COVID + A CRUISE
I was working for a cruise line and had been on the ship for eight months when the world shut down.
Days and days went by before we really could comprehend the magnitude of what this could mean.
I wasn’t alone.
The crew was also devastated and concerned.
What would happen?
How long would this go on?
I am from a small country far, far away and I knew getting home wouldn’t be easy.
And it was “far” from easy for me.
Over the next few months, we stayed on the ship and prayed.
I only had my phone to communicate to my family so my emotions were always being worn on my sleeve.
At times, my heart would pound so hard I felt my chest would explode from the anxiety and depression.
Each day it seemed to get worse on the outside, but we knew if we worked together, we could learn to be a family on the ship.
At times tempers flared, not understanding each other's culture and at times, patience grew thin, but we persevered and we became a family – a family that learned to love each other and co-exist under the most extreme circumstances.
Three months after the shut down, I received the word I would finally be going home.
I wondered if I would ever return to working on a cruise line, but I did.
This is the life I chose for me, my family and my world.
The people I meet and the cultures we experience are part of who I am.
And I am blessed for it.