Leaving London November 12, 2011

I am currently sitting in the Heathrow airport awaiting my flight to Japan, which by the way is like a shopping mall! Yesterday, I received my details for the ship that I will be working, living, and traveling on for hopefully the next nine months.  As a first contractor, I could be removed and placed on another ship basically at any time.  I found out that I will be joining the ship in Japan, then throughout my contract I will be touring to Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Bali, and Alaska among other places.  It’s funny because when I decided to do this trip, I didn’t really consider the option that I may be traveling on that part of the world.  I thought of mostly European cruises, Hawaiian cruises, cruises in Central and South America, and Alaska, but I never considered Australia or Southeast Asia.  I am so excited to go!

When I first got the news yesterday, I was very overwhelmed.  It is strange how quickly the body adapts to a particular situation.  When I first moved into the YMCA in Watford London three short weeks ago I can honestly say that I was less than excited to be calling that place home, but within a few short days the group of people I was in training with bonded and we became like a family.   I rarely spent any time at the YMCA, let alone my room.  I spent most of my time learning seminars (which I need to review right now!), learning about detoxifying the body, becoming proficient in Pilates and Yoga, creating spin routines, and practicing body composition and nutrition consultations on my fellow fitness people.  The experience and people I met were amazing, and I was sad to say goodbye today.  I had to remind myself that this is the reason that I came to the grungy old YMCA in Watford in the first place, to get on a ship and travel!

When I was in college at Butler not too long ago, a Theta who had already graduated told me that everything in life would relate to Theta.  I didn’t really know what she meant…until now.  Being apart of Theta has taught me so many valuable skills that really allowed me to excel in this intense training program.  I truly feel that my dedication, time management skills, and leadership were what got me out of training so fast.  While we were working on mock consultations during training I couldn’t help but think of Theta recruitment as we practiced “small talk” and set up the chairs strategically.  I was the only American in my group, so no one else really understood what I was talking about when I mentioned the word sorority.

This experience (even though I am only three weeks in) has given me a greater appreciation for the things I truly love about being home like cooking, the holidays, being with friends and family, calling my mom and Brian everyday, being able to text people and use the internet whenever….the list goes on, but I am so excited for my next step and I have no idea what to expect when I step onboard my ship in just a short amount of time.  I am going back to day one and I will try my hardest and put in my best effort.  Wish me luck!!!

Here are some photos from training:

Arrival in Japan 11/13/2011

I arrived safely and in one piece to Tokyo.  It took me a little while to get to my hotel, but once I got there I was thankful to have a place to unwind, practice seminars and workout routines, and put pajamas on in.  The airport here is completely decked out for Christmas which made me a little sad, but I can only wait to see what is in store for the holidays while I am on the boat!  People who go on vacations like to celebrate the holidays too 😉

Hopefully I can post again soon!