Preparing for Re-entry

(Luana:) Life is a journey; enjoy the trip. That’s always been good advice, and we’ve been so fortunate to be able to follow it on the MV Explorer, a place that has come to feel like home. But how do you wrap up a trip around the world? Our nine-day sail from Brazil to Florida has given us plenty of time to reflect, to celebrate, and even to try new things:

• We hosted an ice cream party for all the kids in our wonderful extended family. I will miss these sweet, caring, smart and funny kids, who called us Mom and Dad and gave us lots of hugs and laughter. I hope to see many of them on our doorstep in years to come.
• We celebrated the journey at an alumni ball. Finally, some chocolate for dessert! Our lifelong learner group also got together for a special dinner so we could wear our trip finery.
• I helped out at the textbook buyback, meeting some new students and learning how to play a card game called euchre. Note to self: Do NOT play this game for money.
• I learned how to use some weight training equipment from my friend Sherry, who promises to be my personal trainer via gmail chat, and I also reached new levels on the elliptical, treadmill, and bike.
• We attended various reflection and reentry sessions, some of them fun and some more serious, thinking back on lessons learned and pondering what to do with it.

• We listened to some great music as our MV Explorer String Band played their six-song play list almost daily.
• I finally attended Spiritual Dance, a lovely program that developed quite a shipboard following for the way it helped people feel grounded and feel connected.
• We kept the party going with some very social happy hours and nightcaps in the faculty lounge, and long dinners out on deck.
• We watched sunrises and sunsets and stared at the beautiful ocean, our home for nearly four months.

I have enjoyed this trip beyond measure, so much so that I wish it could last forever, but feel so blessed to have had the experience. As Don Gogniat, our Global Studies professor termed it, we are lucky little bunnies. Where else can you gather with friends at every meal without having to clean the house and cook? Where else does someone do your laundry for you, clean your bathroom, make your bed, offer entertainment, and deliver you to new countries for new adventures? Where else can you choose from so many opportunities to learn new things? Where else can you get such a great perspective on our world?

I will definitely miss the ship and the trip and the community we formed, but I’m looking forward to seeing my friends and reconnecting with home. You’ve read here about what we’ve been doing, but you’ve been having your own trips, your own adventures, your own life events -- weddings, babies, job transitions and more -- and we want to hear about them. And we should worry less about whether our house is perfect and just get together more, spend more time together.

There are adventures to be had everywhere on this planet, even in our own back yards, and I’d like to think of home as our next port, a place for new adventures in uncharted territory, with good friends to make the time special. Our journey continues…