Istanbul, Turkey

First stop…Istanbul, Turkey

After a whirlwind travel experience of snowstorm delays, resulting in my connecting flight to New York being cancelled, changing airlines from American to Delta to Alitalia I finally secure my seats on my new flights now routing through Rome and then on to Istanbul. Of course after all that I end up on the plane in front of a Sicilian lady who first asks that I not recline my chair, on a ten hour flight mind you, and then persists to rock my chair back and forth the entire flight long…needless to say she didn’t get any pretty looks from, and I promptly kept my chair reclines to the fullest and had a nice snooze on her! I finally arrive in Istanbul, pay for my visa, wait in the customs line just to have the officer give me a funny look after he sees my hand written passport…after a few moments of silence, he stamps and let’s me through. First thing I hear over the loud speakers is my name being called to the information desk… turns out, my bag didn’t come, surprise surprise…there’s no way those airline employees in Miami could’ve figured out how to get my bag all the way to Istanbul.

Istanbul is much cold than expected, which didn’t bode well with my fashion choices of leggings and Birkenstocks for the trip, nor the fact that all my warm clothes were in the missing bag.

Upon arrival to the ship, I was greeted by a nice Philippino man who showed me my way to the crew officer who would secure my passport and other documents needed to be on board the ship. After a few introductions, a meeting with the HR officer, and a short tour of deck 3 (the crew area of the ship), I finally settle down into my tiny room, which I share with another crew (Sarah-the hairdresser). As I sit there in silence, tears start to roll down my face… I miss my family, and friends, Auburn, the Bahamas-what did I get myself into? I then realized it was the first time I had stepped outside my box this far….yes, I’ve traveled all over… but for swimming (something I’m great at), and with family and friends close to me…something which I have none of on this ship. I called my mom of course…had a short cry session, and went to sleep.

I’ve had a few moments of sadness since then, but overall the experience is proving to be one full of surprises and new experiences. Everyone on the ship is genuinely nice and very welcoming. Along with myself are 3 other interns (2 south Africans, and one Austrian-all girls).

The first two days we were in port in Istanbul-the only city located in two continents (Europe & Asia), did you know that? Cuz I didn’t! I have been working roughly 10 hour days, split into two shifts…about 4 in the morning and 6 at night. So, in between and at night after work we have free time to explore the port. My first day, I went out with the other interns to the Grand Bazzar which had 7000 shops selling’s everything from jewelry to shoes, handmade pottery, carpets, clothes, bags-you name it, they have it and try to offer it to you for some exorbitant price. Luckily, from my recent experiences in china and other market places, I came in with prime bargaining experience ;) After a look around at the market, we walked to the famous blue mosque which was absolutely beautiful inside and out… *see below pictures from an afternoon in Istanbul at the Grand Bazzar and Blue Mosque 

Beautiful Hand Made Pottery Shop 

Two of the other interns and I (Vera & Anne) on our way to the Blue Mosque 

Grand Bazzar Entrance 

Blue Mosque by day 

Vera & I 

Alain and I (another crew from the ship...who helped me bargain for my bowl!) 

...5 o clock rolls around…back to work.

As far as work goes right now, I am in my first rotation which is bars. Everyone on the ship works everyday,  roughly ten hours a day, sometimes more, sometimes less. I work alongside the head sommelier learning pretty much anything and everything one needs to know about beverage operations on the ship. Cocktails, wines, spirits…you name it; it’s actually quite interesting-almost an art form when you start to understand the theory behind everything and the exorbitant amount of money these people spend on this stuff! I also do small things… like wait tables and tend to the bar. Work isn’t exactly glamorous…but I am learning A LOT about the industry…some things I like, some things I don’t…but underneath it all, I’m thankful to b able to be learning about so many different areas of the business because it’s important extremely important for career development, esp in tourism. 

mmmm pomegranate juice :)