HISTORY >> CRUISE
イースター島からグリーンランドまで、世界中を訪れた話。
This is the story of my visits to Easter Island, Greenland, and all over the world.
82ヵ国133都市の訪問をして得たものといえば、人生で必要なものはお金ではなく、”できるだけ多く移動すること”と、”できるだけ多くの人と出会うこと”だと知ったことかもしれません。
移動し続けることは、遠く離れた人々が三人称から二人称になり、距離的に遠いことで関心が薄くなってしまうという壁を崩し、共に困難を乗り越えなければならないと自身に覚えさせることになりました。
それは例えば街の募金運動を目にすれば、どこの国のどんな問題への募金運動なのかが今まで以上に気になりだし、世界で災害が起きれば、各国で友人となった人たちと自分の足で訪れた自然の状況を確かめようとする。
まさに、目の前で人が倒れた時にとる行動や、国内で災害が起きた時に友人の安否を気遣うといった
当たり前の感情が、距離的に遠い地の出来事にも同じように芽生えます。
また、人との出会いは、家の隣人さえも知らないコミュニケーション不足の街で育った私にとっては、とても刺激的で、知見の取り入れ方、貧困や環境問題に対する意識の違いなど、様々な考え方を知ることができました。
船という移動手段については、飛行機との比較がよくされます。個人的には以下３点が大きな違いだと思ってます。
まず、移動時間の有効利用性です。想像が容易いと思いますので詳細は省きますが、飛行機で交流や社交ダンスはできません。
次に時差です。船では1日最大でも１時間の時差しかないため、時差ボケになることはありませんが、飛行機では南米やヨーロッパにつくと昼夜逆転となり、少なくとも初日〜二日目は移動による相当な体力の消耗と眠気によって、スムーズな行動は難しいでしょう。
最後に、荷物の違いです。船では自宅から本船に郵送して、クルーズ中の港では小さなバッグひとつで散策することができます。大きなお土産も本船が運んでくれるので、海外からの高い郵送代金を支払う必要はありません。
20代の1/3を船の上で過ごしたため、クルーズの魅力を語ればキリがありません。
いつの日か船上でお会いできることを楽しみにしています。
Around the world 12 times. A story about visiting many places around the world.
What I gained from visiting many countries is that I learned that what I need in life is not money, but "to move around as much as possible" and "to meet as many people as possible. Maybe it's that.
Continuing to move has made me remember that I must overcome difficulties together with people who are far away from me, breaking down the barriers of third-person to second-person, and of being less interested because of distance.
For example, when they see a fund-raising campaign in the city, they are more concerned than ever about which country and what kind of issue the campaign is about, and when a disaster occurs in the world, they try to check the natural situation by visiting with their friends in different countries.
This is exactly the kind of action we take when someone collapses in front of our eyes, or when we are concerned about the safety of our friends when a disaster strikes in our own country.
The same feelings that are taken for granted sprout up in the same way for events in distant places.
Meeting people was also very stimulating for me, as I grew up in a city with a lack of communication, where I did not even know my neighbors at home, and I was able to learn about various ways of thinking, such as how to take in knowledge, and different attitudes toward poverty and environmental issues.
As a side note, there are 1,000 people on board a round-the-world cruise, and if you want to get to know everyone, you have to introduce yourself to 10 people every day, which is nearly impossible.
Comparisons are often made with airplanes in terms of the ship as a means of transportation. Personally, I think there are three major differences.
First, the biggest difference is the effective use of travel time. It is easy to imagine, so I won't go into details, but you cannot do socializing or social dancing on an airplane.
Second is the time difference. By ship, the time difference is only one hour a day at most, so you will not experience jet lag. By plane, however, once you arrive in South America or Europe, day and night are reversed, and it will be difficult to move smoothly at least on the first and second days due to the considerable physical exhaustion and sleepiness caused by the travel.
Then there is the difference in luggage. On the ship, you can mail your luggage from your home to the ship and explore the ports during the cruise with just a pochette. The ship will also carry large souvenirs for you, so you don't have to pay the high cost of mailing them from overseas. (I once bought a 1,5 meter high moai statue on Easter Island, and a friend bought a 2 meter high wooden giraffe in Kenya).
Having spent 1/3 of my 20s on a ship, I can't say enough about the appeal of cruising.
I look forward to seeing you on board one day.
