Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Meet Kadek
Today's featured crew member from the cruise is Kadek. Kadek was one of the guys who roamed the deck selling drinks (kind of a male version of a cocktail waitress). Kadek was even quieter and more reserved than Danilo. His English was also much more labored and limited. He did fine and we were able to communicate, but you could tell it was a struggle at times.
Kadek is from Bali (one of the islands of Indonesia). He is quite young, not married and Hindu . We didn't get to talk with him quite as much as Danilo, but we did speak to him enough times to learn a lot about him. His family formerly owned a business in Bali. Almost all of the money that comes into Bali is from tourism (or at least it used to be that way). In 2002 and again in 2005 there were Muslim terrorist bombings near his parents' business. As a result of these bombings the tourism business all but died and they lost the business for good. To this day the tourists still have not returned to Bali and the locals have a lot of difficulty making any significant money.
Through our conversations we also learned that all of the islands in Indonesia (and there are MANY), have different cultures. In Indonesia there are mostly Hindus and Muslims, but also some Buddhists and a few Christians. Kadek described for us the teeth filing ceremony all people from Bali go through as a rite of passage (usually around age 17). For reasons that we still don't quite understand, the people of Bali file down (not all the way) the top 6 and bottom 6 front teeth. He described how after the ceremony they bite into a coconut to stop the bleeding and then toss the coconut into the ocean as an offering to the gods (notice the plural and lower case g of gods). He also described for us the many gods of the Hindus. He described gods of the ocean, wind, sky and many others. We explained that we have only one God and you could tell that notion was very strange for him. It's all just fascinating.
On the last day of the cruise, after a long conversation, I gave Kadek a cash tip (one that obviously looked large to him). He placed his hand over his heart in disbelief and was unsure at first of accepting it. At my insistence he took it and nearly cried. He went on to invite us to his home island of Bali and described in great detail how we would be cared for and our safety ensured if we ever visited. In short he said he would be with us all the time as our host. He also said we were now his "American Parents". We could tell he didn't just sling this label around as a means to gain a tip. He was quite sincere and we accepted him as our Indonesian son. I think we would have been able to see through him if it was a ploy to get money. It wasn't.
Much like Danilo, Kadek is a nice, kind, gentle, warm, sweet man. We had so much fun getting to know him and hope that our small tip in some way helped him. Also like Danilo, it was painful to leave Kadek (or should I say our Indonesian son? :-)
Since leaving the cruise, Tami and I did some checking and we discovered our church sponsors a missionary couple in Indonesia. We acquired their address and intend to connect with them in some capacity. Where things go after the initial contact, I really have no clue. It will be interesting to see what God may have for us.
I regret I do not have a photo of Kadek. However, we do have his Facebook information and maybe we can get a photo that way.
Kadek is from Bali (one of the islands of Indonesia). He is quite young, not married and Hindu . We didn't get to talk with him quite as much as Danilo, but we did speak to him enough times to learn a lot about him. His family formerly owned a business in Bali. Almost all of the money that comes into Bali is from tourism (or at least it used to be that way). In 2002 and again in 2005 there were Muslim terrorist bombings near his parents' business. As a result of these bombings the tourism business all but died and they lost the business for good. To this day the tourists still have not returned to Bali and the locals have a lot of difficulty making any significant money.
Through our conversations we also learned that all of the islands in Indonesia (and there are MANY), have different cultures. In Indonesia there are mostly Hindus and Muslims, but also some Buddhists and a few Christians. Kadek described for us the teeth filing ceremony all people from Bali go through as a rite of passage (usually around age 17). For reasons that we still don't quite understand, the people of Bali file down (not all the way) the top 6 and bottom 6 front teeth. He described how after the ceremony they bite into a coconut to stop the bleeding and then toss the coconut into the ocean as an offering to the gods (notice the plural and lower case g of gods). He also described for us the many gods of the Hindus. He described gods of the ocean, wind, sky and many others. We explained that we have only one God and you could tell that notion was very strange for him. It's all just fascinating.
