|
THE BLOG STARTS HERE
Teacher Jennifer Williams with this year's students Konatsu (Kona) Iijima and Masaki Hiramoto.
DATE: 10/23/2011
Posted by: Kona
I think I am going to be claustrophobic. Ceilings are a lot lower than I thought. I am excited but I am already walking like a drunk person as there is a slow roll even though the boat is tied up to the dock. Morning exercise was fun.
Posted by: Masaki
Wow! First night was good. We stayed up til 2 talking to my roommates. Ship gossip and then horror movies. I couldn't believe I woke up with the wake up call. Breakfast, I was expecting raw egg rice but there was just regular rice and I was happy about that.
Posted by: Mrs. Williams: Calm Sea
We spent a quiet night in the harbor. There are two other training vessels in port and there is bustling about on the pier. It is nice to see the sensei and crew that I was with last year, and it was nice to see Krista and Ronald come down to the pier to send us off.
The Kaiyu Maru leaving Hawaii on calm seas.
DATE: 10/24/2011
Posted by: Kona
We set sail today right? I had cleaning duty and it was so easy. I finished in two minutes. We had an evacuation drill and a fire lesson. Can't think of what to say.
Oct 25- We played cards till late last night and even though there was an extra hour added to the clock I almost missed morning exercise. Today is my study day, I am not sure if I am doing my study or joining their study. I will bring my math book and see. Mrs. Williams thinks it is food duty day and that I have lunch. That would explain why my room mate is still sleeping. I guess that means I don't have to study.
Posted by: Masaki
After we left Aloha tower I was expecting the evacuation drill. I couldn't believe how smoothly it went compared to Roosevelt Evacuations. Everyone counted off and was accounted for. For the first day I missed out on curry because of my "peanut butter" allergy. After lunch we were talking on deck about the ocean and I realized that time moves much slower. Now I have dinner duty- so far we wiped tables, counted out plates and set the Captain's table. I am glad the electrical outlets are American style and I can charge all my electronics.
Oct 25- I didn't drink coffee this morning. My brain has not fired up. I am doing watch duty in the pilot house for two more hours. I am hungry for lunch. I keep thinking about food.
Posted by: Mrs. Williams
21 04.946 N 159 44.648 W HDG 272 (about due west) 13Kn calc speed.
Calm fallowing sea, scattered low clouds, no sign of any bad weather, a great first day at sea. We have seen birds and flying fish as the approaching ship makes them fly to escape us. The students have already made friends with their team mates, there is plenty of time ahead for their school work so I am letting it be a social day of getting to know people.
Oct. 25: 21 36.676 N 163 51.704 W HDG 280 spd 13 Kn.
Slight following sea. We made a turn after we passed Niihau and are now heading 280. Masaki really wanted to see Niihau but it was just a bloop in the clouds and only because our charts told us it was there did we notice the difference in the clouds. We marveled at the Polynesian navigators being able to recognize signs of land. Today I taught my first English class. The students are shy and don't know me yet. I am trying to limit myself to two Diet Cokes a day so they will last longer. I have already thought of reasons why today is special and should be a three-Coke day.
Kona on the computer.
Masaki looking at the radar.
DATE: 10/25/2011
Posted by: Kona
I am surprised I am not seasick- at all. I can't believe I played cards for four hours straight- the same game too. After dinner I am pretty sure I will be playing life or cards again till lights out. I have watch duty, I am excited because I have to wake up at 3:30. I forgot to bring a hair dryer but I just stood on the deck and it dried anyways. This boat trip is a lot more fun than I expected.
Morning-
I am so tired. We saw a crew member break a broom, the rope was winding out and it caught around a broom handle and snapped it in half. We went out and watched the stars for a half hour during morning watch. There were so many but Gemini was the only constellation name I recognized. I saw two shooting stars. A bird made home on our bow for hours. He flew off his little porch twice, but returned to the same spot. I learned to play Shogi yesterday, it is just like chess with a little bit more rules. There is more roll to the boat now and it is harder to walk around.
Learning to play Shogi.
Posted by: Masaki
The stars last night- I had my mind blown. There were so many, I have never seen anything like that, the whole Milky Way; everything. I even saw my first shooting star. The first officer said they occur regularly 7 or 8 an hour. I also saw two satellites passing over. I am really happy that I am not sick. Not that the boat doesn't roll and make you fall around but at least I feel fine. We saw a ship pass during the night.
Posted by: Mrs. Williams
Neither Masaki or Kona have been sick, we have had a following sea and it has been slight. Hopefully they are natural sea salts and will stay feeling fine. They have made friends and can usually be found with a group of other kids. Everyone stops talking when I arrive! I taught two English classes today, it helps me to get to know the students and for them to be less afraid of me. The crew was on the aft deck soaking fish tails today, I know they are going to make something with them, but I don't know what. The ice master has a jar full of shark's teeth he is in the process of cleaning. There is a new radio man this year so I hope we got the blog off OK. Luckly Masaki had watch duty and was right there to help translate. His next duty is tonight from 8 to midnight. Kona has her first watch tomorrow from 4 to 8. The morning one will be killer, but afternoon should be a nice sunset view of the ocean.
Morning-
There is a larger ground swell, but the sea is calm. Really great weather, today the sun is shining and the sky is blue. Masaki has work duty today, they were scrubbing the deck, but it was more like the teacher scrubbing and everyone else playing with soapy water in the sunshine. Masaki said it was like me in my class, except we were in the middle of the ocean and there was a lot more water being pumped.
Scrubbing the decks.
DATE: 10/26/2011
Posted by: Kona
We saw a rainbow, we finally found the chess board last night. I didn't do much yesterday, I was either on watch or sleeping. While I was on watch we got bombarded by the birds, who made dodo right on our window after we cleaned it. I got to know my roommate better during watch as we talked for hours. Between watches yesterday I went on deck and was suddenly carrying heavy bunches of line. I got out of it shortly and left Masaki handing up the bunches. The freezer was pretty cool, everyone's eyelashes got frosted over right when we entered. Our breath turned to ice. When we went into the fish hold, there was no place to walk but on top of giant frozen fish. Then we went to the engine room which was really hot and loud. I couldn't hear anything.
