London and Out!

We have come to the end of our voyage and I am writing this from our new home in Potsdam, NY.  While everything is new and unknown, it surprisingly feels like home.  This is probably by means of contrast because while the ship and our cabin certainly felt like a familiar home base, it never felt like a “home.”  In fact, I purposely never called it home to Quinn in hopes of creating less confusion; especially given home was one of her first words (which is really special given the adoption and our hopes in creating a trusting home environment for her).  Anyway, it was finally in Sweden on our way to the ship one night, that Quinn saw the ship and said, “home.”  Darn it!  Anyway, we were severely concerned about her adjustment back to our home in Potsdam, given the fact that a) she did not adjust well after our move from Denver and prior to leaving for Semester at Sea, and b) she was lavished with attention for 2.5 months and it would now be quiet and less stimulating.  However, we are constantly in awe of this little child, because she was thrilled to be back in Potsdam with all her familiar toys and the cats.  We did show her pictures to prepare her, so perhaps that helped. But wow, she sure does adapt to change!  And this is especially unusual given her first two years of life in a highly structured, unchanging orphanage environment.  She just flabbergasts us!

Prior to coming home, we had five days at sea from Poland to Southampton, England.   These days were a flurry of activity with lots of celebrations, including dance parties, an ice cream social to thank our babysitters, game night with our extended family daughters, the alumni ball (see pics) and more. I also volunteered my time to give a presentation to students regarding marketing their SAS experience.   

In addition to all the activities, we had lots of people wanting one last piece of Quinn.  We had constant visitors during mealtime and several offers to play with her, which helped us tremendously to pack.  A few people commented that Quinn was the “face” of Semester at Sea.  While that seems a little over the top, we definitely felt enormous pride when there was a room full of “ooohs” when Quinn appeared on the SAS end of the voyage video and her name was mentioned in a lifelong learner’s speech at convocation.  The lifelong learner, Joy, shared her delight in watching our family grow together on the ship, and many later told me they teared up upon hearing this.   I do think Quinn had more of an impact on people than we could ever imagine.  She is definitely a special little girl and I feel safe saying that others see this in her too.   

Quinn shared a particularly special bond with Mary Abel, the woman who spent an hour’s time with her each day at sea.  For both of them, it was new territory.  It was Quinn’s first experience bonding with a nonfamily member in the US since our adoption.  And Mary told me she was not really a kid’s person per se and doesn’t yet have grandchildren; she felt Quinn was a “special” girl and through this experience, she is even more excited to enter the grandparent phase of life.  Thankfully, Quinn didn’t pick up on Mary’s southern drawl as we have enough teaching for speech to keep us busy. J The other special bond that Quinn had on the ship was with our waiter, Peter.  The entire wait staff was incredible with Quinn and doted on her like mad, but Peter won her heart and she would look for him every mealtime and get a huge grin on her face the moment she spotted him.  Peter shared his email so we can send pictures over time.  Quinn will miss these two dearly.

For us, we made some lasting connections but not too many deep friendships, given our time constraints.  We met some really neat people on Semester at Sea, which is always par for the course, and there are a few women I really hope to keep in contact.  It was great bonding for our family to be in a small cabin together and see each other throughout the day.  And at the same time, Chris and I have been looking forward to many aspects of coming home to Potsdam, including having our own space in the house where we can watch TV or read with a light or talk, for that matter.  We also look forward to cooking!  It is always ironic with SAS, because you look forward to NOT cooking prior to leaving and then you come home overly enthusiastic to do so.  Hopefully, that appreciation lasts!

Before signing off, I have one last travel blog portion to write, because we did make it into London for a morning.  I am not going to lie.  We were not particularly motivated, especially given we were at a hotel connected to the airport and a 45 minute tram from London central.  But, we mustered up the energy and did it!  In just a morning, we saw some of the top sites, such as Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and 10 Downing Street.  And yes, we managed to make our flight on time!  Per usual, our little traveler, Quinn, helped us have a smooth trip home.  We didn’t even need to walk her around the airplane.  She either slept or played in her seat.  And, she was even patient (more patient than us) when we ended up with a SIX HOUR car ride back home to Potsdam from the Montreal airport.  We should have arrived home around 8 PM, but instead, it was 2 AM.  Why?!  We got lost because we didn’t pay enough attention and trusted our house sitter who picked us up.  So unfortunately, we went the wrong way, which happened to be the exact opposite wrong way.  I guess it was apropos to have one last stressful travel experience to take with us on this unique adventure of Semester at Sea, and to make us feel grateful for being home.  Now we look forward to settling into a routine with some predictability, and dare I say, some boring routines. 

We feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to see so much of the world on Semester at Sea, just as we feel so very fortunate to have a lovely home with supportive family and friends, a beautiful house, cuddly cats, career(s), and a very special daughter to complete our family.  Thank you to all for sharing this experience with us.  Until we meet again via a blog…