April 22, 2008:

The journey ended with a true celebration of our collective culture. Some of the highlights from our closing days...

*"Nomad's Dream" Musical, directed by one of our students Nick K.: I was in my first musical! For those of you who know me and my vocal skills, you are probably laughing right now, as I still do when I think about it. I started out as a lyricist, which was great because I helped write the songs, but then somehow I got roped into singing as part of the chorus (I love you, Nick.). Greg, like me, does not claim to be a singer either, and somehow he got roped in, as well (Again, we love you, Nick.). Amy and Rob sang a love song called "Ocean's Apart," which brought me to tears at every rehearsal (Amy is my dear friend and Rob is one of our wonderful students. Amy is also our musical goddess.); Amanda, with her soulful voice, sang a song called "Quarantine Blues", written after 3 days of cabin confinement; Sarah performed a knock-out solo called "If I Were a Student," which was great given that she oversees judicials; and Malak, who has an incredible way with words, busted out in a little rap called "Partly Shady", alluding to our infamous navigational officer. The other songs were chorus numbers called "Pirates" and "Horizons." The music itself was written and played on the piano by one of our graduate students, Nate, whose musical talent is beyond words.

*Day stop in Portugal: I couldn't believe we were back in Lisboa again--A true full circle. Mel, Amanda, and I spent the morning walking around the city, pinching ourselves into reality. We stopped at a beautiful bead shop and enjoyed a glass of delicious port at a little cafe. Amanda and I then went to the same restaurant we had gone to with Makiko and Mariam almost 8 months ago--which had marked the beginning of our journey and the beginning of a special friendship. We enjoyed the same delicious meal and the same delicious sangria, which we toasted in their honor. We then met up with some of our other dear friends in celebration of Isis' birthday. It was a glorious day as we all sat in a little outdoor rooftop cafe, overlooking the city, with it's cobblestone roads and its pastel-colored buildings.

*"Intercultural Night": This consisted of highlight performances from all of our cultural shows, like the Bollywood Dance, Bellydance, Thriller, etc. I performed in our little Hip Hop "old school" segment again with Sam, Ja'hnette, and Jaimee, with Stephanie as our director. It was great to see all the talent, creativity, and hard work come together in our final show. Ron got it all on video, too, so I will be excited to show it!

*Closing Ceremony: This was our final ceremony on the evening of April 18th. A beautiful ending to an epic journey. There were messages shared to the world in our different languages, a surprise guest speaker, and a spiral dance that provided an opportunity to express intentional and heartfelt gratitude to each and every member of our community. After the close of the ceremony, everyone was invited out to the Aft deck as our Captain threw our "messages in a bottle" overboard for someone to one day discover.

And before we all could blink, April 19th arrived--a day filled with words of appreciation and tearful good-byes. Too surreal to describe and too soon to fully integrate. My parents came to Amsterdam to greet the ship, which meant the world to me, as they now have context for all the stories to come. I feel so blessed by their generosity, endless support, and unconditional love.

My mom and I leave for Iran today to spend a couple weeks with my grandparents and family before returning to Cali. I am very excited to be experiencing this with her, especially now, with an expanded appreciation. I am hoping it will also provide some space for me to begin unfolding the magnitude of this experience in my heart, as I know the process will take time.

I have millions of more thoughts in my head and millions of more stories to tell and feelings to express, but I will close for now, as there will be time for that in the days and weeks ahead.

My deepest gratitude for all those who have shared this journey with me, either through direct experience or through my blog. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am eternally grateful.

Stay tuned...