more normal life. I am having a blast traveling, but there are times that I really miss simple things that I enjoyed in my past urban life like seeing live music, or cultural gatherings. Coupled with the fact that I often feel disconnected from friends and family at home with being gone for so long and having little communication. And even though I love Alaska, I keep on forgetting that it is actually summer time as most days are fairly cold and grey. All in all, living at sea is like being in a weird bubble.
My life has always been so unpredictable. A year ago I never thought I would have been doing what I am doing now in a year, so it is hard to say what will happen next year. I am pretty content with my accomplishments and travel experiences, which is why I feel when the time comes that I will be ready for stability in my life. Of course, travel will always be my passion, but when you have spend a good chunk of your 20s doing it, like anything there is a time and a place for it to end. I am not quite ready yet, as India still awaits me.
I have been enjoying my time working on ships, but in the back of my mind I know that I do not want to do this forever. I am staying mainly out of desire to travel the world and the long vacations between contracts. I am planning my trip to India in the winter time, which is somewhere I have wanted to go since I started traveling nearly 10 years ago and the desire is getting stronger as I approach 30. Nonetheless, the anxiety everyone I work with has about leaving the cruise industry is the fact that there seems to be a shortage of jobs in our home countries. I am still hoping, probably too much that things will clean up in a year, which is when I want to leave the cruise ship industry and get back to having a more normal life. I am having a blast traveling, but there are times that I really miss simple things that I enjoyed in my past urban life like seeing live music, or cultural gatherings. Coupled with the fact that I often feel disconnected from friends and family at home with being gone for so long and having little communication. And even though I love Alaska, I keep on forgetting that it is actually summer time as most days are fairly cold and grey. All in all, living at sea is like being in a weird bubble.
My life has always been so unpredictable. A year ago I never thought I would have been doing what I am doing now in a year, so it is hard to say what will happen next year. I am pretty content with my accomplishments and travel experiences, which is why I feel when the time comes that I will be ready for stability in my life. Of course, travel will always be my passion, but when you have spend a good chunk of your 20s doing it, like anything there is a time and a place for it to end. I am not quite ready yet, as India still awaits me.