4 months and 15 days

Cruise 24 of 28

12:27pm local time

Mare, New Caledonia

So here we are, with 14 days to go, 14 days, until I’m free from this place… But I’m currently being reminded of Shawshank Redemption, when they get out of prison and they don’t know how to adjust to real life again… Last time I went straight to my parents, so re-adjusted in a comfortably slow manner, this time I’m a little more nervous as I’m heading to explore for 5 weeks instead. 1 week in Aus, 4 weeks in New Zealand with Becci and then back for 2 days before flying back to England.

Safe to say i’m excited to get out of this contract. It’s been the hardest rollercoaster of emotions for the past 5 months. But i’m sad too, the ups and downs have brought me so close to so many people who are just such beautiful human beings, it’s going to be hard to say bye knowing I may never see them again. This time I am going to try harder to stay in contact and not just ‘keep up with their Facebook activities’ as I have been lazily doing with many I’ve met over the last 5 years, some of which I desperately need to get back in contact with as soon as possible. Though, during my prep for travel after work, I’ve messaged some people out of the blue for the first time in months and they’re so willing to take me in and help me out, I love the world of people you meet while working abroad.

I get really excited though every time I look at something to do with Aus/NZ. I’ve looked at hostels for Sydney but a girl who cruised with us a few weeks ago has said I can crash with her at her cousins for most of the week I'm in Aus, then in NZ I’m staying at Becci’s in Wanaka for the majority of the time, using it as a base to explore from. I’ve heard so many book things about the natural beauty of NZ, I can’t wait to get out there, chill with Becci and a couple of bottles of Gin, see some beautiful things, take some beautiful photos, and not be surrounded by people 24/7. Not having to smile and say hey to every person who walks by etc is going to be such a nice feeling. Not setting an alarm is totally taken for granted while you have the time not to set an alarm.

Weather I’ll come back completely depends on what happens through May - August. Whether I find work as a teacher, when me and Reg do the Trans-Siberian, whether I visit Sal etc in Barcelona etc etc etc…. There’s so many unknowns, I don’t know how people can decide they’re 100% going to come back and do another contract before they’ve even finished the one they're on? There’s so much to see and do, I don’t want to plan more than a couple of weeks ahead. All I know for certain is that I am going to Aus/NZ, I’m hoping to be home for mums birthday (as I’ve missed everyone elses, and christmas, again), I’m going to be in the UK for the birth of my brothers baby and I’m going to be on a train for a while in August doing the Trans-Siberian with Reg… Apart from that, there’s plenty of time to fill with exciting things.

As much as I’m nervous, I’m excited about where the next few months are going to take me. If anything, coming to ship was the easy option out last time:

-it’s always there to go back to

-you are tied in for 6 months but then you’re free for a while, its not a ‘i’ll work here for the foreseeable future… oh lawd it’s been 6 years where did that go’ type of thing

-the money’s okay and regular… and we got an annual raise

-you meet some awesome people

-it’s way more interesting than working on land in the kind of jobs I have experience in

To top it all off, you have days like the last couple I’ve had. Days of exploring tropical paradise’s that no one you know has ever heard of, that are completely secluded, that take either a trek through a rainforest or a taxi ride with a local guy who stops off for Kava before driving you into the middle of nowhere…. A bit like the day last contract in Luganville with Marinda and Amanda, but that’s a different story….

Safe to say so far I’m pretty happy with where my life is heading in general, I have days where I feel low and just wait to curl up on my sofa and sleep for the next week, with no idea where to head next and worrying that I have no idea where/when/what/how… but today I’m feeling that it’s not a bad life being as free as the ocean current.