I’ve moved
Except, not really. I just started a new blog. Come check it out, if you’re so inclined. It’s called Just Bust Being.
How can I GET on the Peace Boat?
1. How can I get on the Peace Boat?
READ ME!! Do you meet the qualifications? Are you in favor of peace? Do you maintain a peaceful existence?
2. Hey Chance,
Thanks a ton for offering to answer some of my questions about the application process. I heard about Peace Boat about a year ago and have become practically obsessed with the possibility of volunteering on it. I’m in my second year teaching in South Korea and have loads of experience back home as a social worker in the field of Children’s Mental Health. But these are unimportant details. I scoured over your blog and everything you mentioned about your time volunteering. So amazing. You mentioned the application process was pretty competitive. Were you in Japan for the interview or did you do it internationally? (I’ll be in Korea when I apply.) Do you have any additional tips on specifics of what they are looking for when it comes to candidates? What were your work hours like? Were you given some time to explore each destination, as well? Anyways, I really appreciate your feedback and any additional thoughts/ comments/ tips you might have as I attempt to get my mittens involved in this incredibly opportunity.
Hey Chance
3. Hi Chance!
1) Seasickness was an issue for some. There are things you can do to manage it via medicine, which causes extreme exhaustion. Some people relied on pressure points but I’m not sure if it was successful. I think you get used to it though. Parts of the journey are full of rocking and pitching, other parts are smooth.
2)Sharing a cabin was not a problem. Those in charge took great effort to match us up with roommates that were compatible. Mine was a saint. She slept right under me and I barely knew she was in the room. Honestly, this was a big concern for me as well, as I am a bit of a loner and prefer massive quantities of space, but it just didn’t matter. She was quiet and respectful, as was I.
3) Dislikes: see above.
Hi- Good to hear from you. We just got off Peace Boat 2 days ago and I haven’t even left Yokohama yet. Today I prepare to hand over this amazing position as GET teacher to a new team. VERY VERY SAD! The application process was long and difficult for me. I applied from Korea. It was very frustrating having to submit a part of the application and then wait to see if you made it through to the next round. It required some endurance, which was probably intentional, but the effort was well worth it. The GET students were all adults and the lesson plans need to be task-based, versus PPP. Your OPEN Class Lesson Plan submission leaves more room for flexibility. Be creative!! Korea has such wickedly bright teachers, I would ask someone for help if you are confused about all that. I don’t have a lot of suggestions for the application because I don’t know what other people submitted but I definitely recommend reading over the application requirements VERY carefully. (see above) I studied and outlined everything, as though it were a scientific journal. Good luck to you and please feel free to ask if you have any further, more specific questions. To tell you the truth, I don’t know how I ended up on the boat. My interview sucked! However, I guess they must look for certain character traits to create a well-rounded group. Just be yourself!
5. Hello there Chance,
I’m determined to volunteer on the Peace Boat at the end this year and was wondering if I could please pick your brain about the application process? Was your application accepted the first time, or did you have to apply a few times before being accepted? Are there hidden costs involved? I know it would be hard work and I wouldn’t be getting paid, but it still seems like its too good to be true. I tick most of the criteria – I taught ESL in Japan for 18 months and volunteer for NGOs – is there a particular criteria they value over others? Anything else I should know?? Thank you so much for any help you can provide 🙂
Hello-
I was fortunate that my application was accepted the first time but was also completely prepared to apply again. There are different coordinators for each voyage and one could never really be sure what specifically each coordinator is seeking in a GET. As a volunteer, the cost of your room and board are covered. We were also given some coupons for food and beverage on the ship and money for a tour at one of the ports. The only unexpected costs that arose was for getting extra pages put into my passport at the last-minute. You need to have 5 available and I only had 4. Expediting that cost a fortune. Other costs that are clearly laid out for you during the application include transportation to and from Japan and lodging after orientation before the ship leaves Yokohama. I would never call the Peace Boat ‘hard’ work. We stayed busy but the work was fun. It was such a great teaching experience having self-directed, genuinely motived students. I always looked forward to my classes. Other responsibilities that arise were also generally fun and enriched the experience on board the ship. Sounds like this might be a good fit for you. Good luck! If it’s meant to be, it’ll happen.
