Yes, I did it again!!
Door: Linda
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Linda
19 April 2014 | Frankrijk, Rouen
April 17th 2014
For this new group we have a Dutch Cruisedirector Daniëlle, so I finally get to talk to someone in my own language too!!! It is funny how fast you speak the language you were born with when there’s someone there who understands it. I promised myself I wouldn’t do it when someone who doesn’t speak Dutch was near, but it doesn’t always work that way!!
Okay so we talked Dutch when the NR was around, I don’t really care about that!! She also has her experiences with our NR and thinks he’s creep too!! He keeps staring at her and when she’s telling him something, he looks at her like he doesn’t know what she’s talking about!! The other day he actually asked her if it was hard being beautifull, to have to chase away all the men…..he’s nuts I swear!!
Anyway, the good news is that Jayson and I managed to get the highest score in the questionnaires again from last group!! I was getting worried that the NR’s actions might bring us down, but luckily nobody really sees him, because he’s only there at night and the guests are all sleeping!!
I’ve had my first Cabin Check today!! Every now and then, the HM and the Head of Housekeeping go through the crew cabins to check and see if their clean. There’s a notice a day before saying their coming, so it is not a real surprise. I wasn’t all that worried, I;m kind of a neat-freak, I had already bought those wet naps to wipe the toilet every now and then and I’m vacuum cleaning every week!! But it turned out that the HM is even worse than I am!!! First all was okay, I just had to get rid of some “kalk” in the sink and on the shower handle. No biggie, so I clean that and then she cames back the next day to check it. I wasn’t here when she checked it and my roommate was sleeping, but they managed to find something wrong! Now we had to do the shower handle and the thing where the shower-head is in again, because there was still some kalk there and the toilet, under the rim in the bowl…the first thing is just because like I said she’s worse then I am, but the toilet, she could’ve told me that the day before!! Anyway, we clean it and today (19th) they come and check it again, all was well except for the toilet…I put on 3 of those plastic gloves on my right hand to check in the toilet bowl under the rim…roommate had already cleaned it with the toiletbrush and I couldn’t find anything. So this morning after breakfast they come again, shower handle and showerhead are okay, but toilet was still dirty, so I asked her wear and explained about the gloves and everything…is it in the back of the toilet!!! Aarrhhh, I told her what I did, and I wasn’t there the 2nd time they came around or I would’ve known what they were looking for!!
So I think they let that one slide, we’ll have it all clean and shiny next time!! Jayson had told me it took him 2 hours to clean his cabin and I laughed at him, asking him why it would take so long, I mean it’s not that big to begin with!! But now he’s shown me what she was looking for and now I understand what he means!! OMG, my own bathroom wasn’t this clean!!!! But hey if that’s what they want, that’s what they’ll get!!!
I had asked the engineer to fix the light in the bathroom and the heater. He fixed the light in the bathroom before the check, so all of a sudden the light in there was much brighter and you could see a lot more spots on the walls…so I hurried and whiped those before they came!!!hahaha
I got Jayson hooked on making 3D cards I think!!! He had told me he liked to cut and paste things, so I told him about the cards I make. I have brought some stuff on board to be able to make some cards in my free time and I have some from Winni the Pooh. His brother has two girls, so I asked him if he wanted to make a card for them, he liked that idea. So yesterday I gave him my small scissors, some of the 3D stuff to cut out and when he was done he called me to come and get some coloured paper to put it on, some ribbon, and all the stuff he needed to make the cards. This morning he showed me the pictures of what he had done!!! It looked really good!!
We have been talking about taking 2 weeks off and decided to go in July, I’m going to have the first two weeks off (didn’t tell him that was around my birthday!) and he’s going the last two weeks of July. I’m planning to buy him his own stuff so he can make his own 3D cards. Haven’t seen anything like that here in France yet, but then again it doesn’t cost anything at this store I always go to, so I’ll get it for him when I go home!!
