On air: the best and worst airports by far

Every six months I pack my bags yet again to sit through a two day journey- the majority of which is spent clutching steel chairs as I struggle  not to fall asleep waiting for my next flight. It is rare that I get away with travelling anywhere without taking at least one connection. so an airport is- to me- the equivalent of a Bed and Breakfast- minus the bed and the breakfast of course. 



As airports form such a crucial and large part of any journey overseas I thought I should tell you about the 11 airports I have witnessed: the good, the bad and the tourist infested. Hopefully next time you book a flight with a nine hour layover in Dubai International Airport you will know exactly what you are getting into. 

Runway at Berlin Schönefeld Airport

11. Berlin Schönefeld Airport, Berlin, Germany
2 stars
This immaculate airport owned the bottom spot purely because catching a connection there is an inconvenient, inefficient process. This airport is not as large as some others which makes it time consuming to get onto another flight. You have to re-check in before you can reach security. At the check-in counter there are only two people available to help causing many snaking lines around the terminal. As a result- you wait in an hour long line for a flight you are already checked in for onl to join another line as you pass through security leaving you no time to grab a coffee before your flight. This all happened when I was four hours early for my next flight. 

10. John F. Kennedy Airport, New York, USA
3 stars
New Yorkers have been blessed with the Hudson River accompanied with excellent options to travel at sea. This can be the only explanation for their airport containing a mere skeleton of restaurants and coffee shops. Add a forty five minute routine check by customs in the mix and my first footsteps in the Big Apple are way less glamorous than the way I imagined it.

9. Dubai International Airport
3 and a half stars
A sweltering walk through the lengthy corridors as I run to grab my next connection is the best way to remember Dubai airport. Its hot, sweaty and not the best place to be after an 18 hour flight when your deodorant has been confiscated. On the plus side it is easy to get around, the duty free shopping is unbelievable and they have charging stations by the gates so you can keep your phone juiced up while you wait to board.

8. Miami International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
3 and a half stars
These two tie in equally for me. It is easy to find your way in both. They both have an excellent selection of restaurants.

7. Frankfurt Airport
4 stars
If your German is fluent or your weird hand signals are on point than this is a quiet, efficient airport with a state of the art airtrain transporting you between terminals. 

6. Cape Town International Airport
4 stars
Cape Town brings a warm welcome to South Africa. Their complimentary luggage carts are a nice luxury after dragging your luggage around yourself or paying a fee in the States. The airport does not have as many shops as I would like. 

5. King Shaka International Airport
4 stars
A chorus of singers sing African hymns as you browse through the shops available. The only fault is it remains to be a bit crowded. 

4. O.R. Tambo International Airport
4 stars
Despite the sometimes unpleasant attitude of the workers at passport control this airport still makes me happy as it is my home. Did I mention you can use luggage trolleys/carts for free?

3. Heathrow Airport
 Four and a half stars

Going crazy while waiting for a connection at Heathrow Airport

As one of the most central airports in the world, Heathrow makes the connection process quick, easy and organized. Despite their disgust at all forms of liquids or gels. ( i have had many teaspoons of contact lens solution confiscated), you will find getting to the gates of your next flight relatively painless. Only problem? The restaurants and shops are overrun with travellers.

2. Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Five stars
Excellent selection of restaurants, outstanding duty free and never has checking or connecting been so painless and efficient. My experiences roaming this airport has been nothing but positive. Only problem? I really hate paying for luggage carts. 

And the gold medal goes to....

Celebrating at Villa Italian Kitchen, Orlando Airport.

1. Orlando International Airport
Five and a half stars
The Disney fanatic in me adores Orlando airport. They have an awesome food court with a number of different cuisines to choose from. If a food court is not your cup of tea than a number of restaurants give you awesome options. My personal favourite is the Villa Italian Kitchen. They serve homemade bread and mouthwatering pizza. I think the pizza made the whole airport. 

Ode to the Crew Gym

Fitness selfies
Motivational posters,
Luminescent yellow walls
Blur as my eyes focus on my treadmill screen.

Just one more minute
One more rep
One more kilometre
Ten more calories
Closer to my goal.

They float around me
I float around them
Together- yet still alone.
Lost in our own worlds
Drowned by blaring earphones.
Together, we work for a common goal
To be stronger, faster and fitter than before.

Time is no thief of mine

Ain't nobody got time for that! is what I think when somebody tells me I have to put something else on top of an already overflowing to-do list. There are only so many hours in the day and, if you work up to ten hours a day. have a social life, maintain your health, call your mom at least once in a while and text everybody back it sometimes feels like your life is a container you are constantly filling until one day it pops. You buzz around like a feral fly on ecstasy until the stress gets to you and then-- well there is no time for anything other than crying in the shower- at least that is if you are me. 

The next best thing is prioritizing. So you make room for what is most important. The only problem is that it is only the things we have to do that end up getting done. I have to go to work, I have to finish that deadline. For any writer there is no greater inspiration than the last minute. The only problem with that is your long term goals tend to go to the bottom of the list. I want to be thin and healthy yet most days I decide that I just do not have time for gym today. I want to one day become a writer yet I decide today that I do not have time to write. 

