Like a Fish out of water

"Like a fish out of water"

By M.C. Madjoucoff

My dream was to travel the world. I was in my mid-twenties, tall, elegant, and always ready to learn something new. My parents, both born European, from different countries decided to find their destiny in the States. Mama, French, and Papa, a mix of Bulgarian and Middle eastern, met and fell in love. The one thing I had wished for was they taught my sibling and I to speak at least one language they knew other than English. Alas, the American school system failed us in learning a different language at a younger age, in addition to a missed opportunity when I was young. Children are like sponges and the best time to learn a new language or two is while the child is developing.

At twenty-five, I flew down to Miami, FL to interview for a well-known cruise line. I was nervous and insecure that I did know how to at the least, speak French. My charm and beauty made up for the lack of being bi-lingual. I was both ecstatic and surprised. This was my chance to see the world, so I thought.

It was May, Springtime, a wonderful season to start fresh. I had all my belongings with me that I needed for this adventure. The contract was for six months on board the ship and one month of vacation. The job was Assistant Purser, white uniform, with one- stripe epaulets, supplied by the cruise line. Like working behind the front desk of a hotel, this was the position I signed up for.

A main caveat, I had never taken a cruise in my life, how was I to know if I would get seasick or not. In addition, I had not gone away to college or had any experience in sharing a small space with another girl. I did not overthink this. That was good as I was known to have anxiety.

It was an early Saturday morning, about 8:00 am. The weather was warm and sunny. I stayed overnight at a local hotel where they placed us for the night, and a local cab took me to the port where I would join the ship.

I will never forget, I arrived at the port of Miami and guided the ship via the lower level on the dock, rather than the normal gangway above. A representative from the ship brought me to the long metal gangway, and I was asked to wait there and one of my new co-workers would come off the ship and bring me aboard. All I remember was standing on the pier and looking straight up and side to side on amazement. The ship was the oldest in the fleet, the S.S. Norway, formerly named the S.S. France. It was a beautiful cobalt blue and white color. I would soon come to know this ship’s nickname by my shipmates as the "Big Blue Canoe". Later I found out that this ship held 2,500 passengers and 900 crew members. Unbelievable! It was a floating city!

A tall, young man came down the gangway and introduced himself as Eric, my Senior Assistant Purser. Our eyes met and I felt a small spark. One of several “sparks” to come in few years I spent on the ship. He was Norwegian. At that time, the majority of the ship’s officers, including Captains, were from Norway. I was intrigued by this country as I never visited Scandinavia and like most Americans was not familiar with the culture. To my ignorance, I thought everyone from Norway was blond haired and blue-eyed, however, this was not the case. I would soon come to know this culture as time went on.

My first day onboard was the longest day I ever had in my life. My co-worker/Senior Asst. Purser took me to my cabin to place my luggage. From there, we walked the length of the ship on the first level (the staff quarters) to pick up my uniforms. It was an odd experience, I was surprised that I had to try on different skirts, and they were not all the same. These were all previously warn skirts, cleaned. It was not the experience I was looking for as a new employee. The white crisp blouses were brand new, and I had my own white shoes that I purchased. After this, I was brought to the office to get checked in and provide my passport and fill out the normal forms for the ship and future pay. The ship paid salaries once a month and in cash. This was by far a completely new experience rather than being paid bi-weekly.

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Once I was checked in, and my new uniform in hand, I was shown to my cabin. All this was on the first level of the ship where no passengers saw. The smell that permeated from one part that we crossed several times was that of spilled garbage. It was not pleasing. Another nickname I found out of this location was called “slim alley”, which completely fit. The floor was metal and seemed it had been painted repeatedly many times during the existence of this ship.

We reached the cabin that I would call mine for the next six months. Eric informed me. He mentioned I was sharing a cabin with a girl named Maria. I thought that was interesting as that was my name. Two Maria’s.

He said I could change and come up to the Purser’s desk when I was ready. After changing I placed my personal items on my bed, I was ready. Ready for this new experience.

I somehow found my way to the Purser’s desk on level 8. It was so amazing! This had an amazing view of the ocean from the floor to ceiling windows. The ship was in dock. The passengers who had sailed on the cruise that ended had already disembarked by the time I came to the desk. There were only a few Pursers’ remaining at the desk as everyone had their own schedules. I met several co-workers and the rest I would meet later that afternoon when the new group of passengers would embark.

(All Purser’s worked an 8-hour shift. Some shifts were split up morning and afternoon and some were overnight. There was never a day off during the 7 days. However, there would be time to go ashore when we docked depending on the schedule, we were given that week.)

This entire experience so far has been overwhelming with new people, new sights, new sounds, and smells.

I was on a ship, yet I felt like a “fish out of water”. I was completely out of my element. Was this the new adventure I was looking for? So far it has not seemed that it was.

Having gone to lunch in one of the dining rooms the crew could eat in, I was underwhelmed as it was a dark room, not appealing, and I did not know anyone. A bit later that afternoon, I went back up to the Purser’s desk to start work. There was a total of seven of us including Eric, and my new co-workers. I felt relieved that there was another American aboard. There were many nationalities represented French, Panamanian, Canadian, Irish, and Norwegian. Though I still felt insecure not speaking another language, I was feeling a bit better with the new young people I met. They seemed genuinely nice and helpful.

Later that evening, I went to my cabin alone. My new roommate was not there; I had not met her yet nor had any idea what she looked like. My mom suggested I start a journal on my experiences. I began to write a bit on a few sheets of paper; this would be part of my letter home. I soon fell asleep. Hours passed, it was midnight or 1:00am, I heard noises from the next bed over. It was my roommate, in bed next to me, but who was with her? I heard giggling. I was so scared, this never happened to me before. I thought, is this normal? I thought this was so rude of my new roommate to bring another stranger into our cabin. Was this being what I would expect for the next six months?

The morning came, and my roommate was still sleeping, however, she was alone at that point. I dared not look. I rushed to the bathroom, cleaned up, dressed, went to breakfast and was back at Purser’s desk for 8:00am ready for work. Later that morning, I met my roommate Maria. She was hungover and looked a bit sloppy. I would come to realize that she was a free spirit, yet, not a good worker, and someone who I could not respect based on this first impression. This was going to be my home for 2 years, onboard the same ship, I made peace with this experience and many more that came. The one good thing about ship life was at anytime your co-workers could be transferred to another ship or just quit. The ship life was very fleeting. Like two ships in the night, sometimes we would never see people again.

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