Intro

I was going to name this How I Went Round the World and Ended Up in the Same Place as I Began.  But then it occurred to me that after this experience, even if I do end up in the same physical space as I began, it won't really be the same place because I'll be different.  We all change and grow as we have experiences.  I suspect I've changed a lot during the past year, actually I know I have.  I'm stronger, more confident, and more who I am.  For a long time I didn't know who I was, because I'd learned to be a chameleon, changing to be whatever a person, someone who mattered in my life, wanted me to be.  For the first time that's over, and I am discovering who I am.
  Anyway, getting back to the coming four months:  I am going to be designing and running a creative writing program during Holland America's World Tour cruise.    To see the intinerary, clock on this:
http://www.hollandamerica.com/find-cruise-vacation/CruiseDetails.action?webItineraryIdForAudit=WW0114&noOfFlexibleMonths=1&shipCodeSearch=AM&flexibleMonths=false&pageNumber=2&voyageCode=A010
  Or, if clicking doesn't work, copy it and paste it into your browser's address space.
  I will have a lot of new experiences, seeing places I haven't been, cultures that are unfamiliar, meeting people both on the ship and on shore who will be interesting in all sorts of ways.  I'll teach some of them how to put ideas in their heads onto paper, and they will teach me in ways I probably can't even imagine yet.
  In this blog I plan to share my experiences, and those of the people I meet, if they agree.  There will be photographs, too, lots of photos.
  Please let me know your experiences, too, especially if any of them relate to or are caused by, this blog.  Writers need to observe and experience, we never stop opening ourselves to the world.  You are part of my world, and I welcome you.