Transitions

Transitions

We’ve been planning, packing, preparing for the past several months for this trip. So in essence I’ve been in that place, between the present and the future for most of the fall and early winter. It’s been a hectic few months and while I would like to say I’ve handled it with grace and calm it has been much more demanding than I had imaged. Somehow because we were traveling around the world each issue took on a different level of intensity than say, a weeklong trip to northern Wisconsin. On January 3, 2011 my leave of absence from work began and the transition for our trip ramped up. On January 6, 2011 we packed up our house, dealt with last minute arrangements, managed a few last minute logistical debacles, dropped off our dog, said goodbye to my brother, sister-in-law and nieces. On January 7 we flew from Milwaukee to Orlando, Florida and continued dealing with those last minute debacles. On January 8, 2011 we attended a wedding in Florida and on January 9, 2011 we made the final departure and said goodbye to Amy’s family and flew to the Bahamas. 

We arrived in the Bahamas caught a cab to the port wandered with our luggage through the port, checking our luggage, checking our passports and finding ourselves on the pier in front of our home for the next four months, the MV Explorer. We walked up the gangway, found the way to our room, found our luggage and started to unpack. Within the hour we made our way to the opening reception and a new transition began.  I had spent so much time focusing on just getting to this point, I hadn’t really thought much about what would happen once I got to the ship, what life would be like and what I would be doing for work.

On January 11, 2011 we received our orientation, getting a tour of the ship, discovering the policies and procedures we were responsible for enforcing, and figuring out what it meant to be the Living Learning Coordinator for sports and involvement. At a more basic level I tried to figure out when meals were served, how and if I could access the internet, where and when I did laundry, and other menial life needs. And while I still didn’t have this figured out, the students showed up and the ship set sail at 8:00 p.m.

As I looked out at the Caribbean Ocean and saw nothing but water in all four directions, things became very clear. The word community took on a whole new meaning, the phrase “responsible for students” was more significant and sobering and the idea of “making it work” began to have life and death ramifications.  I have worked in the world of experiential education, residential camps and community education since I was 21. I have been responsible for leading other people’s children into the wilderness, out of state on field trips, but nothing has felt as sobering as taking over 600+ undergraduate students across the world. And while I am in part responsible for grown adults they are in essence other people’s children. The need and desire to return all students healthy and safely to San Diego has become a humbling responsibility. We are a self-contained unit complete with dining hall, academic facilities, basketball court, doctors, mental health staff, wellness center and a computer lab. This means we are home for students. Which means inevitably a safety net as students travel. We are the parental reminders to make positive, healthy choices. We are the builders of community and that community has a more significant role in supporting one another than in any other community I’ve helped foster.

So since January 3, 2011, I’ve been transitioning. Transitioning as I travel across the US to the MV Explorer. Transitioning as I adapt to a new way of living my everyday life. Transitioning professionally as I rethink what my new employer and community expect and need from me. Transitioning as I refine my skills as I work directly with students. Transitioning as I refine and adjust my assumptions, preconceptions, and thinking. And so, I begin once again, knowing that for the next four months I will be in transition.