THIS BLOG CHRONICLES MY VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD AS A FACULTY MEMBER ON THE SPRING 2007 SEMESTER AT SEA VOYAGE (THE SHIP STOPPED IN THE FOLLOWING PORTS: NASSAU, THE BAHAMAS; SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO; SALVADOR, BRAZIL; CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA; PORT LOUIS, MAURITIUS; CHENNAI, INDIA; PENANG, MALAYSIA; HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM; HONG KONG; QINGDAO, CHINA; KOBE, JAPAN; HONOLULU, HAWAI'I, USA; SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, USA)
Sit in on the Global Studies core course that the entire ship "shuts down for" daily - it is held in the Student Union area of the ship with the lecture being broadcast on the closed-circuit TV system of the ship in most cases (Time: 0920 - 1040)
(note: this is one of my pre-scheduled posts set to appear at 5:00am EST each morning I am in a port city. I will post follow-up information about each trip once I am able to get back on the computer.)
I will see Hiroshima today and head back to Kobe on the train with Matt, Lesley, Drew and Mindy today.
Update:
More coming soon. Short version: Saw the museum in Hiroshima and the other main sights.
Played more arcade games, did karaoke, took the train back down to Kobe.
me and resident director Lesley - singing karaoke in Hiroshima, Japan
resident director Mindy and resident director Drew walking around a covered, open-air shopping area in Hiroshima, Japan
Went with Drew to get our requisite Kobe beef dinner before we had to get on the ship. Rushed back to the ship and got on 10 minutes before 9:00 pm (the time we had to be on without getting dock time in the next port)
Me and resident director Drew - awaiting our Kobe beef in Kobe, Japan
me awaiting my Kobe beef in Kobe, Japan
The ship is scheduled to depart at 2300 from Kobe, Japan.
NEXT DESTINATION: Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA, on Monday, May 7, 2007, at 0600.
(note: this is one of my pre-scheduled posts set to appear at 5:00am EST each morning I am in a port city. I will post follow-up information about each trip once I am able to get back on the computer.)
I will continue seeing Tokyo today and head to Hiroshima at some point today on the train with Lesley and Matt.
Update:
Matt, Lesley and I left the hotel around 8:30 am and our goal was to see some more of the main sights of Tokyo before our 1:05 pm train to Hiroshima.
resident director Matt and resident director Lesley - getting their bearings in Tokyo, Japan
We first took the subway to the area where the Tsukiji fish market was and spent about a half an hour walking through there. Surprisingly, it didn't smell that bad at all - but I suppose that's because the fish was so fresh that it wouldn't smell yet.
resident director Lesley and resident director Matt at the fish market in Tokyo, Japan
After the fish market we continued walking through the Ginza shopping district in Tokyo and then we made our way to the Imperial Palace gardens which was fairly close to the train station.
resident director Lesley and me - in the Ginza district of Tokyo, Japan
area before the Imperial Palace Gardens in Tokyo, Japan resident director Lesley in the Imperial Palace Gardens in Tokyo, Japan resident director Matt in the Imperial Palace Gardens in Tokyo, Japan
We got on our train to go down to Hiroshima (about a 5 hour ride).
me on the train from Tokyo, Japan to Hiroshima, Japan
Once there, we took a trolley car to the closest stop to where our ryokan was and eventually found the location.
waiting for the trolley car in Hiroshima, Japan
Mindy and Drew (two of the other resident directors) were already there and we checked into our ryokan rooms - girls in the one, boys in the other.
me, resident director Mindy and resident director Lesley in our ryokan room in Hiroshima, Japan
After everyone got settled, we left the ryokan to walk around Hiroshima a bit. Essentially, we just went to dinner and played some arcade games before heading back to the ryokan to play cards in Matt and Drew's room.
dinner in Hiroshima, Japan (left to right: me, resident director Drew, resident director Mindy, resident director Lesley, resident director Matt)
resident director Mindy and I playing a game at one of the ubiquitous arcades in Japan
resident director Drew, resident director Matt, resident director Lesley and resident director Mindy in Drew and Matt's room in our ryokan in Hiroshima, Japan
(note: this is one of my pre-scheduled posts set to appear at 5:00am EST each morning I am in a port city. I will post follow-up information about each trip once I am able to get back on the computer.)
I will be taking a train to Tokyo early this morning with Lesley (one of the resident directors). Once we are there we will meet up with Matt (another resident director) who went to Tokyo yesterday to see a friend of his. Matt, Lesley and I will stay in a hotel overnight tonight (Kayabacho Pearl Hotel) and leave Tokyo tomorrow to head directly to Hiroshima where we will meet up with some other resident directors and stay in a ryokan (Kasuga Ryokan) overnight in Hiroshima.
