It's sad to lose our home, but it's devastating to lose our family.
The few times now that we've been together with ship friends since our eviction have been so wonderful. It gets me teary eyed all over again. I love these people. I loved living with them. Effortless camaraderie.
Surrounded by Friends
Always someone around to talk to, to dance with, to sing and perform with. Always people with ideas of things to do places to see. Lonely? Bored? Never!
An impromptu dinner tonight for the people who happen to be in Chiang Mai was a love fest. Bonnie just got to town today. After getting off the ship, she found a storage locker in Bangkok and stored some luggage there so she could continue traveling.
She came to my birthday dinner at Beerista in Chiang Mai and I was so happy to see her. She is a recent, short term Odyssean, but she made an impression on me in our line dancing group. We talked tonight about future plans. She's interested in traveling by RV in the USA - how about she pick up our camper van in Florida and drive it across to California. Then (if we ever go back) we could get it in California and drive it back. Interesting idea.
"So, Bonnie, do I have your contact info? We need to stay in touch."
"Sure, we're both in Whatsapp in the Odyssey community and line-dancing groups." Right!
"Sure, we're both in Whatsapp in the Odyssey community and line-dancing groups." Right!
Connected with WhatsApp
WhatsApp is how the entire ship had been communicating since, I think, the beginning.
We have a Whatsapp community for Odyssey residents and many, many groups for every imaginable purpose: excursions, singing, line dancing, Trading Post, Technology chat, Visa and Passport info, and on and on and on. Some mornings we would wake up to 200+ new messages! It was a blessing and a curse. We could spend hours wading thru all those messages to find ones meaningful to us, and if you want to re-read something you saw there - good luck finding it!
BUT - what a godsend it was for connecting us all. The primary community has over 500 members. Need to arrange a dinner or an excursion with a group of friends? We're all on WhatsApp! Need some superglue? Just post your desire on the Trading Post group and someone will respond and tell you how you can borrow their superglue! That usually happened within minutes!
And then there's simple communicating. Check out this recent thread about our sad situation. "Smile though you're heart is breaking"
I Love These Guys!
"Remember to Smile, because Life is Better When you Smile" Captain Val
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