Good News!

I just found out that my cell phone service provider covers Puerto Rico as part of the U.S. - so I will be able to bring and use my cell phone while away on my next contract! San Juan is our home port, and we are there once a week, so calling home will be a lot easier than it was in the Med. When I get there and find out if it really works, I'll post my phone number here, and every Saturday people can call me! Hooray!

Lake Arrowhead

Surprise! Didn't expect to find a new post, did you. :-) I've been here in California for 3 weeks now, and it has been so much fun hanging out with my amazing friends and family. Some highlights so far have been my welcome home party, playing with UCO again, playing some quartets, attending December graduation, my little sister's birthday party, Cameron's birthday party, going to church with Hannah and Steve, playing games with friends, swing dancing, just sitting around watching favorite movies, eating my favorite foods....the list goes on. I still have a month left at home before my next contract, and I'm looking forward to being at home for Christmas. I am hoping for snow next week! Anyway, I just thought the month of December should have a posting - it looked lonely. :-)

if you are still checking this, stop it and just call me!

Home!!!

So here I am, finally home!!! My whole family came to meet me at LAX, even though it was almost 1am. They were waiting at the bottom of the escalator just as I was leaving the terminal. The first thing I saw was five pairs of feet all in a semicircle, and those feet looked like they could be familiar...which they were!! They had a big sign that said welcome home, Andrea, and screamed a lot when they saw me. It was awesome!!! They even had some cold root beer waiting for me since I've been missing it so much. :-) I got a bit emotional and probably look awful in the pictures my dad was taking, but I was so happy to see them. Six months is a long time. The whole night was so surreal...like one of my many dreams of going home that I had throughout my contract. We went to In 'N Out before we drove home.....nothing like it!!! I couldn't have imagined a more perfect homecoming.

So now I am at home, resting and recovering from being sick. I'd like to be feeling better before I start hanging out with all my friends at school this weekend. I plan to rest and really enjoy these almost two months at home before returning to the Summit. I've enjoyed keeping up this blog and have loved reading all your comments. My next contract is only 3 months, but maybe I will continue doing this blog...let me know what you think! If there are people who'd like to read it, I'll keep writing. :-) So let me know. Thanks again for all your prayers and support during my contract. I can't believe its over. I made it!!! I am so glad that I did it. It was an amazing experience. Until next time!!

New York, New York

So today has been another one of those longest-day-of-your-life sort of days. Last night I was up almost all night long packing, cleaning, and saying goodbye to friends. I got about an hour of sleep, and that in my clothes with the lights still on. By some miracle I finished everything I needed to do, and went to sleep just before 4 am. Then I had to get up again at 5am, showered and finished up some errands in order to pick up my final paycheck at 6am. After that I had a quick breakfast before bringing my carry-ons down to our meeting point at the gangway. We were all supposed to be leaving the ship at 6:45, so there we were, ready to go…..but security wasn’t, so we sat there for an hour. Once we got off the ship and into the cruise ship terminal outside it turned out that our airport transportation wasn’t ready either – so we sat there for two more hours, and didn’t actually leave the port until after 10am. (Why did they make us get up so early!!!!??) The neat thing about that delay was that I got a chance to meet my replacement. His name is William and he’s at least 60 years old! And this is his first contract! Wow. I’d have liked to have heard his story, but I only had a couple minutes to talk to him, answer his questions, and wish him a good contract. But I was really excited to get to see him.

So I had a good time playing some games with my friends last night, and said goodbye to everyone. It wasn’t too hard to say goodbye, because I found out that when I’m on the Summit in January it will be in port with the Galaxy, so I’ll get to see my friends again. It was a bit hard to say goodbye to Hayden, though, just as it was when Marie left. He really was my best friend on the ship. We said goodbye last night and then he stopped by my room this morning to give me one more hug. I will really miss my New Zealand brother. I already miss him. ☹

So anyway, we finally did make it to the airport on time (Barely – I walked straight through every checkpoint right onto the plane and it left shortly after I got on), and by the grace of God, no-one gave me any trouble about my luggage (DEFINITELY overweight) or my instruments (one checked, one carry-on), or my carry-on backpack (oversized AND overweight), or the extra purse and camera I had hidden under my sweatshirt (both of which caused me to exceed the two carry-on limit)…..Yay! I guess I shouldn’t count my chickens yet, I’m not quite home….but I’ve already gone through customs and security here so I’m sure I’ll be alright. I don’t have to do customs in LAX since now this is a domestic flight. Woohoo!

So now I am sitting at my gate, 2 hours early, writing this post as per suggestion by my wonderful family, with whom I just got off the phone. I am pretty tired, since my day has already been extended 7 extra hours, and will be extended 3 more hours by the time I get back to LA. When I add it up, I will be arriving in LAX at 11am Sunday morning Mediterranean time, 30 hours after beginning my day after my one hour nap last night. These time changes are already confusing me. Anyway, it has already been a long day (right now its 2am in my brain) and it isn’t over yet! I’m about to complete the final leg of my flight, six hours to LAX. And another 3 hour time change….ok, now I’m really confused, so I’ll stop thinking about it. ☺ I’m content to sit here and listen to the funny New York accents on the P.A. system announcements. I am back in the U.S.A after 6 months!!! Wow! ………..and the funny New York accent just told me that they changed my departure gate and my flight is delayed 20 minutes. Come to think of it the accent doesn’t seem that funny anymore….sad day. I want to go home now! Not 20 minutes later than an hour and a half from now. Sigh. Well, I guess this post is pretty much over cause I have to switch gates now. Ok, bye!

going home!

I have so many thoughts right now....I'm sitting on the couch in the staff bar with my friends, my last night on board. I'm finished with work and packed....I can't believe I'm finished. The last couple of months flew by so fast. I am a little sad to leave. I will really miss my friends here. But I can't wait to come home and see you all!!!!

Last night was my last church meeting, and because of that they asked me to preach. Which I did, in Spanish. I was nervous, but it went really well. They loved it, and they don't want me to leave....I think they finally trust and accept me even though I'm not from their country and Spanish isn't my first language. They told me they've never had someone from the US be commited to church meetings on any ship. They were all so friendly and so genuinely sad to see me leave. We had a party for my leaving and ate "valeadas" - something they are used to from home. It was really wonderful. I am about to run out of batteries so I must wrap this post up, but I will see you all soon, and write a final couple of posts. Later!!!

Kusadasi Overnight

Well, the pyramids were amazing. I saw them and the sphinx, and got a pendant with my name spelled out phonetically using heiroglyphics....its pretty neat. I know you all want pictures of the pyramids...you'll just have to wait. I'm about to go to bed. :-)

Tonight we had a split show - Claude-Eric and Mark Donoghue, basically my two favorites. they are definitely my closest friends among the guest entertainers. We went out tonight after the show and all spent some time together in Kusadasi, which was fun. So today I had quite the adventure - Claude-Eric and Hayden and I got up early and did our own excursion. Eric has been wanting to see this place for years and tomorrow is his birthday, so he treated himself (and us) to a trip there. It was three hours in our little rented Fiat EACH WAY!! Talk about bonding....the three of us had a blast, and barely got back in time for rehearsal. Yikes! I hate being late....but its my first time ever being late, and it didn't matter, so I think I'll be forgiven. :-) Anyway, we saw a petrified waterfall and some rock formations that were amazing, and had so much fun hanging out together. I will miss these good friends here.

Well, my computer is out of batteries and I want to send this tonight, so I'll end things here. Goodnight, Neverland!

Between Egypt and Cyprus

Well, I can tell its time to leave Europe. I've gotten to the point where 2000 year old ruins kindof bore me.....I went on a tour in Cyprus and it just seemed like stuff I had already seen. I think I've reached my limit of European ruins...temples, roman baths, mosaics, etc. I need a break so I can start to appreciate it again. I was pretty bored on my tour. :-) The guests were nice, though. I met a man who is apparently a knight or Duke or something...he showed me his id card and it said Sir something or other....he acted like he expected me to recognize his name....but I've never heard of him. I don't even remember the name. Ha ha. :-)

Tonight we have a female vocalist, who insists on being turned up really loud in the sound system. It was really painful, but she wouldn't turn it down. My ears were ringing...I think the whole brass section is going to stuff toilet paper in their ears tonight. I'm not kidding.

And tomorrow....the day we've all been waiting for. Tomorrow is the day that I see the pyramids. I really can't wait. Its going to be a lot of fun, because I have to go on the crew tour due to work, and pretty much all my friends (the whole entertainment staff) is going. Woohoo! I haven't been on a tour with my close friends, well, ever! It will be great!! And don't worry, mom, I will try not to be pickpocketed. :-)

Last Rhodes

So we've had an interesting couple of days here... Yesterday we dropped anchor in Santorini around 10am, only to be told that due to high winds it wasn't safe to transport the guests ashore in the tender boats. So we pulled up anchor again and we gone by 10:30am. What was supposed to be a port of call became a quick photo opportunity, followed by another day at sea. We were cleared to go straight to our next port of call (Rhodes) early and dock overnight. So we arrived just before seven pm. While this really sucks for the guests because they were cheated out of Santorini, it was great for us. Rhodes is probably my most beloved port, and if not for this turn of events I never would have been able to see it at night. And so, after I played a jazz set Lisa and I went out and walked around for about an hour. It is a completely different place at night - much more serene and much less touristy. I really enjoyed it. My jazz set was only so/so...first I was sick, and then second Elliot Finkel himself decided to show up and sit right in front of me....which may well have been one of the most intimidating moments of my contract. I don't mind trying to play jazz in front of guests who don't know any better, but Elliot....wow. I dread to know what he thinks of me after hearing that. Yikes. I tried to act totally calm and comfortable, but inside I was cringing a bit.oh well, nothing I can do about it now. And the good news is, I only have one more jazz set to play, and then I'll have made it! I'm actually really proud of myself for doing something that is difficult for me and for getting better at it. I also had a good talk with Lisa while we walked, which calmed me down and gave me back some perspective. We actually talked until 2 in the morning last night - I feel a lot closer to her now.