On the last day of the cruise, after a long conversation, I gave Kadek a cash tip (one that obviously looked large to him). He placed his hand over his heart in disbelief and was unsure at first of accepting it. At my insistence he took it and nearly cried. He went on to invite us to his home island of Bali and described in great detail how we would be cared for and our safety ensured if we ever visited. In short he said he would be with us all the time as our host. He also said we were now his "American Parents". We could tell he didn't just sling this label around as a means to gain a tip. He was quite sincere and we accepted him as our Indonesian son. I think we would have been able to see through him if it was a ploy to get money. It wasn't.
Much like Danilo, Kadek is a nice, kind, gentle, warm, sweet man. We had so much fun getting to know him and hope that our small tip in some way helped him. Also like Danilo, it was painful to leave Kadek (or should I say our Indonesian son? :-)
Since leaving the cruise, Tami and I did some checking and we discovered our church sponsors a missionary couple in Indonesia. We acquired their address and intend to connect with them in some capacity. Where things go after the initial contact, I really have no clue. It will be interesting to see what God may have for us.
I regret I do not have a photo of Kadek. However, we do have his Facebook information and maybe we can get a photo that way.
Monday, April 7, 2014
Let's meet the crew
This will be the first in a series featuring crew members we had the chance to interact with and get to know on the Carnival Fantasy.
Allow me to introduce you to Danilo (Dah-nee-low). Danilo was our waiter at dinner and also one of the people circulating around the lido deck clearing tables of dirty dishes and attending to the needs of the passengers.
Upon first meeting Danilo, we observed that he was a mild mannered, quiet, reserved man. These qualities are appealing to us because we are somewhat quiet and laid back ourselves. Initially we thought Danilo was going to be a tough nut to crack. We could not have been more wrong. The moment we showed an interest in his life (where he's from, his wife, his son, his language, his village, his time spent on the ship etc...) he lit up like a Christmas tree. It was one of those instant transformations I described yesterday. Subsequent conversations became longer, more detailed and more personal (personal meaning the conversation went beyond idle chit-chat). In fact, he was spending so much time with us, I was afraid he might get in trouble with his superiors.
During our conversations we learned Danilo is 42 years old and from the Philippines. He has a wife and a son (both had names we couldn't begin to pronounce). His son is 23. He is in his third month of a six month contract on the ship. Sadly, later in the week he was informed he would have to work two more months (8 months total) before going home. We learned Danilo is from a small village of about 8,000 people where most of the people are very poor. He told us elections in his country are corrupt and he thought American elections and politicians we on the straight and narrow. We had a fun time discussing that :-) We learned lots of other things about Danilo, but one thing remained painfully obvious. Any time he would talk about home or his family he would almost tear up. He didn't cry, but you could tell he was fighting the need to do so. The man was breaking our hearts! We asked him if he ever got any days off. In his broken English he said, "Never. No day off. We work. all time". He went on to say he worked from 7:00 A.M. until 4:00 P.M. Then he got an hour to eat, change clothes and maybe rest for a few minutes before reporting to the dining room to work from 5:00 P.M. until about 10:30 or 11:00 P.M. Danilo will do this 7 days a week until October. I don't care who you are... that's a grueling schedule. However, you must know that Danilo never once complained. He merely answered our questions honestly.
Danilo is a nice, kind, gentle, sweet man who loves his home and loves his family. It's obvious he misses both terribly. It only took a day or two to get emotionally attached to Danilo. The more we got to know him, the more attached we got to him. The last night in the dining room was not without hugs and tears. Danilo, again, did not cry, but I'm pretty sure I could detect a tear or two in his eyes.
Leaving the ship on Friday morning was painful. Not because our long awaited cruise had come to an end, but because we were leaving behind people who had touched our hearts during the short 5 day cruise. It's strange... you go on vacation to have a fun, carefree time, but you end up leaving with heartache. You make a connection with people only to leave with the knowledge you will probably never see them again.
I will likely never get to see my friend Danilo again, but rest assured I will never forget him. I will always pray for him and if possible, will find a way to send him some money.