It sounds funny to be talking about taking two weeks of when I have only just begun working here, but they need to know on an early basis and we haven’t gotten the go-ahead for this yet, so it might be changed. At first I thought I would just keep working until the end of the season, but some of the Cruisedirectors had adviced us to take some time off to recharge and I think they are right. I wanted to take one week first, but we can’t leave until the group you’re working with is gone and you have to be back on Monday, because you have to be back for the new group on Tuesday. So a week would be nothing, plus a week isn’t going to be enough time for me to see everyone back home!! I had left in such a hurry I didn’t get to say goodbye to a lot of people and I can’t be at home and not see them either. But then again, I would also need to catch up on some sleep, my dad has recorded a soap I was watching which I need to catch up on, so I still may not have enough time to see everyone…we’ll see how it goes! I hope they tell us soon, so I can book my trainticket to go home!!
For Jayson and a lot of my co-workers from Indonesia, it isn’t worth it to go home, the planeticket would be too expensive, they’d need at least three weeks to be there and they would loose the money we make in tips. Fortunately Jayson has family and some friends in Germany, so he doesn’t have to go home, but the rest have to stay on board until the end of the season. Which also makes it hard to leave, for me anyway, feel very privaleged(sp?) to be able to take the train to go home!!
We are on our way from Les Andelys to Conflans at the moment, which means during my break I can’t leave the ship. Usually people go to sleep, but I rather just go to bed on time in the evening and use this time to either write or read. When we are in a port, like in Rouen, we do have a change to go out and look around. Last Thursday I was out with my laptop trying to find a better connection with internet at McDonalds, but it turned out that that connection was as bad as the one we have on board!! So had dragged the heavy thing with me for nothing!!haha It was a beautifull day, so I did get to have some sun!!! On Thursday’s we always have Nigel Stewart on board, who gives a lecture in the afternoon about the Landing Beaches here in Normandy. On Friday almost everyone goes on an excursion to the Landing Beaches and he’s here to give them a little update on what happened where during the Second WW. It is very interesting, I haven’t been able to hear his entire lecture yet, but he’s a very nice man, has a lot of knowledge about this.
He has made a book together with a photographer, about the Landing Beaches, which is very emotional. He gives lectures and tours in the Summer and in the Winter he’s an artist. Check his website www.nigel-stewart.com to see what he does, I think it looks just awesome!! He says he likes memorials and angels, I think his work says exactly that!!!
That’s it for now, I’ll write more later!
Love
Linda
ps, don't know why it puts the stories on twice! Sorry about that!
For this new group we have a Dutch Cruisedirector Daniëlle, so I finally get to talk to someone in my own language too!!! It is funny how fast you speak the language you were born with when there’s someone there who understands it. I promised myself I wouldn’t do it when someone who doesn’t speak Dutch was near, but it doesn’t always work that way!!
Okay so we talked Dutch when the NR was around, I don’t really care about that!! She also has her experiences with our NR and thinks he’s creep too!! He keeps staring at her and when she’s telling him something, he looks at her like he doesn’t know what she’s talking about!! The other day he actually asked her if it was hard being beautifull, to have to chase away all the men…..he’s nuts I swear!!
Anyway, the good news is that Jayson and I managed to get the highest score in the questionnaires again from last group!! I was getting worried that the NR’s actions might bring us down, but luckily nobody really sees him, because he’s only there at night and the guests are all sleeping!!
I’ve had my first Cabin Check today!! Every now and then, the HM and the Head of Housekeeping go through the crew cabins to check and see if their clean. There’s a notice a day before saying their coming, so it is not a real surprise. I wasn’t all that worried, I;m kind of a neat-freak, I had already bought those wet naps to wipe the toilet every now and then and I’m vacuum cleaning every week!! But it turned out that the HM is even worse than I am!!! First all was okay, I just had to get rid of some “kalk” in the sink and on the shower handle. No biggie, so I clean that and then she cames back the next day to check it. I wasn’t here when she checked it and my roommate was sleeping, but they managed to find something wrong! Now we had to do the shower handle and the thing where the shower-head is in again, because there was still some kalk there and the toilet, under the rim in the bowl…the first thing is just because like I said she’s worse then I am, but the toilet, she could’ve told me that the day before!! Anyway, we clean it and today (19th) they come and check it again, all was well except for the toilet…I put on 3 of those plastic gloves on my right hand to check in the toilet bowl under the rim…roommate had already cleaned it with the toiletbrush and I couldn’t find anything. So this morning after breakfast they come again, shower handle and showerhead are okay, but toilet was still dirty, so I asked her wear and explained about the gloves and everything…is it in the back of the toilet!!! Aarrhhh, I told her what I did, and I wasn’t there the 2nd time they came around or I would’ve known what they were looking for!!