Well, right now I'm actually in between shows - tonight it is my favorite again. :-) I love Claude-Eric's show....I know I've said that already. Anyway, I get to go do it again in 23 minutes. :-) We had a good first show.

Our new trumpet player Ernest is a decent player, although he is not as consistent as Ben was. He is a tall black guy, 28, with a really enthusiastic laugh. He's a great guy, although he seems caught off guard by what is required of him here. He will soon catch on, though. He has a good sound. He is very likeable, though I must admit that since I am leaving in 10 days I am much more motivated to enjoy what time I have left with my good friends here than to invest in much of a friendship with him. We get along fine, but I'm going to focus on taking advantage of the few remaining days I have here to enjoy the company of already close friends. Well, i really have to go now - I'm due to be backstage in 4 minutes! Yikes!

Oh, one more thing - tomorrow we go to Cyprus!! Yay!!!

Last Napoli

Today was a lot of fun – there is a castle on top of a big hill in Naples, and I’ve wanted to hike up there ever since the beginning of my contract. I mentioned it to Hayden and he said he’d go with me, so off we went. The easy way is to take the funiculare to the top, but we wanted to see if we could find our own way up. After an hour and a half of backstreets, alleyways, forgotten staircases, and switchbacks we finally made it. The castle was really great and impressive. We walked all around and inside it and had a good time. I was very satisfied with my very last day in Naples. I am very stiff from all the walking we did, and it didn’t improve my cold, but I have no regrets. I don’t want to just sit in my cabin waiting to get better – this cruise is my last chance to explore!! And explore we did. And got lost a few times, which is half the fun. Luckily for me and my over-developed need to do things, tomorrow is a sea day, so I will sleep in and relax as much as I can. Hopefully I can kill this cold after that. Also luckily, all we had to do tonight was play a comedian on and off stage. We do have a show tomorrow (Elliot Finkel again), but other than that I plan to sit in bed and read. ☺

En Route to Civitavecchia

We just played Ben's last show! Yikes! It was Elliot Finkel again, a split show with Claude-Eric. Elliot has some really hard charts - especially a medley with about 40 different Disney songs that changes tempo and time signature every 4 bars or so and is nearly impossible to play... To top things off, our drummer Ellie got sick in between the shows and told us 5 minutes before we were supposed to start that he couldn't play the second one! Umm...now what?? Luckily Tom, the drummer in the dance band, used to be in the orchestra several years ago, and had played Elliot's show a few times....so someone ran and got him from the lounge where his band was playing and he ran up just as we were starting. He NAILED the show. He was sight reading, and he was still much more solid than Ellie was even after a rehearsal (hope he's not reading this...) We had a great show - Tom saved the day. The second show was a lot better than the first, interestingly enough. :-)

We just got our grid (schedule) for the new cruise, and its hard to believe that this is my last one! As soon as we get through the list, I go home. After half a year at sea. Wow. And I'm going to see the pyramids this cruise! I can hardly wait. But I am fighting a cold and am really starting to get sick as of today, so your prayers are appreciated. I'd like to really enjoy my last two weeks without sickness getting in the way.

I had a feeling about a girl in the cast named Natalie - so today I just asked her straight out if she was a Christian. And she said yes! It was another confirmation to me that Christ really can shine through us....and you can just tell by being around some people that they know the Lord. I'm sure she and I could be really good friends - its too bad I won't really have the chance to get to know her. But we did have a nice talk, and hopefully we'll get to hang out a bit during my last cruise. Well, I have to go to the team meeting now, so I'll end things here. Goodnight, everyone!

At Sea

Last night we played Claude-Eric's show, and I had a blast. I really could play his show every night. Afterwards he treated us all to drinks in one of the lounges, and I had a good time talking with him and a couple of the cast singers. I'm really glad Claude-Eric is on the ship for a few weeks - hopefully we'll get to hang out a bit in some of the ports. He's lots of fun.

Last night after church we had a party because two of our members are leaving. I enjoy that because the food they prepare is always something traditional from Honduras, and I sometimes I really feel like I'm living in their country. I really enjoy learning how they do things, and I think after 6 months with these guys I'd be ready to move to Honduras or any Spanish-speaking country. Don't worry, I'm not going to..... :-) Anyway, because of said party I didn't get back to my cabin til almost 2am...Lisa got back at the same time, and we were both surprised to receive a call from our band leader at that time, telling us we had a morning big band set, of all things! He just found out about it at like 1am....no one told us anything. So he had to call us at 2am and tell us to be ready to play at 11am. Its already completely unusual to do anything like this - we've never had to before in my 6 months here. But not to tell us about it until 2am....thats a little frustrating. If we had known we'd need to be dressed and warmed up at that time we might have planned our evening differently so it wouldn't be hard to wake up. But oh well, we made it there and had a good set. Just one random set at 11am...weird. Anyway, now I'm relaxing and waiting for the evening craziness to begin. We have three big band sets tonight as well as two ceremonies in the dining room. Woohoo! Another busy formal night on board the Galaxy.

Its hard to believe that tomorrow is Ben's last day on board, and that in 2 weeks it'll be my turn to go. It hasn't hit me yet that I'll be playing with a strange new trumpet player next to me all the time....I've gotten really used to Ben and it will be weird without him. I hope the new guy is good. All I know is that his name is Ernest. :-) Time will tell.

I am starting to get to know the new cast a lot better - they are actually really friendly people, and don't have the tendency to exclusivity that usually comes with the territory. I like them a lot and I enjoy going to their shows to support them. Also, they almost always come and see our shows as well, and scream really loudly for us when the entertainers acknowledge the band. Ha ha, yesterday at our first show, two of them started clapping as we walked on stage (we always go on two minutes before showtime to get set up - usually everyone just ignores us), and then because of they were clapping the guests thought they should clap, too - and the whole audience started clapping for us! We were cracking up - we're so used to being like wallpaper before the show starts. That has never happened before. Thanks, cast!!

Kusadasi

Kusadasi again....

Yesterday we had a day off, which was really strange since it was a formal night. But of course I'm not complaining. I played Monopoly with Hayden, Ben, and Ellie, and I won!!! I haven't won a game of Monopoly in quite a while. I was pretty excited.

I'm really excited with the guest Entertainers we have right now. We just played a show for pianist Elliot Finkel, whose show I have been hearing about since I arrived on board. There is a lot of hype surrounding his show because it is very difficult but also very fun. He is pretty famous, as is his entire family. He is quite a character, as well. He is a 6 foot 6 Jewish man from New York, pretty big, and had a huge cuban cigar in his mouth throughout the rehearsal. The show was really fun to play, although I was exhausted afterward. And then tomorrow we play Claude-Eric Brunelle's show. If you've been following my blog you might remember that he was on board at the beginning of my contract and was a good friend as well as my favorite show to play. I am really excited he is back on board. We had breakfast together this morning and right now he's actually here with me and Hayden at the Burger King stealing internet. :-) I can't wait to play his show again - it is so much fun and he's such a talented singer. Right now he's trying to arrange a little day trip for us next time we're in Kusadasi - we have an overnight and he knows about a really cool petrified waterfall thats about an hour drive away. Hopefully a bunch of us can go and see it.

Well, the three of us have been fighting for bandwidth here and alternately kicking each other off the network, so I'm going to post this while I'm still connected....ha ha.

Bosphorus straights!

The past week or so since I wrote my last post has really been a lot of fun. I’ve spent a lot of time with the guys in the band and with my other friends on board. I am really comfortable with everyone now, and with myself, so I’m able to be more relaxed and just enjoy being around them. I recently found out that Hayden (tenor sax) is a Christian, which has been a huge blessing. We’ve had some great conversations and we really get along well, so in a lot of ways he has filled the hole that Marie left. We usually end up spending a lot of our off time together. Yesterday we kept each other company during almost 6 hours of using the free internet in Istanbul (I had a lot of catching up to do!), and then we managed to get into the dining room since pretty much all the guests were off the ship and didn’t turn up for their dinner seating. Ben came along with us for that, and the three of us enjoyed another amazing dining room dinner. I’d like to do that just one more time next cruise, hopefully with the whole band, to celebrate the end of my contract.

Tonight we are playing another guest entertainer’s show – his name is Ralph Heid, and he plays xylophone. Bit of a novelty show, you might say. Honestly, the show isn’t designed very well, but he can sure move his hands fast. He is very technically proficient, I suppose - as he can hit a lot of notes with accuracy. But having a percussionist brother makes me a little skeptical of him...he plays from the wrong side of the instrument (on the low end, with the keys stacked away from him, lower to higher – instead of on the side of the instrument), plays with what looks like wooden spoons wrapped in masking tape, and his xylophone itself doesn’t look normal to me. Tyler, I wish you were here so I could hear your evaluation of this guy. :)

Lisa is making a really great roommate. She and I are both pretty clean (stop laughing, I really am!) and conscientious of each other. I like living with her, and it has been fun getting to know her better. Her English is really improving a lot. We have a couple of inside jokes now. Last night while she was out I cleaned out one of the storage areas in our room, and to my surprise found some Christmas lights! Who knows how long they’d been buried back there. I got excited and put them up in our room, along with 5 fake candles that I also dug up. I left Lisa a note that said “Surprise!” and told her where I found them, and then just left everything on to surprise her when she came back. I heard her come in and laugh when she saw them. She loves them as much as I do. I figure that the rule for Christmas decorations going up hasn’t been broken – I waited until November started and Halloween was over. :) Plus, I’ll be gone long before Christmas, so this way I can enjoy the lights while I’m still here. They are exactly the same small colored bulbs we always use at home on our tree, so they give me lots of warm fuzzies. :)

Istanbul/Naples ;-)

(I'm in Istanbul right now - and I'm so sorry for the gap between posts - my internet has been down and the ship's Data Systems Manager has been fixing my computer. But it is now fixed, so I can stop going crazy. What follows is a post I wrote on October 26th, in Naples, and was unable to send until now. I will write another post very soon!)

