That's the question I got Sunday night as I sat in a living room with some friends and wearing a hoodie. Yeah, I know it's summer, unfortunately for me if it's under 80 I'm probably slightly chilled.
Is anybody starving?
As we drove down the road to find something to eat. No, I've seen starving. I look nothing like that.
Sorry friend. I don't mean to be offensive, but I've seen kids that are starving. That word has a meaning. I think you meant how hungry are you.
You visited all those countries since you left the U.S.?
Yes, Customs Officer, I have visited the Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain, Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya & Tanzania since I left the U.S. 11 months ago. Who would have thought that quitting your job would make you a world traveler?
The last three weeks have been filled with many strange things. I should go ahead and add the last week on the ship. It seems to be a blur of goodbyes now. The last month has taken my world and flipped over. Now I'm trying to figure out what goes where.
May 17th, it's still marked on my calendar. Departure. I thought it fitting that the day I left the ship was the same day that I graduated High School, just 11 years later. I'm still trying to figure out which day will have a bigger impact on my life. Graduation from High School is a day that you prepare for over a 13 year period from the very first day of Kindergarden. Leaving the ship, my home of 2.5 years, living with my friends from around the world is a day that I never could have prepared for. Yeah, I did start packing a week before. Sold all the things that couldn't fit into my 1 piece of luggage weighing 30 Kg (66 lb.). My departure from the ship was known since the end of February but nothing could have prepared me for the hole that would be left in my heart as we pulled out of the port. It was just minutes after I gave hugs to my amazing ship family. They even managed to spell my name out like cheerleaders as I made my way around the circle. I guess I should have expected the tears to come. After saying goodbye to people like a revolving door since the day I arrived on the ship I thought saying goodbye had gotten easier, but that day was different I was the one leaving this time. You wouldn't find me singing another one bites the dust as everyone walked back up the gangway.
After that tragic event there was a two week intermission in my transition time. I had heard that it's nice to do some traveling between the ship and home so when I decided my time on the ship would be over I started planning an unforgettable two week trek from Nairobi to Zanzibar. As I sat in a hotel lobby using a public computer to tell a few friends that I had made it safely to my destination big tears started swelling in my eyes and I decided to not be the crying guy on the trip. Instead I decided to enjoy where God had me and look out upon the beauty that He created. Fortunately I was able to see some amazing things. Camping two nights in the Serengeti and scuba diving in Zanzibar to name just two things. Unfortunately I think it caused me to push down some of those emotions that need to come out sooner or later.
This is just a glimpse of some of the things that are rolling around my head at any given point in the day. Combined in the other half of the story, getting home. I'll post about that later.
