A Last Goodbye
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Dear Blog and Blog-followers Thank
you for the support and help that you have given us on the trip :) even knowing
someone is following us makes it special. When
I think back to everything we have done, the memories and experiences race
through my head. So I try to start from the beginning. I try to remember what it
felt like when we left hallso and it is the same feeling I had coming back.
Leaving a routine life that I have become used to and heading out into the
unknown. In both cases I felt sad about leaving. Switzerland and all my friends,
and this year all those things that I won’t have a chance to experience when I
am too occupied with school and work. However, the feeling of excitement takes
over. So now when I think about Regina and all the memories she has given me it
isn't usually tears, just a big smile! I
know I will always carry the best memories with me, the ones you can't hang up
on a wall, and when I am bored I bet the first thing that comes to my mind will
be memories from this trip. I am surely going to miss it when I am sitting in a
classroom in Singapore, but for now one year is enough for me. I would love to
do something like it again, but not now when I am heading into the last years of
school. People
ask me where the best place was. For me, the best place was everywhere.
Every place we went to was unique. Of course, not everything was wonderful, but
everywhere brought its own experiences. Going back to one of the best places,
like Dominica or Barbuda, wouldn't be the same because it all went
together. I can
say with extreme confidence that I have learned more this year than any other.
OK, maybe not with pen and paper, but generally. I have learned to be a lot more
social, cope with situations better and knowing that I can
achieve almost anything as long as I put my mind to it. For
me the thing that wrapped the whole trip together was cleaning out my room. This
is because when we left and I was putting everything in my cabin, I thought to
myself, ' Wow this is really happening.' Now
when I was packing out it hit me that it was really truly over. My
room is so stuffed now that I cannot believe I could fit everything in my
cabin and have problems fitting in an average sized room. Though, in my defense,
the cupboards and the shelf were better in the boat. I
also have another problem. Souvenirs. What do I do with them? I am planning
to hang up all the small things I have collected to make a decorative wall
in my room here at Hallso, but what do I do with the free t-shirts, hundreds of
photos and a jar full of sand from Barbuda :S. I will think of something. I
guess I will just have to pack some stuff away. I
sometimes regret that we didn't cross back again and finish the trip the way you
are supposed to, but then we would have had to sacrifice a lot of other stuff.
For example, we would be stressing to get everything packed here. I probably
wouldn't have gone to Geneva and I would have missed other summer plans. So I
just tell myself it is never too late to go back and cross the Atlantic later
:) The
best experience I’ve had on the trip was crossing the Atlantic Ocean (Las Palmas
– St.Lucia). Yes, it was boring at times, but so is the daily life, like sitting
in front of a screen right? Having done something like this at the age of 14 is
something not a lot of other people have done. It wasn't that hard, but I know a
lot of people that would never have done it. The drama of listening to all the
problems people were having and being able to help was so exciting. Catching
fish in the middle of the Atlantic, seeing a blue marling shoot out of the water
so it looks like a clip from Jaws and swimming in the ocean knowing there is
nothing under you for about 3000 to 5000 m (except for a couple of whales and
hundreds of fish) is something most people won't see in a lifetime. Learning
to dive was great. It is something I have always dreamed about especially
hearing my older brother talk about diving in the Red Sea and how amazing it
was. I couldn't wait to be 15 and get my padi. The Rhone was probably the
best dive because it was so spectacular. I would have never thought I would be
swimming through a huge wreck; it's the kind of things I only used to see on TV.
Dominica was also great because of the colours and sights that were
completely untouched by tourists. I am definitely going to continue diving
and sailing in Singapore. I can't wait to dive in Malaysia or the Philippines.
:D I
guess that it is it from me. As
I said before, I will always carry the memories with me. The
things I have learned will surely come in handy. And
the experiences will lead me on to new ones. I
just can't express the whole feeling in words. You will just have to try it
yourself! xxx Elin
PHOTOS
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ATLANTIC