Posted by: Masaki
Last night I was astonished by the stars and how it looked. You can't see that on land. My work for yesterday has caught up, my abdomen and triceps are aching today. The sea is very sea-like and rough, but I feel fine. The time difference is catching up. I am very tired (Mrs. Williams says the time difference is in my favor and it has only been one hour every other day, and that I am most likely dehydrated). Today is just clean up and study. I will be working on my French, otherwise Madam will pound me. This is it for now.
Posted by: Mrs. Williams
22 35.129 N 170 04.227 W HDG 285 Spd (calc) 13.0 Kn.
We are heading into a moderate sea today and the ship is moving more. I can still leave a book on the desk, but not a pencil or pen. I washed my clothes this morning, and needed a refresher course from one of the girls on board to show me how to work the washing machine. We are south of Necker, but I can see no evidence except I did see a tropic bird yesterday and I am not sure if they are open ocean birds, I think they land every night, judging by the two that live near me. Masaki and I worked on his senior project last night, then we did some stargazing. The sky was dirty with stars, it was hard to make out even familiar constellations. I was mesmerized by the likes of Cygnus, Jupiter, and Cassiopeia. His latest electronic toy tells us what constellation we are looking at just by punching in our location then holding in the direction of what we want identified, and it has the red low light setting too! Way cool. This morning there was a flying fish dead on the deck. It must have flown pretty high, the deck is at least 8 feet above the water, even with the right roll and swell an amazing feat. I wanted to feed a bird, but there were none about. The teacher left it to show the students. Morning exercise had a huge rainbow arch that we seemed to be going to sail under. Which makes sense since we are heading west and the sun rises in the east. Well we are actually heading 285, but it is near winter and the sun most likely is rising south hopefully by 15 degrees and that would explain the rainbow perfectly.
Kona heading to the freezer.
Masaki working on deck.
DATE: 10/27/2011
Posted by: Kona
Yesterday I cleaned the deck, I felt a little seasick for the first time, just looking at the deck get closer and farther away as I scrubbed. Last night I played shogi again, I lost but it was fun. Then I played cards and out of 5 games, I won 4. That is pretty much my whole day yesterday. It is easy to lose track of what day it is here. I have morning cleaning and then study today. I will get my homework done today and Mrs. Williams will stop reminding me. I got to drive the ship, the Captain let me change our heading to 300 then once there, we went back to 280. I don't think anyone noticed. There is nothing but ocean all around us.
Posted by: Masaki
Waking up at 5:30 in the morning is tough. Setting up breakfast is easy, but now we have to wait for the officers to finish eating so we can clean up upstairs too. After the last clean up of breakfast, I am going to sleep until lunch. Yesterday I pretty much slept. I spent an hour on deck working on my senior project stuff. I have been learning a lot. I can navigate using the radar. Lesson #1, don't let kids drive boats. Kona would just drive in circles since there is nothing but ocean in all directions. I really have not been homesick at all.
Posted by: Mrs. Williams
24 13.574 N 179 21.126 E HDG 280 Spd (calc) 13.5 Kn
Slight sea to starboard. We crossed the 180 mark! We are now in the East. We crossed the date line for real. Now it is really the 28th of Oct. The ship stays on Japan dates, so the moment we stepped aboard in Honolulu on the 22nd, everyone on the ship was calling it the 23rd. Now it is official. We passed Midway and Kure Atoll during the night. It is another beautiful day, the sun is shining, the sea is slight. We had American breakfast this morning, scrambled eggs, hot dogs with hot dog buns, toast with jam, shredded cabbage. Most people made some sort of sandwich out of the ingredients, Masaki's hotdog, egg, ketchup mustard mayonnaise concoction was amazing. Last night there was a bowl of thin bacon-like stuff and Kona and Masaki were waiting for me to eat it, it tasted like chewy bacon and turned out to be pig's ears. I also found out that the spicy salad dressing that I like is fish egg dressing. Today is Kona's study day and she actually did take out her books and is doing math problems.
Kamakazi malolo (malolo is the Hawaiian name for flying fish).
Mrs. Williams is down to her last box of Diet Cokes.
DATE: 10/28/2011
Posted by: Kona
I have dinner duty today at two so all I am going to do until then is sleep. I missed breakfast, will eat lunch and go back to bed. There is nothing to say, I did school work, played cards and nothing else except sleep.
Posted by: Masaki
I didn't have watch last night. I found out when I went to bed that the since the underclassmen (that is me) have upcoming exams we are excluded from night duty till we take our three hour exams in a few days. I don't have to take any of those either, but everyone is doing school work. I was super cold last night and slept in a ball under my blanket. I will do watch today at noon. I am trying to do laundry but the washers are always full. I think I slept for 13 hours, more than double my usual. Kona is still asleep. We had Ramen yesterday, once I made mine red from chili powder, it was very good.
Posted by: Mrs. Williams
25 13.932 N 172 48.486 E HDG 280 Spd (calc) 13.8 Kn
Moderate sea following. We got to see sunrise for this mornings exercises. Breakfast was a sort of gruel. The translating device said it was 'yam' that made up the strange white paste. That just tells me it was made from some root. It was nothing like anything that I could make from a yam. It had the sort of slime you get from cooked hibiscus or okra. Masaki missed breakfast as he had watch till 4 am and was sleeping. Kona missed breakfast as she found the morning exercise loophole that says if you have shift work you are exempt. She and her team have dinner duty and so they all slept through breakfast as well.
Chess game.
Ramen for lunch.
DATE: 10/29/2011
Posted by: Kona
I had dinner duty yesterday and slept most of the day. I taught a group of students Egyptian war and ended up with one badly bent card in the excitement. This is more fun that I expected. I am still surprised that I am not seasick since usually as soon as I get on a boat I feel it. I have a really nice roommate, pretty much everyone is nice. Today I have watch from 8 to 12 morning and night, it is a good time to have watch.
Kona on dinner duty.
