Hey everyone!
We will be arriving in Yokohama, Japan the day after tomorrow and I
can't wait! This will be our first port out of the United States. Yay! :)
Since the trip from Hawaii to Japan is our longest stretch out on the
ocean, (9 days), our professors have been hitting us pretty hard with
assignments. It definitely has been overwhelming at times. If you know
me at all, you know that I like to spend a lot of time when working on
assignments and studying for exams. On the ship, it's been hard to find
as much time as I'd like to be able to do that because there are always
things going on! I've had to come up with new ways of managing my time
and completing assignments. I'm getting better at it! Whenever I find
myself feeling stressed, I just remind myself that I am very fortunate
to have been given this opportunity. There is no point is wasting this
entire experience stressing over my school work.
I've really been enjoying to the Unreasonable as Sea presentations that
take place almost every evening we are at sea. Last night, members from
the Nike Foundation told us about the project they are working on called
the "Girl Effect." If you haven't yet, I would definitely recommend
checking out the Unreasonable at Sea website to learn more about them
and all of the other entrepreneurs and mentors.
http://unreasonableatsea.com/
It is pretty incredible to be sailing with all of these people that have
some truly amazing ideas about how to change the world.
The ship has been pretty rocky the last couple of days. Last night was
the first time that I have felt seasick. I still feel a little "off"
today, but hopefully that won't last long. During work study yesterday,
the Assistant Dean told me that what we've been going through is
actually pretty mild compared to what it could be. Our waves haven't
been much higher than 10-15 feet at the most, but he's been on voyages
where they have been between 40 and 50 feet during the same stretch from
Hawaii to Japan. I am so glad that we seem to have avoided anything that
bad!
I have started doing Insanity in the mornings at 6 a.m. I know that
sounds crazy, but I haven't been able to find any other time to workout
on the ship. Almost every muscle in my body is sore right now, but I
plan to keep on doing it at least every other morning on the ship. It is
actually pretty fun!
Here are my plans for Japan: on our first day in Yokohama, I have a
field lab with my Anthropology of Religion course. We're going to visit
a Zen Buddhist temple, Kencho-ji, one of the main centers of Zen
practice in Japan since the 13th century. After receiving a short
introduction to Zen practice, we'll participate in a session of zazen
sitting and walking meditation for approximately three hours. We then
get to explore temple complex before going dinner in a traditional
Japanese restaurant. I am really looking forward to this!
When I return from the field lab in the evening, a group of us are going
to take a train to Tokyo (30 minute trip from Yokohama). We plan on
spending the night there and then exploring the city the next day. We
are going to come back to the ship during the in-transit day when it
sails from Yokohama to Kobe. We have the option of staying off the ship
and traveling independently between the two cities, but we decided to
just save some money and have a relaxing day on the ship. There are no
classes during in-transit days. When we arrive in Kobe, we are taking a
train up to Hiroshima. If I could choose only one thing to do in Japan,
it would be to visit Hiroshima. I'm so glad I actually get to make that
happen! We'll probably stay the night in a hotel up there, do some
exploring the next day, and then make it back to Kobe in time to get on
the ship and sail to China!
I'm sorry this post doesn't have any pictures. For some reason it
wouldn't let me attach them, but I will figure it out soon and there
will be some in my next post! I can't wait to update you on my
experiences in Japan! :)
We will be arriving in Yokohama, Japan the day after tomorrow and I
can't wait! This will be our first port out of the United States. Yay! :)
Since the trip from Hawaii to Japan is our longest stretch out on the
ocean, (9 days), our professors have been hitting us pretty hard with
assignments. It definitely has been overwhelming at times. If you know
me at all, you know that I like to spend a lot of time when working on
assignments and studying for exams. On the ship, it's been hard to find
as much time as I'd like to be able to do that because there are always
things going on! I've had to come up with new ways of managing my time
and completing assignments. I'm getting better at it! Whenever I find
myself feeling stressed, I just remind myself that I am very fortunate
to have been given this opportunity. There is no point is wasting this
entire experience stressing over my school work.
I've really been enjoying to the Unreasonable as Sea presentations that
take place almost every evening we are at sea. Last night, members from
the Nike Foundation told us about the project they are working on called
the "Girl Effect." If you haven't yet, I would definitely recommend
checking out the Unreasonable at Sea website to learn more about them
and all of the other entrepreneurs and mentors.
http://unreasonableatsea.com/
It is pretty incredible to be sailing with all of these people that have
some truly amazing ideas about how to change the world.
The ship has been pretty rocky the last couple of days. Last night was
the first time that I have felt seasick. I still feel a little "off"
today, but hopefully that won't last long. During work study yesterday,
the Assistant Dean told me that what we've been going through is
actually pretty mild compared to what it could be. Our waves haven't
been much higher than 10-15 feet at the most, but he's been on voyages
where they have been between 40 and 50 feet during the same stretch from
Hawaii to Japan. I am so glad that we seem to have avoided anything that
bad!
I have started doing Insanity in the mornings at 6 a.m. I know that
sounds crazy, but I haven't been able to find any other time to workout
on the ship. Almost every muscle in my body is sore right now, but I
plan to keep on doing it at least every other morning on the ship. It is
actually pretty fun!
Here are my plans for Japan: on our first day in Yokohama, I have a
field lab with my Anthropology of Religion course. We're going to visit
a Zen Buddhist temple, Kencho-ji, one of the main centers of Zen
practice in Japan since the 13th century. After receiving a short
introduction to Zen practice, we'll participate in a session of zazen
sitting and walking meditation for approximately three hours. We then
get to explore temple complex before going dinner in a traditional
Japanese restaurant. I am really looking forward to this!
When I return from the field lab in the evening, a group of us are going
to take a train to Tokyo (30 minute trip from Yokohama). We plan on
spending the night there and then exploring the city the next day. We
are going to come back to the ship during the in-transit day when it
sails from Yokohama to Kobe. We have the option of staying off the ship
and traveling independently between the two cities, but we decided to
just save some money and have a relaxing day on the ship. There are no
classes during in-transit days. When we arrive in Kobe, we are taking a
train up to Hiroshima. If I could choose only one thing to do in Japan,
it would be to visit Hiroshima. I'm so glad I actually get to make that
happen! We'll probably stay the night in a hotel up there, do some
exploring the next day, and then make it back to Kobe in time to get on
the ship and sail to China!
I'm sorry this post doesn't have any pictures. For some reason it
wouldn't let me attach them, but I will figure it out soon and there
will be some in my next post! I can't wait to update you on my
experiences in Japan! :)
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