Dog and Dragon Q&A No. 1

It has been a little over half a year that we’ve been off on our global adventure. Follow the Dog and Dragon Instagram for timely location updates. Read more in-depth recaps of our adventures here on DogAndDragonAdventures.com. As part of the blog we also provide insights into our life as travelers. We get a lot of questions and thought we’d periodically share a question and answer post for you all. This first one is going to answer some of the general, personal questions about our decision and how this experience is going.

• Q: Are you tired yet? Is it all too much? Is it sustainable long term?
  • Dog: I am not tired of this adventure at all! Not even close. Granted, I’m not working everyday so my perspective is unique. Is it possible to get bored living on a cruise ship and not working. Sure, but I haven’t found that space yet. The long term sustainability challenge for me is finding a way to generate income remotely from a cruise ship or foreign country. I have an internal need to contribute. Fully embracing a purely slacker existence is impossible for me personally.
  • Dragon: There are days that I am tired- after I have had to work all night or if we have been very busy in clinic. For the most part though, this adventure is definitely sustainable long term. The work I am doing now is miniscule to the work I was doing ashore. By the end of the contract, I am looking forward to a day off. I think that would be the case in any job. Travel days are very tiresome, but all in all, this is worth it!
• Q: What do you miss and not miss?
  • Dog: I definitely miss our boys, family dinner, spending time with all our friends back home, camping trips in the Tacoma, green chili, disc golf, Pokémon Go Community Day, and Colorado craft beers.
  • I do not miss the daily grind of corporate America, the constant stream of propaganda and vitriol in person and over the airwaves, or the ever present U.S. chains (restaurants, pharmacies, groceries, etc.). Maybe most surprising to me is that I haven’t really missed American sports. Granted, that may be a cheat answer because I fell in love with the Premier League long ago and I get plenty of soccer no matter where we are. I do love the NHL and NFL though and really haven’t missed them at all. In fact I completely forgot about the NFL playoffs until the Super Bowl.
  • Dragon: I miss all our social time with family and friends. We are very social people, meeting up with people and having dinner parties and weekly dinners with family. It is very different on the ship, you can be social, but you work, live, eat and hang out with all the same people so you have to be aware of yourself at all times. I thought I would miss cooking, but I am actually fine with it and find that I can always find something to eat anywhere. I do miss some of my crafting honestly. Filling some of the downtime I often think I could be crocheting or sewing or something. I also miss my garden at times. I love the flowers and reaping the harvest. Fresh veggies…mmmmm.
  • Things I love about this life. I have someone that cooks and cleans for me with free room and board. I have gym access every day. I am in a different place, sometimes country everyday. I have met and worked with some wonderful people and have made a lot of new friends. I love having a 2 month holiday in between contracts. I have never had that much time off at once. It really allows you to reset and do some things you couldn’t do with less time. I love having very few expenses. Really the only thing we spend money on is internet and cell phones.
• Q: What can you not believe you didn’t do sooner?
  • Dog: Learn more about people from other cultures. This isn’t just being out of the country on vacation, but also spending time with people. We’ve met so many people from around the world on the ship, which has given me some very different perspectives. Often they are subtle things like seeing the weather for the entire world on the BBC every day or trying to explain to Europeans why we call the Super Bowl winner the “world champions” or the MLB championship the World Series. I can only tell them that America is pretty full of itself, like a nation level Narcissus. Despite the media and my parents generation telling me my whole life that everyone wants to come to America I’ve actually discovered that even people from third world countries love their country. People in South Africa think South Africa is the best place on earth and don’t ever want to live somewhere else. People from Indonesia tell us if they could live anywhere in the world it would probably be Indonesia. So I guess the answer to this question is opening my perspective to life outside the American bubble.
  • Dragon: I think the best part of the process of going on this adventure was our “Great Purge“. I really wish I would have done all that sooner and not let it add up over the years. This adventure has proven that I can live and be happy living out of a suitcase and carry-on. I also think that we could have digitized all our documents and photos long ago. The timing of this adventure seems just right though. Our kids are grown and out having their own adventures. It was just the right time mentally, financially and professionally. I also wish I would have learned and mastered more languages. Almost everyone I work with speaks at least 2-3 languages. I feel very inadequate.
• Q: What are some of the challenges?
  • Dog: Living out of a suitcase is the most obvious one. It is challenging and maybe a little boring when your wardrobe is reduced to long sleeve x4, short sleeve x5, t-shirt x8, pants x3, shorts x5, and so on. Couple that with packing, repacking, unpacking, and hauling everything we have around with us. Another challenge is continuing to deal with United States bureaucracy. Taxes, voting, jury duty. Those things didn’t go away just because we went away.
