This post is part 9 of a series of stories recounting all the ups and downs of my ~6 year journey around the world to all seven continents and seven seas.
December 2015: Da Nang, Vietnam
As soon as we set sail, I quickly learned that I was prone to seasickness, which is ironic considering I’d continue to work on ships for three more years.
I just took it as the price I’d have to pay for such unique adventures.
After all, nothing worth having comes easy.
While at sea, we were busy starting up the language program from scratch, interviewing all the students in order to get an idea of their skill levels and placing them into appropriate class levels.
By Christmas, we’d reach our third port and second country of the voyage: Da Nang, Vietnam.
Even though I’d known my team for just over 10 days at that point, close quarters and living in the bubble of a tin can floating at sea make for quick bonding and fast-forming relationships.
Our team split up for the day and I, without hesitation, tagged along with three guys who all wanted to go to the beach.
Unsurprisingly, they’d become some of my better friends on the ship.
We headed straight to the nearly empty, palm tree sprouting beach for the afternoon before spending the rest of the day stopping at multiple eateries for pho, sandwiches, and markets.
After two years of struggling to find a good social circle in Japan, I finally felt at ease with these lovable misfits.
There was just something so refreshing about their humor, carefree attitude, and the sarcastic insults we threw at each other.
I definitely didn’t have any friends like that in Japan and I underestimated how much I missed it.
It was my first Christmas spent in a summer climate and with fairly new friends, but even looking back today it’s still one of my favorite Christmas memories.
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