Most Amazing Voyage

My PeaceBoat experience was the most education 105 days of my life. On port days, I participated in cultural exchange tours that would not be possible without a program like PeaceBoat such as visiting a Palestinian Refugee camp and an overnight home stay in a rural Turkish village.
Daily life on the boat was just as exciting. Non-port days were filled with participating in passenger run sessions, staff run events, and lectures given by guest speakers from around the world on several current topics.
I also led sessions for other passengers in language, arts, crafts, and dance over the 3 1/2 month voyage. I participated in panel discussions about my cultural experiences being American and American of Japanese decent.
The biggest difficulty was not being able to understand enough Japanese to participate more. Many of the passenger led events did not have translators. Throughout my time on the ship, I kept feeling like I was missing out because I didn't understand enough.
After I got off the ship, I realize how much my language skills had actually improved, and I would have to say that I learned more Japanese and became more fluent in the 3 1/2 months on board the ship, than in the 4 years I lived in Tokyo working for an American company.
It turned out to be the most memorable and educating experience.