What I make time for is most often the things I do not truly want in my life. I make time for a job that I am not entirely happy in. I make time for negative friends who create drama and I make time for relationships that hold me back. Yes, I am only human but it makes no sense that the things I truly want and need are what gets the least attention from me. 

I have decided that now is the time to change that. Instead of being inspired by a deadline I will be inspired by my goals. Instead of only dragging myself to the gym when the needle on the scale begins to rise I will try and constantly eat healthy and exercise. I will also try to change my job into something I love so the sixty hours I spend at work each weeks counts for something. Because a passionless job? Negative friends? Personal drama? Nobody has time for that. 

\I don't have time for this but I'll do it anyway. 

. 

Separation must fall

Although I am a thousand miles away on some Caribbean island my home can give me more inspiration then I realize. I was heartened today to open the news and see thousands take to the streets protesting the recent cabinet reshuffling and the demotion of South Africa's economy to "junk" status. These actions have some serious repercussions for South Africa's economy. This has been the latest actions of an already unpopular president- Jacob Zuma. #Zumamustfall is a cause which all South Africans are marching behind.

It weighs on me that this is the first time I have seen South Africans band together in protest. South Africa's protest culture has done nothing but shove us in our socioeconomic and racial groups- very much like the injustices we fight against. The poor fight for poor issues. The rich only fight in their living rooms where their judgments are weapons in their own right.

The #Feesmustfall movement has been raging for the past two years as the expensive cost of tertiary education has risen in a tight job market- making the rich richer and the poor poorer. The protests kicked off last year when the cost of university fees were announced to rise by 8%. This aggravated the poor- struggling to pay their way through University with little option for a "decent" job without a degree.

South Africa's tight job market dictates  applicants to have a degree as a minimum requirement which leaves any skilled job for only those able to pay the university fees, ie, the rich. So while the rich complained about the poor asking for what they thought as a "handout" they had no understanding of how a degree has become a basic necessity in South Africa's job market.

The main problem is that- because of South Africa's history of discrimination and racial segregation- rich has come to mean white and poor has come to mean black. This, coupled with a lack of transformation in post-Apartheid South Africa means the income gap has become a race gap as well.

Thus the rising cost of education is chiefly a problem for the poor, black youth in South Africa- leaving every other part of the population separate from the protests. Instead they sit on social media voicing their opinions but never motivated enough to fight the cause.

Flashback to present day. The demotion of South Africa's economy to junk status means that- not only the poor who cannot afford education are affected. Instead anybody standing in the line at a bank applying for a loan will be subjected to higher interest rates. The young, the poor, the black, the white and the middle class and the poor are all affected which is why thousands of South Africans took to the streets petitioning parliament in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. I saw people who were often quiet during the fees must fall movement suddenly find their voice.

What happened? We, as human beings are supposed to have empathy yet we can only fight for our own fights. We cannot stand up for anyone else. We cannot abandon our own experiences and consider that others have issues too. Someone else is bullied on the playground and the best we can do is stand and watch- silently commenting and judging. I hope that Zuma does fall. I also hope that fees must fall is one day just as popular as fees must fall. I hope that one day separation falls and we can unite in a cause even if it is not our own.

Honey, don't forget the keys

Jangling in my pocket
Everywhere I go
Letting me know
Everything I have is still mine to keep

Opening doors familiar
Like my front door back home
The door to my office
Or my sunlit childhood home.

The tiny object needed
before you leave your house, your car.
My cabin.
So that you may return to a cocoon
Mutating from a bedraggled butterfly
Into a cosy caterpillar

Sometimes the other side of the door is not so anticipated
Even though we have the key
As the clock clicks open
Trust is your only protection
Trust in yourself:
a tremulous trust to keep.

As the door swings open
The cocoon is left behind
A fresh world is waiting
With a brand new set of keys.

Live in your own time zone-

This is quite a serious post but what has bugged me quite a lot lately is how fast the people around me seem to be moving in their own lives. People seem to be running the four hundred metres while I still feel like I am walking the dog. It is giving me flashbacks to the hot, sweaty shame of coming last at every race at school. Have you ever logged on to Facebook only to find yet another person moving to a new city, starting a cool new job, getting engaged or having children, while the only exciting thing you did today is try a mayonaise instead of the usual ketchup on your sandwich. 

The one thing I love most about our generation is our determination to follow our passions- and if we don't like something- our guts to make a change. It sets us apart from our parents or grandparents that stuck with one job for twenty years even if they were not always in love with it. There are so many inspirational people I know. They are kicking ass every day- getting articles published in magazines, writing and publishing whole books, travelling to different parts of the world and even starting a life in a brand new scary country. These are the people that inspire me to believe anything is possible. The only thing needed to be done is to take a risk. 

The only downside to this is logging on Facebook is starting to feel like Russian roulette. I still love checking up on everyone but everytime i open the familiar blue and white pages- I am exposed to a new engagement, a new move and a new job while I cannot even commit to trying the dodgy-looking new noodles in the crew mess. I am overwhelmed by how repetitive, ordinary and "stuck-in-the-rut" my own life has become. It becomes yet another thing I don't like when I look in the mrror. 

