P is for Peace Boat

Peace Boat a ship that sails around the world promoting peace wherever it goes.  It sails out of Yokohama, Japan and travels to 20 some countries in three months.  This means you don’t get too much time in each country, but it’s one of the best options I have to get closer to my 196 country goal.

 I’ve applied twice now to be a volunteer English language teacher.  They pay your room and board on the ship. I just have to get to Japan and pay my way in each country.  I made it all the way to the videoed lesson plan. I had thought I would be a shoo in, having traveled as a student on Semester at Sea and therefore understanding life on board a ship. I also thought my 10 years of teaching experience and my maturity (most people applying are just out of college) would be a huge selling point.  I guess they weren’t.  Apparently they want to you to have had teaching experience in Japan.  I do not have this,

however, I’ve had plenty of experience teaching Japanese students at my university in Colorado. I made sure the lesson video I sent was filled with Japanese students so they would know this.  It did not seem to help.

I haven’t given up. Getting so far along in the interview process just makes me want it more.  Now that my job will soon be moving from terms to semesters, I think it might be easier for me to take a whole semester off.  Owning my home also makes it easier to find someone to move in temporarily, pay rent and watch my cats while I’m gone. 

The program is entirely volunteer. I don’t get paid anything except for room, board and a trip around the world. I’m not complaining about this of course, but there is a lot of money that needs to be saved to afford the flight to Japan and whatever expenses I’ll have in each port along with keeping and maintaining a house in the states all while not earning a pay check for three months. So if everything lines up, I’ll call it kismet and know I was meant to go.

Semester at Sea was one of the best times of my life and I cannot imagine anything better than being back on a ship traveling around the world, visiting more than 20 countries, learning about and advocating peace and teaching English.  It’s like this program was made for me, and I am determined to be a volunteer on Peace Boat one day.