Teacher Emily-Rose Reid On Board Peace Boat

Sailing on the Peace Boat, an 11-floor, luxury cruise ship from Capetown to Namibia, Emily-Rose Reid is on the trip of a lifetime but not as a guest. Reid is aboard the vessel run as a not-for-profit organisation for three months in a volunteer capacity teaching English and Spanish.

The Peace Boat runs educational seminars and exchanges with international guest speakers and partners in each port visited.

One of nine volunteers on their 100th voyage, Reid is representing New Zealand as the only New Zealander on board the Japanese vessel.

“As the only New Zealander on board and an ambassador for our country, I am representing you to the best of my abilities in international waters,” Reid says.

“I am overwhelmed by the people I have met so far, the support of all of my whānau that has enabled me to be here and this motivates me to use these experiences as fuel for the fire of our future.”

Leaving New Zealand for Japan on 16 December, Reid underwent training in Tokyo before boarding the luxury vessel and departing from Kobe, Japan, on 27 December.

The vessel has 1000 paying passengers ranging in age with the purpose of enjoying a ‘satisfying and educational journey’. Along with teaching Spanish and English, Reid has spent her time visiting and meeting locals in villages where the vessel docks.

She also attends lectures and meets people from across the world and different academic disciplines.

“A particular favourite for me was listening to the talented photographer Iguchi Yasuhiro in Japanese translated to English talk about his experience of indigenous exchange between the Ainu (Japanese) and Māori people of Aotearoa.”

Original article by Rosalie Willis, Kapiti News, The New Zealand Herald, February 7, 2019.