Tomorrow I start my second to last cruise! Its coming down to it, now….Today we are in Naples and its rainy again. I would like to go out, but I’m not sure if I can talk any of the guys into going out….I think they are all lazy today. That’s alright, I really should practice, anyway.

Last night we played a really cool show. The entertainer was Scott Record, and he does singing comedic impressions. He is really amazing – he has dozens of different voices and can imitate anyone’s singing style. Apparently he’s really famous as well – he’s going to appear on David Letterman in a few weeks. The show had the band laughing so hard we were in tears the entire time. One of the most interesting things he does is an impression of Frank Sinatra singing New York New York, but as it would sound on a skipping, warped record. It was amazing! And of course, the chart for the band is interesting, to say the least, with lots of offbeats and strange time signatures. Scott makes all the skipping sounds with his voice, and whoever put this chart together is pretty much a genius. Another of his songs is a 60’s medley – with about 40 different songs and therefore voices that he imitates. He presents it like one of those TV commercials advertising a set of 4 C.D.’s for $19.95 – if you know what I’m talking about. It only has about 4 measures of each song, which makes it another really crazy one for us to play. Anyway, we had a really good time.

I’m a bit tired from last night, because not only did we do the show twice, as usual, but we also played our short end-of-the-cruise ceremony in the dining room for both seatings, as well as played two 45 minute jazz sets for the Captain’s Farewell Toast before both of the shows. So we were running around like crazy people all night, from one thing right to the next, and then doing it all over again. It was a bit hectic.

The second English church meeting went really really well. Unfortunately we didn’t have as big a turnout as I would have hoped, but it still went well. I had a late night rehearsal with my new friend Earl, who plays guitar. He brought me a keyboard, and we put together 5 worship songs for the meeting. All of my Spanish church friends were shocked by the fact that I could play keyboard. They are still talking about it all the time. ☺ I wasn’t that great – its been months since I’ve played, but it still felt really good to be able to contribute my music skill to the church and give something back to the Lord in that way. And it was so neat to sing the songs that I grew up with again – I’ve missed worshiping in that way. I loved hearing everyone sing those songs so loudly and with so much passion and energy. Praise the Lord – He is so good.

Tonight my friend Mark Donoghue is back for another show – his second this cruise. I’m excited to hear some of the other songs he has in his repertoire. Its always fun to work with him, and it will be a good way to end the cruise.

Day Off in Kusadasi

Yep, we have yet another day off....Its because this cruise is so long, and three of the guest entertainers don't require the band. And we've played all of our big band sets, so we're out of stuff to do. We give the other bands days off when we play in the lounges, but there are only so many lounges. Someone has to have the day off. So we're taking one for the team. Its raining pretty hard today, so we aren't very active. Yesterday we played Monopoly, so that's out of our system now. :-) I got lunch with Hayden and then we went to the post office, and now we're using the free internet at Burger King.

English Church went pretty well the other night. People seemed to think it was a success. I was surprised to see one of the girls from the children's program show up, and I think we'll have even more next time. I met a guy who does music ministry, and we are going to meet tonight to rehearse some worship music for next time. He has a guitar and a keyboard. So I'll play keyboard. I'm excited! I want this to keep developing...hopefully we can find some people who aren't leaving for a while to take over. But anyway, it went well. Praise God! Tomorrow is our next meeting. Keep praying! I'm hoping for many new faces next time. And also pray that I won't have to work! I would hate to rehearse for nothing.

I can't believe this cruise is almost over! It has been our longest yet. Two more of these, and then I'm coming home! I can't wait to see everyone. My sign off day is a month from tomorrow. Its hard to believe. Oh, also I'm very concerned about the fires there. You all have to take care of yourselves since I can't be there. It is very scary for me to be so far away when this is happening. I'm praying for the situation and especially that Lake Arrowhead is ok. Take care of yourselves and pray hard!

Finally - I've posted two more photo albums - here are the links!
http://apu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2042461&l=a721b&id=56903845
http://apu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2042460&l=b9ab4&id=56903845

Going Places

Today I had probably the coolest excursions ever. I really didn’t have any expectations for Odessa – I had no idea what it would be like. It turns out it is a really beautiful good-sized city, with a lot of 18th and 19th century buildings and architecture. The streets are very very wide, which made a huge contrast with what I’ve become accustomed to in our other ports. Odessa is a very green city, with huge trees everywhere – which means that there are a lot of nice colors as its fall now and the leaves are all in some stage of changing color. I was able to take a full day excursion since we don’t have a show tonight, and so I saw a lot!! We saw so much of the city – in one day I took 300 pictures!! Can you believe that?? I can’t.

For lunch we ate in a famous hotel, in a grand hall at the end of which was a stage – and there was a concert just for us as we ate!! And the food was extra gourmet - we’re talking salmon caviar here (yes, I tried it. And, ewww…) And it was a 5 course meal. Our dessert was smoked walnut-stuffed prunes with whipped cream. ?!? I know, strange. There was also vodka (which I tasted….also EWWW!!!) because Russia (and therefore the Ukraine) is famous for it. Anyway, there were some parts of the meal that I actually really enjoyed, including the soup and good old garlic bread. But I really had a lot of fun trying new things. Even if I hated them. ☺

But the highlight of the tour was going to the Odessa Opera House, whose ballet company is supposedly world renowned. The company put on an hour and a half private ballet performance for the tour groups, in the most beautiful opera house. And I had a box seat! I felt very special. The dancers were fantastic. The first half was a more traditional ballet exhibition, and the second half was a condensed version of Bizet’s Carmen. This was really cool for me, because I fell in love with that music years ago, and it was really cool to see it danced. Oh, did I mention live orchestra? There was a live orchestra. In a real pit! Woohoo! (I keep forgetting most places have those….thanks APU and Rim High)

Anyway, it was a pretty full, amazing day. I’m so glad I got to do this excursion! And I hope I get to do more next cruise. Hopefully I’m not working again! Well, I’m off to do my jazz set for the night, and then to English church!

The Black Sea!!!

Hi friends!!!

I’m in quite a good mood today as it is so exciting to see new places!!! I just spent my first day ever in the Ukraine, and now we’re sailing the Black Sea on our way to our next port. It turns out that we are not going to Romania as I thought. Due to concerns for guest safety, we have changed our itinerary to include 2 ports in the Ukraine. Today was our first – Yalta. It is a fairly small port town, but boasts the Livadia Palace – one-time home to the Romanov family and location of the famous Yalta conference between F.D.R., Churchill and Stalin. I went on an excursion to this palace and saw all the conference rooms and such…it was a heady experience. It was also a bit surreal to see pictures of the Romanov family it the many rooms upstairs, like family photos of trips they took, and also drawings that the children drew with their private tutors….Neat. Also we saw a castle from afar called the Swallow’s Nest. I walked around the port after the tour was over just for a few minutes, and then I had to go back to the ship for rehearsal.

Afterwards, Ben and Ellie said they were going out again and asked if I wanted to come. I was undecided since we didn’t have a ton of time, but finally I said yes; I was very glad I did, because we found a Ukrainian wind ensemble setting up in a big open courtyard. They began to play and were really good! They played all styles of music, and it seems to be a tradition, maybe every Saturday night, because we were asked to step back and make room for “the dancers” and a several dozen old Ukrainian couples began to dance in the huge open area in front of the band!! It is awesome! I took lots of pictures and videos. Especially of one lady who was wearing a rainbow plaid outfit, complete with scarf and umbrella, who was dancing by herself for all she was worth. It was the first real cultural experience that I feel I’ve had on this trip. Much of what we see, especially on the tours, is created for the tourists. This was just pure tradition that I happened to walk by and see. (Tyler – this reminded me of something that would happen to you and me! You know what I mean!)

So now we are on our way to Odessa, Ukraine. I am going on another excursion – this time we don’t have a rehearsal, so I’m going on an extra-long excursion. I can’t wait to tell you about it, cause I think its going to be really cool.

Also, tomorrow something very exciting is happening – the first English Bible Study for crew. My Spanish church and especially its leader have had it on their hearts to make something available for those who don’t speak Spanish. So for a couple of weeks we have been working on putting something together and planning it. I just got my work schedule for tomorrow, and I am playing one jazz set earlier in the evening, so I will definitely be able to attend this meeting. Which means that I will be running it. (they had a backup in case I had to work). I am so excited that I get to help with this, and I am really praying that something good and permanent comes out of this…it would be great if we could get a core group together and start an English church. Of course nothing will happen before I leave, but still it would be so great to have that option for the believers on board – what a great way to find out who each other are. So please pray for this very important meeting, and another one that will be happening several days later. May they be only the first of many!!

Mykonos, Greece

I just realized that we only come to this port one more time before I leave!! how crazy is that? This is my second to last night in Mykonos. I was going to spend the day with Hayden, but his laundry was taking too long and I got tired of waiting so I came out by myself. It was actually a really nice evening. We didn't get here until after 4pm because we were delayed by all the wind and waves we were fighting yesterday. A really big wave hit the ship at like 4am and really freaked me out. Lisa and I were both laying on our beds in the afternoon because we were feeling a bit nauseous. But the show went really well in spite of the rocking ship. We had a 2 and a half hour rehearsal, which is unusually long, but the show was one of the best I've ever played. The singer is a black guy named Michel Bell, and his voice was pretty incredible. He is a true bass, and sang some amazing stuff, finishing with Old Man River, of course. One of the songs was a dixieland style piece, and the horn section got to get out from behind our stands and walk out to the front of the stage improvising dixie-style. It was awesome.

So my evening in Mykonos was wonderful. I got off the ship around 5:30pm, did some shopping, and then ate a gyro while watching the sunset. (Pictures to come - it was a good one!!) I've never wandered around the town at night, so I enjoyed that for a while. Then I went to my favorite restaurant and had a chocolate crepe, as usual. And then I came here to the internet cafe, and here I am enjoying my second cappuccino and looking out the window at the lighted ships in the harbor. It is beautiful and relaxing.

