Maybe this is Culture Shock?

Posted: February 27, 8:18 am | (permalink) | (0 comments)

Maybe this is culture shock, but I’ve certainly gone through some kind of cycle of adaptation to island life and cruising life. I don’t think I’ve been car-less this long since I was an undergrad; I’ve gotten used to either seeking public transportation when its available, or exploring those things within walking distance of our marina or anchorage. I’ve gotten used to slow, limited internet and aging, limited fresh vegetables at the grocery store, when either of those two “necessities” of my former life are available at all.

The first few weeks, everything was new and wondrous and felt like we were on vacation, just taking a break from our real lives. Then it started sinking it that this was it, this was real life. In the next phase of my adaptation, I was irritable and frustrated at all the things I didn’t have, benefits of the first-world society I was used to. To be honest, there were times I just wanted to go home – not because anything profound or scary was happening, or because I missed family and friends, but just because the accumulation of these little annoyances and deprivations was wearing on me. Finally came a resetting of expectations, comfort, and the kind of simplicity that many people have sought either through economic necessity or after some kind of metaphysical soul-searching values quest.

…and ironically, I’ve finally gotten comfortable, just in time to begin thinking about heading north and home again! It took us almost exactly two months to get to the Bahamas and we hope to be back to Annapolis by May, and have time to explore some of the places we missed on the way down. So, doing the math says its time to start looking for wind from the south or east to ride back to the U.S. on.