Update:
Lesley had left me a note last night to say she thought we should go to breakfast quickly on the ship this morning and then get right on the train to go to the main train station. Lesley had made reservations for our train travel the first day (reservations are free, but if you get a ticket telling you what seat to sit in in the reserved cars). According to this plan, I went to breakfast, ate quickly, but didn't see Lesley there. At 7:10 am, I went to Lesley's room and knocked. I could then hear her mumbling to herself and she had obviously not woken up yet. She answered the door and apologized that her alarm didn't go off, but that she just needed a minute to get dressed and that she had everything packed already. We needed to catch our train at around 8:00 am at the main train station so since it would take less than 15 minutes to get to the main train station on the elevated train near where the ship was docked, we were still in good shape.
We got to the main train station and had plenty of time to find where our train was. First we had to take a train to Osaka (because that was a station servicing the bullet train to Tokyo). We did that and then got on the train to go to Tokyo (about 3 hours on that train). The main thing that is amusing on the train is that the conductor and the person who carts snacks through the train all bow before entering the car and then upon leaving the car. The train was nice though and there was plenty of leg room in the trains.
resident director Lesley and me heading to Tokyo
When Lesley and I got to Tokyo, we went to find our hotel and Matt would be meeting up with us there at 1:00 pm. Upon getting to the hotel, there was a message from my Japanese friend Mari (I hadn't seen her in 10 years - click here for blog entry regarding this). I had sent her an email the day prior to getting to Japan to tell her that I was planning on being in Tokyo for two days (Mari lives outside of Tokyo) so that if she was around on Friday or Saturday at all that we should try to meet up. I left her my cell phone number, but as I soon found out once in Japan it didn't work there. Luckily Mari was resourceful and found the hotel fax number from the hotel name I gave her in the message.
Mari's note said that she took off work on Friday and that I should call her on her cell phone when I got the message and that she would come into Tokyo to meet up with me because it was only an hour train ride from her home. I got through to her on her cell phone and we decided to meet up at 3:00 pm at the hotel. Meanwhile, Matt showed up with his Japanese friend Saori and we decided that Matt and Lesley would go off with Saori while I just waited for Mari to show up (because I wouldn't have enough time to go with them to the place they were planning on going). We made sure that Saori had Mari's cell phone number and I wrote down Saori's cell number so that we could coordinate meeting up later for dinner.
Mari showed up at the hotel a few minutes after 3:00 pm and we caught up as we walked around. It was as if 10 years hadn't gone by so it was nice to see her again.
my friend Mari in the subway of Tokyo, Japan
We took the subway to Asakusa and ran into Matt, Lesley and Saori there.
my friend Mari in the Asakusa area of Tokyo, Japan talking to Saori trying to figure out where she, Matt and Lesley are exactly
Asakusa area of Tokyo, Japan
my friend Mari and me in the Asakusa area of Tokyo, Japan
getting my fortune at a Shinto shrine in Tokyo, Japan (You shake an octagonal box and a stick with a drawer number comes out - you then go to the drawers and take out the paper with your fortune on it. Mari translated it for me and it was apparently good!)
my friend Mari at a Shinto shrine in Tokyo, Japan - she got a bad fortune and the way to "combat" that and "get rid of the bad luck" is by folding up the paper and tying it to a small tree or bars nearby.
my friend Mari in Tokyo, Japan
me in Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo, Japan
After that Mari and I went to another location where you could go up 45 stories to get a view of Tokyo.
view of Tokyo, Japan from 45 stories high
We had trouble getting a hold of Saori on her cell phone though and when we eventually did meet back up with them, they had already gone somewhere to eat dinner. Since Saori had to leave, Matt and Lesley came with Mari and me to a department store that Mari had heard had good sushi (which I thought would be good since we were, after all, in Japan). The place apparently was good - there was a big wait to get in. Since we didn't have a ton of time, Mari suggested another restaurant in the department store that had tempura and other stuff so we went there while Matt and Lesley walked around the store. Mari did all the ordering and we got tempura and some sashimi for me to try (though I remember trying a bite somewhere a long time ago). At any rate, I ate it and it was okay. Not bad, but not my favorite either. When in Japan though, you have to eat Japanese food!
my friend Mari at a restaurant in Tokyo, Japan
me at a restaurant in Tokyo, Japan
After we ate, we were waiting for Matt and Lesley to meet back up with us and while we were waiting Mari told me she was going to call her father and put him on the line with me. Apparently she had given him her cell phone last night when she was away in the event that I called and she said that he was excited "that an American girl would be calling him" - unfortunately though, I never called last night because I didn't get Mari's message until I got to the hotel today. Mari put her father on the phone and I spoke as slowly and as clearly as I could. His English was quite good and he sounded like an endearing old guy. I told him that he could come visit the U.S. whenever he wanted and I would show him around and he told me that he was already 77 years old. When I asked him if he had been to the U.S. before, he said he had from 1962 - 1964 and he mentioned he was there when Kennedy was assassinated. (In talking to Mari afterwards, her father was apparently in Kansas during that time.) Mari's father said he hoped I could come visit their home soon and I told him I would have to make another trip back to Japan to do that. He was cute in general and at the end of our brief chat, he thanked me for speaking so clearly and slowly so he could understand me. I can't imagine how hard it would be to be trying to converse in another language (that you hardly ever use) and having to do so on the phone must be exponentially harder!