For those of you without Facebook, here are some links to two new albums I've posted: enjoy!
http://apu.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31263151&l=9a233&id=56903845
http://apu.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31258974&l=08c8c&id=56903845

At Sea

I just moved into my new room – right next door to my old room. I spent all of Embarkation day cleaning and taking care of the last girl’s junk – she left a lot of things undone which was a bit of a pain. But after a whole day of cleaning, running errands, unpacking, and arranging, Lisa and I finally have the room the way we want it. It is great to have a room that feels like a room instead of a hallway with beds. ☺ Also, I am on the bottom bunk, which means I can sit up in bed – Hooray! Also, the mattress is 100 times better than my old one, and this bed has some thick quilts on it, so I’m really warm and cozy at night. As a combination of all this and the fact that I was exhausted after a long day, I slept better than I have in weeks.

So this ship is going crazy right now….rocking a whole lot. Actually, right now the water is really really choppy with some good sized waves….I can’t remember the last time the ship was moving so much…I know I’ve said that before. But since my room is right on the edge of the ship I can really hear these giant waves hitting the ship…It sounds like they’re hitting the wall right next to my bed. My cabin is shaking a bit from each impact – kinda scary! But fun, too…the sound reminds me of sitting on a beach and listening to the waves…it helps sooth me to sleep. (Side note: it just got worse….I can hardly walk around now…yikes!!!)

So I had to say goodbye to the old cast yesterday, which was strange. 20 people that I knew really well, gone. Its getting to the point that pretty much everyone who was here when I arrived is now gone. There are a lot of new faces now. Anyway, I said goodbye to all of them….my friend Michael even cried. Also, Donné left yesterday. We prayed for each other in the morning before she got off the ship, which was good but also bittersweet. Now I don’t know anyone on Cruise Staff that is a Christian. On the up side, I only have 6 weeks left on board, only 3 two-week-long cruises (including this one!) until I leave. When you say it like that it seems very short and I know it is going to go by really fast.

The day before yesterday Jack (band leader/pianist) asked me if I would consider extending my contract. Before anyone freaks out, don’t worry, I said no. I am happy enough here to stay longer, but there are plenty of reasons why I want to be home by the end of November. Not the least of which is that you all would probably kill me if I stayed out here another month or two. ☺ So I said “no way”, I wanted to leave when scheduled, but the fact that he asked me is actually a really good thing. It means he really likes working with me enough to want me to stay longer. He told me that on ships he doesn’t always have a good player like me. He complimented my playing and even my improv, which he says has gotten a lot better. He shook my hand after my first ever jazz set by myself (usually Marie would come and help me out) last cruise – he congratulated me on my first real set and said that I have improved a lot and had played some good stuff that night – he enjoyed listening to it! Coming from him that is a huge compliment. It has lifted my spirits a lot to know that he thinks I am a good player. He is really talented and has been doing this for a while. So anyway, that was good news, but don’t worry, I won’t be extending my contract. ☺

In other news, this cabin has a minifridge – so last night I put my one precious little bottle of Mountain Dew in there. It is happily cooling and I can’t wait to enjoy it. I have to find the perfect occasion to drink it, though…I only have one… ☺

More Mail!!! (Shortest post yet)

Hooray! I just got two letters from home last night!! One was from my family and the other had some things from my friends (I laughed myself silly over the telephone pictionary stuff!!! Thank you!! That was genius - I LOVE reading them! I'm putting them on my wall!). But these letters were postmarked September 4th and 6th, so I'm a bit frusterated that they took so long (over a month!) to get here. So just a heads up - if anyone is planning on sending anything, send it now before the end of October or I probably won't get it before I come home.

I also want to give a shout out to everyone who's posted comments - I always read them and they have been so much fun and such an encouragement to me. So thank you!!

At Sea

Last night there was a thunderstorm!! After the bumper (what we call the welcome aboard orientation show) the band took Hayden out for a drink, and we sat on the back deck where there are windows. We hung out there for a while getting to know our new member, and we could see flashes of light from outside. So after I left the table I bundled up in my jacket (wearing it for the first time since I arrived!!) and sneaked out to deck 7. We aren’t allowed out there at night or when we’re at full speed, so don’t tell anyone. But it was perfect. The deck isn’t lighted because that would interfere with the bridge officer’s night vision, so it was perfect for watching the storm. It was mostly heat lightening, and I couldn’t hear any thunder because it was so windy, but it was awesome to watch. I never thought I would be able to watch a lightning storm from the front of a ship. I stayed until it started to rain. The wind was blowing it into my eyes so I couldn’t watch comfortably anymore. But I got to watch it for about an hour, and it was a really neat experience. I could have stayed out there all night.

It is nice having my own room, even though it’s only temporary. I can have things how I want them and it feels more like MY room. My boredom resulting from Marie’s absence is actually encouraging me to do more of the things I wished I was doing, like reading, studying, devotionals, practicing, cleaning, etc…. I’m trying to keep myself busy. I didn’t realize how good we were at entertaining each other – we were always doing something. Its quite a drastic change. But in some ways it is good for me. I’m glad I didn’t have to have a new roommate right away.

This cruise is the one with the cast I know and love, so I’m making a point to go to all of their shows if I can. It will be strange to watch a different cast do the same shows – I know I’ve said that before. But anyway tonight I went to the Rock ‘N Roll show, which is probably my favorite. My face is sore from smiling, it is so much fun. They were all smiling at me and acknowledging me throughout the show, which makes it awesome. And as has become tradition whenever I go to Rock and Roll, Michael picked me to dance with when he comes out into the audience at one point in the show. I can’t believe this was the last time! ☹ You really come to be attached to little traditions like that. But the new cast in already on board, and hopefully they will be fun to work with. They came to the show also, and were really enthusiastic. I think they’ll be fun. Well, its about bed time for me. We are off tomorrow! Woohoo! Wow, what am I going to do all day…. ☺

Civitavecchia

This has been a very strange day. I got up early with Marie and we watched the sunrise out on Deck 7. I put her hair in braids for her and then stayed with her all morning as she got ready to disembark (there's a lot of details to take care of). She left around 9:30am, and it was really hard for me to see her go. I didn't realize how much it would affect me to say goodbye. I didn't do anything for a few hours because I was in a pretty subdued mood. Every part of my ship experience has been with her, and now she won't be there. We were inseperable for four months. Nothing will be as it was, but I know in a few days I'll have adjusted. I already miss her a lot. I hope we meet again - she does want to come visit me in California sometime. And who can say - maybe we'll be on a ship again together someday.

It is raining again today, starting this afternoon. Somehow it seems appropriate.

So then I went downstairs to see my friend Luis, the tailor, who was busy with all the new arrivals. One of which was a friend of Jennifer's (my friend who got hurt) and she brought me Mountain Dew!!! Jennifer told her about the lack out here and she brought me some! How exciting is that! Also, I ran into none other than Marie's replacement. He seems really cool, and is about my age. He's done one other contract, also with celebrity.

Also, the Underwoods left yesterday, and were nice enough to take a whole bunch of stuff home for me. I was worried about the weight limits and the fact that last time I had three carry-on's and only made it through by luck. but now, no worries! I filled up a backpack Marie gave me with extra music, books, and souveniers, and packed it really full. Plus a black bag with my Turkish Carpet and an extra pair of shoes and other things. That they are willing to do this is huge! All my friends here are jealous because usually people end up spending a lot of money to mail stuff home, or have to leave things behind or pay a lot of extra money at the airport - so the Underwoods have really been my angels. Amazing how God works stuff like that out. Also, they prayed for me before I left, after some long conversations about the challenges that I face here, which was also a huge blessing for me. One other neat thing - a couple I met from Australia went through a lot of trouble to leave me their contact information - they really want me to visit them and said I can stay with them in Adelaide. So if I ever make it back to Australia, I'll probably do that.

So, today has been bittersweet. I lost a great friend, but God has been giving me all kinds of blessings yesterday and today. He never gives us more than we can handle.

Just leaving Katakolon, Greece

So the band’s big plans totally worked out. We got up early and were in the first group off the ship. By 8:45am we had each rented a four-wheeler, or ATV. We drove all over Santorini, to the black and red beaches, on the main roads with cars and also all around these narrow dirt “roads” in between the grape fields and rocky cliffs. There are really a lot of those and we spent a lot of time offroading and exploring. They go about 35 miles per hour, and I was scared at first (regular driving makes me nervous enough) but it was SO MUCH FUN!! It was the best day I’ve had in…well I don’t know. Maybe the best day so far. It was like being on an awesome roller coaster all day long. Although we were covered in dust at the end of the day. Ben’s beard turned from black to white from the amount of dust that was in it. It was intense. We were out all day and had a blast. There were 7 of us. I might do it again sometimes, but it is a bit expensive to rent those bikes. Anyway, I felt cool driving one. I learned to do something new and did it even though it scared me, so I was proud of myself. Although I’m paying the price today with really sore arms and back….I guess I was hanging on pretty tightly…ha ha.

Today we were in our first new port of call since I arrived – Katakolon. And what a surprise to look out the window and see something that resembles Lake Arrowhead! Lots of trees! Don’t worry, there will be pictures soon. I took a tour to Olympia – the original site of the Greek Olympic games, since the 8th century B.C. I ran a lap around the ancient stadium just so I could say that I’ve done it (even though I got some weird looks), and saw the place where they still light the Olympic torch for the modern games. It was a neat place for its historical significance. Afterwards I wandered around Katakolon, which is a very small port village, and happened to run into the Underwoods just as they sat down to eat, so I got to join them. It was a pretty great day. It was so refreshing to go somewhere new after four months.

En Route to Santorini

Updates….last night we played a show with Australian pianist Bernard Walz, and it was the most fun show we’ve done in a while. It was pretty challenging, and he is one of the best all-around musicians we’ve had in a while. He arranges his own music, writes for all the instruments, does a darn good job of it – his arrangements are really really good. Not cheesy at all. He’s been on the cruise since it began, so I actually got to know him a bit before we played his show. He’s a fantastic pianist, and I enjoyed talking with him during the cruise. The show was hard, and I definitely missed some stuff, but we did very well and had two great performances. I hope we get more shows like his – fun and challenging.

