Thank you to those who supported and entered the June Storytelling Contest. We are please to announce that we are now holding a July Storytelling Contest. The MFX July Storytelling Contest features a memorable traveling experience. The prize for this month is a $100.00 gift card to Cambridge’s Café 13.

E-mail your submission to Jessica@machteldfaasxander.com along with your name, age, and preferred contact method by July 31, 2012. All stories must be under 500 words and tell a memorable travel experience. The winning story will be announced on August 6, 2012, at noon via twitter. The winner will receive a $100.00 gift card to Café 13 and will have their story published in our blog.

For updates about the contest, follow our twitter account @MachFaasXan. We eagerly anticipate all of the entries. Best of luck!

Here is an example of what my submission would be.

I’ll never forget this moment. My family was enjoying a relaxing lunch in the cruise ship’s restaurant, as the ship prepared to port at Tunis. Dessert had just been served, a soft-looking strawberry cake, and I gazed at the large circular windows that lined the vessel. One was directly in front of my seat. I daydreamed with my eyes on the view, half sky and half water. It seemed peaceful. I put the fork up to my mouth, eyes still intent on the window and my balance registered that something was off. A little movement or swaying is common on these ships so I dismissed the thought. My view changed as the window started showing more and more water until there was no sky visible, only the dark waves.

My plate started to slide away from me and I just watched it go. I didn’t turn my head from the window, until I was startled by the sound of crashing glass. The bottles from the bar had fallen to the floor, leaving a pool of ruined liquor and glass. And we were still tipping. But the restaurant was dead silent; no one even moved to get up. Everyone looked blankly at each other, some in shock and others fearing the worst.

Although it couldn’t have been longer than a few moments, we seemed frozen in time. The ship regained its balance and went back in the other direction. Everything swerved to the opposite direction. Still no one moved.

My dad looked at my family and said quickly, “Stay calm and don’t panic. Get up; we are going to the lifeboats.”
We were the only family to get up and leave the area. I remember having to jump over a fallen tree that was blocking the doorway in my heels and blue sundress.

The ship recovered its stability and thankfully no one was seriously injured. We had been on the fifth floor of the ship. On the fourteenth floor, water and children had been thrown from the pools and all the tables and chairs in the buffet had been hurled to the edge of the room. We were never given a straight answer from the company about why this had happened. From the balcony near the lifeboats, however, my family and the one other family who had gathered there could see the sandbar.

As we looked out on the water and blue sky, my brother reminded me of what I had told him earlier that morning: it was the 98th anniversary of the day that the Titanic sank.

Sharing authentic stories makes the world a better place- that’s what we believe at Machteld Faas Xander.