Posted by: Masaki
Yesterday I spent 5 and half hours on my four hour shift. I still say you shouldn't let kids drive boats, but I had the wheel for about a half hour, the first officer said that I was a natural at keeping the boat on course and wondered if I had driven boats before. I also worked on using the sextant to sight the sun, it is not easy and I would take readings and compare them with the first officers. I am getting better at it. They are cool to use because they have so many moving parts and nothing electrical. I am still trying to get laundry done, the washers are always full when I check.
Masaki practicing using the sextant.
Posted by: Mrs. Williams
Williams 26 00.977 N 167 41.040 E HDG 280 Spd 13.4 kn
Moderate sea following. We got ahead of the sun again and gave it an hour to catch up this morning. Of course Kona and Masaki saw it plainly written on the board mn1 kanji kanji kanji, which I should have been able to recognize mn1 as midnight one hour and figure it out. I was happy to jump back into bed when I found out it was only 5.
The meat and skin are gone from the soaking blue marlin tail and what's left are two splayed hands of flat bones that look like ribs. The students have finished with scrubbing all of the decks and have moved on to painting. Yesterday I sat on a windlass that still had wet paint on the edge. The back side of my pants now has a light gray smiley across my bottom. The project for today will be solvent acquisition. I am wearing the tight pair now, good thing it is a raw egg for breakfast day.
Now my pants smell of thinner, they had a spray bottle of thinner for just such occasions. I have to get the smell of thinner out. I went to get the laundry soap from Masaki, not only was he not working with the painting crew, he was passed out in bed. When he sleeps he is un-wakeable. I thought he had eaten something he was allergic to (there was eggplant in this morning's miso and he picked it out saying it makes his lips tingle). He was breathing and his heart rate was normal, but nothing would make him wake up. I got other teachers and the medic, we finally put him in the recovery postion and when I came back from washing my hands he was walking down the hall. I asked what happened to him, he said, "Oh I fell asleep after breakfast, now I am late for work." I told him how I was shaking him and he said, "Oh it is hard to wake me, delta waves you know," and continued on to work!!!
DATE: 10/30/2011
Posted by: Kona
Ms. Williams is always coming to get me to blog at the worst time ever. I was watching dramas on Masaki's computer. The 8-0 watch is very tiring at night. It is dark, the wheel house is kept dark so that our eyes can see what is on the ocean so all you do is get sleepy. I kept nodding off. I was cold last night. It was funny when Mrs. Williams was worried about sleeping Masaki. Some of us did so called 'weight training' yesterday but that ended up being just fooling around on the deck saying "Can you do this?" That is about as far as my day goes, back to my drama.
Weight training.
Posted by: Masaki
Whoa, after breakfast I turned on my ipod and fell asleep for a quick nap. Apparently I was in a coma situation and no one could wake me up. Mrs. Williams panicked. Then I woke up and got dressed for work duty. I went up on deck and they told me to work with the seniors since I was late and didn't have a paint brush. We uncoiled and went through fishing line looking for parts that were frayed and needed repair. Some one who could splice lines would cut out the frayed part and splice the line back together. Working with the lines was fun, the crew all sit around and joke. As usual waking up seems to be the most troublesome part of my day. Now Ms. Williams can explain to Ms. Mahi why I am often late to school.
Posted by: Mrs. Williams
26 53.426 N 161 55.700 E HDG 280 Spd 12.6 kn
Calm sea. There must be gales and storms somewhere on this great ocean, but thank goodness they are nowhere near us. It is a beautiful sunny day. The sun is not as strong. We are at 26 degrees North so we are technically still in the tropics, but there is a distinct lack of punch in the sun. Now I am seeking the warm glow of the sun to sip my waning supply of Diet Coke. Kona says it is still HOT, but she is wearing a shirt, with a black sweatshirt over it and playing leapfrog in the sun, no one is looking for shade. Some of the students in Masaki's class are taking the next course level and will be back on board next term. They will be in Hawaii Feb. 7 through 11. Masaki asked me if he can join them again Feb! "I could take the next level and learn more. I will be done with senior project by then."
We are all getting lots of sleep and wondering if it is because we are working out just by sleeping on a moving bed, the Sketchers Shape Ups idea that if we are constantly trying to keep our balance we are somehow working out. I suggested we take away the chairs at Roosevelt and students can just sit on exer-balls. I can imagine standing in front of a classroom full of bouncing heads. Kona points out that at least no one will fall asleep. Masaki says he likes being rocked to sleep, he feels like a baby in a crib. I don't think I will invest in a self rocking bed as a shape up means just yet. Even though it has that lazy man's appeal that would make a good infomercial. I do like the bouncing students on exer-balls idea. I would have to have giant ones for the lab tables, guess that part wouldn't work.
Morning exercise.
DATE: 10/31/2011
Posted by: Kona
Yesterday I taught kids how to play wink killer. It is so funny because at first the boys did not want to wink at another guy, but then everyone got into it and we played from dinner until lights out. I think we will probably play again tonight. Yesterday I had deck and food duty. We pulled everything from the freezer work room including the floorboards. All the shelves and tables came out and we scrubbed them all down and them put them all back into the freezer again. My roomie Machiko lent me her work clothes so I blended right in and felt more like I belonged. I think we worked on deck for three hours or more but it was really fun. That was my day.
Taking apart the freezer for scrubbing.
Posted by: Masaki
I just banged my shin going up the stairs. It hurts, bad timing when the ship moves the wrong way. I got a lot done on my paper and that makes me happy. I still have the hibernation problem. My room mates say I am like a chipmunk in winter. I wake out of hibernation just to eat little meals then go back into hibernation state again. It is my study day and I finished my French homework. That leaves medical terminology for clinical services. Today is my school only day.
Posted by: Mrs. Williams
27 52.295 N 155 20.157 E HDG 281 Spd. 13.1 kn
Calm seas. We are getting ahead of the sun again, I bet we get an extra hour sleep tonight to let the sun catch up. Morning exercise was right at sunrise.
This afternoon students will be presenting their projects that they have been working on, the Kaiyu Maru's version of a senior project. They have done research and or experiments during their voyage and are presenting their projects today. Should be good. Students are doing a lot more school work because there are also upcoming exams.