After this, we found Matt and Lesley and then made our way back to the subway where Mari helped us navigate how to get back to our hotel. At the hotel, we took some more photos and Mari left to head home since it was already 10:00 pm.
Sidenote: One of the best things I saw today was a middle-aged Japanese guy walking in the department store wearing a cowboy hat, cowboy boots and, best of all...a sheriff star. That star told me he was committed to that look. He just walked along and went up the escalator to the next floor. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera ready at the time.
Kyoto (Time: 0800 - 1800) (This is one of the "faculty directed practica" that I am leading so the cost of this trip is free for me.)
Description:As an imperial capital for nearly 1000 years, some of the finest temples, palaces, villas and gardens are found in Kyoto. Culture and lifestyle are refined in this city, which is dotted with oases of tranquility and beauty exemplifying the best of Japan. You will first visit Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion), which was constructed in the 1390s as a retirement villa for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and features a three-story pavilion covered in gold leaf and topped with a bronze phoenix on its roof. Next, you will visit Nijo Castle. Built in 1603, this castle was the residence of the Tokugawa Shogun and is known for its contrast of solemn appearance and gorgeous interiors as well as its perfectly manicured garden. After lunch at Maruyama Park, you will visit Heian Shrine honoring the peaceful period from 794-1192. Your last stop will be Kiyomizu Temple where you will enjoy a sweeping view of the entire city from its terrace. The trip includes round trip transportation by motorcoach, admission fees to sites and an English-speaking guide. (Box lunches from the ship will be provided.) (PRICE: $60.00)
I knew that the Global Nomads Group was doing a broadcast from the ship with some Japanese students at 9:00 pm, so I set my alarm for that and, again, overslept. I woke up at 9:20 pm or so and headed to the classroom they were doing the broadcast from and took a seat in the back.
video of the Global Nomads Group broadcast in Kobe, Japan
After the broadcast, a group of people I'm friends with was going to go out so I joined them and we ended up splitting up into two different groups - those people who had already eaten and those people who wanted to get dinner. I went with the group that wanted to get dinner (me, Mark, Ben, Joe and Julie) and we ate at a restaurant where there was an hibachi grill built into the table.
dinner in Kobe, Japan (left to right: Global Nomads Group director Mark, me, Global Nomads Group documentarian Ben, ethnomusicology professor Julie, videographer Joe)
After eating, we met up with the others (Emily, Kristen, Tom and Emily) at a nearby bar and some of us headed back to the ship in a cab at around 1:30 am.
in a bar in Kobe, Japan (left to right: resident director Tom's girlfriend Emily, resident director Tom, assistant field office coordinator Kristen, Global Nomads Group documentarian Ben, nurse Emily)
(note: this is one of my pre-scheduled posts set to appear at 5:00am EST each morning I am in a port city. I will post follow-up information about each trip once I am able to get back on the computer.)
The ship is scheduled to arrive at 0800 in Kobe, Japan.We will be in Japan for the next 5 days.
This is the trip I will be going on today...
Welcome Reception (Time: 1600 - 1800)
Description: Approximately 100 Japanese students will be invited aboard the MV Explorer to meet and interact with Semester at Sea participants. This will provide an excellent opportunity to meet Japanese students. Hyogo Prefecture sponsors a program, Hyogo Joint Summer Session at Sea (Seminar at Sea), which is similar to our Semester at Sea. The reception activities will provide you with an introduction to Japanese culture as the visiting students will present demonstrations of Kendo, Karate, Japanese dance and/or other arts and cultural traditions. Then it's your turn! Semester at Sea students should be prepared to share their talents - perhaps a demonstration of the latest dances, a guitar solo, a song or a Semester at Sea band performance. An informal social hour will follow. (PRICE: FREE)
Update:
I didn't get up early in this port to watch us arrive either. Too tired. I woke up, went to breakfast where I ran into Mark and just as we were serving ourselves in the breakfast line, there was an announcement that faculty/staff should come to the Union to do the "Thermoscan" process that we knew we would have to do prior to being allowed off of the ship. Mark and I decided to just leave our food on the table and quickly run to the Union to do it (essentially, we just had to show our student ID and then walk by a special camera that I guess measures how much heat you emit). As we left the Union, there was a long line of people behind us that snaked the entire length of the ship so we made the right decision to run to get it done right away.