Today I spent the day with my Lake Arrowhead friends on board, walking around Rhodes for most of the day. It was a relaxing time – we did a lot of shopping. We also went inside the Grand Master’s Palace in old town, which I’ve never done. It was pretty cool. I’ve never been in an old castle that big before. It is all stone, with big arches and an inner courtyard, a whole lot of rooms to see, high ceilings, tapestries, the whole nine yards. What else….we ate at a nice outdoor garden café, and Dave found a kitten that had a hurt eye and cleaned it up a bit and gave it water…I felt really sorry for it. It was really cute though, except for the eye. Anyway, hopefully it will heal now. Maybe I’ll see if I can find it next time we’re here. See how it’s doing.

I came back to the ship a bit earlier than my friends did in order to rest, change, and get ready for my jazz set. I also went and saw the first of the cast’s Rock and Roll show so I could video tape my neighbor Megan – she is putting together a dance audition video. After that I ran straight to play my set – which might have been the best yet. It was really fun and I played alright. My jazz improv is slowly improving…ha ha. I will miss sharing sets with Marie. Maybe the new guy will share with me. But I guess its time I struck out on my own. Yikes! In between sets a lady came up and asked if her husband could play the piano. He is a blind man from Mexico who I’ve seen at our other sets as well. He sat down at the piano and destroyed it. As in, he was really really good. He just played from memory for about 20 minutes, and wow, could he play. We joked that we should just leave him there and take the night off. He was really amazing, and it was a great moment to watch him play, sunglasses and all. An Australian man also came and talked to me for a while after the set. It is always nice to have someone who takes an interest in us like that.

Well, it looks like we have the day off tomorrow, which will be great! We already have big plans, which hopefully will work out the way we want. I’ll let you know!

A lot of changes

Hi everybody! I know its been a while since my last post, and people have been telling me I need to post more often, so I will do my best to comply! Starting today. :-)

This cruise I had quite a surprise - two couples from Lake Arrowhead are on board! Not only do I know them, but they actually went to my church growing up and have known me since I was about six. (Jim and Linda Underwood, and Mary and Dave Underwood) They had no idea I was on a cruise ship, and just recognized me during one of the shows. It was such a surprise to turn around after a show and see them there!! It is really cool to have people from home on board. I have eaten lunch with them and gone on a tour in Istanbul with them as well. Hopefully we'll get to spend a bit more time together before the cruise is over. At the moment they are over seeing Ephesus - I know they are going to love it.

I can't remember if I mentioned that we have a new cruise director, so forgive me if I'm repeating myself. Cruise Director is my highest level supervisor, and so having a new one on board changes a lot since he is the head of the entire entertainment department. He's doing fine so far, but it is a totally different atmosphere on board than with Stewart, who was here ever since I got on board. Stewart was more social and friendly, more like an entertainer, where Martin is much more business-like with the guests and crew. A lot of things that Stewart did Martin doesn't care to do, so its very different. Not bad, just different.

Another big change - the Miami office has officially canceled the Broadway show, on every ship. We played our last broadway show a few days ago. I thought I was going to play that show until my last day here. But it has been totally canceled, as in all the sets have been destroyed, costumes returned, the new cast hasn't learned it because they won't be doing it, it will probably never be performed again. I'm a bit sad, actually, because that was one of my favorite things to do. And it means that the orchestra won't have any connection with the new cast, because we won't do anything with them at all, except for the 5 minute demonstration number at the welcome aboard orientation. Its funny, because we are supposed to be the theatre orchestra, and we play none of the production shows now. Apparently on other ships the orchestra does play the other show, but our stage is too small for us to do that. So from now on it will be all guest entertainers and jazz sets, and of course Big Band.

At least a dozen times a day, Marie gives me an update on her countdown. Right now we're at 5 days left for her. She is going to start packing tonight. Last night was her last big band night. Yikes! I'm sad for me, but I can't be too sad, because she is so happy about going home. Now that we have gone to Istanbul and are on our way back west, she really is technically already on her way home.

RAIN!!!

We are in Naples again today, as this is the very first cruise with a different itinerary. We were just here the day before yesterday. This is going to be a 12 day cruise, with a stop and Katakolon, which is the port for Olympia, Greece. I hope I get to do a tour there. This is also Marie's last cruise, which is going to be hard for me. We've lived together and been each other's best friend on board for 4 months. I can't believe she's leaving - things will be totally different without her.

Today we had an amazing blessing - RAIN! This is the first rainy day of my contract. Marie and I were so excited that we walked around Naples for a couple hours in the rain. At one point we were trying to decide where to walk next, and I said something like, "Lets head back down toward the castle", and it hit me how crazy that is. It has become completely normal to say something like that, but if I was at home, that would never happen. It just stopped me in my tracks for a couple minutes. Anyway, we were so thrilled for the rain that we were whooping and yelling and running around when we got off this ship. I guess I should feel bad since rain is a really bad thing for all the guests, and they were giving us mean looks, but it is such a wonderful change for us, we couldn't help but be happy.

We ate lunch at our favorite place in Naples, and here's a tip: If your ever in a port city and want to figure out if a place has good food and decent/low prices, check the walls for signed pictures of cruise ships. Crews always have time to find the best places to eat, and eat there every time, becoming friends with the owners and leaving signed pictures of their ships in the restaurant. Ha ha. So there's Andrea's travel advice for the day. :-)

Tonight's show is a vocalist named Lindsay Hamilton, who swears she knows me from somewhere. She's actually really awesome to work with and down to earth (unusual for a vocalist). She's a star of London's West End. Yep, another one. We have a new one every cruise. :-) Anyway, I like her and her show is alright (even if we do have to play Don't Cry for Me Argentina and Memory, like we do for almost every vocalist). :-) Alright, I have to be backstage in half an hour, so off I go!

Kusadasi, Turkey

Yesterday we had four jazz sets to play, the first being by the pool. That first set was canceled due to wind. Then the last set was canceled because our pianist was needed at a crew event that conflicted. A few hours later, they canceled the other sets, too. So we had the day off, which was nice. Although it would have been nice to know before that afternoon. Ha ha, funny how things work around here. Since we had the night off, Marie, Ben and I decided to try to eat at casual dining. Usually in order to get in you need to have your manager send an email to the head of your department at lest 24 hours in advance, and then they in turn get permission from the restaurant manager....and so on and so forth.... But, after about an hour of waiting around and going to different people's offices, we were able to squeeze our way in. We were surprised that it actually worked, and enjoyed our dinner very much.

The crew event that required our pianist was called the "Celebrity Idol" competition, and about 8 people competed. The event was held in the theatre, with lights, costumes, fog, and everything. It was really well done. Our cruise director Stewart hosted it, and performed at intermission as well as opening the show by singing while wearing an officer's uniform. Mark Donaghue the really nice guest entertainer volunteered to perform for free as well, and the crew really loved that. A couple of our friends competed, which was fun to see. First prize won $500 dollars, and the winner really deserved it. He is a Filipino man with six kids at home who works in the Food and Beverage Department, and he blew us all away with an amazing voice, plus incredible stage presence. It was funny because he was actually the first to perform. None of the others compared, although one was really entertaining - one guy had dressed up in such a way that when he was facing right, he looked like a man wearing a suit, with a beard and mustache and short hair, but when he faced left he looked like a long-haired woman wearing a formal dress, with jewelry, nailpolish, and completely shaved face. Its a bit hard to explain how he did this - it would take too much time. But anyway, he sang a duet with himself - he would face one direction and sing like a guy, and then face the other way and sing the girl part. It was absolutely hilarious. Marie made a video - I'm making sure to get a copy. So anyway, the crew talent show type thing was really awesome and tons of fun.

Tonight we're doing something new - playing one set of big band music at some exclusive Captain's Club event. It should be interesting - I'm looking forward to doing something different.

Pireaus, Greece

Yesterday I got an email from my friend Jennifer, and she told me she was still stuck at the hospital in Athens because she wasn’t stable enough to fly. Because of port traffic, we changed the order of the ports this cruise, so we were scheduled for Athens today instead of later on in the cruise. I took the opportunity to go and see her again, as she said in her email that she was bored out of her mind. It would have been weird to be here and not go see her. Plus there was some mail for her, so I brought it over. I had an interesting time finding a taxi – all the ones in the port were very expensive, and the drivers told me to walk further from the terminal and they would be cheaper. So I did, and I was in the process of flagging one down when another taxi that already had passengers pulled up nearby and rolled down his window and yelled for me to come over. I was confused, but went over, and he said, “You’re going to the hospital, right?” I couldn’t believe it! I guess he must have helped last time we were here, but I don’t remember him….Even if he was the driver last time, what are the odds that he would be driving by at just the right moment? It was a small miracle. So he took me straight there, charged me only half what the others were asking, and dropped me off before he took the other passengers wherever they were going. God was looking out for me!

So I just had a lovely visit with Jen for a few hours, which was fun for me and great for her. And now I’m sitting in line at a Greek Bank waiting for my number to come up so I can exchange money so I can get a taxi back to the port. Otherwise it’s a pretty long walk. Ha ha. Well, my number’s coming up next, so I’ll be right back….

..And I'm back! I made it back alright. Last night something amazing happened at the broadway show! After it was over, the cruise director had all the cast come back on stage supposedly to acknowledge the fact that we finally have a full cast again since Robyn has returned after some surgery. He told the audience that her absence had been particularly hard on the singer Justin, her boyfriend for several years. Then he took something out of his pocket and gave it to Justin, saying, "I think you wanted me to hold this for you during the show." It was a little box...(can you guess what happened??) Justin took Robyn's hand and went down on one knee and asked her to marry him! In front of everyone! She had no idea he was planning anything, and was so surprised (as were we!!). She said yes, of course, and then some of the activity staff shot off some confetti canons. It was awesome!!! I cried a little. :-) So now they are engaged. Wow!!

