JUNE IV
UCHIAGE June 25, 2006
Tonight I held an uchiage (a party to celebrate the completion of a task) for the diving group in Mexico. The place was in Namihei, the Japanese-style bar that opens in the upper deck restaurant in the evening. Namihei is the place to satisfy my occasional craving for edamame, or plum sake. All together about 12 people showed up, and everyone thanked me again for introducing them to diving. Some had more questions on how to obtain their license, how to do a mask clear, etc… It felt great knowing that I have made an impact in some of these Japanese passengers’ lives, even if just a small one. I’m almost tempted to go and get my scuba instructor license so I can become a full-fledged diving instructor. There are so many Japanese people keen to dive, and with my Japanese language skills it may not be such a bad idea.
DAY OF CONSOLING SPIRITS June 23, 2006
Today is the anniversary of the last WWII battle on the island of Okinawa called the Typhoon of Steel, when the Japanese general surrendered and committed hara-kiri on the southern tip of the main island. About 1/3 of the Okinawan population (who were civilians) perished in the war, and many many more if you include American and Japanese soldiers. Because my Masters degree focused on Okinawan issues I ‘ve studied about and visited the island numerous times, and feel a strong connection to all things Okinawan. This is why I was excited to attend the Okinawan lectures held in the daytime and the Ryukyu festival at night. The festival included dancing, sanshin playing and karate. Did you know that karate is from Okinawa and so is Mr. Miyagi in the karate kid?
BAN OF BEER IN THE HOT TUB June 21, 2006
Tis a hard life when you aren’t allowed to drink beer in the hot tub anymore, esp
ecially when we have so many meetings in the hot tub before we watch the sunset with dolphins occasionally jumping in the distant horizon. What harsh working conditions (LOL) Well, at tonight’s hot tub meeting we drank it anyways…. Stick it to the man!
VIVA EL MEXICO! June 20, 2006
Viva tacos! Viva margaritas! Viva buying 12 mangos for a dollar! Viva my really hot dive guide! Viva Acapulco!!!! My first time in Mexico was quite a success. The day started out with a day trip of diving off the coast of Acapulco. About 20-some Japanese passengers that came to my self-planned event on diving joined the expedition, which worried me some (in case of any problems or what not I could be blamed etc…) BUTTTT, everything went extremely well. Even with the crap visibility (3 meters kids!), everyone enjoyed and thanked me profusely afterwards for introducing them to diving. It's such an amazing feeling when something you love so much (in this case, diving) can be appeciated by others in the same way. Hearing the first-time divers opinions really
brightened my day. The ocean was filled with porcupine fish and sea urchins, so many that one of the divers got pricked by a sea urchin – ouch! But everyone claimed they still had a FABULOUS time. Of course, the dive center we booked with, ACAPULCO DIVERS, deserves most of the credit. They organized a killer tour with prime service, including a sexy dive guide that I am still drooling over. They even served us shots of tequila and coronas after the dive (this service should be mandatory for all dive centers.) The rest of the day I spent eating tacos and strolling around the market with some friends. Tacos were $1.50 for 5 minis, including all the hot hot hot sauce you could stand. All the sauces were spicy beyond belief, even the guacamole. This meal set my mouth on fire for at least an hour after finishing (maybe a bit too spicy for my liking.) The market had some great stuff, but surprisingly expensive. The only thing I ended up buying were the mangos (my best purchase this whole Peaceboat trip) and a copied DVD of the Divinci Code that turned out to be in the Russian language. My trip was only a day long, so needless to say I need to get myself back to Acapulco in the future to brush up on my Spanish skills and track down that diving man.
