Second post of the Day

At almost 40 cents per minute for internet, I have a routine that minimizes the time I am on-line. First, I write the blog entry of the day off-line. Then I quickly get on-line, set Mike's e-mail to download, up-load the blog entry I just wrote off-line, check to see if anyone left us blog comments which I open into spearate pages, check my own webmail, then log off. Today that took me 9 minutes on-line, or $3.78. It took over an hour to do though.

The disadvantage to doing it this way is that I am already off-line when I settle back to read the crazy and wonderful comments you have left for me. Too late to respond. But, Susan asked a legitimate question.... what do the other cruisers think of us? So, to answer her properly I am writing the second blog entry of the day.

How to answer:

• I could tell you how the Israeli comedian described Americans in his mime skit about watching all of us at the mid-night buffet. If you remember back, that is the night Mike and I danced but did not partake of the buffet, so his mockery didn't hurt personally, although it did ring a bell. He started his skit by telling us that he camped out next to the buffet the night before and watched us. The French saunter up to the buffet with their noses in the air and look at the offerings with disdain and walk away without taking anything. The Germans walk back and forth several times analyzing their choices before circling back and taking several. The Brazilains (he was pandering to his audience) rumba past the buffet laughing and having a good time, while the Americans camp in front of the table and take four or five of each loading up their plate good and high. That is one perspective.
• The staff on the ship, who know how to win friends and encourage tips, like the Americans. Many of them live substantially on their tips with little base pay. Roderick tells us that the Brazilian passengers are forced to tip by the cruise-line, with an automatic billing for tips at the time of booking the cruise. He said the Europeans are notorious for not tipping, as they don't trypically do it in their home countries and don't seem to know or care that it is the standard on ships. Only the Americans understand the system and share their largesse with the crew at the recommended tip levels. Of course, after Roderick explained all of this he earned a little extra in this enveolpe from the magnanomous Handrons.
• The Brazilian passengers seem to like us. Maybe it is just politeness that leads the Grandma and Grandpa to stop at our table every night upon their late arrival at dinner for a very polite "Bom Noite", of good evening. We, of course, follow suit, with a stop at their table (we sit side by side afterall) each evening for another round of "Bom Noites". It could be the sheer size of his grief that caused the Brazilain with the lost camera (see my earlier entry) to spend two elevator cycles (press the button, wait, doors open, they close because you are still listening to the moans) telling us of his loss, but I like to think of it as his reocgnition of our humanity.
• Brazilian crew members enjoy us. We order wine each night, but never cocktails. Nevertheless, Carol, the Brazialian cocktail waitress spends time with us everynight as she circulates the floor. No chance we are going to tip someone for visiting us, but still she comes by. In fact, when she was in Rio earlier in the trip he Dad visited her with a box of her favorite candies. She brought some to us a few days later so that we could try them. Plus, if that doesn't prove kinship, she also compliments us daily on our barely improving Portuguese. She quizes us with toughies such as, "Todo Bem?", the informal way to ask "what's up?". Fortunately for us, the answer only needs to be "Todo bem", "it goes okay" which isn't that hard to parrot back to her without the question mark. Most days we do our hour or two of computer work in the coffee lounge (they serve Seattle's Best Coffee here on board!!) with a cool Brazilian barista. She is also working on our Portuguese. But, she gets tips.
• Other Americans seem to enjoy our company. As a minority, we have learned to spot each other now and a quick peak at each other now and again confirms the brotherhood of shared minority status.

So, all in all, I think they like us. THEY REALLY LIKE US!

Love, me