Special Report LAST UPDATE March 12, 2009
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January 17, 2009 In Pictures – Welcome Onboard the 64th Global Voyage
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To celebrate everyone’s involvement in the trip around the Southern Hemisphere, the staff and crew of the Mona Lisa hosted a welcome party and formal dinner. After participants showed off their dresses and suits and grabbed a drink in the International Lounge meeting space, the party jumped off with an introduction of the Mona Lisa’s crew by Captain Nikolaos Stefas. Afterward, he led the crowd in a champagne toast with the promise, “we are about to leave for a magical journey!” In the spirit of Peace Boat, Capt. Stefas shared some of his own culture by teaching participants a very important word in his native language: “Yamas!” which means “Cheers!” in Greek.
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The Mona Lisa’s own Starlight Lounge band played throughout the party. Led by a female vocalist, the Filipino band kept the participants dancing all night. The ship’s staff and crew come from a wealth of countries, including Ukraine, Egypt, China, Greece and Indonesia. Participants enjoy conversing with the incredibly friendly crew, exchanging names and stories from their home countries.
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Though these two girls didn’t know each other before joining Peace Boat, they met at the welcome party and quickly became friends. Such was the theme of the evening, as the music, champagne, and conversation all flowed, keeping people smiling and upbeat.
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Under coloured stage lights, participants of all ages enjoyed dancing. The band’s music ranged from slow jazz, which allowed several people to practice formal dancing, to fast pop which brought most of the young people onto the dance floor to show off their skills under the disco mirror ball.
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Global English/Espanol Training (GET) teachers Beck Jones (Australia), Hannah Johns (UK), and Sam Berry (UK) took a break from chatting with participants just long enough to enjoy a glass of champagne in celebration of their journey’s beginning. The 64th voyage is the first for Beck and Sam, while Hannah returns after teaching English during the 58th voyage. “I had the best 104 consecutive days of my life,” Hannah says of her last experience with Peace Boat. “And I wanted to come back to repeat the experience.”
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After dancing, participants gathered in the lobby of the Mona Lisa’s Coral Restaurant for the formal welcome dinner. The break between events allowed participants to get to know each other a little more, and several shared their reasons for coming aboard Peace Boat. One participant, Tomomi, 20, used to teach English to children in Japan. “I want to visit poor countries and see how children learn there, and how I can help them,” she says. “I think it’s important to see it with my own eyes.”
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Having met at the welcome party, this group of girls clinked glasses of white wine together before starting the delicious dinner of grilled beef and smoked salmon. The girls, who are all from different parts of Japan, exchanged stories about their hometowns and why they joined Peace Boat. Throughout the dinner, they laughed about the pressures and responsibilities that they happily left behind in Japan, until dessert arrived and wineglasses were emptied. Afterward, they exchanged a sleepy goodbye and promises to hang out more over the next three months of their first voyage around the world.