Related articles
- Volunteer: Peace Boat Summer 2012 Japanese/English Interpreters (shinpaideshou.wordpress.com)
I’ve also included my sample lesson plan submission featured above. In reflecting back, I could have been more student centered but task-based lesson plans are a challenge with very low level students due to limited vocabulary. On the boat, I ended up teaching one of the higher level classes. Having never taught at that level, I discovered my own learning curve. My first few lessons were all over the place, but as the voyage progressed I began to understand that my students really just wanted an opportunity to speak in English. That was certainly easy enough to provide. Filling out post cards, ordering food from restaurants, asking for directions, and opinions about issues related to the voyage were all fun topics and suitable to accomodate a level-differenciated classroom.
Peace Boat- Dancing Around the World
I have returned from this voyage with very few souvenirs. Just this…
Thank you Johnny Ahren for you brilliance!
Goodbye Peace Boat :(
On August 17th the Peace Boat’s 76th Global Peace Voyage docked in Yokohama, Japan 1 last time. It was such a relief after 2 days of semi-voluntary labor in which we GET’s along with the paid crew carted (what seemed like) 25,000 pieces of boxes and luggage to various locations around the ship in preparation for disembarkation. As it turns out, I hate doing heavy labor almost as much as I resent accommodating other people’s consumerism. It was a nice opportunity to say good-bye to the crew though. After 102 days together, you develop some unlikely friendships.
Here I bid farewell to the captains of the ship, Captain Soto and Captain Gabriel.
After all the heavy labor, I though it would be a cinch saying goodbye and moving on. At 6pm on August 19th, we all met 1 last time outside the GET office in Tokyo, Japan. It was hot and I was angry and irritable. Suddenly, like a painful slap to the face, it hit me HARD!
It’s really over?
This experience was indescribably beautiful and The Peace Boat was the opportunity of a lifetime. But, the places I saw and experiences I had were nothing compared to the LOVE I felt. The quality of the people on this voyage and intensity of the relationships I developed along this journey is what I will treasure most of all.
I LOVE you guys and will miss you all SO VERY MUCH!
North Atlantic Ocean
July 8, 2012
Today marked the 2 month anniversary of this voyage-The 76th Global Peace Voyage. In many ways it feels like we have been living on the boat for years and I can hardly recall a time before it. On the other hand, I frequently remember how terribly bad I wanted this position and how hard I fought to get it. When I consider the time and effort involved in the Peace Boat application, it feels like this trip is going WAY too fast.
Yesterday we coasted along the Canadian Island of Newfoundland and were told to expect many icebergs. Unfortunately, the day was too foggy with visibility nonexistent. I imagined it was quite spectacular though.
Nonetheless, a day or two prior to Newfoundland we were cruising along the coast of Greenland and dodged many impressive icebergs along the way. I am one of the lucky GET’s that has a room with a view on the side of the boat so I could very clearly hear the boat scraping alongside some ice chunks. We even had an ice pilot on board the ship to aid in the tricky maneuvering. Once again, we emerged through the harrowing iceberg ordeal alive and well. One cannot help but recall the unfortunate Titanic incident during these occasions.
Occasionally on board the boat we have formal events to break up the monotony of several days trapped at sea. They are hilarious and I grabbed a few photos to commemorate the occasion.
I also have a few photos from Iceland. I think Iceland might have been my favorite port to date. It included an overnight stay and nearly 2 full days to view the sights. Reykjavik was such a great little town located near many impressive natural resources including explosive geysers, large geothermal pools and some impressive waterfalls that I did not see. I devoted my day to The Blue Lagoon, an enormous geothermal pool.
Feeling pretty free!
July 11, 2012
We are presently cruising through the Atlantic Ocean near the eastern coast of the US enroute to Venezuela. After the blustery cold of the Arctic Circle we were all anxious for the return of sunshine. The remainder of our voyage should be HOT and STICKY. But, soon the pools will be filled and I will once again spend my afternoons floating in the dense salt water.
During these long stretches at sea, the Peace Boat plans many events to occupy the participants. Today is the highly anticipated “Sports Day”. Participants are divided up into groups based on their birthdays and assigned a colored bandana accordingly. For weeks people have been asking me if my blue headband is for sports day. It’s not. It’s just the bandana I wear to bed after I wash my face but I don’t correct them. I am spending the day in bed reading anyway. Tug-o-war just doesn’t hold that much appeal to me. For the record, if I were participating, I would be red.