Sea day

Tonight is the Broadway Show again, and unfortunately since it is a late show I can’t make it to church tonight. The second show won’t start til after 11pm, maybe not until 11:30. Definitely one of our longest nights.

Marie’s boyfriend Tom was just informed that his contract has been shortened, and they are sending him home tomorrow. They gave him only 2 days notice. Of course, Marie is pretty upset because while she knew he was leaving, it wasn’t supposed to be so soon, and on such short notice. None of us were expecting this. It is hard for me to see Marie so upset. This is a pretty rough transition for her. Pray for her if you get the chance. I hope that she is able to enjoy her last two cruises here even though he is gone, and that she and I will still be able to have a great time together.

Rome was really fun the other day with Marie. We went to St. Peter’s Basilica, and saw the tombs of the popes, including the late Pope John Paul II, and then paid a few euro’s to climb to the top of the dome in the basilica. It was pretty impressive. After that we walked all the way across Rome again, looked inside a bunch of gorgeous churches until Marie was getting tired of it (I’d be like, “There’s another one!” and she would give this big sigh….like, “not again”). We ate lunch at an authentic Irish Pub, and met a French guy who had lived in Ireland for 5 years and then moved to Rome. That was pretty neat. Marie talked to him in French. Anyway, we were exhausted by the time we got to the train station on the other side of Rome and slept the whole train ride back. It was a really good day. At the end of this cruise it will be Marie’s last chance to go to Rome, so we’ll probably go again. Yay!

Napoli

Today I woke up around 9:45 and went upstairs to have breakfast with my friend Donné during her break. Since she is activity staff, every port day one of them stays on board and runs events for those who stay on board. But in Europe hardly anyone stays on board, which means that most of the time she shows up to start an event, no one is there, so she waits 15 minutes and then when still no-one shows, she has a break until the next event, at which point the process begins again. So after we ate breakfast, I followed her around for a bit to these events that didn’t happen. ☺ It was fun, and gave us a great chance to connect and talk about our faith. It is wonderful to have a Christian friend who is my peer to talk with. Unfortunately she leaves in a month, but I really want to take advantage of the time that she is here. She’s very sweet, is actually a professional dancer, and has a neat South African accent. I like her a lot.

After spending the first part of my day with Donné, Marie and I went to the gym for a while, then woke up Ben (our trumpet player) and the three of us went out for pizza. Naples, or Napoli, is rumored to have the best pizza in Italy (which is saying something), and I think I agree. But I didn’t have any today – I tried a pasta called Gnocchi…which it turns out I really don’t like. Oh well. I’ll probably go back to pizza next time. When we are in Naples we always go to the same restaurant, and the owner knows us well and is a really nice old man, who actually worked on ships for years and years. He always treats us very well, and brings us free bread, along with real olive oil and balsamic vinegar to mix and dip our bread into. Its really good.

After stuffing ourselves there, we decided we wanted to take a walk. We discovered a nice park, plus a yacht harbor and some nice coastline. Ben says he wants to bring a fishing pole out here next time – I think I’ll come with him and bring a book.

So now I’m back on the ship, checking some emails before going to practice a bit. Tonight we have jazz sets – mine is at 10pm. After that, we have a team meeting (Entertainment Department), then I’m going to bed right away so I can wake up early for Rome tomorrow. Marie only has 2 more chances to go, including tomorrow, so she and I are going. Woohoo! I’m excited. Rome is always thrilling because there is so much to see.

Kusadasi

Things have been a bit different from normal the past couple days. On our way to Istanbul right after my last post, one of the engines broke down. They were able to fix it by morning, but as a consequence we arrived several hours late into Istanbul, and all the tours for the first day were cancelled. Marie and I still went out, to a huge mall (bigger than the last one!) and saw a movie. Doing that really makes me feel like I'm back at home. It was really fun. We got back to the ship around midnight, and then I made some phone calls from the calling station right next to the ship and stayed up late. In order to give people time to see Istanbul, we delayed our departure on the second day, which then meant that today we didn't arrive in Kusadasi until after noon (We're usually here by 7am).

For some strange reason, our production manager decided to schedule our rehearsal for the show tonight at 10am, which is very unusual. 2pm is the earliest we've ever rehearsed. And then he slept in and didn't even show up for rehearsal....we were a bit frustrated with him. Anyway, we had rehearsal in the morning, with Jennifer Fair, a vocalist. She is normally a bit of a challenge to work with, and we discovered that in the morning she is even more of a challenge, if you know what I mean. It was a long rehearsal. :-) But the nice thing about that is that we have the whole day in Kusadasi with no rehearsal to come back to the ship for.

Marie's boyfriend was able to get a couple hours off work to come out to lunch with Marie and I (which is amazing - he's only been able to get off the ship with Marie one other time), plus most of the band and a cast member. We went to the same restaurant that I had my birthday lunch at, because it is just so nice there. It was a really nice, relaxing afternoon. And now I'm borrowing free internet from Burger King. I bought a Pepsi, though, so its ok. :-) Anyway, these delayed arrival times are confusing me a bit - I think tomorrow we might still be behind. Its actually a nice change, though - really any change is nice when you are doing exactly the same itinerary for several months.

We had Big Band sets last night, which is the hardest thing that we do, in my opinion. It went alright, but unfortunately they were late sets, so the last one started at the same time as church, so I had to miss it. Instead I went to bed as soon as we finished, around 12:30am, so it would be easier to get up in the morning and be ready for rehearsal.

Robyn, one of our two female vocalists, is coming back tomorrow! She was home for some surgery, and so the cast had to get very creative for about a month in order to cover her parts in the shows. They did a fantastic job, and I'm sure no-one would ever suspect that they were missing a key actress. Oh, and last night one of the male vocalists had laryngitis and couldn't sing, so they had to get even more creative. But they manage each difficulty really professionally. I'm really proud of them - they've made it through a lot. They've got one month left on board before the new cast comes, which will be very strange for me! I've gotten very used to seeing them play these roles- it will be strange to see the same shows with different people. But nice to have some new faces on board as well.

Well, I think I've written too much for this post already...thanks for sticking with me, faithful readers! ;-)

Prayer request!

Hello, everyone. Last night just before our first show, my friend Jennifer (the A/V technician) took quite a fall, and she has broken her collarbone. The doctors believe that is the only part of her that is very badly injured, but they aren’t completely sure. She’s in pretty bad shape, and I spent the morning with her and helped the nurse bring her to a doctor on shore today. I also packed all of her things, because it is certain that she’ll be going home, and staying there at least a month, hopefully returning after she’s healed. Please pray for her as she’s on her own now, and traveling with that kind of an injury can’t be fun. Also, she wasn’t planning to return home so early, so pray that everything will work out when she gets back – that she will find somewhere to stay, and that the ship’s insurance won’t be a problem. I appreciate your prayers for her healing and her spirits (possibly the worst part about this whole thing is that today is her birthday), and I am going to miss having her here. I’ll let you know when I have more news. It’s a bit scary how quickly things can change.

On a lighter note, right now we’re on our way to Istanbul again for our overnight. I’m pretty excited because this time around not only am I not on in-port manning (1/3 of the crew always have to stay on board – it’s a rotation) but we actually have the night off as a band! Usually we’re playing jazz sets or big band and can’t get off the ship until late, but tomorrow night we have off, so we’re basically free from the time we dock in Istanbul until the time we leave the following day. I’m taking a tour in the afternoon and early evening of the first day, and then I think Marie and I are going to go out and see a movie. Exciting! It will be so nice not to have to rush back to the ship.

Tonight we play for Nicola Loud again, the violinist whose show and whose personality I really like. Our rehearsal went really well, and its always nice to have likeable performers to work with. A lot of the singers can be a bit diva-ish. But not Nicola – she’s wonderful, sweet and down-to-earth. And a darn good violinist. Well, off I go!

I got mail!

Today was a wonderful day! It started out alright - I had planned to go to Rome and spend the day with a girl on Activity Staff named Donné, who I recently discovered is also a Christian. Unfortunately, the ship has been put on Yellow code, and then Red Code (I know, kindof like red alert and yellow alert on Star Trek...I think they stole that idea from real ships) due to people on board getting sick and quarantined. Being on Red Code means that we can't eat anywhere upstairs - we can only eat in our mess hall, and the mess hall gets rid of all tablecloths and sanitizes constantly, and you can't get your own food, someone with sanitized gloves has to serve you (so it takes a long time for everyone to get food). Plus they take away the salad bar completely. Also, teams of people can knock on your door at any time to bleach and sanitize everything in your room. You have to be careful when walking 'round the ship not to rub up against the walls, or the bleach will ruin your clothes. And finally, on embarkation day, no-one is allowed off the ship until everything has been deep-cleaned and sanitized. Since in order to get to Rome it is necessary to leave early in the morning, Donné and I weren't able to go.

So, I slept in a bit, and then got off the ship around 11:30 when things were alright again. Things are now back to normal, and the Red Code has been cancelled. Hooray! Anyway, I ended up going out in Civitavecchia with Jennifer, a girl on A/V. We ate some interesting pizza (potato and mozarella) which was incredibly good, and then wandered around the city for quite some time trying to find the grocery store. We were lost for a while, but I didn't mind at all. It was nice to walk around and explore the town. There's a lot more to it than I realized. We came back to the ship and had a couple hours before boat drill and then dinner. Our call time for the welcome aboard show was at 7:30, and someone called me just before to tell me I had mail!! I could have waited, but I wanted that mail so badly that I ran down there right then and almost made myself late for rehearsal. I got it, and brought it all up with me to the theatre. After the run-through, instead of taking a break I stayed on stage and opened it all. It completely made my night!! So, thank you's go out to my mom, my wonderful family, Grandpa and Lola, Sheena, Chris, and Abraham! Thank you all so much for reminding me that you care and that I am not forgotten! It lifted my spirits more than I can say. I was in a great mood all night, and all those letters came at just the perfect time. I love you all so much, and I am reminded again that I'm not alone out here or forgotten - I have a wonderful family at home praying for me and "counting down the days." Again, thank you all so much for taking the time to send those letters. It means so much to me. I love you! Thank you!