Needless to say this process took a little while and then after everyone did that, we had to wait some more for the Japanese officials to process our passports. In waiting, they had an event in the Union where some drummers performed and then we had a "diplomatic briefing" from some guys who work in the U.S. embassy.
Japanese drum performance in the Union of the ship in Kobe, Japan
video of Japanese drum performance in the Union of the ship in Kobe, Japan
After our passports were finally processed, people were called up to the Faculty/Staff lounge to get their passports (which you needed if you were getting a rail pass or were going to stay overnight in a hotel).
We were allowed to get off the ship at around 1:00 pm and I decided to go with Emily (the nurse) and Kristen (the assistant field office coordinator) to the train station because I wanted to get my Japanese Rail Pass ticket. I had an "exchange order" that I purchased before I left the U.S. and it needed to be exchanged within 90 days of the date I got it in order to be valid so I wanted to make sure I got it exchanged on that first day. Since Emily and Kristen were going to Kyoto to spend a night there, I just went with them to the train station before parting ways.
nurse Emily and assistant field office coordinator Kristen on the elevated rail train/subway system on our way from where the ship was docked to the Kobe train station
After getting my rail pass, I walked around a bit in Kobe. There were a lot of shops and there are apparently a lot of mall-type areas in Japan that are open air, but covered with a roof.
After walking around a bit, I went back to the ship for the "Welcome Reception." When baby Ryder made an appearance, he got a lot of the Japanese students' attention.
Ryder (his dad was another professor on the ship) getting some attention from Japanese students in the Union of the ship in Kobe, Japan
I decided to take a nap after that and set my alarm to be awake by 7:30 pm because that was the meeting time for people I'm friends with to go out into Kobe. I woke up at 7:41 pm though and apparently missed the group.
Sit in on the Global Studies core course that the entire ship "shuts down for" daily - it is held in the Student Union area of the ship with the lecture being broadcast on the closed-circuit TV system of the ship to the various satellite classrooms on the ship for those students who can't fit in the Union (Time: 0920 - 1040)
Combined Cultural and Logistical Pre-Port Briefing for Japan (Time: 2000 - 2100)
Update:
Random stuff...
Apparently Desmond Tutu is going to be interviewed by Brad Pitt in Japan for a Vanity Fair article.
I am debating with myself whether I will go skydiving in Hawaii.
I won't be making any updates to this blog while in Japan because the buildings in Kobe apparently block the satellite. My general plans are to go to Kyoto the second day I am in Japan (on a Semester at Sea trip I'm leading), then go to Tokyo for days three and four with some resident directors from the ship and then to Hiroshima the last day with them as well. We apparently won't be able to get off the ship tomorrow until about 1:00 pm, so I'm just going to stay in Kobe and go to get my Japanese rail pass validated as soon as possible. I think some people from the ship will probably go out tomorrow night as well so I will join them too.
Sit in on the Global Studies core course that the entire ship "shuts down for" daily - it is held in the Student Union area of the ship with the lecture being broadcast on the closed-circuit TV system of the ship to the various satellite classrooms on the ship for those students who can't fit in the Union (Time: 0920 - 1040)
Meeting for faculty/staff who are leading trips in Japan (Time: 1800)
Post-Port Open Mic Night for people to share experiences they had in China (Time: 2000 - 2100)
Update:
The main event on the ship tonight was that everyone on the ship had to get his/her temperature taken as part of the requirements for entering Japan. They called up people to the faculty/staff lounge and everyone had an ear thermometer stuck in the ear. We had to fill out a form stating that we didn't have any sickness symptoms and those people who had slightly high temperatures were told to come back in 20 minutes after they put on shorts and a T-shirt and walked around the outside deck (since the weather is chilly now). Apparently when we get to Japan we will have to go through a thermoscan device and get our temperatures taken again.
We will advance our clocks by one hour tonight which will make us 13 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time in the U.S.
(note: this is one of my pre-scheduled posts set to appear at 5:00am EST each morning I am in a port city. I will post follow-up information about each trip once I am able to get back on the computer.)
This is the trip I will be going on today...
Home Visit and German Heritage (Time: 0830 - 1200) (This is one of the "faculty directed practica" that I am leading so the cost of this trip is free for me.)
Description:
Very rarely do overseas travelers have the opportunity to meet local people in their homes, but today you will receive a gracious and hospitable welcome at a private family dwelling. From the pier, proceed to the residential area where your host family eagerly awaits your arrival. After welcoming you into their home, they will share with you details about their community and treat you to refreshments of tea, candies and cookies. Shortly thereafter, make your way through charming Badaguan as you head to the old German Quarter. On arrival, delight in architecture reminiscent of southern Germany. Found to be particularly noteworthy is the German-built St. Michael's Cathedral, one of China's most famous churches. Your last stop will be the Free Market, where locals sell agricultural and aquatic products, as well as other daily necessities. (PRICE: $26.00)
