Crew Talent Show

Last night was the Crew Talent Show, which has been a tradition on SAS for years and years and years. The crew, who we usually only see while they are working, gets to put on some regular clothes and display some of their musical or dancing abilities. Those of us watching then have an opportunity to contribute to the Crew Fund, which improves the quality of life for all crew members on the ship (ie movies for their movie library, new exercise equipment, money to sponsor a trip while in port, etc).

It’s a great idea because there are so many crew who we don’t see on a daily basis. People get close with their cabin stewards and their waiters, and those groups usually get a lot of tips at the end of the voyage. This is a perfect way to share the love with the people who do the laundry, who cook in the kitchen, who work in the engine room, etc.

It was actually a pretty busy evening – I went out for dinner with a couple friends [what we call it when we go to the 7th deck to buy dinner instead of eating in the dining room], then went to a session about Cambodia in the time of Pol Pot. Very fitting, since I will be in Cambodia on Wednesday. I know the basics about Cambodia and the reign of the Khmer Rouge, but she provided some extremely disturbing examples of their terror and power. It was a powerful session.

The Crew Talent Show directly followed that session, so that was significantly more uplifting. I’ve never seen the Union so full – not even for a preport. People were packed in the seats, on the floor, in the aisles. And everyone was SO loud and excited.

We saw a traditional Filipino dance, a band played a couple songs (including a punked up version of Madonna’s “Crazy for You”), a guy played a John Mayer song, one of our favorite waiters sang “Hello Dolly” and a traditional Filipino love song, there was a big dance number (my personal favorite – I couldn’t stop smiling), some stand-up comedy, a guy sang “This is the Moment” from Jekyll & Hyde (the musical), and then at the end, they ALLLL came back out and sang “We Are the World” and waived tons of world flags.

My students made signs that said “GO DON!” (our cabin steward). He was very embarrassed as he left after it was over.

They know what they’re doing by passing out the Crew Fund donation sheets AFTER the show. I gave 3x what I would’ve had I filled it out beforehand. They totally deserve every penny though – would you want to do the laundry for 600 very dirty college students? And 200 equally dirty faculty/staff/dependents? I wouldn’t.

TODAY is going to be a busy one: a few people on the ship organized a ship version of the Rally to Restore Sanity, then there is trick or treat for the kids on the ship, followed by an extended family gathering, then the Singapore pre-port, and THEN a faculty/staff Halloween party. I am stealing a costume idea from you, Sarah May, and going as Smartie-pants. A friend of mine returned to the US between Cape Town and Mauritius for a wedding and brought me back the Smarties. So I’m all set for that. I’m a little jealous of people who thought of ship-based costumes: Someone is going as Dock Time, someone else is going as the Lost and Found (which is all water bottles and sunglasses), someone is going as an ID Card, someone is going as Rumor Ranger (kind of a “Dear Abby” section of the daily dean’s memo that addresses ship rumors). And I’m trying to convince a friend to go as the MV Explorer and wear blue pants, a white shirt, and an orange belt. We’ll see if he does. I’ll try to remember to take pictures (I do a bad job taking pictures at sea).

ALSO tonight is Pirate Watch as we are sailing through the Strait of Malacca. A few of us want to do a Watch of the Pirate Watch. Tomorrow we will be in Singapore, and I have NO plans yet. For those keeping track, I’m now 13 hours ahead of Central Time. And Singapore will be the furthest distance from home that I’ll be for the whole voyage (even though we reached the halfway point a couple weeks ago, that was halfway in time, not distance).

Happy Weekend! And in case I don’t get a chance to write tomorrow, Happy Halloween!