Better late than never!

Things have been a bit crazy here as we make the transition to a brand new band leader. Our beloved Jorge left a few days ago, which was hard for me and Marie. Fortunately, our new band leader (who is also a pianist, since Patrick is now gone as well) is really great so far. He is a good, energetic pianist, and a very positive, encouraging, and responsible band leader. He goes by Jack, and is about 40 years old, from Poland. Our new bassist (Joe) is in his mid-thirties and is from Pennsylvania - he also has a Master's degree in double bass performance, aka he rocks. He is really really good. Last night we had our first jazz set as a new band, and it was so much fun to play with these guys. Usually we just have electric bass at the sets, but there is a double bass that lives on the ship and is used for a ceremony once a cruise. Joe commandeered it for the jazz set, and it was so awesome. He is really really good on it. Jorge wasn't comfortable using one, so never did. This is going to be a great change. We'll miss Jorge a lot, but things turned out much better than we expected.

Last week was my first birthday away from home, family, and old friends. It was a strange experience, but also a pretty good one. It was hard to be so far from home, but for the circumstances I think it couldn't have been better. First, my church threw me a little party (I have videos!) and made me a cake that said Happy Birthday Andrea, and sang to me in Spanish and English. I spent a lot of time with friends the night before and the night of, and the cast sang Happy Birthday to me. The band took me out to lunch, and we happened to be in Kusadasi that day, which meant my birthday lunch was authentic Turkish food, in an outdoor cafe with cats wandering around and Turkish music playing. Possibly the weirdest birthday ever - I felt very far from home. But it was a fun day to spend with the band. Next I bought myself a birthday present - An authentic Turkish Carpet. I made sure to get one big enough to sit on in case it ever gets it into its' little carpet-brain to be a magic flying carpet. :-) After that, I returned to the ship only to discover that the singer had gotten sick and cancelled her show. So instead of an afternoon rehearsal and 2 shows, I had the night off for my birthday!! Woohoo! Not that I'm happy about the singer getting sick and quarantined, of course.... :-) So I relaxed and watched a movie, didn't practice at all (gasp!!), and then got ready to call home and celebrate with my family. Unfortunately for me, all the phones on the ship decided this would be the perfect time to all stop working at once. I was really frustrated for a while, and getting desparate because I knew they were waiting to call...but finally a kind soul lent me their Greek cell phone, which had 10 minutes left on it. It worked, and gave me just enough time to make that most important call and celebrate with my family. I opened their present while on the phone with them, and they sent me all of the most perfect gifts. Their creativity made it seem like I really was home with them, eating, drinking, singing, dancing, and laughing. They are the best family ever. I was a bit emotional after talking to them, and went out by myself onto the crew deck to sit for a while. The sky was clear and beautiful, and God gave me three shooting stars for my birthday. After that, I spent a bit more time with friends, and then went to bed happy. I will never forget this birthday -that is for sure! I'll always remember sitting by myself near the ships' railing, gripping the phone between my face and shoulder while opening my present and sitting on the wrapping paper to keep it from blowing overboard. Good times. To my family: thanks for making my birthday so wonderful. I love you SO MUCH. I can't believe everything you did for me. I love you.

And to all you who don't have facebook: here are the links to my photo albums!

http://apu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2036639&l=5fa5f&id=56903845

http://apu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2036384&l=41776&id=56903845

http://apu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2036638&l=082f5&id=56903845

http://apu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2034423&l=50c7a&id=56903845

http://apu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2038821&l=0ee67&id=56903845

Civitavecchia

Yesterday I had the most unique show experience I’ve had since I got here – I ran powerpoint. Ha ha. The guest entertainer was a pianist named Naki Ataman, and there are no horns in his show – it only uses bass and drums from our orchestra. All his show consists of is a nonstop trip through the music of 23 different countries, and there is a slide show for each country, beginning with the country’s flag, followed by a bunch of pictures of famous places or things from the country. The music never stops, and he never says a word to the audience, just flows from one country to the next, nonstop for over an hour. I think you would either find it very interesting and impressive, or incredibly boring. Anyway, back to the powerpoint presentation….Since he doesn’t actually stop in between countries, the cue for the next country is the reappearance every few minutes of the theme from “Around the World in 80 Days.” He always plays it before moving on to the next country, but he does it in different keys, with different tempos, and totally different styles (going along with the music style of each country). So, he requires a musician to sit backstage, listen carefully in order to recognize the theme, and push “enter” every time he finishes that theme and begins a new country. Apparently there is always a big fight among the orchestra cause no-one wants to do it. I didn’t mind (hey, I didn’t have plans) and volunteered. I sat through an hour and a half rehearsal, followed by two shows. It wasn’t bad, the hardest thing was to stay focused during the entire show. You can’t stop listening even for a moment because you might miss the cue. Plus he plays his piano solos slightly differently each time. So you can’t just assume you have 5 minutes and zone out. It was a bit rough to stay 100% focused since it got boring rather quickly, especially the third time around. I have been told a lot of horror stories about people who stopped paying complete attention and got lost, messing everything up completely, having the wrong country up on the screen, causing Naki to skip 20 minutes of his show….stuff like that. But, I am proud to say, I did a flawless job. I was always right on. I was strangely proud of myself. And it was a bit fun to do something I’ve never done before. And everyone was very appreciative of me being willing to do it. I got personal thank-you’s from my band leader, production manager, and the cruise director himself. ☺ Oh, and almost a dozen from Naki himself, who is a very sweet, gray-haired Turkish gentleman (straight from Istanbul) who speaks almost frighteningly perfect English and is fluent in 5 or so other languages. I hear he’s going to be on next cruise….I’m thinking I’ll just volunteer to do it again to make things easier for everyone. He wouldn’t have to explain it to someone again and no-one would have to sit through the long rehearsal. We’ll see.

Today Marie and I had a date in Rome – just the two of us. We didn’t really have a plan or an agenda, but we walked around all day and saw so much. There is always more to see, especially in Rome. For lunch we had pasta and gelato and felt very Italian. It was really nice to be with her all day and be so far from the ship (since Rome is at least an hour away by train). It was nice to really get away and not feel rushed, either. We got off the train at the Vatican, walked by it through a tunnel, and then walked North along the river for quite a while, past the Castel St. Angelo. We walked all the way through the city past the Spanish Steps to the terminal on the other side. We are quite exhausted now that we’re back on the ship, and couldn’t wait to take a shower. (This will make sense only to a few of you, but the whole day reminded me of the song from Wicked, “One Short Day”) ☺ It was a great day.

Rhodes, Greece

I slept in late today and then went out with Marie, Jorge, and Lisa for lunch in Old Town. We had the Greek classic food: gyros. It was an awesome breakfast/lunch. :-) After we spent about an hour there, we split up and I wandered around Old Town on my own a bit. I found a really old church when I left the main touristy squares. Its really amazing - the town is so crowded and busy, loud and full of shops, but all you have to do is turn up one of the side streets to find a quiet, sleepy, small-town feel. The streets are very narrow, only big enough for people or motorcycles, and are very safe to explore and walk around. When I found the church (which was closed - why are they always closed??) I decided it was a good place to sit for awhile. I went around behind it and sat against a wall behind the garden, under some big trees. It was really beautiful and peaceful. I listened to music on my ipod (mostly Ginny Owens today) and journaled. There was a cat that kept walking by me and looking at me intently, but I couldn't coax it over to me. I think I need to bring food next time. I was there for an hour and a half, and it was really nice to be pretty much alone for a couple hours. Especially in such a beautiful place.

Yesterday I saw Ephesus for the second time, and I really enjoyed seeing it again. I took pictures this time, too! I even brought extra batteries just in case my camera died. But it didn't. Also on this tour we went to two other ancient sites, Didyma and Miletus, which were also really interesting. I'll post pictures eventually (I've found the ship's wireless connection too slow to upload pictures). It was an awesome tour, although I'm looking forward to October when these places won't be so unbearably hot.

This cruise has been very slow for us in the orchestra, as far as work goes. Its hard to believe that I only performed with one guest entertainer in 11 days time. We've already had two days off, and then two days where I played a 45 minute set with Marie and that was it. I felt silly filling out my time card those days. :-) But I'm not complaining, I haven't gotten bored yet. I find plenty of ways to entertain myself when I'm not performing.

And now the big news. I've signed up for my next contract as of this afternoon. I will be on the Celebrity Summit from January 19th through April 10th. I lucked out getting a short contract (less than 3 months!) because the ship will be dry-docking in April and taking on all new musicians afterwards. I will be mostly in the Carribean! And at the end we do a transatlantic voyage stopping in Spain, France, and then England for the dry dock. I'll fly home from England on the 10th. This is perfect because I get almost two months at home in between contracts and I make it back just in time for Sean and Sheena's wedding. So that's the big news! I will keep sailing awhile longer. :-)

Messina, Sicily (well, we just left)

Well, we’ve had some bad news in the orchestra – it looks like our band leader Jorge might be stolen from us. There is a brand new ship in the fleet, and since Jorge has such a great reputation they really want him on it. Marie and I are really sad about this – because he has been so wonderful as a band leader, and is just a great person in general. We are selfishly hoping something goes wrong so that he can stay with us. But it looks like he will likely be leaving on the 24th of this month. ☹ This is one thing that it can be hard to adjust to on ships – people are always coming and going, and there are never any guarantees that people will finish out their contracts how they expect to. So we may have a very big change coming up in three weeks.

On a more positive note, the shows and guest entertainers have been different than normal last cruise and this cruise, allowing me to take shore excursions that I never have been able to do in the past. First, last Thursday I was able to go on a long, full-day tour in Naples, that went to Sorrento and all the way down the Amalfi Coast to Positano and Amalfi – which are very famous resort towns. I had no idea there was so much beautiful countryside around Naples, before I had only seen the busy, dirty downtown area near the port. So this tour was amazing – I loved it. I’ll get to do another long one next time we’re in Naples, too (I hope!).