Yesterday Kona was working on deck and she borrowed one of the girls' school work clothes, I came across them taking apart one of the freezer holds and scrubbing everything. I thought that one girl looked like Kona, but of course with the uniform on I didn't recognize her! There are a total of 6 females on this ship and I am one of them, Kona is another, so that leaves four other girls who I know, none have long hair and I know them all. I don't know who I thought it was. The human brain sometimes doesn't take information out of its assigned storage area to see the disconnect. I am sure Mr. Taba has a name for it. Pretty funny. Today there are a lot of students winking at me, I am pretty sure it is Kona's doing. Masaki is late for work again, no way to wake him up, that child needs special accommodations, the other teachers and I don't have any obvious solutions.
Study session.
DATE: 11/01/2011
Posted by: Kona
Not much going on. I had cleaning then study yesterday. I did my photography homework. Last night around 9 the waves got big. We were playing cards, then we got up and no one could walk straight. Everyone is banging against the walls. I had breakfast duty today, so I got up early. I made it through the night and breakfast, but I feel a slight seasickness. That is pretty much it.
Playing cards.
Posted by: Masaki
I am out of hibernation. Today I had lunch duty and I went to the freezer room with only my rubber slippers on to grab the udon and ice cream. I didn't need to go into the fish room, so it wasn't that cold, only -20. Still cold. I was looking forward to the curry udon but saddened to find peanut butter was added to it. My udon was regular. After lunch we played winking killer. I am not looking forward to watch duty tonight. I start at 4 am. The rocking of the ship just makes me want to sleep. We get an extra hour again tonight so that will be an extra hour for me, that should help. I used up all of my hair conditioner, I wonder what my hair will turn into during the next week.
Morning: I managed to get out of bed and get to watch duty on time. The phone alarm did it. But I have been sleepy all morning, fortunately the seas are rough and you can't really nod off since we are stumbling around maintaining our balance. I got to mark the time when the sun was exactly half way above the horizon (at sunrise) and figure out from the time what our longitude was. You compare it to sunrise time at longitude 0, Greenwich England, and figure out how far around the world we are. Pretty cool. It worked out too! 150 degrees E. I can't wait to get off shift. I can feel the bed, not sure if I will make it for lunch, might sleep through. I wonder what is for lunch.
Watching Japanese dramas on Masaki's computer.
Posted by: Mrs. Williams
28 36.530 N 150 18.841 E HDG 270 Spd 13.1 kn
A brisk wind has picked up and there are lots of white caps, the sky is full of gray clouds. The sea is still moderate, no real swells have formed. It seems like it will get bumpy and I should clear off my desk before things start falling off. I scolded Masaki about being late for work, missing morning exercise, and how it shows lack of respect, international relations etc., etc., turns out his whole team slept in because they had lunch duty, were exempt from morning work and they all decided to sleep through breakfast! I had to apologize. After an excellent udon lunch, I listened to a few hours of presentations, I think half of the seniors (13th year) presented today. It was fun to figure out what they had done, graphs and pictures were very helpful. Students had studied a variety of subjects: engine rpms vs. fuel economy, fresh water use, correlations between humidity, temperatures, and barometric pressure, the way the bearings fit together, electrical usage, water pressure and something with some sort of sand filter - not really sure what that one was about. The question answer period is where students need to prepare, many of the officers attended and they asked pointed questions. The students that had answers ready did a lot better in convincing everyone about their knowledge. OK Roosevelt Seniors, when you practice your presentations have people ask questions.
Next Morning: Heavy seas, there is a developing low less than 600 nm from us and the waves are huge. I joined Masaki on watch this morning and was mesmerized by the swells that were swallowing our bow. I made my coffee and drank it on the stern, the only deck space that is still dry. I visited with a crew member and we watched a blue faced booby swoop down and catch flying fish. The bird ate at least five fish in the time that I drank my coffee, I would think that one would fill him up. There was no morning exercise this morning and there certainly won't be any scrubbing, painting or other types of work. I think we are confined to bouncing around inside. Last night at around 3 am Kona's suitcase escaped from its harness and jumped out of its shoes and started rolling around my cabin like a bull in a small cabin. I don't know what it is about being woken up at three that makes one hesitant to turn on the lights, and there is a trick to walking upright when you are still half asleep in heavy seas. It really makes the most out of the smallest and simplest of jobs.
Yesterday and today's ocean.
DATE: 11/02/2011
Posted by: Kona
Kona- unavailable for comment.
Kona had watch from midnight to 4 am and missed breakfast and has also missed her usual blog time. She spent the stormy day yesterday in a card playing fest and survived the rough weather fine. I think she is working toward grand champion of cards.
Posted by: Masaki
First of all I though the 4-8 watch was killer. During watch there were many incidences where I almost fell asleep. But I got a can of coffee from one of the officers so I barely managed. At the peak of the swells, the wave height came up to 15 meters. Although Watanabe Sensei scolded a bunch of us saying the deck was off limits, when we had gone up there, everywhere our hands touched was caked with salt crystals. Before lunch I went into total hibernation. Although the seas are rough I still see no signs of sea sickness. One thing I learned from todays weather is that walls are your best friends. One funny thing that happened, I was cleaning off the dishes from the table, my hands were full and a wave hit the ship. I fell right on the seat. There were no walls. Hopefully the weather continues and there is no deck duty tomorrow since it is my day for deck duty. Ms. Williams says if that is the case I can study but I say: "or go into undisturbed hibernation."
Posted by: Mrs. Williams
28 59.110 N 144 25.941 E HDG 280 Spd 13 kn
Moderate sea following. We managed to get out of the barometric war going on between L and H and our ship has returned to a pleasant and steady roll. There are residual swells, but the sea is mostly calm. Sunrise came right in the middle of morning exercise and it feels great to be outdoors. We are approaching the Ogasawara trench which is a subduction zone and one of the deepest parts of the ocean. On the other side of it is a chain of small islands and shoals called either the Ogasawara islands or Nanpo Syoto depending on which chart I am trying to decipher. Either way, we might see land soon. Yesterday was the last day of exams for the seniors along with everyone being stuck indoors there was a lot of happy loud students in the mess hall last night. There were five big card games going on and a lot of horsing around. It will be good to get those kids out there scrubbing, painting, and doing general upkeep again, wear them out I say.