Also, I am recovering from a traumatic lunchroom choking incident yesterday. While sharing a late lunch with my class of “Beautiful Charming Sisters” I haphazardly swallowed a piece of low quality pork, which subsequently got lodged in my throat attached to a tendon that was still in my mouth. It was a little terrifying but mostly just really embarrassing. I am once again considering vegetarianism.
July 12th. 2012
With every new adventure I embark upon, I try to remain calm and keep my options open. Thus, my future plans often remain a mystery to me until I stumble upon something that peaks my curiosity. To be honest, my initial plan was to get married and procreate following the Peace Boat voyage. However, over the course of a few weeks, I released that goal ultimately opening myself up to a million other possibilities. An enormous weight has been lifted from my shoulders.
Every few weeks we invite new guest speakers on board the ship for a section of the voyage to discuss issues specific to that region of the world. They are referred to as Mizuan. Our current Mizuan is Lisa. Lisa is an America citizen who has been living and working in Latin America for the past few decades. Much of her attention is directed towards fighting to dismantle a program called School of the Americas. -If you are an American Citizen and have never heard of it, don’t feel bad. I hadn’t either. -In summation, the School of the Americas is a program funded by the US government which infiltrates villages in Latin America and trains Latin American men to be soldiers.
What struck me about Lisa was not her mission; although I do think it noble. What struck me about her was her story. She was very relatable and mentioned bouncing around the world teaching English as a means of supporting herself while waiting for her calling. It eventually came in the form of a letter regarding the School of the Americas that compelled her to take action.
I think I may have received my ‘letter’…
July 13th, 2012
It’s Friday the 13th and we just passed through the Bermuda triangle. We are still here though.
1/2 way around the world
Because we are constantly moving, the seasons change rapidly!
Yesterday we reached the midway point of our voyage and it was spectacular; sunny and clear. Today is freezing and I am pretty sure I couldn’t see my hand if it were directly in front of my face. We are in the middle of the Norwegian Sea, heading north towards Iceland and the ship is shrouded in dense fog, rain and heavy winds. It feels like winter and the boat is angry, pitching and rocking, doors are slamming and objects are flying off the shelves. In the middle of the night, our television flew off it’s propped shelf and is now lining the hallway outside of my cabin door with 3 others that met a similar fate. I genuinely fear the boat might actually tip over but I thank god for my considerable supply of Dramamine.
Another interesting development is that we are closing in on the Arctic Circle and the sun no longer sets at night. Thus, it’s light all the time. 24 hours of sunlight is a peculiar sensation that must be experienced to fully appreciate. My body doesn’t know what to do with all the time as the days drag on and on. I run out of motivation for activities and I want to sleep but my brain doesn’t comprehend.
Anyway, I want to talk about how spectacular our midway celebration was on board the ship. We had the day free from teaching, as the boat was crossing through Sognafjord and Naeroyfjord Norway. (GOogle it)We spent the entire day outside on the Lido deck listening to charming melodies, taking pictures, visiting and reading. The Norwegian Fjords are extraordinary; a must see for ALL Scandinavians or nature loving folks that may have spawned me:0
Here are a few photos from our trip through the Fjords.
This is my fellow GET colleage Will, myself, and my boss Jonathan on the lido deck in the Fjords.
Here is a photo of our entire GET team that I will probably treasure for years to come. I really do love these people<3
In my last blog, I failed to mention the pirates. As it turns out, they do exist! Apparently, certain parts of the ocean near Somalia are very dangerous and cruise ships are highly susceptible to pirate invasions. According to rumor, in a past voyage, pirates actually shot cannons at the Peace Boat with the intention of disabling or penetrating the vessel. Thus, we took special precautions to avoid something like that from happening.
Somewhere near Somali, our ship converged with a group of other ships and we maneuvered our way together through the Red Sea for a period of three days. During this time, all windows on the ship were sealed shut to block out any light from seeping through during the evening hours. Even the windows on the outdoor decks were covered in large sheets of cardboard and duck tape. It seems like such a pitiful attempt at protecting oneself from an invasion but we used the resources we had and emerged from it all, alive and well.