BUENAS DIAS ACAJUTLA June 17-18, 2006
Our stop in El Salvador was the last overnight trip of the cruise – boo hoo!! The GET teachers had all planned to travel together to do some canopeeing (flying across the jungle like George of the Jungle) and relaxing by the beach, but it just didn’t work out. Due to uncontrollable circumstances we split up and did our own thing. I felt fortunate to make my way into the guy group and finally have the chance to do some bonding with the boys - better late than never! We left the desolate town of Acajutla in the afternoon and headed to the beach town
of La Libertad. Our taxi truck came so fast we had to bag our lunchtime beers to go (see pic.) Once in Libertad, the soccer fiends jumped out of the truck on first site of a television to watch the World Cup on TV. Don't get me wrong - I like soccer, but with such a short time in El Salvador I couldn't understand why these fools wanted to just sit and watch TV. Jackie and I were not having it, so we took to the nearby beach for some swim action. The waves in El Salvador can be vicious (big surfer area,) and the undertoe was the strongest I’d ever felt before. After a tiring try at wading and semi-afraid of being swept out into sea with the sharks, I gave up on swimming and decided to head to the local market for some shopping. I guess after more than two months of walking through local markets the novelty has worn off, because I couldn't find much of anything to buy. But it was fun for people watching, and to get a feel for the local atmosphere. The lot of us did happen to come across an icecream shop, with the cheapest ice cream I've purchased since the age of 10. If you'd ask me about the most dangerous place in El Salvador. I had a $.35 ice cream sandwich and a $1.00 milkshake - such a fatty! The night involved a nice dinner by the sea followed by a few drinking games - my new found favorite being “fuzzy duck.” (Ask me how to play later!) Before my departure to bed I decided to be spontaneous and jump in the motel pool with PJs on and all, which sent a wave of others doing the same. I won’t mention any names but some might have opted for a more natural approach – BRIAN!
The next morning I spent walking along the fishing pier (while the boys sat and watched MORE World Cup, those crazy Europeans!) to eye the catches of the day. Out of the eels, rays, turtle eggs. etc… I’d say the most unusual were the baby hammerhead sharks. This guy had about 15 of them on his cutting board. What I would give to see them under the water alive! Peaceboat was to depart at 5pm which gave us little time to hang out in La Libertad, so after a quick supermarket beer run in La Libertad our new El Salvadorian friend we met at the market the night before drove us all back to Acajutla for 50 bucks. In suc
h a poor environment, it was strange to see him with his $35,000 2007 model truck, and according to him he has two other brand new cars back at his house. A 20 year-old El Salvadorian, the driver said he made his bucks in Virginia working as a carpenter for 4 years. The story just didn’t add up, and to top it off he couldn’t speak any English. Weird…. After returning to the port town of Acajutla and indulging in some more cheap ice cream (this time I only had a single cone and ice cream float!) I called it a day and boarded the ship.
Tonight I held an uchiage (a party to celebrate the completion of a task) for the diving group in Mexico. The place was in Namihei, the Japanese-style bar that opens in the upper deck restaurant in the evening. Namihei is the place to satisfy my occasional craving for edamame, or plum sake. All together about 12 people showed up, and everyone thanked me again for introducing them to diving. Some had more questions on how to obtain their license, how to do a mask clear, etc… It felt great knowing that I have made an impact in some of these Japanese passengers’ lives, even if just a small one. I’m almost tempted to go and get my scuba instructor license so I can become a full-fledged diving instructor. There are so many Japanese people keen to dive, and with my Japanese language skills it may not be such a bad idea.
DAY OF CONSOLING SPIRITS June 23, 2006
Today is the anniversary of the last WWII battle on the island of Okinawa called the Typhoon of Steel, when the Japanese general surrendered and committed hara-kiri on the southern tip of the main island. About 1/3 of the Okinawan population (who were civilians) perished in the war, and many many more if you include American and Japanese soldiers. Because my Masters degree focused on Okinawan issues I ‘ve studied about and visited the island numerous times, and feel a strong connection to all things Okinawan. This is why I was excited to attend the Okinawan lectures held in the daytime and the Ryukyu festival at night. The festival included dancing, sanshin playing and karate. Did you know that karate is from Okinawa and so is Mr. Miyagi in the karate kid?
