Pacific Odyssey - Leg 5

Our first full day in Osaka; the boat was quiet with most of the trainees visiting Universal Studios.  I´ve heard from Caley and Robyn that they had a lot of fun.  The wait for rides was long, about 60-85 minutes and the price of food was double what it is outside.  Being there in a group was what made it worth it I think, otherwise the feeling was that it was not worth it.  Trainees who know the Universal Studios in California said it was busier here on a weekday than it is on the busiest days in California. Karen and Sarah B. took the train to downtown.  They saw a plethora of department stores; "Osaka is a great place to sample Japanese city life in all its mind-boggling intensity . . . and [its] excellent transport connections (Lonely Planet Japan)."  They went up the Umeda Tower: a
175 meter tower with a glass elevator that offers an amazing view from the top.  Katie and Gillian scouted out grocery stores; there is an excellent tourist information office nearby, they´ve been helpful with finding supermarkets we are familiar with.  Graham and Sarah L. wrote their Seniors exam today under the supervision of Jose; I´m not sure how they did yet. Jose and Antony have taken Karen out for the evening as a farewell gift. Karen has been with us since the beginning of this trip as watch officer and nurse.  She leaves at the end of this leg to travel with her brother Jeff through Southeast Asia.  We will miss her indeed; she is an integral part of our ´family.´  She has had a great trip and although she will miss the community on board, she is excited for what comes next.  Yesterday I spoke of family members coming to meet the ship in Osaka.  I forgot to mention that Karen and Katie´s brother Jeff is coming, as well as Sarah Brizan´s 2 sisters, who are joining the ship for leg 6 as trainees.  Like I´ve said before, we are all excited for any family member or friend that comes to visit the ship.  As we are all like family, we share in the excitement and anticipation of seeing someone from home i.e. Canada.  The weather today has been beautiful, sunny and warm; we were able to spend most of it sitting on deck.  The dock is very big and very private; my boys and Arwen were able to play ball without losing the ball into the water.  In my March 9th log I wrote about the discussion we had as a group about the Peace Memorial Museum visit.  Part-way through I inserted . . . Tony talk . . .  I meant to add here what Tony spoke of during our discussion but needed to go to him to be reminded exactly what his words were.  He was saying that the problem is bigger than the bomb.  The problem is how we deal with people we don´t like and/or cannot get along with.  This we can all relate with and it is here that we can make a start and an impact. Tomorrow and the next day are work days for everyone on board.  This is when we get the ship ready for the next leg.  Trainees are divided into three groups.  A galley group will clean food areas, buy groceries and stow them. A rigging crew will tighten and adjust the rig, while the hull and bright work crew will scrape, wire brush, sand and oil or paint all the wood and the metalwork.  They will also sand and paint the hull, a big and dirty job. Jordan found a bath house tonight; we are all pretty excited about it. Usually with workdays we are in a warm climate with a hose at our disposal to wash with after a full day of dirty work.  The temperature is too cold for a hose, which we don´t have anyways, so the bathhouse is sure to have some pretty dirty guests tomorrow night and the night after.  James wishes his dad a wonderful day March 12th, his birthday.  Happy Birthday dad, from James. Until tomorrow, good-night, Bonice.