EVEN MORE ABOUT LIFE AT SEA

Oh my, it really is quite a while since I was writing on this blog.  We had a long time at sea.  You would think that that would give us lots of time to write, but oh no!  Life at sea seems to be very, very full.  I had not realized the extent to which this is like living on campus, everyone rushing to classes, extra meetings, meals, socializing, etc, etc.  Time is organized into A days and B days with no weekends!  Very continuous!!  There was just one day with no classes and you could almost hear all the students, all the faculty and even us life long learners take a big breath in and relax.  And then, all this activity is done on  very unstable ground!!  We ran into some very choppy seas between Hawaii and Japan.  Moving became even  harder..more of a case of lurching from railings  to walls  to pillars to posts and back again.  Two of the waiters in the dining room – Eric and Darwin - befriended Audrey and I in a big way.  As we approached the entrance to the dining room, messages would seem to be sent and our helpers would be there, offering their arms, escorting us to the food, carrying our plates, escorting us to a table, and then bringing us coffee, tea, juice, and deserts.  All this was done with such friendliness, and much humour.  It really helped us see the fun side of the situation.  I was very lucky;  all this rocking and heaving did not stop me from sleeping like a log.  A lot of people had trouble with this, including Audrey.  There have also been a few bugs going around, including an upper-respiratory one, which unfortunately poor Audrey caught.  She has had nasty cough for quite a few days now.  She was finally given some anti-biotics  and cough-medicine the day before yesterday, and is already feeling better.

The day before we arrived in Japan, (luckily the waves had subsided!) was Asia Day.  There were no classes, and the day was filled with special presentations.  We went to one in the morning, – a talk and wonderful slides on Hong Kong, given by a couple who had lived there for two years a few years ago.  They are both architects and it was all fascinating – so many huge skyscrapers, not only in Hong Kong Island but also across in Kowloon.  But behind all the new buildings you could still see the sky-line of the ‘Peak’, up in the hills where most of the Europeans lived.  That’s where I started my life, – on the Peak - in Hong Kong.  I’m very excited at the thought going back.

In the afternoon we went to another presentation given by the Chinese students who are on the ship.  Yes, real Chinese students who live in China and who are all absolutely charming. The women were dressed in  beautiful chinese silk dresses, all exquisitely embroidered.  The men put on suits. They looked so different from how we are used to seeing them in jeans and T-shirts!  One of the women did some Chinese flower painting – wow!  They sang traditional songs from Chinese opera, demonstrated the caligraphy with the traditional bamboo brushes,  and told us such a lot about the history of these arts, all with such grace and charm.  The demonstration finished as they showed us the art of paper cutting.  They brought a lot of extra paper sheets, so we all could have a turn. Audrey and I each have double good-luck paper cut-outs on the wall, such as are made for weddings!  What a fabulous experience!

Asia day concluded with Chinese food for dinner.  What a great day!

I am now sitting at dock in Kobe.  We have already had two days in Yokohama, and a day at sea as we sailed around to Kobe, which brings me to today. I am going to try and send this off today and start a new blog for JAPAN with pictures.  Wish me luck again!!

As always, lots of love to you all, family and friends.

Liz  xoxoxoxo