BAN OF BEER IN THE HOT TUB June 21, 2006
Tis a hard life when you aren’t allowed to drink beer in the hot tub anymore, esp
ecially when we have so many meetings in the hot tub before we watch the sunset with dolphins occasionally jumping in the distant horizon. What harsh working conditions (LOL) Well, at tonight’s hot tub meeting we drank it anyways…. Stick it to the man!VIVA EL MEXICO! June 20, 2006
Viva tacos! Viva margaritas! Viva buying 12 mangos for a dollar! Viva my really hot dive guide! Viva Acapulco!!!! My first time in Mexico was quite a success. The day started out with a day trip of diving off the coast of Acapulco. About 20-some Japanese passengers that came to my self-planned event on diving joined the expedition, which worried me some (in case of any problems or what not I could be blamed etc…) BUTTTT, everything went extremely well. Even with the crap visibility (3 meters kids!), everyone enjoyed and thanked me profusely afterwards for introducing them to diving. It's such an amazing feeling when something you love so much (in this case, diving) can be appeciated by others in the same way. Hearing the first-time divers opinions really
brightened my day. The ocean was filled with porcupine fish and sea urchins, so many that one of the divers got pricked by a sea urchin – ouch! But everyone claimed they still had a FABULOUS time. Of course, the dive center we booked with, ACAPULCO DIVERS, deserves most of the credit. They organized a killer tour with prime service, including a sexy dive guide that I am still drooling over. They even served us shots of tequila and coronas after the dive (this service should be mandatory for all dive centers.) The rest of the day I spent eating tacos and strolling around the market with some friends. Tacos were $1.50 for 5 minis, including all the hot hot hot sauce you could stand. All the sauces were spicy beyond belief, even the guacamole. This meal set my mouth on fire for at least an hour after finishing (maybe a bit too spicy for my liking.) The market had some great stuff, but surprisingly expensive. The only thing I ended up buying were the mangos (my best purchase this whole Peaceboat trip) and a copied DVD of the Divinci Code that turned out to be in the Russian language. My trip was only a day long, so needless to say I need to get myself back to Acapulco in the future to brush up on my Spanish skills and track down that diving man.BUENAS DIAS ACAJUTLA June 17-18, 2006
Our stop in El Salvador was the last overnight trip of the cruise – boo hoo!! The GET teachers had all planned to travel together to do some canopeeing (flying across the jungle like George of the Jungle) and relaxing by the beach, but it just didn’t work out. Due to uncontrollable circumstances we split up and did our own thing. I felt fortunate to make my way into the guy group and finally have the chance to do some bonding with the boys - better late than never! We left the desolate town of Acajutla in the afternoon and headed to the beach town
of La Libertad. Our taxi truck came so fast we had to bag our lunchtime beers to go (see pic.) Once in Libertad, the soccer fiends jumped out of the truck on first site of a television to watch the World Cup on TV. Don't get me wrong - I like soccer, but with such a short time in El Salvador I couldn't understand why these fools wanted to just sit and watch TV. Jackie and I were not having it, so we took to the nearby beach for some swim action. The waves in El Salvador can be vicious (big surfer area,) and the undertoe was the strongest I’d ever felt before. After a tiring try at wading and semi-afraid of being swept out into sea with the sharks, I gave up on swimming and decided to head to the local market for some shopping. I guess after more than two months of walking through local markets the novelty has worn off, because I couldn't find much of anything to buy. But it was fun for people watching, and to get a feel for the local atmosphere. The lot of us did happen to come across an icecream shop, with the cheapest ice cream I've purchased since the age of 10. If you'd ask me about the most dangerous place in El Salvador. I had a $.35 ice cream sandwich and a $1.00 milkshake - such a fatty! The night involved a nice dinner by the sea followed by a few drinking games - my new found favorite being “fuzzy duck.” (Ask me how to play later!) Before my departure to bed I decided to be spontaneous and jump in the motel pool with PJs on and all, which sent a wave of others doing the same. I won’t mention any names but some might have opted for a more natural approach – BRIAN!The next morning I spent walking along the fishing pier (while the boys sat and watched MORE World Cup, those crazy Europeans!) to eye the catches of the day. Out of the eels, rays, turtle eggs. etc… I’d say the most unusual were the baby hammerhead sharks. This guy had about 15 of them on his cutting board. What I would give to see them under the water alive! Peaceboat was to depart at 5pm which gave us little time to hang out in La Libertad, so after a quick supermarket beer run in La Libertad our new El Salvadorian friend we met at the market the night before drove us all back to Acajutla for 50 bucks. In suc
h a poor environment, it was strange to see him with his $35,000 2007 model truck, and according to him he has two other brand new cars back at his house. A 20 year-old El Salvadorian, the driver said he made his bucks in Virginia working as a carpenter for 4 years. The story just didn’t add up, and to top it off he couldn’t speak any English. Weird…. After returning to the port town of Acajutla and indulging in some more cheap ice cream (this time I only had a single cone and ice cream float!) I called it a day and boarded the ship.
posted by meribon @ 5:15 PM
0 comments
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home