Farewell, Danilo. You probably don't know it, but you had a profound affect on my life.
Allow me to introduce you to Danilo (Dah-nee-low). Danilo was our waiter at dinner and also one of the people circulating around the lido deck clearing tables of dirty dishes and attending to the needs of the passengers.
Upon first meeting Danilo, we observed that he was a mild mannered, quiet, reserved man. These qualities are appealing to us because we are somewhat quiet and laid back ourselves. Initially we thought Danilo was going to be a tough nut to crack. We could not have been more wrong. The moment we showed an interest in his life (where he's from, his wife, his son, his language, his village, his time spent on the ship etc...) he lit up like a Christmas tree. It was one of those instant transformations I described yesterday. Subsequent conversations became longer, more detailed and more personal (personal meaning the conversation went beyond idle chit-chat). In fact, he was spending so much time with us, I was afraid he might get in trouble with his superiors.
During our conversations we learned Danilo is 42 years old and from the Philippines. He has a wife and a son (both had names we couldn't begin to pronounce). His son is 23. He is in his third month of a six month contract on the ship. Sadly, later in the week he was informed he would have to work two more months (8 months total) before going home. We learned Danilo is from a small village of about 8,000 people where most of the people are very poor. He told us elections in his country are corrupt and he thought American elections and politicians we on the straight and narrow. We had a fun time discussing that :-) We learned lots of other things about Danilo, but one thing remained painfully obvious. Any time he would talk about home or his family he would almost tear up. He didn't cry, but you could tell he was fighting the need to do so. The man was breaking our hearts! We asked him if he ever got any days off. In his broken English he said, "Never. No day off. We work. all time". He went on to say he worked from 7:00 A.M. until 4:00 P.M. Then he got an hour to eat, change clothes and maybe rest for a few minutes before reporting to the dining room to work from 5:00 P.M. until about 10:30 or 11:00 P.M. Danilo will do this 7 days a week until October. I don't care who you are... that's a grueling schedule. However, you must know that Danilo never once complained. He merely answered our questions honestly.
Danilo is a nice, kind, gentle, sweet man who loves his home and loves his family. It's obvious he misses both terribly. It only took a day or two to get emotionally attached to Danilo. The more we got to know him, the more attached we got to him. The last night in the dining room was not without hugs and tears. Danilo, again, did not cry, but I'm pretty sure I could detect a tear or two in his eyes.
Leaving the ship on Friday morning was painful. Not because our long awaited cruise had come to an end, but because we were leaving behind people who had touched our hearts during the short 5 day cruise. It's strange... you go on vacation to have a fun, carefree time, but you end up leaving with heartache. You make a connection with people only to leave with the knowledge you will probably never see them again.
I will likely never get to see my friend Danilo again, but rest assured I will never forget him. I will always pray for him and if possible, will find a way to send him some money.
Farewell, Danilo. You probably don't know it, but you had a profound affect on my life.
A sad day
Sometimes teaching is really hard. Today is one of those days. No, it has nothing to do with getting back to the grind after a wonderful vacation. It's because of sad news from one of my students. Remember a while back I mentioned a girl in my class (11 years old) whose mother was gravely ill? Well, that girl's mother passed away yesterday. Obviously she's not in school today and I'm not sure when she'll be back. At this point in the day (about 10:30 A.M.) the rest of the class does not know (we'll tell them at the end of the day). Please pray this girl, her family, my students and me as we deal with this tragic loss. In 24 years of teaching, this is the first time I've ever had a parent of a student pass away. This is new territory for me and it's going to be difficult.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Our Favorite Thing
We've been on five cruises and there are so many things we love about cruise vacations. The beautiful weather, the gorgeously decorated ships, the impeccable service, free room service, elegant meals in the dining room, beautiful sunrises, breathtaking sunsets, the seemingly endless opportunities for fun, free ice cream 24 hours a day, the multitude of activities provided for kids of all ages, the indescribable blues and greens of the ocean water, the pitch black of nights at sea, sheer relaxation... the list truly goes on and on. However, even though all those things are great, none of them are our favorite thing. What IS our favorite thing about cruising? This may surprise you, but it's talking with and getting to know the members of the crew. I'm talking about waiters, bartenders, room stewards and the bussing staff. None of these people are from the United States, many have very limited English, they all work six months and are off for two months. These people work from early in the morning until late at night and NEVER (and I really do mean never) get a day off. At first glance, many of these folks seem somber and glum. They will smile and greet you as you pass by (because that's what they've been told to do). You can tell they miss their families and in many cases think Americans are boorish pigs. I'm not proud of it, but all too often they're right. I have seen it time and time again where some haughty American is rude to a crew member. My guess is the passenger knows they have paid a lot of money for the cruise and feels entitled to get whatever they want by any means necessary.