I think I will get out on the main deck and clean my window which caked up with salt spray yesterday. Yesterday, the windows downstairs looked like we were in a laundry mat. The portholes would show sky, sea, then washing machine foam and green water followed by sea and sky again.
Washing machine window - 10 seconds apart.
Replacing reflector tape on line floats.
DATE: 11/03/2011
Posted by: Kona
I've slept through breakfast twice. I had morning breakfast duty and got up at 5:50. The waves were big and everyone was falling around. I saw someone slip and slide right into a big stack of pots. There was a big crash in the kitchen. It was pretty funny. The waves were big and I was sort of seasick so I went to sleep after work and slept till lunch. Today I had 0-4 shift, I was sleeping standing up by 3 a.m. During my noon till 4 shift we found two cargo ships. We are pretty close to Japan already. Tonight we have even more people to play wink killer. I think we have more than 10 players, it is pretty fun.
Kona on watch.
Posted by: Masaki
Today I had deck duty, I learned how to splice line, then I got to teach Ms. Williams. We saved all the practice sets, we can teach the APES class or Ocean club maybe. After deck duty we had lunch. I was hungry and waiting for lunch then it turned out to be squid so I only ate rice and soup. Then after lunch we were off duty so I went into hibernation. Dinner came along and I was overjoyed to have meat again. Splicing line was hard to learn and start, but once you get the hang of it, it is easy. Tomorrow I have only cleaning in the morning then school work day. I will write more of my senior project paper. That is all for today.
Posted by: Mrs. Williams
29 51.950 N 138 22.681 E HDG 280 Spd 13 kn
Seas calm. There is a big cargo ship off our starboard bow (at 321). She sits at 30 00.751 N and 138 13.959 E Her name is Aquagrace and she is going to Gladstone, Australia. Her ETA in Australia is 13 November. From the deck she looks like quite a distance away yet the watch officers have to make sure our paths don't cross. Big ships turn slowly. This morning I saw a seagull or a kittywake careening around our wake, they are seabirds that land every night, so we must be close to land although there is none in sight. Wasn't that one of those school stories? Columbus had just decided to turn back when a gull flew by? Or was it some other explorer story? More likely all sailors use it in their tales. Kona and her teammates have been charged with getting all the salt crystals and soaping down the ship. I expect that means we are hoping for good weather from here on in. That would be great. Last year when we approached Japan the seas were very rough and we were confined below deck. We are ahead of the sun again. Morning exercise was before sunrise and we watched the upper clouds turn bright pink to announce the suns arrival. Very grand indeed.
Sunset from the bridge.
DATE: 11/04/2011
Posted by:
Kona:
I learned how to tie knots. I don't know what it is called, but it is really hard and uses too much brain power. Now I can't stop with the knot tying. Oh and we tried to catch sharks- we had hooks, knot tying skill, and ocean. The three main things. I am about to play the game of LIFE. I can't believe this trip is almost over.
Masaki:
I taught Kona splicing, I am playing the game of LIFE and I am getting rich. I am more richer than Kona.
Kona:
Masaki is the type who makes money early on but goes into serious debt by the end.
Masaki:
I still have school work to do since time is running out, we should see land soon. I have to 'crackdown' already. I am kinda getting sad because this has been so much fun and I don't really want it to end. I am glad I got my fieldwork for senior project done. That is the only thing I am ahead on. I did most of my homework, except I still have English. Tomorrow is mass clean-up day. I am not looking forward to that. Today I almost went fishing, we put out a hook and line, but no bait, we failed.
Posted by: Mrs. Williams
30 44.149 N 132.22 320 E HDG 280 Spd 12 kn slight sea
It was a calm and uneventful day, considering there is no more diet coke on board. That's right; I said: There is no more Diet Coke on board! People still went to class, meals were still prepared, everything just went on as if Diet Coke had never even existed. I still have half of an empty cardboard box. I am using it as a container for students to pick out their next English charade. It is the last bit of evidence (along with the 24 empty cans in the aluminum recycle bin). Oh hark back to a time of plenty, days gone by... Ahh, those were the days. Never mind that we had sashimi, chicken, pork, rice, soup, salad, all with assorted condiments for dinner. Plus we get an extra hour again tonight. We really should just have school on some westward bound vehicle so we can get ahead of the sun and add an extra hour here and there. The joy of sleeping in, I wonder if Roosevelt students have that on Wed. mornings. I still show up at the same time, but maybe they get thatÂ…"Oh yeah, it is Wed." as they roll over and snuggle in for an extra hour. I hope they enjoy it. Enjoy it like it was a can of Diet Coke! Why did I slurp them all up? Just drank as much as I wanted until near the end, that is when the rationing began, after it was too late; after there was no hope. Why didn't I think of sustainability? Oh no, little miss thirsty figured that was so far in the future, she would most likely not even like Diet Coke by then. I didn't start being 'green' with my Diet Coke supply until there were only three left. Then I just limited it to one a day, nothing radical, it just looked like I was trying. I wonder how APEC will turn out. I am sure those heads of state are much more rational than I am.
Masaki scrubbing the tub.
Sharpening deck knives.
DATE: 11/05/2011
Posted by: Kona
Well I'm excited. We are about in Japan!! This afternoon around 3 Watanabe Sensei said we might get phone signal. That might mean that we could see land by then. Oh, we have big clean up day today. Masaki is still sleeping. We got TV signal last night, just in time to watch some big baseball game. I didn't really watch, I was involved in a wink killer game as usual. It is morning and we are now watching something closely related to Thomas the little steam train, but it is not. I didn't know I had to give a speech when we disembark. I would have appreciated this piece of information BEFORE I got on the boat! Not looking forward to standing in front of microphone and speaking.
Posted by: Masaki
Since I had dinner duty, I didn't have to do morning exercise so I slept in. After lunch I was going to nap up on the top deck and we had an evacuation drill. I had to quickly go down and get my life jacket, helmet, and survival suit. The whole thing gave me a headache. One big news: LAND! I see land. After being on board for two weeks, I enjoyed it and am grateful for the unique experience, but I am happy to see LAND. I am looking forward to standing on ground that is firm. I did dinner duty, I just served out the food. I wish it was closer to Christmas break so I could stay in Japan and visit my Grandma. We might be landing early, we are rounding the south island and should be changing our course soon.