Don't get me wrong I am not one of those people who believe that we are in competition or that you have to "climb over others to reach the top of the ladder" in your career. I believe that there is room for everyone to get what they want as we are all different, have different goals and offer such different skills and talents. There is room for everyone and if others can get a cool job, move to a different city, get a degree or travel to somewhere amazing I do not see any reason why I cannot. The only problem is time. 

These massive life moves take time to happen. While I was happily uploading my graduation pictures, my friends studying medical degrees were sitting at their laptops- fingernails clicking impatiently on their desks crammed with notes for a degree they still had no idea that they will pass. While some are signing wedding contracts others are still looking for someone that will text them back once in a while. While some are getting their dream jobs others are trawling the jobs section of the newspaper- rocking up at interview after interview. The people getting what took time to get it and we all do not get what we want at the same time. South Africa is six hours ahead of Tortola British Virgin Island. It is not early or late. It is simply in a different time zone. The same goes for people. 

My best friends from my last contract on a ship sailing from New York left the cruise ship industry a few months ago. They criticised me for going back for another contract. They had both been on ships for longer than I had. They had already left a contract thinking they should quit yet gone back for another try. By the time they left they were truly done yet I needed a few more months to get there. I still wanted some more adventure. We were in different time zones. 

Some graduate by the age of 21 yet only find a their dream job by the age of thirty. Some graduate at age 29 and find a job immediately. Some get married at 21 and are divorced by 40 yet others get married at 40 and remain happily married until they die. There is no way of measuring yourself up against others as we are all have our own journeys. 

This doesn't mean that I am going to feel any better when I log onto my facebook page and I see someone two years younger than me engaged with her own apartment while I do not even have my own room- it is just something I have to remind myself that my moment is still on its way. So watch this space. My time zone is a pretty nice place to live after all. 

Dear Diary: Old endings become new beginnings

Today is no ordinary day for me. Today marks the final leg of my contract at sea. It marks the time where I start counting down the weeks and not the months. I have two months left on this ship. That is eight cruises, eight formal nights, eight embarkation days, eight more days in St Thomas, eight more afternoons in the Bahamas, two days out in Miami and sixteen more hours to enjoy Tortola. I have eight more blog posts to tell you about the Carribbean. After that? Who knows where in the world I will be.

Drinking wine while sailing into St Thomas-one of my favourite memories this contract

It is funny how you feel you have tons of time but when that time is over you feel it has flown by without any time for you to catch your breath in between. This contract has passed so swiftly leaving the bittersweet taste of warm beer from the crew bar, the caress of island sunshine and the stale smell of the dusty air conditioning system installed on the Escape.

I personally cannot believe I survived a full four months of smiling at strangers and visiting the same islands every week. Miami, St Thomas, Tortola, Nassau, Bahamas. Every week. It sounds wonderfully exciting to the old me- stuck in  one city for years, however my heart has become a gypsy heart- always on the run. I no longer itch for travel, I lust for it and it would be very difficult to settle for any kind of life living in one place.

My ship contracts used to have at least three different cruise itineraries. I sailed to Alaska, to Mexico, Columbia and the Panama Canal, finishing up in Jamaica. I have done the Eastern Carribbean, then the Western Carribbean. I took a ride on the ship to Nova Scotia, Canada for a few weeks. It was there when I fell in love with ships. Almost every day I woke up in a different place every day, I lounged on a different beach, hiked up a different trail and saw a different site I had never seen before. True, I was never fully experiencing each place based on the limited time we had there but life passed in a never-ending whirlwind of colour.

Throwback to NYC- fresh from the Ocean

From the late nights in crew bar to the breakfasts in NYC- working in ships was different to living in any city in the world. New people came almost every week and old people left. It is a place where the only constant, stable thing is change itself. 

Somehow it no longer feels like that anymore- my nights in crew bar have become shorter and less regular, my itinerary has stayed the same for the full six months and, even though I wake up in a different place every day it is still the same place I went to the week before. Do not get me wrong- I still have fun. I just can't shake the feeling that I am living in one place- that moves around but is still the same.

Perhaps I am growing up, perhaps the novelty of ships have worn off. I know that when you have been on ships long enough to know that the disgusting mix of dough and bones in brown liquid they call "Carribbean soup" is actually delicious then you are no longer fresh to the game. (I am not  kidding there was always a line for that soup and I used to wonder what was wrong with those people. I now AM one of those people. Anyhow- something tells me I have learnt all I can from working and living here and I know in my heart it is time to move on.

"Moving on" in Miami.

This is why I am certain this will be my last few weeks on a cruise ship- the beginning of the end. I have plans for the future but I do not yet know what is next to come. For now I will enjoy my last few weeks in the Carribbean as much as I enjoy the last few sips of beer at 2am. I will relish my journey back home and- no matter what happens next I will always keep you posted. 

A Carribbean toast to new beginnings.