Tami and I try to counteract that view of Americans by showing God's love and by having small interactions. Please understand we are not going around asking everybody if they know Jesus or thumping our Bibles. We simply hope they see something different in us and possibly realize it's because we're Christians. We don't announce our Christianity, we simply hope it speaks for itself. We know we can't single handedly change the way Europeans and Asians feel about Americans, but maybe they'll see something in us that causes them to see our country in a different way.
When we encounter a crew member, we always smile and greet them. Throughout our conversation(s), we ask where they're from, what their native language is, whether they're married or not, if they have children, what their home town (sometimes village) is like and other things about themselves. I mentioned how glum and somber the crew members sometimes are. However, when you engage them in conversation and show a genuine interest in them as human beings, it is amazing how they light up. They literally beam and life comes back into their faces. The transformation is incredible and almost always instantaneous. I think these people are so used to being treated like servants and not like people that they take on an almost machine-like persona. But when you realize these people are human beings with feelings, emotions and a life outside the cruise industry, you look at them a lot differently. These people are husbands, fathers, wives, mothers, sons and daughters. They are not robots and they certainly are not second class citizens as so many cruise passengers treat them.
This post has gotten lengthy and I want to stay true to my word to try and not bore my readers. In the coming days I will post specific stories about particular crew members Tami and I had a chance to interact and bond with. But for now I will just tell you that five days is plenty of time to get attached to a person. It doesn't take very long to make connections and it's not surprising that it was painful to leave some of these people. It wasn't painful because the vacation was over. It was painful because your heart goes out to these people and you really miss them when you leave them. There will be more on that later. These stories will tug at your heart strings... be ready, folks.
Tami and I try to counteract that view of Americans by showing God's love and by having small interactions. Please understand we are not going around asking everybody if they know Jesus or thumping our Bibles. We simply hope they see something different in us and possibly realize it's because we're Christians. We don't announce our Christianity, we simply hope it speaks for itself. We know we can't single handedly change the way Europeans and Asians feel about Americans, but maybe they'll see something in us that causes them to see our country in a different way.
When we encounter a crew member, we always smile and greet them. Throughout our conversation(s), we ask where they're from, what their native language is, whether they're married or not, if they have children, what their home town (sometimes village) is like and other things about themselves. I mentioned how glum and somber the crew members sometimes are. However, when you engage them in conversation and show a genuine interest in them as human beings, it is amazing how they light up. They literally beam and life comes back into their faces. The transformation is incredible and almost always instantaneous. I think these people are so used to being treated like servants and not like people that they take on an almost machine-like persona. But when you realize these people are human beings with feelings, emotions and a life outside the cruise industry, you look at them a lot differently. These people are husbands, fathers, wives, mothers, sons and daughters. They are not robots and they certainly are not second class citizens as so many cruise passengers treat them.
This post has gotten lengthy and I want to stay true to my word to try and not bore my readers. In the coming days I will post specific stories about particular crew members Tami and I had a chance to interact and bond with. But for now I will just tell you that five days is plenty of time to get attached to a person. It doesn't take very long to make connections and it's not surprising that it was painful to leave some of these people. It wasn't painful because the vacation was over. It was painful because your heart goes out to these people and you really miss them when you leave them. There will be more on that later. These stories will tug at your heart strings... be ready, folks.
