Imposter syndrome

Time: 2:06pm

Location: Nagasaki port, Japan

Weather: sunny 15C

It's Day 2 and I'm suntanning by the pool on a break from work, even though my mind is running at 100 miles an hour through all the brand new training that comprises of everything from safety to getting to know my job duties to recognizing where everything is on the ship. Needless to say I am a little panicked by the thought of my trainer, who was specifically flown in to give me handover, leaving in 11 days, when I will be completely on my own. Thankfully every crew member I've met are super nice and willing to help. 

The embarkation in Busan was seamless, I mean when you have 1000+ crew working abroad a vessel getting on and off at different times all the time, alongside 2000-3000 passengers at any one time you need to care for, there is not too much room for error. It didn't really hit me how crazy this all really is until the bus pulled over right in front of the Sapphire Princess and the crew member beside me said "welcome home". I can't say I've always dreamed of working on a cruise, but about 2 years ago, I made it a vague goal to somehow make money when traveling, so being flown across the world to get paid to go on a cruise that people pay hundreds of dollars for when you're 23 creates a little bit of an imposter syndrome. 

I don't need to say that life abroad a ship is very different, you are working every day with no full days off, but when your breaks can be wandering in an unknown exotic city or staring out into the cobalt blue ocean from the sundeck pool, it's not so bad. There are crew literally from every corner of the world and despite all the cultural custom differences  everyone seems to get along incredibly well. There is also a very strong hierarchical structure, and being an officer to start (imposter syndrome!) whereby other lower ranking staff serve you including clean your room everyday is kind of strange to get used to. Yes there is unlimited excellent food (and wine too) around the hour which you really need to be careful of and only take one plate at a time. And yes it can still get wavy even on a big ship and things move kind of like the prelude to an earthquake but the show must go on!

Anyways, by the time this gets posted I probably will be in another country (and have survived the first itinerary hurray!) because WiFi is expensive onboard even for crew and money is better spent elsewhere (like $1.50 drinks 😉). Next time I will tell you a bit more of what I do on a daily basis. Here are some photos of these first few days. This last one is the view through my cabin, so lucky to have a port hole haha. I won't get a chance to get off at any of the ports this first time because my passport needs to go through immigrations at the home port of Shanghai but can't wait to explore onshore next time!