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