I always embrace the chance to try something new and love to sample other cultures. During my last month of travelling I grabbed many of these opportunities. It might be difficult to describe anything on board a cruise ship as cultural but that didn't stop me from getting stuck into the activities on offer, even if many of them were aimed at an older generation. Being the youngest passenger - with the exception of the crew - there were some presumptions made as to my role on the ship. Once fellow passengers discovered I was on board for work many thought I'd be performing in some capacity. I suppose speaking is a type of entertainment but it soon became obvious to most what I wouldn't be doing when they witnessed me on the dance floor.
On a sea day, when the ship doesn't dock, there are many activities on offer including ballroom dancing lessons, and I was in at the deep end with the square tango first on the menu. The polite instructors soon broke it to me that four lessons would not be sufficient to teach the skills required for such a technical dance. The next day it was the waltz, and I had no idea such a simple looking elegant dance could be so challenging. After that, I lowered my expectations and joined the line dancing. If all of that seemed a little too physical there were still the 'sports' of deck shuffleboard and deck quoits which even though aimed at the more sedentary suited me far better.
Once I left the cruise I needed something a little more physically taxing and certainly found that in Thailand. Their national sport of Muay Thai is probably one of the most full-body exerting activities I've ever done, although yet again I am a long way off being professional after just two lessons.