Posted by: Mrs. Williams
33 10.547 N 129 18.328 E HDG 000 due North Spd 10.3 kn.
Rainy and Foggy. No longer in the Pacific, we are in the Tusima straight.
I was sitting at my desk writing biotech lessons when the alarm sounded. The radio engineer blasted into his room, to get his stuff, stopped by to make sure that I grabbed the survival suit etc. and we headed to our designated spots. As soon as I stepped on deck, I thought: oh, this was just to let us be on deck to see that first island, cool! We had a successful drill and I spent the better part of the afternoon watching all the ships, islands, and spectacular Mt. Kagusama, also known as the Mt. Fuji of the South (it is on the Southern most point of Kyu shu). The ocean remains calm and still, especially now that there is land all around us. Heck, this ocean crossing is a snap, I think we could have taken the 13' Boston Whaler to Japan instead of such a big boat; well, except for that one day. This morning is very rainy and foggy. Exercise was cancelled and sunrise didn't really happen, it just got lighter from some undefined source. We will set Anchor in Hakata Harbor tonight, sell fish and go through customs tomorrow and officially disembark on the 8th.
The Chief Radio Officer and Mrs. Williams.
Land: Kagusama.
The radio room still has morse code.
DATE: 11/06/2011
Posted by: Kona
We are on land! Well, not on land but near land. Land hoy. It is still colder inside the boat than out. I can't believe the boat trip is nearly over. Time went so fast. I can't wait to be on land. When I go back I probably wont be able to sleep if my bed is not rocking. I still love the internet. I had something to say a few hours ago, but I forgot. Oh, yesterday a kid punched a cabinet and it got bent. We all got called into the caf. It was so stupid, why would anyone punch a cabinet? The more we went into the harbor the dirtier the water got. It went from dark rich blue to murky green to nearly black. Now there is even trash floating in it. I can't wait for land.
Posted by: Masaki
There is land all around. Time on the ship is drawing to a close since we plan to anchor at 2. I think this has been a great thing that Suisan and Roosevelt are doing. I hope it continues. I would like to go again myself. But by next year I hope to be in N.Y. at University. The color of the water has completely changed. I guess we are in Tusima straight between the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan. At 2 anchor, we are going to sell the fish tomorrow. I will probably be in the nice cool freezer room again. We are turning into Hakata Harbor! The end of the cruising. I left my Japanese cell phone at home on the table. Just like me.
Heading into the harbor.
Posted by: Mrs. Williams
Hakata Harbor, at anchor.
It was such a rainy foggy morning, everyone on watch was glued to the windows to see where we were going in what now is a busy thoroughfare. By ten it cleared off and we had spectacular views of all the fishing boats, birds, tankers, ships, islands, and activity all around us. Everyone pretty much came out on deck just to watch the views change as we came into the harbor. It is a huge port and there are lots of boats of every kind. Ferry hydrofoils zip back and forth between Korea and Japan, the Japan Coast Guard was out. There is every size of fishing boat. Cruise ships and tankers tied up at the many various piers. There is a whole bustling city, big bridges, trains and tall buildings, but since we turned off our engines it all seems very quiet and calm. Think I will go watch my last ocean sunset, and take yet more sunset pictures.
Posted by: Web Master
Hi, this is Mr. Williams. Mrs. Williams has been sending me the blog posts from the boat by satellite e-mail and I have been updating this web page every day. I leave Hawaii in a few hours to meet the boat when it arrives in Fukuoka, so this blog may not have any updates for a day or two, depending on how good our Internet access is once we get there.
Don't worry though. Even if we can't get our laptop to work over there, we'll be sure and update everyone on the final part of the trip when we get back! Keep checking for updates!
DATE: 11/14/2011
Posted by: Web Master
Hi, this is Mr. Williams again. We have Internet access at our hotel here in Fukuoka today for the first time since I left Hawaii to meet Mrs. Williams and the students in Japan, so here are some belated entries.
DATE: 11/7/2011
Posted by: Mrs. Williams
Hakata Harbor, docked at fish auction dock.
The weather was great today and we were all on deck this morning as we pulled anchor and came into the harbor. The harbor entrance is busy and we had to get in line between other ships of all sizes. It was much like an airport with a control tower running the show. The international language of harbors, like air traffic controllers, is English so while I was on the bridge I could hear all the ships being directed in. We docked at the fish auction pier and will unload and sell fish in the morning. Customs agents came on board and went over everyone's forms and looked at what they bought in Hawaii. Apparently honey is of special interest. Is honey used for smuggling anything? Does it carry disease? I will have to check on that one. Then someone from Suisan High School came over and took us visitors over to immigration where they were waiting for us. We got our passports stamped and then drove back to the dock. Now we were free to roam! Masaki and Kona and most of the students got shore leave and went to the nearest shopping mall. I sat in the sun and watched all the herons, hawks, ravens, and cats making their day at the fish packers. I am excited to see the fish sales tomorrow.
Posted by: Masaki
Land. We are walking on land. I went out of my way and bought a prepaid Japanese phone since I forgot mine. I don't know how to use it. Oh and my computer now says there is no wireless card. I still have no technology! Hakata is confusing; I don't know my way around. I need Tokyo. At least in Tokyo I can catch the subway all I want with out getting lost. I still have to write my speech for tomorrow.
Posted by: Kona
We were able to get off the boat. I'm happy. I think everyone on this boat is into wink killer, it has become how we say hi. I was able to make my Japanese cell phone to work and was able to contact my Grandma and mom. I am super happy. Oh and I bought a shogi board. Still got to think of a speech, only wrote one sentence. This is my last night on the boat, probably even going to miss it. Look chop is also going around this group, everyone is being so funny. I am going to miss this!