In a few days time, we reach Reykjavik, Iceland which most people on board are highly anticipating, myself included. However, it is our last stop for a long time. After a long voyage through the Atlantic Ocean we will reach Mexico in approximately 10-12 days. Please pray these next 2 weeks go by quickly. I do tend to get a little stir crazy on board the ship and after 2 weeks the veggies are not that fresh. Our food supply definitely suffers the most.
I’ll leave you with some photos to ponder.
In Paris I touched the Eifle Tower and skipped through the Arc de Triumph.
San Sebastian, Spain was Funicular and I shot a coca cola ad campaign and ate some pinxos.
In Sweden, I was sick and read a book that I highly recommend called The Darling. It may have helped to shed some light on my future endeavors.
In Norway, I did some art.
76th
Global
Voyage
In London, I shopped and just barely managed to finally see some sights.
And then this happened.
Haha
This all happened in no particular order:)
Peace Boat: The First 41 Days
According to my Peace Book Daily Planner, I have been traveling on this boat for 41 days. Tonight I will spend the evening in San Sebastian, Spain with several of my follow GET teachers in what will mark our first official full night sleeping off the boat since this voyage began. It’s sure to be a raucous celebration!
At this point, it’s safe to say the Peace Boat has far exceeded my expectations. It really is a very gratifying experience sailing around the world, dropping by a country for a day; just long enough to hit up the sights and take in some local cuisine. As you may or may not recall, I have previously mentioned in my blog the enormous satisfaction I find in the journey itself. Every day I grow and learn new things. For instance, recently I discovered the capacity to learn some Japanese. I scored myself a great intimidating Japanese instructor who refers to herself as My Master. She drills me like a soldier and it seems to be working.
Everything isn’t always rosey though.
Sometimes, I struggle to stay positive. Sometimes, I find it difficult to be kind. Sometimes, I really can’t deal with all the people and have to hide in my cabin or get lost in a book. Sometimes, I hate the food on board and eat too much of it anyway. Sometimes, I feel so full of love and admiration for the people I am sharing this experience with that I cry.
Overall I feel more connected, present and understood than I have in years.
Now for some facts:
Approximately every four days we cross a new time zone which is referred to as Gisan in Japanese. This means that every few days we roll our clocks back at midnight, effectively scoring an extra hour of sleep. My GET colleague Gen refers to these days as Christmas. It’s Christmas on the Peace Boat A LOT! It really does surprise me how quickly my body absorbs that hour though. The sound of the waves crashing along side the boat lulls me into a deep sleep, much like a strong thunder storm every night. It’s kind of romantic.
My days on board the ship are busy; far busier than I anticipated. With the exception of a 3 day quarantine following a mysterious virus that struck the GET staff leaving us retching in our cabin toilets, my time on board is spent teaching, planning, dancing, singing, laughing, reading and swimming. Sometimes, I sit in the hot tub reading, singing, dancing, laughing and planning simultaneously. Honestly, I’d really like to hold regular class time in the hot tub but my students have yet to take the bait.
In addition to several other responsibilities, I teach 2- 80 minute intensive classes on board the ship.
I never realized how fond of each and every one of my students I’d become.
I will share some pictures of my travels so far but detailed descriptions will be limited. When I have more time following this voyage, I intend to expand on my experience. But for now please enjoy a glimpse into my journey around the world. I highly recommend it!
May 12th, 2012 Xiamen, China
Stripes are the national pattern of China:)
May 17th, 2012 Singapore
I spent the day with 4 GET students on a challenge activity. My students were fantastic and allowed me to photograph them each getting fitted with an Indian Sari.
May 19th, 2012 Phuket, Thailand
The majority of the time in Thailand should be spent at the beach and eating curry. That’s what we did!
May 23-24th, 2012 Colombo, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka wasintesnse. Unfortunately, following this port, I became horribly sick for like 10 days. I blame the enormous dosas I consumed with my hands just minutes before getting back on board the ship.
June 4-5th, 2012 Cairo, Egypt
Following a well publicized revolution, Egyptians are just now in the midst of a pseudo-democratic election; pseudo in the sense that neither candidate offers much hope for a country badly in need of unification. Thus, Egypt is still rather unstable and we were ‘advised’ against parting from the group. A few of us dipped out of a museum tour and decided to just ‘take a peak’ at Tahrir Square, the origin of the revolution. (as seen above) There are still active demonstrations.