Also, for the very first time since I’ve been here, we had no show in Messina. I was so surprised, because there has always been a show since it’s the first night of the 11 day cruise. But tonight the show is a comedian, who doesn’t need an orchestra, so we have the day off! Marie and I immediately jumped on the opportunity to do an excursion in Messina, and signed up to go to Mt. Etna. I just got back a couple hours ago. It was quite a long drive to get there, but so worth it! It is a very active volcano (they’re expecting an eruption at the end of the month!) and a very alien-feeling place. Especially today because of how much fog shrouded the craters and volcanic rock. Don’t worry, I took tons of pictures, which I will post soon. I will also make sure to post some more links to those photo albums for those of you who do not have Facebook.

When we got back, Marie and I got cheeseburgers from the grill near the guest pool, and sat out on the back deck enjoying them while watching the sailaway. (When we untie the lines and start to pull out of the harbor, en route to our next port of call). We shared a fruit smoothie (which had a little umbrella in it, so you know it’s good) and I reflected on how lucky I am. ☺ Tonight: laundry, practicing, cleaning my trombone, excercising a bit, and maybe a movie with Marie. Ha ha, Jorge has started teasing us about always doing things together. Like if he sees me walking around without her, he asks if I’m ok, and where’s my other half?? Things are sure going to be different my last two months here when she’s gone. But let’s not think about that now!! ☺

At Sea

Well, today is officially the rockiest sailing we've had since I've been here. The ship is really rocking a lot. It's tilting side to side quite a bit, but it's worst in the front of the ship where the prow is also moving up and down over the waves. Guess where my cabin is.....yup, the front. It is altogether impossible to walk in a straight line for more than 2 steps. When going up stairs, you alternately have to work really hard to climb each stair, or you unnaturally sort of fly up them as the ship dips. The lower outdoor decks are closed to passengers, and there was actually water sloshing over the windows of the staff mess on deck 3. Suffice it to say its a bumpy ride. I must admit, though, I think it's kindof fun...especially since I don't get seasick. For me, its the same sort of feeling as being in an intense winter storm - everyone's stuck inside and its a little bit exciting....you can hear the elements beating against the walls.....I like it. But don't worry, Mom - we aren't going to sink or anything. I hear that this is nothing compared to what it feels like going around Cape Horn in South America, where the waves are huge, and cruise ships make it through fine.

Well, the violinist Nicola Loud's show went pretty well yesterday. Our rehearsal lasted a full 2 hours, as compared to the usual 45 minutes to an hour that we need with most guest entertainers. Marie was really happy afterwards because the played the difficult clarinet parts very well. She feels like a better musician today - her practicing is finally playing off. Nicola bought us all drinks again after the show - which I translate as her being happy with how the show went. It also means that we like her a lot. Its nice when the guest entertainers show appreciation for our work to learn their show, and that they are interested in getting to know us and socializing.

It has been nice having June Hamlow aboard with her whole family - I've been able to eat with them a few times, and I keep bumping into them around the ship. Also, our second day in Istanbul I was signed up to escort a tour, and by divine intervention was able to go on the tour that they were taking!! It was so neat to be with them, they are a fun group of people. Plus it warms the heart to see other people with APU shirts on. I loved that.

Kusadasi, Turkey

For some reason the administration has decided to change all of the showtimes and corresponding dinner seatings on board. We used to always have shows at 7 and 9pm, and now they are all at 7:30 and 9:15. The strange thing is that this slight change has dramatically increased the number of people to our shows. Where we used to have only a couple of people at the first show, its now really full, and so is the second show. Its amazing that half an hour or fifteen minutes could make such a difference to people, but for some reason tons more are coming to the shows. As a result we're having a lot more fun performing - it sure is nice to have bigger audiences!

Tonight we are off! There's a comedian giving a show and we've already played several nights of jazz, so finally we get a day off. We haven't had one in a couple weeks. So the band is all going to the dining room again! I'm pretty excited. The food is so good.... Anyway today I'm out enjoying my day off and the free internet. Poor Marie is on the ship practicing clarinet for the show tomorrow. There are some really challenging clarinet parts in the show, which will be a violinist from England, a lady named Nicola Loud. We met her last night - she came and listened to us play our big band set and then introduced herself and bought us all drinks. She is very nice, and really funny and outgoing. And she seems pretty young. I'm excited to play her show tomorrow - she has a reputation of being the best violinist that plays cruise ships. And her show is supposed to be hard. We might be in for a long rehearsal tomorrow. It should be fun, though. Thats all for now!

Rhodes, Greece

Our new band leader Jorge is fantastic! It’s a totally different band with him here. He is easygoing, responsible, and funny. We can spend time together as a band outside of playing music and still have a great time. Our former band leader was extremely antisocial. But now things are really good. There’s a good atmosphere in the band, because for the most part we genuinely like each other. It’s a really good feeling, and very different from my first weeks onboard. Everything is more fun, even the performances, because of the way Jorge runs things.

This cruise I got my first mail from home! It was SO exciting!!! Thank you to my wonderful family! I know it was sent a while ago but things take a long time to get here. I realized I never posted my address, so here it is if you want to know:

Andrea Smith (Entertainment: Musician)
Galaxy
P.O. Box 019031
Miami, FL 33101-9031 USA

Another bonus this cruise – I actually know someone on board from home!! One of my former Spanish teachers from APU, June Hamlow, is here with her entire family. It’s the first I’ve seen of anyone from home since I’ve been here. And for anyone who’s counting, that’s just over two months. Hard to believe that two months have already gone by! (Four more to go – but again, who’s counting??) ☺ Anyway, I hope to work things out to spend a bit of time with Mrs. Hamlow, she is a wonderful lady. It was actually a bit providential that I ran into her - I knew there was a chance she would be on board at some point during the summer, but I hadn’t had contact with her and didn’t know if/when she was coming. But, it just so happened that during the guest emergency drill (the first thing we do each cruise once everyone’s onboard), she happened to be assigned to the meeting point that I help monitor. We were so surprised to turn around and see each other! I can’t wait to tell her about the Spanish church that I’ve found here – especially the fact that they sing two songs that I already knew because I learned them in her class.

Each cruise we have two drills – one for guests and certain crew members who assist guests in evacuation (including me), and one for crew only. Today was the crew boat drill, which for us means a lot of standing around and waiting. Really all we do is go to our “muster station”, wait there for 15 minutes or so until we are told to go to our lifeboat station out on deck, and then wait there for 20 minutes until the drill is over. And today the drill lasted longer than normal because they decided to practice lowering all the lifeboats to the water (not with us in them – just the pilots). It is quite hot today, and we stand out on deck, so I was very glad when it finally ended. Our cruise director has a tradition with the drills: when he is making the announcement that the drill is over he always pauses a really long time before finishing the sentence that gives us our freedom: “The drill for the crew…………(unbearably long pause)…………..is now complete.” It always makes us laugh, and all the crew says the last part with him - we have basically the whole speech memorized since it’s exactly the same every time.

My favorite internet cafe, Kusadasi, Turkey

We had a day off yesterday, which was really nice. Marie and I watched a movie together and and relaxed most of the day. Our luck continues, because tonight we are off again! Actually, the reason is that the guest entertainer, a soprano named Izzy (a show I haven't done yet), came down sick and postponed her show. So tonight in her place they have Bob Arno, a professional pickpocket - if you can believe that. He's amazing - I've seen him take the same guy's watch, glasses, and tie without him noticing!! He's a funny guy, too. Anyway, when they moved Bob to tonight, no-one thought to give us something to do (usually we'd be playing jazz sets or big band or something during his show), so we're off again. We have plan's though - today is Lisa's (new sax girl) birthday. So we requested to eat in the restaurant, and hopefully we'll find a cake for her. I hope this makes her feel more welcome - she's having a hard time because she doesn't speak English very well at all, and by some miscommunication was hired even though she doesn't double on clarinet (she bought hers three days before she came here)....the poor girl has been practicing clarinet every spare minute. I hope tonight is good for her.

Oh, and I saw dolphins the other day!! Only two or three, and really far away, but still! It made my day. I've also seen a lot of Jellyfish, which makes me scared to swim around here....oh well. They're small. :-)

Messina, Sicily

I had an incredible day today. We arrived in Messina just a bit earlier than scheduled, so I was able to get off and make it to town square at noon, where the famous clocktower chimes the hour, plays music, and also does something similar to the clock in front of Small World - with all the little figurines doing a sort of parade around it. The clock is covered in gold figures, and each of them move a bit for the spectacle. It's only at noon each day that all of them go. I guess the most famous is the lion at the top who lets out a really loud roar. The whole thing was fun to watch, and I took a video of it. While there, I ran into Claude-Eric Brunelle, one of our guest performers, and we talked and walked around a bit together, which was fun. His show is my favorite one. Unfortunately, after tonight I won't get to do it again until November.

Anyway, the cathedral next to the clock tower was actually open for once, so I wandered inside. Much to my surprise I witnessed the end of a wedding in there - the highlight of which was the organ playing the recessional. I was so thrilled - I couldn't believe I was actually hearing the organ play in the cathedral!! The cathedral is enormous and the organ is the largest in Italy, and 3rd largest in all Europe. Things kept getting better - after the wedding they had a mini concert with the organ! A virtuoso demonstrated several different types of organ literature, and I recognized most of the pieces. I just sat back and soaked it in.....the sound of that huge organ filling up the whole cathedral gave me chills. I was basically in heaven. I found out they're doing it again when we're back in 3 weeks, so I'm going to take Marie.

Our new band members are here, as well! Our drummer is from Iceland - he's nice, funny, and a great drummer. Our saxophonist is a tiny lady from the Czech republic, who is very quiet because she doesn't speak English very well. She plays very quietly, also, and it turns out she doesn't play clarinet at all - she bought hers 4 days ago, right before she came. She's got quite a lot of practicing to do, but I really like her and hope she makes it.