So I think they let that one slide, we’ll have it all clean and shiny next time!! Jayson had told me it took him 2 hours to clean his cabin and I laughed at him, asking him why it would take so long, I mean it’s not that big to begin with!! But now he’s shown me what she was looking for and now I understand what he means!! OMG, my own bathroom wasn’t this clean!!!! But hey if that’s what they want, that’s what they’ll get!!!
I had asked the engineer to fix the light in the bathroom and the heater. He fixed the light in the bathroom before the check, so all of a sudden the light in there was much brighter and you could see a lot more spots on the walls…so I hurried and whiped those before they came!!!hahaha
I got Jayson hooked on making 3D cards I think!!! He had told me he liked to cut and paste things, so I told him about the cards I make. I have brought some stuff on board to be able to make some cards in my free time and I have some from Winni the Pooh. His brother has two girls, so I asked him if he wanted to make a card for them, he liked that idea. So yesterday I gave him my small scissors, some of the 3D stuff to cut out and when he was done he called me to come and get some coloured paper to put it on, some ribbon, and all the stuff he needed to make the cards. This morning he showed me the pictures of what he had done!!! It looked really good!!
We have been talking about taking 2 weeks off and decided to go in July, I’m going to have the first two weeks off (didn’t tell him that was around my birthday!) and he’s going the last two weeks of July. I’m planning to buy him his own stuff so he can make his own 3D cards. Haven’t seen anything like that here in France yet, but then again it doesn’t cost anything at this store I always go to, so I’ll get it for him when I go home!!
It sounds funny to be talking about taking two weeks of when I have only just begun working here, but they need to know on an early basis and we haven’t gotten the go-ahead for this yet, so it might be changed. At first I thought I would just keep working until the end of the season, but some of the Cruisedirectors had adviced us to take some time off to recharge and I think they are right. I wanted to take one week first, but we can’t leave until the group you’re working with is gone and you have to be back on Monday, because you have to be back for the new group on Tuesday. So a week would be nothing, plus a week isn’t going to be enough time for me to see everyone back home!! I had left in such a hurry I didn’t get to say goodbye to a lot of people and I can’t be at home and not see them either. But then again, I would also need to catch up on some sleep, my dad has recorded a soap I was watching which I need to catch up on, so I still may not have enough time to see everyone…we’ll see how it goes! I hope they tell us soon, so I can book my trainticket to go home!!
For Jayson and a lot of my co-workers from Indonesia, it isn’t worth it to go home, the planeticket would be too expensive, they’d need at least three weeks to be there and they would loose the money we make in tips. Fortunately Jayson has family and some friends in Germany, so he doesn’t have to go home, but the rest have to stay on board until the end of the season. Which also makes it hard to leave, for me anyway, feel very privaleged(sp?) to be able to take the train to go home!!
We are on our way from Les Andelys to Conflans at the moment, which means during my break I can’t leave the ship. Usually people go to sleep, but I rather just go to bed on time in the evening and use this time to either write or read. When we are in a port, like in Rouen, we do have a change to go out and look around. Last Thursday I was out with my laptop trying to find a better connection with internet at McDonalds, but it turned out that that connection was as bad as the one we have on board!! So had dragged the heavy thing with me for nothing!!haha It was a beautifull day, so I did get to have some sun!!! On Thursday’s we always have Nigel Stewart on board, who gives a lecture in the afternoon about the Landing Beaches here in Normandy. On Friday almost everyone goes on an excursion to the Landing Beaches and he’s here to give them a little update on what happened where during the Second WW. It is very interesting, I haven’t been able to hear his entire lecture yet, but he’s a very nice man, has a lot of knowledge about this.
He has made a book together with a photographer, about the Landing Beaches, which is very emotional. He gives lectures and tours in the Summer and in the Winter he’s an artist. Check his website www.nigel-stewart.com to see what he does, I think it looks just awesome!! He says he likes memorials and angels, I think his work says exactly that!!!
That’s it for now, I’ll write more later!
Love
Linda
ps, don't know why it puts the stories on twice! Sorry about that!
Reageer op dit reisverslag
Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
