Planning vs serendipity

I'm pretty sure that all of us are going to come back with improved planning skills since we have to think about it all the time.  For example, some of us are wearing shorts and tee-shirts on the ship today even though it is too cold to sit on the outside deck.  Why?  To understand the answer, you have to see the next few days ahead. We arrive in Shanghai, China tomorrow and don't have laundry service for another week.  I think you get the picture. The first thing I did when I got back on the ship in Kobe was to pack my dirty laundry to get picked up.  My clean clothes arrived this morning in a bag outside our door.  At home, I would have just popped down to our washing machine last night and run a load.  It's a lot of the little things that make a difference, like getting your dessert on your plate as you go through the food line instead of waiting until after the meal.  When there is a good dessert, it is all gone. Like remembering to take your battery charger when you are away from the ship. The students spend a lot of time planning for the ports to maximize their time and money.

Last night, we had our post-port discussions for Japan.  The format is that you raise your hand, get recognized, walk to the front microphone and tell what was significant about your port experience.  This was attended by about 50 people and is a good sharing time.

Here are some synopses of what people (mostly students) said and saw:

One person got the Japanese preport student to teach her how to say: "hello, would you like to be my friend" in Japanese.  She got some strange looks but met a lot of people.
One person watched to see how the people dressed--very stylish footwear for the women.
Several other people went to Sapporo to view ice sculptures and said they were incredible.
Another student went with a group to Mr. Koya (Koya-San) to a Buddhist cemetery and found it very meditative.
One student made a video of people moving about Tokyo and showed it.  We all identified with it.
A guy on our trip who is a skateboarder gave an account of his efforts to meet people through skateboarding, and although the language barrier was tough, they spoke a common language.
A group of students were in a bar/restaurant, and an elderly gentleman bought them food and drinks.  The waitress later told them that he had buried his wife that day.
One group of 3 met a fellow who showed them origami and presented each of them with an origami gift.
As part of the planning theme above, one student kept an accurate account of every cent (yen) he spent and averaged it out by the hour to value the hours spent.  He concluded that the best times were times just spent walking and watching even though he wasn't paying anything.
Three girls were watching ducks at a pond, and a lady invited them to come over and watch her feed the ducks so that they could photograph them.  They connected without any common spoken language.
Several different students participated in "homestays" where they lived with a Japanese family.  Communication was difficult, but they got to observe family interactions that cross the bounds of countries, ie.playing with children, generosity and Uno.
The people who went to Hiroshima described it as an intense experience, especially after talking to a man who lost his family that day but is now very interested in peace.
A few  common phrases learned in Japanese also helped cross boundaries. "I like your shoes." "Where am I?"  Even miming was a common denominator.

Overall, most speakers pointed out that the people of Japan went out of their way to help, even walking them to the right place.  And after all the careful planning, some of the most memorable moments were ones where chance things happened, where people diverged from their plans, where they took chances and were open to new experiences.

We all left with the idea that we will look for ways to help strangers in our own country.

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