【団役員コメント:セタキス ラリー ジョン】 Today was our last day on Chichijima. It has been a delightful three days filled with explorations of the island’s natural wonders and beauty, strolls through the quaint little town, Ogasawara Village where the Bosei Maru is docked, and making many new friends. We spent much of our first day anchored offshore waiting for the Ogasawara Maru depart for the mainland. After the rough seas of the night before, the students were very happy to have some relief from the waves, and the rocking and rolling of the ship. We received a wonderfully warm welcome when we docked – so many people out waving flags as we stood on deck! Several of Ogasawara’s residents came aboard and told us all about Chichijima and its charms. We even received a whole Hamadai (long-finned red snapper). The chef turned this present into sashimi, and all of us enjoyed this unexpected delight. Later in the evening, we were treated to a steel drum concert by a local group. The musicians played a wide range of songs from Disney to J-pop to Stevie Wonder (!). The students and we teachers clapped and swayed along with the distinct sound, and we all enjoyed the concert thoroughly! In the morning of the second day, we went out on group excursions to different parts of the island. Some students went whale watching and observed other marine life, some helped clear brush, some hiked in the forest and learned about the plants and animals on Chichijima, some toured historical sites, and some helped care for sea turtles at the marine center. All of them were inspired by the experiences they had. The students spent most of the afternoon in town, eating local specialties such as shark burger (!!!), shopping for souvenirs and enjoying some time on solid ground. In the evening, two of the teachers took students on a short outing to locate night sea life in the harbor. The students were surprised to discover two stingrays and a sand tiger shock swimming just off the pier! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to join as I and some of the teachers were invited to have dinner with several Tokai OBs and village residents. However, the local foods, such as shima sushi tempura (!) and papaya kimchi (!!), were delicious and we all enjoyed talking about many things with our hosts. Today was a rather short, but fun day. The students spent the morning going around the island in small groups exploring places of interest outside of town, talking with the locals and having a last land-side lunch. We left Ogasawara village and Chichijima late in the afternoon. The students all lined up on deck to say goodbye, and were pleasantly surprised to find an Ogasawara Taiko group, who drummed us off. As we pulled away from the dock the warm feelings from the performance and the locals waving us goodbye left us all feeling the warmth of this little island and all of us wished we could have stayed longer. As we left the port, it was a wonderful sight to see a pod of whales blowing and jumping, seeming to say farewell and send us off on our journey as the sun began to set. We are all sad to leave this pleasant island, but all of us are looking forward to our next destination, Pohnpei (and hoping for good weather and calm seas on the voyage!)