So, this is my last blog entry before I get back to the United States. The last few days have been some of the most exciting and depressing days of my life. The day after Guatemala was a study day, followed by a day of B day exams. I didn’t have any B day exams and I was wanting to lay out for those days but they were cloudy, rainy, days, so I spent the time watching movies, relaxing, thinking, and reflecting. The next day we went through the Panama Canal. We reached the Canal at about 8am and Chris and I went to the front observation deck to watch us pull into the first part of the canal. It is hard to describe the canal, but just know that it was really cool. It took us a total of 9 hours to get through the Panama Canal. That night was the Ambassador’s Ball. We all started to get ready at around 4pm. I wore my pink dress that I had made for me in Thailand. There were two seatings for the dinner, at 5:30 and at 8pm. My group of friends were at the first seating. We all got together at 5 to take some prom pictures before dinner. Dinner was great. We got to choose our appetizer and main course. I started with Brushetta, then French onion soup, then Caesar salad, then tuna steak. After dinner everyone headed to their rooms while the second seating went on. We all hung out with friends for one of the last times, and consumed the last of the contraband alcohol that had been collected over the course of the voyage (no worries mom, I didn’t sneak any on). The ship was one huge party. At 10pm there was desert on the 6th floor outside of the union. It was buffet style and there were so many yummy options, ymmmmm. After desert there was a dance. Chris and I went to that for a few hours and mingled with all of our friends. It was just an awesome night, but we all knew that it meant that the voyage is almost over. The next day was just a relaxing day, and a sadness definitely fell over the ship. You could feel it. Today is so bittersweet . . . I get to go home tomorrow!!! But I am going to miss this voyage so much. The day started at 10:30am with our convocation and a recognition of the graduating seniors who are aboard. That lasted until about noon. After that was baggage collection. They called your sea (hall) and had specific times. Chris and I laid outside in the sun (it was such a gorgeous day) until our halls were called, and then we laid out some more. Dinner was a TACO NIGHT for cinco de mayo. Taco Night only occurs three times on a voyage, and it is huge. The line was at least a half hour long, but we got in the line early. It is definitely worth it. After dinner we had our final passport distribution. Our passports look so cool now, all stamped and such. The only countries that didn’t get stamped are Spain and Guatemala, and it stinks that they didn’t but we had no control over that. Tonight will be full of tears and goodbyes. I will wake up tomorrow at 6:30am and enjoy my last breakfast on the ship. We will be able to see the port by 7:30, and will arrive in Fort Lauderdale around 8am. We will wave to the parents and those there to greet us, and start to say our goodbyes. The first off the ship are the staff and faculty, followed by the sea that won the sea Olympics, Chris’s sea. My sea is sixth off so I most likely won’t get onto land until about 1pm. My flight home is at 8pm. Chris is going to try to meet me in my terminal where I will be checking in to help me with my bags since he will already be there. We will probably hang out a little bit until his flight at 5:45pm, at which point I will most likely find coffee and a comfy place to sit, reflect, and possibly get onto the internet to upload the last of my pictures. At 11:05pm I will touch down in Philly. Wow. This really is over.
I have been so many places, seen so many things, and everyone I have met along the way has given me a little more inspiration to live the best life I can. Now it is my time to come home and pay it forward. When I come home tomorrow I am not coming home as the same person who left a few months ago. How can you come home the same after seeing the poor in India who have the kindness hearts, or the majesty of the Great Wall. I will NEVER be the same. And when all of the stories and incidents of the past few months begin to fade I will always have this feeling in my heart, a feeling of love for the world around me. Never did I imagine the change inside of me, but I know that I am a better person, and I will be a better person. We don’t realize how lucky we are . . . we really don’t . . .
I have seen the vastness of this world, with all of its complexities and nuances. I have smelled the smell of human waste, of firewood of stoves, and of fields of flowers. I have tasted worms, fresh mango, and pure chocolate. I have touched the hand of a human unable to feed themselves, unable to provide even the basic needs essential for life that everyone has a right to; I have touched an elephants snout, and the warm comforting water of the Indian Ocean. And I have heard the traffic in the crowded streets of India, the serenity of water lapping in a tropical paradise, and the laughter of children that pierced my soul and purified my heart, the laughter that still does and always will ring in my ears . . . I will NEVER forget those smiles . . .
Check for an update in about a week. I will let you know how my re-entry is going.
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