Cruising 101

I was invited to assist/observe a cruise course to understand how the cruise industry operates and fill in for future trips.   Although people chuckle and think, what a great class…you go on a cruise; however, it’s much more than that.  We meet in the classroom before the trip during the Spring semester to learn about the industry, understand expectations, and read an industry textbook.  The study abroad visits Haiti, Jamaica, and Cozumel offering a variety of backdrops and cultural experiences for students while living on the second largest ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet.   For many students it’s there first time on a plane or international experience and they value the adventure, for others it’s a time of celebration after graduation, and for a few it’s a party.  Regardless, the students gain insight into the largest commercial recreation and tourism sector in the industry with over 20.3 million passengers and $33.5 billion dollars.  We met with every director of the cruise ship including entertainment, sports, hotel, cleaning, chef, etc.  Our ship carried over 4,000 passengers, 1,200 employees, and served over 20,000 meals a day.  The service sector of the ship was unbelievable!  I have never experienced such personalized and courteous service.  In fact, these people work 12-14 hour days, which made me feel bad in one way, but happy in another that is was a safe job that paid cash, tax free, and provided housing/food.  On the other hand, the amount of waste a cruise ship creates is alarming even though they have sustainable practices to minimize their environmental footprint.  The excursions on land were a lesson in mass tourism, one most students have not experienced.  Mass amounts of cruisers would all gather to kiss the stingrays, drink on a private beach, or hike up a waterfall.  You can see from my pictures below the large amounts of people that tolerate this type of crowding and enjoy the experience.  I viewed this from an academic lens since I teach tourism courses; however, as a traveler I prefer solitude, peace, and tranquility in the outdoors.  Overall, it was a great trip and I was fortunate to share it with awesome faculty in my department and fun students.  

36 Years of Perpetual Fence Sitting

I am turning 36 and depending on your source, half of my life is over.  With this realization I asked myself, “what have I accomplished and who am I?”  In societal terms I am a progressive, educated, and contributing member of society.  However, who I am today was shaped by where I came from.  My early years were rough through family transitions, but I was fortunate to have wonderful people raise me on a farm that valued education and taught me to believe I could accomplish anything.  Moreover, I was raised by/with an eclectic bunch that were conservationists, farmers, hunters, golfers, cyclists, anglers, botanist…and the list could go on.  I didn’t understand social class or cultural boundaries, for I could learn and do anything I wanted.  Although these values have enabled me to switch career paths and embark on many adventures, it’s been a struggle.  You see the problem is I am a perpetual fence sitter.   I have the belief I can do anything and was able to bounce around in my childhood with new activities like a pinball machine.  Don’t get me wrong I had to finish what I started, but I was soon enthusiastically chasing the next squirrel, or butterfly…hey wait, was that a hummingbird, I wonder where they are from, what they eat?   And this led to my lack of commitment in my leisure pursuits.  Sure, I appear to be good at a few things; however, the truth is I don’t commit and really never have.  It’s taken me 36 years to accept this about myself.  I am married to a man and run in a social circle that is highly committed to one activity and for that I applaud them, but it’s not me…and I’m OK with that.   What I have is variety of random knowledge and love of learning, go ahead ask me anything!  I am also athletic enough to jump in just about any activity (exclude height related sports) and have fun.  Therefore, I am no longer making it a goal in life to commit or apologize for my fence sitting.  So, next time you ask me when my next race is, what my favorite food is, or my political party affiliation, you probably won’t get a definite answer.   I do; however, vow for the next 36 years to explore all my curiosity, travel the world, and be in good enough shape to join in any sporting invite and have fun.  Cheers to many years of proudly fence sitting…