Hubby and Wifey's Blog

MT Maple Express 27,000 GRT, Route world wide, Year build 2002, Tanker vessel. That’s my first vessel assignment last November 23, 2003. I join this vessel as deck cadet in New York U.S.A. I'm so excited to board the vessel and visit other country. I like to travel and see the world so that I choose Marine transportation. I leave the Philippines by my self going to NYC. From Philippines we had a stop over to Taiwan and we have 3 hours standby in Taiwan. I take a tour inside Taiwan airport and it’s so beautiful and pretty place. I've seen the Taiwanese girls they are so pretty but they don't know how speak in English so I can’t talk to them. After 3 hours of waiting we boarded the plane going to Seattle for Immigration purposes. I don't know how many hours we will travel from Taiwan going to Seattle. I'm just so excited and happy on my chair. Watching movie, listening music on the plane then I suddenly I fall asleep. Then I woke were already in Seattle airport. The immigration asks some question to. He asked when and where I will go and why am I in states alone. I told him that I will join my vessel as deck cadet in NYC that’s all and my agent will pick me up in NYC. Then the immigration officer told me where is your province in the Philippines I told him that La union but I grow up in manila. Then the agent told me ok sige ingat ka... I was so shocked that he knows how to speak tagalog. Pinahirapan pa akong magenglish nito. I board my plane for my final destination and i will be having 5 hours flight from Seattle to New York City. When I got to NYC airport the agent asked me that if I am this person (he have a sign board). I told him yes I am. So the agent told me that you will be staying in hotel overnight because it's already 12 am. You will board the ship at 8am tomorrow on the anchorage area. We go out in the airport and proceed to his car. Men it's so very cold outside. I ask what is the temperature outside. The agent told me that the temperature is negative 5. Ahh ok that’s why it is so very damn cold.
After a couple if minutes I've got to hotel and wow I can’t believe what I've seen in hotel. a very large room for me. I'm the only one in the room. I've got all what I needed for an overnight stay in a hotel. I take a bath in a very large bathtub, I finish my bath and I watch TV all night. Then I fall asleep again. I woke up at exactly 7 am because of excitement to board the ship. Then the agents arrive in the lobby and call my room. He told me that it's time to go. We travel for 1 hour and I've see the statue of liberty at very every close up view. It is very beautiful. Then after an hour we already board the ship Maple Express.

The Bosun was the foreman of the ship. He is the one who is responsible for me for the familiarization on board. They tell me every thing about the safety and all that I must know. I just said yes, yes, yes, yes sir even I don't know what it is and he know that I don't really know what he is telling to me so he laugh. He told me don't worry cadet you will learn the entire thing here in a 12 months contract. In the morning I do Deck maintenance and in 4pm I go to bridge to study. Deck cadet is trained to be an officer someday. Even I was train as a deck officer I must learn how to do the deck maintenance. Every day that is my daily routine non stop daily routine I just notice to my self that I've already learn the maintenance and work on the bridge. I don't stop in learning because I want to be an officer someday. I've visited different country because of my work. Sometime I'm happy but not all the times because of homesick.