DATE: 11/8/2011
Posted by: Mrs. Williams
Early in the morning the dock came alive with people setting up landing sites for fish. The fish are so frozen when they come out of the freezer that they smoke as if they are steaming hot. The fish clunk to the ground making the sound of solid wood and are quickly sorted and loaded. Sure looks like there was a lot of fish, but the crew said no, we hadn't filled the hold. Sure looks like a lot of fish to me. They sort the fish by species, and the maguro bring a better price than the ahi. The whole thing is finished before 9. Then off to the welcome pier where my husband Chuck will be waiting. He has been the one making this blog into a web page, so this entry will have to wait. I am excited to see him again. When we pull in there are people from Suisan School that I met last year as well as students that were on the ship last year. I see the Principal again, he is so nice to us and makes me feel so welcome. I see Kanada who was on the same team as Panda and Mayumi last year, he is happy to see me too and says he has a ship officer's internship on a ship out of Tokyo starting in April. I see many students and I can't remember all their names. Well, I can't remember my Roosevelt students' names half the time either. We have a welcome back ceremony on the docks, taiko drums beat as we disembark. The students are all packed up and the rooms are clean and ready for the next batch of students (we turned in our sheets and cleaned the ship during the morning). Chuck was also waiting at the pier and happy to see everyone. Masaki and Kona do a great job making speeches, along with the Capt., the principal, our lead student on board, some DOE emissaries, and all gets recorded for the evening news (there were four news stations at the fish sales and ceremony, later we see ourselves on the news while having dinner). We all pile in a van and head for Suisan dorms, we stop at the Dazaifu City Hall and visit with the mayor. He has been to Hawaii when he chaired the assembly. He chats with Masaki and Kona, gifts are exchanged and pictures taken, on to our next stop. Manju! Very delicious with green tea. Up the hill of gates towards several shrines. The view is majestic. Off to school, drop off boys at the dorms, have sukiyaki and yakiniku dinner...
Masaki has a family emergency and leaves us here, Ko our interpreter helps get him off to the airport. Kona, Chuck, and I feast like kings, then leave Chuck playing with kendama with the all the dorm students and head for our home stay. Our home stay is with the Kawakami's again, it is so nice to see them again, I really enjoy visiting. They still have the paper origami crane that Mayumi made last year up on display. A cozy night and Kona blogs like a demon until 11; well, blogs and texts her new friends.
Sightseeing on our first day off the boat.
Masaki:
Masaki has left for Tokyo due to a family emergency and will pick it up at sometime in the future, stay tuned.
Posted by: Kona:
I made it to shore without getting seasick, then our first car ride I was dying with nausea! It sucks that Masaki had to go to Tokyo. All the pressure has gone to me. I don't feel like a student anymore I am a personal translator. As soon as I am with people I have to pay attention to what everyone is saying. Using too much brain. Today was tiring. Today we went to Suisan- Surprise! Assembly! And since Masaki wasn't there, all eyes were on me and Mrs. Williams' long hair. I didn't know we were going to have to go on stage for a question and answer session.
English class wasn't so bright, Chuck would be a great English teacher in Japan. Lunch with student council members, one of them was a K-pop fan and once I brought it up, she kept talking about it. The Aqua life guys got us dressed up in our rubber pants, rubber boots and life jackets to out in the small boat to see the net they had set. The fisherman who was pulling up the net was a Suisan grad. He got a big fish and when he lifted it up, it went right back down. He said he would get about $200 for it.
Kona pointing at the really big fish they caught in their net.
They don't usually catch fish this big in their nets!
Then back to shore where we saw their tons of gross flat flounders, we got to feed them and work them into splashing around. On the other side there was puffer fish which would suck to fall in because they were puffer fish! We were standing on this skinny place between tanks with giant rubber boots and big blue pants, the whole thing was a risk. Then on to the turtle pen. I thought they had hatched it, but they said they had bought it at a pet store, and the other ones just walked in and joined it. When they pulled out the little one from its little shack thing, it tried to run under the big turtle to hide. Then on to the koi ponds, choke koi so much koi trying to get food. Red black white solid fish splashing in one section. Then there was gold fish, ugly ones with bumps on their head, and ones with pop out eye balls. One of those was white and almost clearish so ugly, then I saw the even bigger one and it was even uglier. Then to a class full of fish tanks. They grow gold fish for their cultural festival (Suikosai) and sell them to make money, in the back of the class there were more gold fish which turned out to be the left overs from last years festival that they didn't know what they were going to do with. I can see it getting out of hand soon. They also had a tank full of common guppies, the students are supposed to keep the males and females apart, but they are always too late, or missing one since they keep getting more guppies. They had about a bajillion in one tank. After we left the fun of aqua life, we went to diving class. I got to try on a tank, really heavy, 20 kilos. It felt like my school bag back when I used to carry books.
Kona tries on a scuba tank.
Then since we couldn't go swimming, we went to Chuck's favorite the food and nutrition section of school. We learned to butterfly cut fish. I thought it would be more enjoyable if I didn't have to wash everything including my hands in ice water. It was fun, I haven't cut stuff with such a sharp knife in a while. It was pretty gross, because the first thing you do is cut off their heads and throw it into a bucket of fish heads who then watch while you prep and wash the rest of the fish. Then on to fish cake tempura stuff, shape it, and drop it in hot oil. Those girls in that class were really fun. I even did the stupid pose for the big picture.
Kona and her fun food prep friends.
There were a group of fun kids following me around, they were joking plus finding me so amusing. Oh, I remember after the assembly three girls ran up and checked out Chuck's hazel eyes. One girl ran up, stared at him, he would make a face and they would all scream. It was so funny. Chuck was funny at the food processing, he was trying to buy the tuna from them because it was so good. Then we had five minutes rest, then calligraphy. The teacher made a stamp for Masaki and me. I was able to write my name in shodou and we put it on a scroll which is really cool. I will have to find a place to hang it when I get back, move something else off my wall. Then off into another boat, barefoot, life jacket, 5 hard paddling oarsmen and a bunch of dead weight. On the second half, Chuck joined them and rowed too. It was really fun, I was glad I didn't have to do it, it was getting cold on the water. That was the end of the school day, but not ours. There was more at the dorms. We went back around 4:30 5ish then there were girls from the sado club (tea ceremony). We went to the girls only room and they dressed us (me and Ms Williams) in yukata, then across to another room for a tea ceremony. Huh! Sitting in seiza style for the longest time (maybe 30 minutes) It killed my knees and ankles, but I didn't fall into the tea. One of the tea girls, Nana, was the older sister of one guys, I met her during clean up- she introduced herself and even though she was a year older than the other students at Suisan, she acted a lot younger and they were making fun that she seemed younger than I. I think the older students are the more outgoing and fun. Those first year students in English class were so reserved. That was another thing, when those girls came running out of class to see Chuck and Ms. Williams eyes and to talk to us, the boys in the class hung back half out of the door watching us. This is the longest journal entry I have ever made, and oh yeah, I am still going.
