Pre-port

The Union was packed as we just finished our "logistical pre-port" meeting to prepare us for tomorrows arrival in Hilo, HI.  The pre-port meeting consists of announcements of procedures for that port as well as safety issues and some things to do. Dean Loren Crabtree listed his top thing to do as "see molten lava flowing".  That would be pretty cool, and I hope to do it. The Dean Crabtree also praised the students for the judgment they have shown on this voyage.  They do have a 3.3 gpa, so this is a pretty smart group of kids.
Dr. Chiles warned everyone to use sunscreen and continue to show good judgment in the use of alcohol. They were also educated on the concept of "onship time".  Our onship time for this port is 1800 hrs on Tue.  That means they must be checked in, so not everyone can come running to the ship at 1745.  The recommendation was to start boarding at 1600 since we have to screen our stuff through security.  Arriving after onship time carries a penalty of "dock time" at the next port. Dock time could mean missing some trips, so, hopefully, everyone got the message.

Profs Spence, Shun and Israel gave an interesting presentation on Chinese culture during cultural studies today.  It was an interesting format.  Prof Israel gave a scathing indictment of the culture of China and Prof Shun answered with the indictment of the U.S.  It was an interesting vehicle to show how the different cultures view each other.  Prof Spence followed up with four concepts to reconcile the views of each side.

1. Concept of History: includes artistic traditions

2. Concept of Identity: the context includes such areas as gender.

3. Concept of Finance: includes tariffs, trade and currency exchange.

4. Concept of Law: includes the perceived validity of courts.

As you can see, I took notes.  In introducing the group, Prof. Gogniat correctly noted that we will probably never have the chance to be among such a group of prominent China scholars again in our lfetime.

These kids aren't really in a cage.  The nets keep sports equipment from disembarking while at sea.  There are about 22 faculty/staff kids on the voyage.  It's an extraordinary opportunity for the kids as they travel around the world.  These are really bright kids, and they are home schooled and tutored as we go, so they don't miss out on school.  The students interact with them, and their presence gives a kind of normalcy to the community. If it takes a village to raise a kid, this is one heck of a village.

On a housekeeping note, we got our first bag of laundry back today.  You just fill a bag with dirty laundry, fill out a ticket, and it magically disappears from your room and reappears a few days later --clean. I could certainly get used to this perk, but I'd better not.

A few people spotted flying fish today. Looking forward to Hawaii and terra firma.