Saturday, April 5, 2014
A few photos
Related to my earlier post:
As promised... photos in small doses.
My lovely bride relaxing on the Lido Deck.
Here's me in full cruise mode!
Recognize this? It's our long lost friend, the sun. It was good to see him again!
As promised... photos in small doses.
My lovely bride relaxing on the Lido Deck.
Here's me in full cruise mode!
Recognize this? It's our long lost friend, the sun. It was good to see him again!
More than just the weather
Yesterday when we left Charleston it was 85 degrees and sunny. This morning in Lawrenceburg, Indiana it's, how should I say it? Oh yeah, it's cold! I'm not not going to blather on about the joys of warm weather versus the bone-chilling cold. You may think it will be a common thread throughout all my posts, but it won't. I will say this and then put the issue to bed. The weather on vacation was splendid and we enjoyed it to the fullest. The weather at home stinks. Period.
On another note, I've decided to post photos and details of our vacation in small doses. I don't care how good or interesting something posted on the internet is... if it's lengthy, the reader quickly becomes bored and will not view the post in its entirety. That's human nature and it especially holds true for looking at someone else's vacation photos. Admit it... you've looked at other people's vacation photos to be polite, but in reality you'd rather be spared the details. It's okay, you can admit it. I've done it myself.
Today I will say this. We have sailed on 5 different cruise ships. The first four were relatively new and very large. This time we sailed on the Carnival Fantasy... the oldest and smallest ship in the whole fleet. The newer, larger ships are fancier and have more amenities. However, this smaller ship was fancy enough in its own right and we lacked for nothing (except a hair dryer and refrigerator in the cabin... minor things). I'm not sure where Tami falls on this issue, but I think I prefer the older, smaller ship. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but I just liked it better. Maybe it's because I'm a simple guy and this type of ship catered to my simplicity.
On another note, I've decided to post photos and details of our vacation in small doses. I don't care how good or interesting something posted on the internet is... if it's lengthy, the reader quickly becomes bored and will not view the post in its entirety. That's human nature and it especially holds true for looking at someone else's vacation photos. Admit it... you've looked at other people's vacation photos to be polite, but in reality you'd rather be spared the details. It's okay, you can admit it. I've done it myself.
Today I will say this. We have sailed on 5 different cruise ships. The first four were relatively new and very large. This time we sailed on the Carnival Fantasy... the oldest and smallest ship in the whole fleet. The newer, larger ships are fancier and have more amenities. However, this smaller ship was fancy enough in its own right and we lacked for nothing (except a hair dryer and refrigerator in the cabin... minor things). I'm not sure where Tami falls on this issue, but I think I prefer the older, smaller ship. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but I just liked it better. Maybe it's because I'm a simple guy and this type of ship catered to my simplicity.
Friday, April 4, 2014
The Strangest Feeling in the World
Today I walked off the cruise ship and as I was basking in the glow of an incredible vacation, I experienced one of the strangest feelings in the world. I realized today I was EXACTLY 2 months past my 47th birthday. My dad died exactly 2 months after his 47th birthday. When I wake up tomorrow morning I will have lived longer than my dad. That is just mind blowing! I can't imagine my life being over at this point... I've got too much living to do yet.
Back Home!
Just like Jim Nabors sings every year at the Indy 500, Tami and I are "Back Home Again in Indiana".
We had a wonderful cruise and a truly glorious vacation. There was nothing negative about the entire trip... absolutely NOTHING!
I will be posting details and photos in the coming days. I promise I will try to not bore you. I will also try to keep things short, to the point and interesting. I won't post a million photos either. Just a select few.
Stay tuned folks.
It's good to be home.
We had a wonderful cruise and a truly glorious vacation. There was nothing negative about the entire trip... absolutely NOTHING!
I will be posting details and photos in the coming days. I promise I will try to not bore you. I will also try to keep things short, to the point and interesting. I won't post a million photos either. Just a select few.
Stay tuned folks.
It's good to be home.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)