There are a lot of stories up in my mind which are filled with optimism and hope for future but how often do we get a chance to share them with people who are really important to us? This is my chance and I won't let it go to waste, my readers are very important to me and I want them to know about the real person behind this Tech blog. I do write technology articles all the time, today I'll be sharing a story about my trip back home after spending 12 months abroad, Thanks to Housing.com's Look Up Stories campaign, I got this wonderful opportunity to share this story with my readers. I will not water your time with more crap speech, let's go to the point, but before I start my story, I would like to request you that if by any chance you like my story or have anything to say about it, do not hesitate to leave a comment down below.
A Little Background Knowledge
So before I start my story, let's know briefly about the story background and other details, this will help you understand my story better. This story is about my homecoming after a ye. ar long abroad trip. By profession, I am a Seafarer in Merchant Navy, currently with the rank of Navigational Officer. This story is of my first sea service, I had just finished my Nautical studies and joined a ship as an intern or trainee cadet (as we say in navy) - My first sea service was a year long in International waters and this was the the first time I was going away from my family for such long time. I was 20 and had excited to the core, I wanted to experience the world, the seas and working with people from other countries but still down under I had the fear of going away from family and friends, but that was okay, it was the price I had to pay for bright future and I was ready for it.
The time I spent on my ship was very tough and unique at the same time. It was the experience of a life time, working with foreign crew, visiting new countries every week and travelling / shopping at exotic places, but staying away from family & friends was the only down point about it. At first it seemed great living with foreign crew, having delicious meals everyday, visiting new countries and earning in dollars but I used to miss my loved ones, home-cooked food and occasions. We used to spend a lot of time in International waters, many days used to pass with no sight of land or other human beings, but I kept fighting with the fears and finally completed my Cadetship or Internship, as you may be familiar with the word.
Seeing that I already spent an year there, 7-10 days was nothing but my mind wasn't ready for this, These 7-10 days were the longest days of my life. I used to think about my country, family all the time and the days were passing like years. After a few days, the un-seasoned rain storm took its toll and the work got delayed by 3 days, which meant 3 additional days, Oh god!. Not only that, a number of incidents took place in those final days which delayed our stay there, I can;t mention all of them here for the sake of this post and anyways those incidents were more of technical navy stuff, so you guys won't understand them anyway. It took us 17 days to finally get our hands on our Sign Off letters.
The time I spent on my ship was very tough and unique at the same time. It was the experience of a life time, working with foreign crew, visiting new countries every week and travelling / shopping at exotic places, but staying away from family & friends was the only down point about it. At first it seemed great living with foreign crew, having delicious meals everyday, visiting new countries and earning in dollars but I used to miss my loved ones, home-cooked food and occasions. We used to spend a lot of time in International waters, many days used to pass with no sight of land or other human beings, but I kept fighting with the fears and finally completed my Cadetship or Internship, as you may be familiar with the word.
Ugly Turns During Final Days
Now I was heading to the last country of my trip, this was the country from where I was about to catch a flight back to India, This was it! I was finally going home. My ship entered Jebel Ali Port in Dubai, UAE and that's when I went to Captain and requested my Sign Off (leave) - Without wasting time, my Captain sent the request to the company and started documentation and visa procedure. I was very happy, I was going home finally and was about to meet my close ones in a matter of days. That's when things started taking ugly turn, the Captain informed us that the Sign Off is approved but you guys can only leave once we leave Dubai and head to the Anchorage point outside Dubai. In simple words, my ship was about to stop mid-way outside the country, from where a Speed Boat was about to come and pick us up and take us to Sharjah Immigration (from where we were issued visas) - This meant that we had to stay additional 7 to 10 days on the ship.Seeing that I already spent an year there, 7-10 days was nothing but my mind wasn't ready for this, These 7-10 days were the longest days of my life. I used to think about my country, family all the time and the days were passing like years. After a few days, the un-seasoned rain storm took its toll and the work got delayed by 3 days, which meant 3 additional days, Oh god!. Not only that, a number of incidents took place in those final days which delayed our stay there, I can;t mention all of them here for the sake of this post and anyways those incidents were more of technical navy stuff, so you guys won't understand them anyway. It took us 17 days to finally get our hands on our Sign Off letters.
The Homecoming...
So the day had come, today was the day when I was going to meet my family after an year, same goes for my friends, who were there on that ship with me. We dressed up as best as we possibly could, packed all the stuff which we had bought from different countries and of course Dubai. The excitement was on cloud 9, finally I saw an Immigration Boat coming near our ship, we boarded it and started our 30 minute boat ride to Sharjah, bidding good bye to our friends on the ship. The boat took us to Sharjah Immigration office, from where we got our visas and Air tickets to India. Now here is the most exciting point of my final day journey back home, I was standing in Sharjah and my ticket was from Dubai International Airport and the flight time merely had few hours left. My company arranged an airport drop van, who literally flew us through the roads of UAE, ensuring that we reach airport before our flight departs. This was the most exciting day, I finally left my ship, was having great scenarios of Dubai Skyline knowing that I'll meet my family tonight. The driver drove pretty well (keeping UAE traffic rules in mind) and we made an hour before flight. After bidding farewell to my close friends, who were about to leave for other cities in India, I boarded the Mumbai Flight, which took off a bit late but covered the distance in time and landed on time. |
| Boat Ride on Our Final Day |
Optimism & Hope for Future in Smiles
So here i was, standing at the place which I left an year ago, It was 2:30 AM, the whole city was asleep and I was standing at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. It was like I came back in time, I headed out and saw bright faces and wide smiles of my family members who came there to receive me at such short notice (Actually I planned a Surprise visit to home but at last minute before boarding flight, I told my dad) and here they were. I saw my mom crying and my sister cheering, my dad proud and happy. That's when I saw Optimism in their smiles, in their eyes and a hope of better future. So this was it, let me know if you liked my story. This is a true one!About Jimmie Luthra
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