Working as warranty engineer Alexandra takes you on her one-year journey aboard a commercial vessel. The action takes place during the cold war. A vessel constructed in a communist block country is sold to a South American ship-owner. She has to leave her native Poland and see the free world, crossing the Atlantic Ocean and navigating around the Pacific with the vessel. Being the only woman among the crew, she was able to keep up with the foreign language speaking crew and use her experience as a specialist of shipboard electrical engineering. In some countries, she is not allowed to leave the ship with other crewmembers because of her ID originated in a communist country. She expresses her reflections and uncommon feelings about the political situation, in the text printed in italics. It was a lifetime experience for her working with very friendly people of different culture and seeing other places of the world.

About the Author

Alexandra Tomczak resides in the United States and has been a citizen for 36 years. She retired from the navy shipyard where she worked as professional engineer. She was an active member of the Society of Women Engineers. She currently is volunteering at the local hospital, working part time at the information desk. Alexandra enjoys gardening and long walks with her dog, Bella.