I mean, of course we still made time for some sightseeing after visiting the revolution. Priorities!
June 7th, 2012 Mykonos, Greece
Mykonos is a gorgeous little island, small enough to traverse on foot for a day. This was the first port I toured on my own. IT WAS FANTASTIC and I ate my weight in hummus, musaka, gyros, and baklava But I swam after.
June 8th, 2012 Athens, Greece
What can I say about Greece? There are a lot of ruins in Greece.
June 10th, 2012 Catania, Italy
I had wanted to visit Italy since I first heard such a place existed. Catania was extraordinary but the real reward was Taoromina. I’d advise everyone to visit Taoromina! And Catania! Just go to Italy!
June 15th, 2012 Lisbon, Portugal
I am amazed by the beauty. We walk up and down streets, in and out of alleys, each with more character then the last. Every city in Europe seems more impressive than the last.
Peace Boat Orientation
For the past 5 days I have lugged 80 to 130lbs of luggage around Tokyo, depending on the day. It hasn’t been pretty and it hasn’t been fun but I keep telling myself that I’ll definitely appreciate those 15 skirts I packed over the course of the next 100 days.
I arrived to Tokyo late Sunday evening with one hell of a sore throat. The situation seemed pretty dire after dragging my skanky ass up and down subway platforms while maneuvering most of my earthly belongings into the lobby of the Tokyo Youth Hostel situated on the 18th floor of a sky rise, that when the ground started to sway, I just thought I was hallucinating. The kindly receptionist directed me to a seat and reassured me it was just an earthquake. My very first earthquake.
As it turns out, Toyko has an earthquake almost every day. I don’t really notice them, but I do often catch a glimpse of the news report afterword. Also, it seems that most residents of the city have mobile alarms which alert them after an earthquake has just occurred. At this point all cars stop driving and everyone takes a moment to reflect. These are some of my favorite times.
All earthquakes aside, I endured a 3 day orientation that ended up being quite fun in the end. My fellow Peace Boat GET’s are ALL so wonderful, bright and spry. They ALL seem very cerebral with many important certifications and a boat load of second and third and fourth languages with which to rely. So far my 8 Korean words and 5 Japanese words have not been as useful as I anticipated. If I wanted to, I could definitely find a way to feel insecure and question why I was here. If I wanted to. I have learned it’s not wise to question these things.
I also experienced my first couch surfing experience. Honestly, couch surfing is not all it’s cracked up to be. I ended up sharing accommodations with 8 other GET’s, camped out the floor of Gee’s apartment- refugee style. I could only handle it for 1 day before I moved on to a hostel clear across town. Having a little autonomy is nice but now I have to figure out how to get every where all alone via Tokyo’s extraordinarily complicated Subway system. Most of my energy is directed towards thinking about where I will sleep and how I will get there and how I will get my luggage there. I can’t wait to get on that boat.
3 days and counting…
Bedroom Remodel
Hello Everyone!
It’s been such a wonderful 5 weeks since I returned from Korea. In between traveling all over Minnesota and visiting friends and family, I have been keeping busy entertaining my dad who is retired. Last week, he and I redecorated the guest bedroom. Admittedly, I am fortunate to have parents that pretty much gave me free reign to decorate as I wish. I really tried to keep my moms sense of style in mind to maintain some uniformity throughout the house.
The entire project cost less than $300 which included paint, new carpet, new window treatments and bedding. Obviously, I am a shopping wizzard. Perhaps my luckiest investment was this bedspread. I was unclear how I was going to bring the carpet and walls together until I found it on clearance for $50. The pillows were also on clearance at $5 a piece. I had planned to sew new pillow covers but discovered I rather liked them.
I am a big fan of recycling and DIY projects. My parents have loads of cool old antiques lying around.
The lamp and table each belonged to one of my grandmothers.
I found this old window screen lying against the house in a mud pile. I ripped out the old screen, replaced it with new and cleaned the mud from the wood in the kitchen sink. I had planned to paint it white but found I really liked the color and texture of the old green paint. My dad drilled a few holes for some hardware. Since we happen to have an entire barn full of old cabinets, I pirated the hardware. Total cost, $1.49.
