Vie

Vie means "life" in French. 

Its been a couple weeks since i sat down and blogged. not sure why. maybe because it seems as though there is not much new to report. there is a normal cadence to our days. routine. i was getting a little frustrated with the rhythm, how its mundane at times. then i realized its because its home. we are finally home. it feels good. the little cabin is our home, the ship is our community, and the crew are our family and friends. here are just a few things i thought of that make our life here onboard unique :) 

-Breakfast/lunch/dinner same time everyday (BIG adjustment for Hannah as she's used to eating smaller, more frequent meals). But, so thankful (& lucky) that salad & fixings are available (I guess this depends on the country. The last outreach, no lettuce was available)!! 

-No lunch served on the weekends--its pack-your-own lunch (sandwiches) at breakfast. Thus, no sleeping-in cuz if you want lunch, you have to go to breakfast. This is tough! For Tim, that is, cuz he lets me sleep while he gets up and makes our lunch :) I have the sweetest husband! He's THE BEST!!

-No grocery shopping or cooking (there is a crew kitchen for personal cooking/baking)

-We eat with 300 other people.

-We get to eat most meals together, depending on what shift Hannah is working.

-We eat what is served. You can't just eat what you feel like eating. 

-We hear each time our neighbors' phone rings and toilet flushes :)

-We consider the noise level when playing music or watching a movie

-Our only natural light comes from our one little port window (but we are so THANKFUL we even have a window, those on deck 2 & 3 don't have one!)

-We have a small freezer/refrigerator (this is a commodity)

-If we need to borrow some flour or a movie, we just have to walk down the hall to one of our neighbors :)

-Can't just walk up to breakfast in your jammies :) must put decent clothes on to step foot out of the cabin at anytime :)

-Don't have to drive to work or even commute! Woohoo! Just have to walk out of the cabin and up the steps for Tim and down the steps for Hannah. Can't believe how much more time we have because we are not spending it in the car running errands or driving to and from work! Its amazing how much time we spend in our cars. 

-Must check out a vehicle to drive anywhere. Must be a "ship driver" to drive the vehicle.

-One 2-3 minute shower a day to conserve water.

-You're never really alone, you can always find someone just around the corner :)

-Weekly fire drill.

-So thankful for unlimited internet access and that our phone lines are domestic!

-One dollar frappacinos and starbucks coffee!! Yes, we are spoiled :)  

-FREE medical/dental care!! We both got our teeth cleaned last month by the hygienist, and Tim recently needed a weeks worth of oral antibiotics when a spider bite on his finger turned into cellulitis. Nothing like being at the right place at the right time :)