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Published: April 13th 2007
In Costa Rica the locals call living life to the fullest "Pura Vida." I look around at my latest adventure and know, I am living proof of Pura Vida.
I am finally settling into shiplife and I can see now why it isn’t for everyone. At the same time, there are moments when I am so overwhelmed with how amazing this job is, that I cannot imagine it any other way. The incredible adventures far outweigh the frustrating ones, and it gets better each week.
Working with teenagers is beyond exhausting. My enjoyment level depends completely on the personality of the overall group, and this has varied each week. Last week I had a group of over 300 teenagers who acted as though they were being filmed for an episode of Teens Gone Wild. Coming into the club so drunk they were walking crooked, hooking up in corners, starting fights…I actually had to email corporate pleading for help. Supervising 300 teenagers after only one week of training was not what I had in mind. Luckily everyone on the ship came together to support me. The Assistant Cruise Director leant me a Social Host for the peak hours of
the evening, The DJ helped me route his music into my club so I wouldn’t have to worry about keeping the music going, and my boss in Miami arranged to send me another Co-Director for these upcoming weeks with high kid counts.
But then, the Staff Coordinators organized a Crew snorkeling trip for us. So there I was, laying out on the front of a beautiful catamaran looking out over the Caribbean ocean when it hit me all at once how much I love my job. The waters were the most incredible shades of blue and teal and turquoise. They handed out flippers and directed us to the reef and when I peered around under water there were hundreds of colored fish darting around. A large green fish with purple fins swirled around a piece of mustard coral. Little purple fish appeared to be iridescent through the rays of sunlight poking through the water. Back on the ship I stretched out on the deck and enjoyed a few hours of blissful relaxation before going back to work.
Successfully living on a ship is all about what connections you make. I was lucky enough to befriend the Shore Excursions
team. They are all really nice and work really difficult hours (waking up early to organize the tourists and standing around in the hot sun). The great thing is if there are any open spaces before a tour starts, they squeeze us on. I was fortunate enough to join a Ziplining excursion in Costa Rica. We drove about an hour into the rainforest where they hooked us into harnesses. Then we climbed up into the tops of the trees and latched onto the ziplines. On the count of three we flew off the platforms 60 feet in the air and streaked through the canopies so fast I could barely take in the scenery. In one treetop I saw a family of Toucans hopping around, then off the next platform tiny monkeys chased each other across the branches.
Sometimes I cannot believe that these afternoons are part of my job. When I am pulling horny teenagers out of corners or sitting up on the hot sports deck supervising a game of basketball, I simply need to think forward to my next afternoon in port, where I will most likely be taking another snorkeling trip or shopping in exotic fruit markets.
At night all of the staff get together in the Crew Bar or in the Guest Disco and dance the night away. Each month a different department hosts weekly staff parties. Last night was a Wine and Cheese party. The Jazz Trio provided relaxing music and we all sat around having an enjoyable quiet evening to recharge from a difficult week. Next week is Latin Night. After teaching a Salsa class to a Singles group on the ship, a bunch of people have asked me to lead a short lesson on salsa moves before getting together in the Disco for a night of Latin grooves. After the bar closes out we all go up to the top deck for some pizza and ice cream, and rarely call it a night before 6am.
Thank goodness I don’t start work the next day until after lunch.
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Thelma
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EXOTIC?!!
Exotic fruit markets!!! This job was MADE for you--- it's gonna blow haymarket into the boston harbor. you look amazing. everything gets overwhelming sometimes but you're a strong willed open minded person with a helluva lot of insight. i am SO glad you're taking it all in. and that you;re taking pictures. i miss you something awful.