We were: Daele Healy (national leader), Louise Flaherty, Elizabeth King, Elizabeth Day, Amanda Watkinson, Maureen McClarty, Saori Uyeda, Bernard Cena, Dean Wenke, Michael “Jughead” Castley, Scott Kneebone, Paul Brushe, and Ari Gaitanis. In all, a proud, democratic delegation, where the “live and let live” motto ruled supreme.

Onboard we had delegations from: Japan, U.S.A., Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Fiji, Tonga, New Zealand, and Australia. We embarked in welcoming Japan, sailed through a typhoon to homely New Zealand, across the Pacific to exotic Chile, up past the Galapagos Islands to green Costa Rica, then on to party-port Acapulco, before ending half-way across the ocean in Hawaii (U.S.A.).

Physically…

The change in rhythm is drastic. Daily life onboard started with a mad rush to see every sight, be at every event, dance at every party, try every meal, watch every sunset, and so on. But hey, the human body can only take so much before it conks out! The second month saw most of us chill out, step back and take things at our own pace; savouring each and every moment – from the sports games to the cross-dressing party.

The change in diet was also something to behold (and savour!). Imagine a two-month course of meals which begins with seafood-based breakfasts during the home-stay in Japan’s Miyazaki prefecture, and elaborate pastries and oh-so-perfect fruit in downtown Tokyo, and ends with the spicy, hot tacos and enchiladas of Mexico. The national beverages of each country also held their own attraction for many of us. Sake! Pisco! Tequila! Bundaberg Rum! Kava! Agua ardiente! Hangovers everywhere! And given the large number of Latin American delegations onboard, it was only natural that we got our bodies to gyrate and swivel along to the music (or at least tried!) they brought with them.

Mentally…

The onboard seminars and discussions with leading university experts provided interesting fodder for us digest. But just as interesting are the informal chats held with youth from other countries, each with their own history and background, and the ensuing point-of-view that these entail. How often do you get to hear a Japanese youth give his or her opinion on a Peruvian youth’s talk about the social problems of downtown Lima? The challenges ranged from putting together a coherent set of ideas during a seminar on global cultures to the more trivial exercise of working out how to tell your new cabin-mate not to leave his used socks on your bed.

Emotionally...

For many, a ‘real’ friend is someone you’ve known all your life, gone to school with, and bonded with throughout the travails of life. For those of us on the program, we had the chance to make ‘real’ friendships. Although altogether in a different setting. The difference being that instead of long, drawn-out years of hanging out, our time-frame was compressed into an intense two months, with our unusual onboard circumstances providing a solid foundation. Sure, they might speak a different language and live thousands of kilometres away, but in this small world, no one’s really that far away… as we’ve seen by the many post-ship visits around the world! Given the intensity of the SWY experience, romantic entanglements onboard were bound to happen and many have proved lasting, as seen by the weddings we’ve attended since our program ended. Oops. I should point out that the programs don’t really “end”! The Nippon Maru docks at some port, you disembark, you see it leave without you… but it doesn’t actually end there. There are a swathe of regular reunions (formal and informal), personal visits, mass emails, photo swaps, nuptials, births… 

Well, that’s it. I could go and on, and even then it would only hint at the wondrous experience we had on the program and afterwards – nor would it quite prepare you for all that can and will happen to you onboard the Nippon Maru. Just apply.