【団役員コメント:セタキス ラリー ジョン】 Today was a fun day for me. Five students and I were able to go up to the bridge and do some stargazing this evening! We were lucky and were able to see Canopus over the aft deck of the Bosei Maru. Together with Winter Hexagram, it was a wonderful sight. The rest of the day was relatively relaxing. After a presentation about the Bosei Maru and its crew’s work in the morning, most of the students spent the day outside talking and relaxing on the deck, working on their reports or catching up on their sleep after a busy few days in Palau. Palau was a nice break in our travels. After a week at sea, it was nice to see land again, and very nice to walk on solid ground again. Palau is even more verdant than Pompei, and passing all the small islands and little green islets as we sailed into the harbor made us realize the beauty of this archipelago. That is, until we were all caught in a sudden squall which drenched all of us who gone outside to take in the view. Squalls are a daily part of life here, and at least some of us got caught in one every day in our activities. The students took part in many activities in their four days there. Many had the chance to take part in marine activities and learn about Palau’s ocean environment. Some took a long boat ride to Peleliu and were able to learn about the war and its toll on the people of Palao, Japan and the U.S. Others learned about history and culture first-hand by visiting with senior citizens in Koror and were able to realize the depth of the ties between these two cultures. Of course, the most rewarding of our activities here on Palau were our visit to Palau Community College and the cultural exchange event held on the Bosei Maru. The students and teacher were able to learn about Palauan culture from the college president, and took part in a coconut husking event, where they learned the central role that the coconut plays in Palauan life. The students were able to chat with many students from the college while eating lunch together, and everyone enjoyed making new friends. After lunch, there was a little basketball tournament between teams from the two schools, and Tokai University won! To close the event, 17 students and 3 teachers danced the Soranbushi, and 2 of our students performed the Mai dance. Finally, everyone came up on stage to dance the Soranbushi together. It was a wonderful way to finish off the day, and students from both schools were laughing and taking pictures together as we left. Because of a squall, the cultural exchange event was held inside the ship rather than outside on the deck, but the students still enjoyed teaching Palauan host families how to do origami, do calligraphy, play karuta (the students made a special deck of typical Japanese items just for the event!) and other traditional Japanese games. We all made some very pleasant memories in Palao, and we left feeling a little sad. However, all of us looking forward to coming back home and sharing stories of our travels with everyone in Japan.