  • Dragon: Ship life is very different and takes a lot of adjustment to get used to. I have a work uniform, but also an off duty officer uniform that is to be worn in any guest areas. I cannot wear street clothes unless I am going ashore or in crew only areas. Even if you are off duty, you are expected to respond 24/7 to emergencies so you can never really be “off duty”. Our teams are constantly changing as everyone has contracts starting and ending at different times. You must be flexible and be able to adapt quickly. These ships are a small little world and everyone knows everyone. You must be mindful of your words and actions. Word and rumors spread very quickly and you cannot redo a first impression.
• Q: Am I going to regret it? Interesting question. We’re guessing this means you are considering leaving the rat race and moving abroad at some point, probably not on a cruise ship.
  • Dog: Obviously we aren’t you and can’t speak to your desires, hopes, dreams, comforts, etc. Do I regret it? No way! When we take a boat ride to Benagil Cave in the Algarve, hike the rim of a Greek volcanic island, enjoy a wine tasting in South Africa, watch a glacier calve in Antarctica, or spend hours strolling around Palatine Hill where the emperors lived it leaves Dragon and I giggling to each other. This is a charmed life we’re leading at the moment and I don’t regret it at all.
  • Dragon: I don’t think you would regret it! Once you have jumped you just move forward. Things may be a little different than you expected, but an adventure is just that. Just jump in with both feet. You can always go back if you need to, but you may not get another opportunity for an adventure as you age.
• Q: Do you miss cooking, like an all day meal sort of cooking?
  • Dog: Nope
  • Dragon: Nope
• Q: What are things that were part of your everyday life that you realize you never needed and feel great leaving it behind?
  • Dog: Never needed? That’s tricky. Probably cars, although they were needed back home. I do miss driving my Tacoma, but we have not needed a vehicle our entire adventure. Being in cities where a car is 100% unnecessary is strange, but super cool. There are so many other things that we purged and no longer have. Did I ever need a smoker? Probably not, but it was fun and made delicious meats. Maybe the biggest thing is a huge home with all the necessary accessories required to maintain it.
  • Dragon: Being from Colorado, we drank good beer regularly. I have had very little beer since leaving and don’t really miss it at all. There are not a lot of choices on the ship and beer is not as popular globally so finding good beer is more difficult. Doing the purge really showed me that I can live without most things that I was holding onto.
• Q: Do you feel anchorless without the type of home you used to have?
  • Dog: Anchorless, ironic word choice considering the circumstances. I’d have to say no to this. It does create challenges for sure. Want to order a replacement of those laundry sheets you left in Rome? Good luck. Do I think fondly about moments that involve our home in Colorado? For sure, but those good memories are supplemented by new good memories. If anything makes me feel a little anchorless it is the lack of a steady job to go to. Its just so ingrained in my fiber at this point that it is sometimes hard to accept that I don’t have to do that and it isn’t a personal shortcoming.
  • Dragon: Honestly no. I am thankful that Dog and I can travel together. These answers would be very different if we were not together. He is my anchor. 🙂
• Q: Any emotions or sentiments that have caught you by surprise?
  • Dog: This is an intimately personal and difficult question to post an answer to. Personal, professional failure maybe? I’m working on remodeling my brain to believe I can build a self-driven professional online presence. I think from an emotional perspective it is that self belief. It is very different to go to work every day for 30+ years versus believing in yourself to market yourself in a new way, almost inventing a new you to yourself and the world.
  • Dragon: I can’t say enough that I think everyone needs to step out of their box and go out on their own adventure, whatever that looks like. You only live once and there is no time like the present to really experience the world. My eyes have been opened, there really is so much to see, do and learn. Get out there!

• Super Random Bonus Question: How many people can fit into Canada?
  • Interesting question that we aren’t sure we’re properly qualified to answer. A lot! According to the wizards at Google the country is large enough to support a population around one billion people. I imagined this question more like how many people you could pack into a VW bus though. So I’m thinking the answer is more like all the people. If we just all stand there side by side and nobody moves, then I’m thinking all the people will fit into Canada. Prove me wrong.

There was so much to do when we first made the decision to quit our jobs and leave Colorado. It was both exciting and spooky. The process took months, but eventually came together. Ultimately the plan lead to Dog and Dragon being separated for several months combined with Dog’s unexpected cancer diagnosis. Our friends and family helped us through those challenges and we want to say a thank you to all of you who powered us along. We appreciate all the support, whether you’ve been keeping up throughout the journey or have only recently joined us.

Update: This was our first Dog and Dragon Question and Answer Session. We’ve done more Q&A posts since. Check out what life is like on board for a cruise RN in Cruise Nurse Life and what life is like for as the husband on board. Let us know in the comments of your own experiences or any other questions you may have. We read all the comments and try to respond to them when appropriate.