Buzzing Around The World With Fellette & Doug

Life in an Ant Farm...

During this stretch of "at sea" time on our way to Madagascar, I thought I would post something that I wrote during our adventure in Antarctica a few weeks ago.

Do you remember those little plastic portable ant farm kits we bought for our kids, but we really bought for ourselves?

Well, we had an interesting dinner table conversation with a couple about life on board a ship cruising the world. We are basically a 39,000 ton floating ant farm. The ship IS our world. Particularly where we are going for the next week or so. We will be out of satellite communication for some days possibly. The ship will still be able to communicate with the outside world, but we may not be able to do so. Talk about faith in Holland America and the Captain, particularly after seeing the lecture on growlers, burgy-bits and icebergs.

Even before we started this "blackout" time our world was becoming smaller. The conversations are generally about what is going on about personal activities and plans for future days. For example, "what did you do at crafts today?" is a conversation opener. So is, "how many laps today?" If you are not careful one can become somewhat insulated from the real world. I am sure there are some on board who are not in the real world even when they are living in it. It is a real treat to have a stimulating conversation with a group off people that does not involve some trivial matter such as the crispness of the asparagus at the evening meal.

I suppose that some people say a holiday is to get away from it all. True, but when you pack your bags you should not leave your brain at home. I am not saying that anybody did. Travel broadens ones mind and hopefully you have a better understanding of why things happen in the world the way they do. We cannot seem to do much about it however and it makes it all the more frustrating. At the same dinner table somebody mentioned that there was a bomb set off in Bangkok today. That is a world away and of no concern to most, except, we have a niece there. The world is no longer this vast unconnected collections of countries that go their own way. It is one BIG ant farm

Meanwhile this little ant farm moves along, and we are all looking forward to taking time out of our busy lives aboard and looking out to see the real world of ice and a world that most people will never see. The majority of us on board are of the mindset that we might as well do it while we can and the ant farm is the only way we can see it!

posted by Doug and Fellette @ 7:21 AM