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Life Onboard |
LAST UPDATE
July 19, 2005
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| August 29, 2004 |
In Pictures - Photo Tour 5 of Life Onboard |
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| Spanish-Japanese "double" Mao Nagatsuka leading a language game |
"Do you think yourself as minority?" This was the question participants were asked at a
event focusing on Japan's multicultural side. Most of the participants said they thought of themselves
as a majority when they were living in Japan. A few Peace Boat passengers, guests and staff shared
their stories as Japanese minorities. Although the term "half" is often used to describe
people who have a mixed background in Japan, many think it is a discriminatory term. As a Japanese
and Spanish woman, GET teacher Mao Nagatsuka considers herself a "double," while Eric Ellefsen,
who has Japanese and Norwegian parents, spoke about the difficulties of being both a "double" and
homosexual. Other presenters were Rumiko Iida, who has a hearing disability, Jin Ueda, who is from
a Japanese Burakumin minority village group, and Communication Coordinator Emi Yang, who is a Korean
living in Japan. The five speakers explained how they feel about their "minority essence" and
how it effects their daily life. Participants then split into groups to discuss about any questions.
After hearing the stories, some expressed shock or confusion, but many came away with a better understanding
of Japan as a closed society and embraced the speakers message that even people who look different
are much closer to us than we think. |
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| Hazuki Yasuhara explaining the didgeridoo's complex recycled breathing technique |
Didgeridoo is said to be the oldest pipe instrument in the world, originating in Aboriginal culture
in Australia. Some history books even record that didgeridoo was first played 20 to 30 thousands years
ago. Made from eucalyptus tree branches, whose cores are hollowed out by hungry white ants, the didgeridoo
is usually played along with sticks (a rhythmic instrument) and vocals to create the Aboriginal style
of music. Traditionally, men make and play the didgeridoo while women paint the surface of it. Aboriginals
believe that the instrument creates harmony with the earth. Amazingly, scientists have found that
the soft, deep sound it makes is remarkably similar to the sound waves that the rotating earth emits
naturally. The didgeridoo is enjoyed not only in traditional Aboriginal ceremonies, but also for individual
enjoyment. Peace Boat staff member Hazuki Yasuhara first picked up the digeridoo two years ago and
shared her love for instrument in an open event. Yasuhara invited participants to practice blowing
the didgeridoo and experience the harmony created with other players and the earth. |
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| Narae Lee (Korea) and Yu Chang (China) holding a joint chat session |
Thanks to the six International students travelling on Peace Boat, participants had a chance to learn
more about different sides of world issues from a student's perspective. Coming from China, Taiwan,
America, South Korea, Israel and Palestine, the students held presentations about life under conflicts
concerning their country. In addition, they held chat sessions in the ship's free space, telling more
about their own personal experiences and encouraging curious participants to ask them about things
they don't understand that isn't addressed in mass media. Yuko Takahisa and Jasna Bastic, the IS coordinators,
say the aim of the open sessions are to go beyond textbook learning and put a face to the effects
of conflict, whether economic, political or physically violent. "It provoked very hot, but constructive,
discussions about unresolved issues from the war between South Korea and Japan," Bastic said. |
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| GET students working together to complete an English game |
On August 20th, the Global English Training (GET) program held a "Language Olympics" to
challenge participants' skill levels in Spanish and English - two languages taught on board. Held
up on the sunny back deck of Peace Boat, classes were broken up into ten teams, with eight English
teams and two Spanish teams. A series of games were played, with team matches and pair competitions.
One game had team members dash to break balloons and return to make a sentence with the words they
found on pieces of paper inside. Later, in an "Ostrich Fight," a paper with a picture and
word were attached to two people's back and the first one able to see the other person's word won.
Each competition added points to the group's score, with the team's battling it out until the end,
with the winning team receiving ice cream as a prize. |
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| Peace Boat participant Hiroyuki Katsuma trying his hand at netball |
Although netball is very popular in England, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica and other countries,
many people have never heard of it. GU teacher Lucy Mcinerney and GET teacher Antonia Mann led a project
to introduce this unique sport to Peace Boat through several beginners classes. Because of netball
is not popular in Japan, many participants didn't know the rules, but this didn't stop the enthusiasm
of the 10 to 15 people who came every time to practice. Using a mix of English, Japanese and body
language, Mcinerney and Mann explained the rules as they played. Lucy said "I'm in love with
netball. And lots of people enjoy playing netball on Saturdays in Australia, so I want to play netball
with everyone." Mann is planning on holding a netball tournament on the ship once enough players
have learned how to play. |
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Media Team Contributors:
- Aya Hiromura
- Tomomi Kusakabe
- Tamiko Hirata
- Tim Wagner
- Hiroyuki Katsuma
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