Things you never heard about Escapism

When I first joined ships it was because I really wanted to travel and see the world. I came from a pretty average middle class family, so overseas trips were never on the cards for us, unless talks of “immigration” came up. Not that immigration was on the cards for anyone in our household even though my aunt had immigrated to Australia in the late 70’s.

When I was about thirteen the World Cup Football was hosted in Italy. I remember being glued to my television. I was in awe of the images of Rome and the mighty Colosseum, the beautiful coastline and the charming countryside of Tuscany. Yes, ok, so maybe I also developed a slight crush on Paulo Maldini, but who can blame me? I think most females (and possibly males) fell in love with the man! With so much beauty in a boot, I instantly fell in love and vowed that one day I would find a way to get there!

I remember when I was in primary school my grandfather “attempted” to visit my aunt in Australia, but his trip got cut short when they had to do an emergency stop in Mauritius after he suffered a heart attack mid air! My dad then had to go and collect him. That was the furthest both my dad and grandfather got to travel out of South Africa. I remember looking at the many photographs my dad had taken, wishing that it was me walking on those white sandy beaches.

As you can read, lots of dreaming of travel, but with no “trust fund” to speak of I was determined to make my dream of travelling a reality, especially when a few of my high school friends jetted off to the UK for their “gap year” of adventure! Jealous was an understatement! After I received my diploma I started doing my research on “how to work and travel overseas at the same time”. With my very restrictive passport, even less funds and no family connection to anywhere “exotic” other than Australia, no “childcare” experience for au pairing, no inclination for picking fruit on a Kibbutz in Israel, cleaning toilets in Ireland or fishing in Alaska, I stumbled across an advertisement for “hotel front desk staff needed for cruise industry”. The job specifications and perks ticked every single box on my list! My mother was appalled by the idea, but I was determined and a few months later I found myself flying off on my adventure!

So travel was “my thing” and I just assumed that everyone else was there for the same reason as me, see the world and hopefully make some money whilst at it. I had no other “hidden” agenda. No abusive partner to get away from or stressful family life. No “bad habits” which needed “detoxing”. No religious or sexual orientation discrimination or “closet” to get out of. No debts or child support that needed paying. Mine was clear up for the love of travel.

Now you might ask why the title, “Things you never heard about escapism”, well ironically that became the company tag line, “Escape Completely”. You might ask why ironically? Well, you see, after a couple of weeks on board, I realized that yes, there were many of us in it for the love of travel and wanting to earn a living whilst doing it, but then there were also many that did it for the reasons I mentioned earlier. They needed to “escape completely” from their reality at home. They were not only wanting to escape from something, but also towards something else, whatever that might be!

The thing is that even though I was not escaping from something in the beginning, the longer I stayed on ships, the clearer it became that all of us eventually want to escape from something towards something else. When ever I jetted home, after about a month of “visiting” the family, I wanted to escape the boredom of doing the same thing day in day out, being in the same place for more than a day, knowing which day of the week it was, the traffic, having to cook and clean, the lack of drama of who was doing the walk of shame. I wanted to escape the life I grew up with to the more adventure filled one of waking up in a new port, going on a crew tour, witnessing and maybe doing the walk of shame in a somewhat safe environment myself, split shifts, new friends and being reunited with old. After a while the “glamour” did wear off and I yearned for what I once thought of as “boring”. I wanted the “normal” working hours, family dinners, traffic, weekends, cook my own meals, sleeping in.

These are the things which people never tell you about escapism. What we thought we wanted to escape from soon becomes replaced by something or someone else that we can escape to.

Until next time.

Light, love and positive thoughts

Ophelia

P.S Yes, I did get to go to Italy on numerous occasions. As for Mauritius, hubby and I will be going in April 2022 should this pandemic not stop us a 3rd year in a row! And are we escaping? Yes, from the hustle and bustle of every day life!