After tea ceremony, the girls went home before it gets dark. Then we had our dinner party. We had chilashi sushi. It was funny because the dorm lady sees Chuck and comes running over to fill his tea and as soon as he drinks it, she comes running out again and fills it because Chuck likes tea. The dorms was fun, one of the kids from the boat used to live in the dorms so he came to visit me and see all his dorm friends. He was there when Chuck stayed there last year, he had not been practicing his juggling so he was hiding from Chuck. Then he was juggling with the other guys. I felt bad for the camera man who spent the day following us through all this (you think you have a lot to read, I didn't mention half of it) and when we left the dorm he came back to our home stay to take more pictures and have tea. After this trip I have been drinking so much tea- I can't remember the last time I had water. At our home stay, we were all in the living room talking for two or three hours. It is the most I had to use my brain, a lot more than I ever use it at school. Normally I go through life listening to bits and parts of conversations and not really paying attention. At home stay I have to translate! After land, I get nothing but non-stop texts from boat students wanting to show me around town. "Lets go here; I want to show you this or that" my phone is a non-stop buzzer. I get non stop emails- constant- non-stop emails. Back to translation stuff, my bath was the only relax time the whole day. I could just sit in the tub and relax, no emails, no text, no translating. Ms. Williams and the Kawakami's talk about the hardest things ever! Today was world economics, TTP, stuff I don't even want to understand, insurance problems. I am using my brain too much. I come back from the bath and they are talking about easy stuff like the watermelon song, tortoise and hare song, bobbing for apples and face in flour. Why couldn't I be translator for that? Then bed time, well then blogging for an hour and those non stop emails. Long day. 6:45 up, and now it is 11:30. A good nights sleep and same thing tomorrow!
DATE: 11/9/2011
Posted by: Mrs. Williams
Suisan tour day! Wow, did they roll out the red carpet and give us a grand tour of the school. We opened with an assembly, then the student council showed and read us a powerpoint they had made in English about the school. They did a great job and two of the students had been on the ship with us last year, so I felt like I knew them. Then we toured classes and poor Kona was surrounded by us adults. The school has hands on classes and they had prepared for our visit by letting us see what they were doing. One class was welding and machine working, they had great metal working tools, a shop class I would love to have been in.
A student in the welding shop.
The scuba class students were like seals jumping in and out of the pool like fish, happy to see us and say Aloha! The school has their academic class time in the morning, then after lunch it is all hands on in what ever academy you are in. There are about 20 students in each of the hands on classes and they are all actively involved. Then after school there was the afterschool activities, like sailing, rowing, etc. The students from the boat are out of school and texting Kona. "When will you have free time?" We go back to the dorms for a tea ceremony, the girls dress us up in yukata and serve us tea, the ritual is precise and makes you take the time to enjoy every aspect of it. Chuck has been included in the school day and being Chuck, he has made tons of friends and spends time teaching the tea ceremony girls proper moon walk techniques! They all have so much fun. The school serves us another wonderful dinner at the dorms. We have had such a full day, with so many changes, it is a contrast from life on the ship. We are in culture shock by the time we get back to our home stay.
Mrs. Williams wearing a yukata for the tea ceremony.
Posted by: Kona
Last Blog
Finally going home, not having to be Ms. Williams' personal translator. Yesterday we went to visit the head of the DOE and Assemblymen and the government house. Then we went to the National Museum, a shrine, and a shopping area. There were lots of shops. It was funny because we went to a place called Cotton Bear and they had teddy bear hats, we put them on the guys and took pictures of them. (We had the student council with us.) In the afternoon we had the first free time! Hakata Station! Around 5 the gang from the ship came to visit, we met up at Yodobashi and went to another place called Cannery mall, the building was very confusing, a giant ark and not connected. We ate at Ramen Stadium for dinner- a whole floor of Ramen. Of course at Ramen stadium, I ate Ramen. At first there were three of us, then three more came, then we had a big group of people all just hanging around. After eating we went to a game place with the whole crew, then we invaded a music shop. It was huge, guitars everywhere, tons of sheet music, which I bought. Then we went to purikura shop (those funny little photos) and we took some purikura and cut them all up and shared. That was the night. Today was more free time, Tokyu Hands at the Hakata Station and getting ready to head home. Over-all the trip was a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be. I thought I was going to be sitting next to a bucket being sick on a boat and the Japan part would be fun. But the boat was everything, I had a really good time and it seems like a long time ago that I was in school.
Posted by: Mrs. Williams
Well, today the student council children joined us and showed us around town. We did our visit at the government house and talked about the sister city relationship, the value of foreign exchange, and we all agreed that it is a great opportunity for both sides. Our next stop was the National Museum and around Dazaifu town. We shopped along all the little shops and I wanted to buy all kinds of gifts for everyone back in Hawaii. After the day was spent, we said goodbye to our new friends and went to our hotel back in Fukuoka. Kona and Ko leave tomorrow. Things are winding down. Chuck and I are tired but we go with Kona to Hakata station to find dinner. Well, there is the gang from the ship, we are rejuvenated with friends, Chuck catches on to look chop right away and things take off into frenzy mode, as we hunt for Ramen and collect shipmates... it is after 10 by the time we mange to get back to the station and head for the hotel. The next morning Kona does shopping for friends, we wander around and see Kona and Ko off to Tokyo, where they will pick up Masaki and be back in Honolulu for school on Monday. I am staying here for the Sumo tournament! Yay! I LOVE SUMO and am so excited, I will see my students on Wed., if you are reading this, better get your homework done!
Click here to go back to the top of the page.
|
|
000webhost.com