Swearing like Sailors

It is true what they say about sailors swearing. Yesterday on my flight from Paris to Nouakchott I had the good fortune of sitting next to two swearing sailors, Vitali and Erline. There was a total of 38 sailors on the plane. They were the entire international crew of a fishing boat headed for the Canary Islands the following morning. It was time for the necessary annual repairs, such as fan replacement for the coolers, etc. To my right was Vitali, a 22-year-old Russian sailor. His Sailor's Identity Card listed the names of the six ships he previously worked on. 

I didn't see Erline's card, but his must have been significantly longer. Erline was originally from Norway. He wanted to be an electrician but didn't have the grades needed to further pursue his studies in this field. At 15, Erline met a crew of sailors with expertise in radio repair. Soon after, he followed them to the high seas, where he spent the rest of his career across the globe, from Iraq, to Mozambique, to Mauritania. Erline's shirt said, "Urban Surf Culture," which somehow seemed ironic given that he has been on a ship for most of the past 33 years! They both drank insane amounts of alcohol throughout the trip. 

Since Vitali spoke no English (or French), Erline moved over to sit next to me during the stop in Casablanca. Erline told me that the coast of Mauritania has the best fishing in the world and he would know, since he has seen most of it with his own eyes! He also told me that the best work is in ships carrying ores, since the cargo takes a long time to load and gives the fishermen time to explore the cities where they land. Most of Erline's life has been spent on ships carrying oil, which is dangerous work and has brought him to the forefront of many wars. 

Although I loved hearing Erline's stories about his adventures, the irrelevance of Morse code in today's technological age, and his greatest regrets (he would not share his number one regret, only his second), my eyes were becoming heavier and heavier with each passing hour. I finally had to tell him that I needed to rest and wanted to watch the JLo movie playing on the screens above. To my surprise, Erline put on his headphones too and looked over at me from time to time to share in a laugh or change in the plot line. I was nearly shocked when Erline laughed at the jokes, especially because the movie was not really funny. The thought that this tough and hardened sailor could genuinely find JLo hilarious made me laugh too, so that despite my extreme fatigue, Erline and I were laughing together throughout most of the awful movie. 

Meeting these sailors on the flight to Nouakchott reminded me of why I live here and how fortunate I am to be able to work in Mauritania. I love meeting the diverse range of people who live and work in this country of never-ending paradoxes.