I honestly couldn’t believe how beautiful this bowl was. I discovered it stashed away in a cabinet with my moms dishes. She had no idea where it came from.
I found this old truck tucked far back into my moms closet and thought it deserved more attention. As it turned out, it was my grandfathers foot locker from the military. It’s a little rusted but I love it dearly. Even more so now that I know what it is.
Overall, I was quite pleased with the outcome. The result is clean, comfortable and clutter free.
Related articles
- How To: Makeover Your Bedroom For Less (savings.com)
- 7 Ways to Remodel Your Bedroom (Without Demolishing a Thing) (wisebread.com)
Welcome Aboard
These last few months have been really draining. Over the course of my time abroad, my heart was set on joining the Peace Boat as a Guest English Teacher(GET) on a Global Peace Voyage.
What is Peace Boat?
Peace Boat is a Japan-based international non-governmental and non-profit organization that works to promote peace, human rights, equal and sustainable development and respect for the environment. Peace Boat seeks to create awareness and action based on effecting positive social and political change in the world. We pursue this through the organization of global educational programmes, responsible travel, cooperative projects and advocacy activities. These activities are carried out on a partnership basis with other civil society organizations and communities in Japan, Northeast Asia, and around the world. Peace Boat carries out its main activities through a chartered passenger ship that travels the world on peace voyages. The ship creates a neutral, mobile space and enables people to engage across borders in dialogue and mutual cooperation at sea, and in the ports that we visit. Activities based in Japan and Northeast Asia are carried out from our seven Peace Centers in Japan.
- Cooperation and solidarity
- Work based on civil society movement
- Financial self-sustainability
- Participatory and horizontal working system
- Support and promotion of volunteerism
- Independence from any political party or religious affiliation
Amazing, Right?
I knew the GET application process was extremely competitive and I also knew that I had a few barriers to overcome. Mainly, my background and knowledge of Japanese language and culture is basically non-existent. But I also knew that I would spend the next 10 years of my life trying to get on board and was basically willing to do whatever it took. When you find an opportunity like that, you don’t take it lightly. Thus, over the past 6 months I devoted much of my free time to the application process. There was definitely some sacrifice involved.
The Application
The application was divided into 3 separate parts and it was a bit of a hellish ordeal. I had no back-up plans and couldn’t even begin to imagine what would possibly make-up for the disappointment of failure so I spent hours and hours ensuring that did not happen. I sacrificed my entire winter vacation in favor of working on the application.
- The first part involved preparing 3 separate lesson plans, updating the résumé, preparing a cover letter and outlining a special independent project that I could present on the ship. I choose to highlight my background and experience in working with individuals with mental illness with the goal of removing stigmas.
- After successfully completing and submitting my application, I waited for several weeks for an invitation to proceed. When it finally arrived I had just about lost hope. Next I had to prepare and present a 10 minute lesson plan and a 10 minute introduction video. Since it was winter vacation, I had to call students to come into school, which they did without complaint. Gotta love those kids! This was probably the least stressful part because I knew that I had some control over the outcome. I was confident that I would get an interview after the submission of my videos. And I did.
- The interview was certainly the most miserable part of the entire process. I suck as interviews. I am not particularly eloquent when I get nervous and I was nervous. But I was also prepared. I spent a week straight practicing. I answered every single interview question I could find on the internet and I typed up a response to most questions. Essentially, I mock interviewed myself. I fell asleep dreaming about the interview. I devoted my vacation to interviewing me. When the interview finally arrived I really felt like I had failed. It was absolutely crushing. Despite all my preparation, it never once crossed my mind to brush up on my knowledge of Japanese Culture. When I was asked, I fumbled. Big time! I still feel like a fool for dropping the ball on that one. But truthfully, I learn through experience which is sort of the goal of the Peace Boat anyway. And I’m about to learn…
Outcome
I am pleased to report that yesterday, following a rather dramatic skype date with the coordinators of the GET program, which included a few tears and a great deal of incoherence, I was invited to join the Peace Boat’s 76th global peace voyage. I could not be more thrilled or grateful for the opportunity.
Chance's E-PIK Adventure 