A.B.A. Emergency!

It was a pretty uneventful last day in Greece. We usually take the last day to relax, call our families and update our computer sites such as Facebook, Photobucket and Blogger. It all seemed like a normal day until around 5:50 when we realized the three girls, Kate, Becca and Rachel, along with other friends: Nico, Mercedes, and Lindsay were not yet back from Santorini. There expected arrival time was 4:00 pm. Something was wrong.

On-Ship time on every last port day is always 6:00 pm. For every five minutes that you are late you are docked an hour at the next port. Meaning for every 5 minutes that the girls are late in returning back to the ship they will lose an hour in Turkey. Being empathetic I was worried for them. I was worried for their safety as well as their time in Turkey. If they didn’t make it back by departure time, which is 8:00pm, they would have to fly to Turkey by themselves due to high immigration policies in Greece. This was serious. Getting back to the ship on time is impertinent and not a joke!

“Why are you taking the 11:40 back? Aren’t you nervous?” I asked Rachel before she left for Santorini on Tuesday. Ironically enough she was nervous. We were both nervous of any delays or any chance of missing that important ferry. Nonetheless the Ferry was delayed. And them along with 20 other students were late in returning to the boat.

Kevin, Bo, Erika and I waited anxiously for our fellow A.B.A. members who were inevitably already facing 12 hours in dock time, which is consequently almost an entire day in Turkey. As 7:00 pm rolls around (almost an hour late) the taxis start rolling in and students start running towards the gangplank. It wasn’t until 7:30 that those familiar faces of Becca, Kate and Rachel looked up at us. It was a funny situation but we also felt bad. We also had to make the best of this unfortunate situation, so we congratulated them on their return. At least they weren’t heading to Turkey solo. And plus they made it back in time for Dinner, which was good by the way.

“How was Santorini?” we hesitantly asked. They replied that it was well worth any hassle that dock time placed upon them. And there we knew that Santorini must have been one good time. I’m glad, but they will be missed on our first day in Turkey. Thank goodness we have five days there.

As we come in to our 5th country I am beginning to miss home and the people I love so much. I have many dreams while out here that I don’t while at home. My subconscious is full of anxiety that I’m glad I don’t have to confront constantly, but nonetheless hearing the voice of my grandmother and my mom just makes me want to be there with them. It isn’t bad to miss home, but it is bad to wish you WERE home. I don’t necessarily wish that but I do wish they were here with me.

A.B.A. will sit down to watch another movie as we set sail once again, this time to Asia. I can’t believe it. Greece flew by!

Spain: A Surprising A
Italy: A Disappointing B+
Croatia: An Awesome A+
Greece: A Delightful B

Explore. Dream. Discover.

~Michael-Anthony

P.S. Expect the Unexpected!