Cebuana among crew of floating bookstore

TWO and a half years of traveling all over the world have exposed Faith Asher Mandalupe to different people and helped her develop a wider understanding of their cultures.

At 28, she’s the lone Cebuana in the 400-member crew working for the MV Logos Hope, a floating bookstore which docked in the Cebu City port yesterday and will stay till Feb. 12.

Her stint is a  “humbling” experience and a form of service, she said.

Mandalupe told Cebu Daily News that she traveled to 30 countries as a volunteer of the MV Logos Hope, which is similar to the much older  MV Duolos.

She said her  only problem was adjusting to the food on board – they rarely serve  rice.

Mandalupe, a graduate of the University of the Philippines Cebu Campus, is one of  three Filipino volunteers serving in the vessel and comes from a family of Baptists.

In college,  she worked with Operation Mobilization (OM), an outreach program that served some Cebu towns.

Mandalupe’s  father Romulo,  visited her yesterday. He  said it was hard adjusting to the fact that his eldest daughter is sailing to foreign lands on her own but added that  he supported her decision.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia were among the first visitors on the ship.

Garcia compared their visit to  Rajah Humabon and Queen Juana’s first meeting with foreigners on board galleons in  1521.

Rama said he hopes  the vessel, whose crew has 50 nationalities, continues its journey to spread hope for all humanity.

Captain Tom Dyer told the audience that compared to the  MV Duolos, which has retired from sea voyages, the bookshop is air-conditioned.

It offers 5,000 titles ranging from pocket books, to atlases, dictionaries and children’s books.  Prices ranges from P25 to P1000.

Logos Hope director Gian Walser said a photo exhibit is also available for public viewing . A  mock-up cabin and a generator could  be seen once a visitor boards  the ship, which also has a coffee shop that sells vanilla ice cream and popcorn is The vessel was acquired in 2004.

Walser said they chose Cebu as its first destination because of the province’s warm welcome.

Walser said they will also give assistance to flood victims in Cagayan de Oro.

The floating bookshop will be docked  in Cebu from Jan. 11 to Feb. 12.

It is open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and on Sundays from 1 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. It is closed on Mondays.

An entrance ticket is sold for P20, but children under 12 years old can enter for free.  After Cebu, Logos Hope will visit Manila and Subic Bay.