Wayfarer

Wayfare

When I came to America this year, I could go to many places, get nice experiences and a variety of feelings. During this time, I also got and felt many wounderful things. I will tell about my wonderful Portland trip.

On the first day, we went to Columbia Basin College and The Columbia Gorge Discovery Center. Before we went there, we studied about Lewis and Clark. Our guide told us about Lewis and Clark and showed their items so I could image history and their backgraund cleary. These sections were drawing the 1800s. As if I come to the 1800s. I could feel their hardship from there. Columbia Basin College has a very large campus. It isn't like the school. We shared about our presentation topics. My partners gave me some advice about presentation. For example, If you explain Japanese words, you have to show pictures and presentation is a conversation so you have to pay attention to the audience and so on. I was really surprised at the CBC's system. My one of the partner is 17 years old now, she is taiking only a Japanese class at CBC and also goes to high school. I think their consciousness are very high. These things are very interesting to me.

On the Second day, we went to Willamettle Falls, McLougin house, Pioneer Cemetary, Tebo's restaurant, Reed College and Uwajimaya. These places were very nice. I especially like McLougin house, Pioneer Cemetary, and Reed College. I learnd about McLouge and his life from here.Their life style is very different from our life style. For example, they didn't make kitchen and bathroom in their house and when they moved the house, they used the horse. We couldn't believe that. Pioneer cemetary has many different shapes of graves that in Japan. They don't have a drinking fountain and don't use urns. Reed College has a beautiful campus. The tuition of college was very expensive, but the students could learn about many subjects here. The have a owner. It is students teaching each other. This style is different from Japan. Each college have unique characteristic.

Third and Forth day, we went to Saturday Market, Japanese American Memorial, Powell's city of book, Hockey Game and Multnomah Falls. The Saturday Market has a unique atmosphere. Almost all the shops were handmade items. For example accessaries, rings, necklace and sweater and so on. I could feel people's daily life. Japanese American Memorial had 2 Japanese poems and 11 American poems. They had a deep meaning. I felt Japanese Americans desperately resort to their human rights and thinking for American and American goverment from their poems.

I really enjoyed Portland traveling very much. All the places have deep and　important meaning. I could feel and experience many things from this trip. I'm happy to go on this trip so much. I could spend a good time and this portland trip is one of the great and amazing memory in my life.

Inspiration and Comfort Drawn from the Old Falls

Inspiration and Comfort Drawn from the Old Falls

There is constantly a dilemma between humans and nature. I was in Multnomah Falls on the last day of the Portland trip. Around the falls, a lot of mossy old trees and recondite atmosphere still remained for a long time. The fog from the basin makes our vision blurry and dampens the air. It was like the other world divided from a road which the bus waits. The scenery reminded me of a movie, Princess of Mononoke, made by Hayao Miyazaki, and I had a chance to watch this movie in my house at night after I came back from the trip. I went over the situation of human and nature through the movie and the falls.

This movie has kicked around typical topic about people and nature.The story is set in an ancient era of Japan in which natives hadn't yet been ruled by an emperor of Japan. The ancient people lived with nature and the world spirit, as it is called animism. At that time, there are also enlightened people who have specific skills such as to make weapons, to compete with each other with the work of ironsmith, to work as a soldier in a war, to achieve a feat to progress their own position, and so on. They were governed by a ruler of ancient Japan, who looked down and watched the creatures and natives as strangers. They didn't believe in a god but their king. The people identified nature as an enemy and started to destroy it and command the forests.

The conflict that had happened between developed people and creatures in the forests bring on other problems from far distance places that are the native's habitat. The ancient people who have respected nature and a god were of course angry at the attitude of volunteerism the sacred dignity of nature by another people, and they tried to solve the problem caused by another people, but the savage people didn't follow them and bothered them in a deadly way. This civilized people found their grave mistake after they lost almost everything, but it was too late to take it back, so they finally changed their pretentious behavior. It is important that the serious conflict between animals and people was caused by human's ego trip.
The Princess of Mononoke has kept appealing the frightfulness of human's selfish arrogance toward nature and other creatures to end. Humans have no right to do what they want in any case. I was so moved by the fact that now there is a climate that it is the best to take one thing as a base and make that better for human's convenience and maybe someday nature will die off, not only animals and plants, if the tendency continues. Even in the ancient era, it is possible that any kinds of things might happen. The proclivity that human accord themselves priority over any other things and disrespect other living nature has still remained.

　　　 Because of this movie, I realized that the desire to long for something greater is great and horrible, and it's easy for me and everyone to abandon oneself to the tendency. For example, I learned about genetic engineering in reading class, and the text said that someday people can shop for their childrens' features, appearance, the personalities by genetic engineering. Is that a dream and a hope of mankind? Does it enrich the lives of humans? I feel a little odiousness from the topic now. I believe there is a taboo in the natural world. This is one of the examples that I think too much of the evolution of human beings. There is no evolution that has only an advantage, of course it must carry a risk. I learned we people should choose the way of existence of our desire for the future carefully.

The Fantastic Trip

I went to Portland on a school trip with all of the Extension students from November 18th to November 21st. During the trip, I had many valuable experiences. Above all, I learned a lot about the journey of Lewis and Clark at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center. There were many exhibits which contained tools, houses and clothes they used.

First of all, we listened to stories about the Corps of Discovery from a man, and he showed us some tools which they used on their journey. I was surprised that they always knew where they were by using a tool to see the position of the sun. In addition, they also knew the distance of the journey by only estimating and guessing, and it was almost exact. Although I already had a little information about the journey because we studied it in American West class, almost all of his stories were new and interesting for me.

Second, I saw a lot of things such as clothes, tents and boats. I tried on the clothes with my friends, and I felt that they were not heavy enough to keep us warm. Next, I went into a tent which the Corps of Discovery used on their journey. There was a rug which was made of animal's hair, but it still seemed cold inside the tent. After that, I rode on a boat. Although it was big and long, I felt a little scared when I imagined turbulent waves hitting us. It was clearer for me to see these things than only to listen about them.

Finally, I touched many things which the Corps of Discovery used on their journey to the Pacific Ocean. They built a fire by banging a stone against metal. Therefore, I tried doing the same as they did. However, I couldn't make a fire at all, so I was disappointed. Next, I tried lifting up a wagon whose weight was one tenth of the actual wagon. Surprisingly, I wasn't able to lift it by myself even though it was not the proper weight. It was easier for me to understand things by touching them rather than looking at them.

As you can see, I learned a lot about the history of the journey which Lewis and Clark took more than 200 years ago. I was able to not only enjoy visiting the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center but also deepen my knowledge of the Corps of Discovery by my five senses. I think that this experience will be one of my unforgettable memories of the Portland Trip.

Memorable Fantastic Place

Memorable Fantastic Place

I went to the Portland Tour from November 18th to 21st. My Portland Tour was filled with satisfaction. Of course, I really enjoyed going shopping because there is no sales tax in Portland.(There is 8.7% tax in Spokane.) On the other hand, I learned a lot of new things. The most memorable things were Reed College, UWAJIMAYA and Portland Winterhawks Hockey Club. Through these activities, I could learn more about American culture.

First of all, I really enjoyed visiting Reed College. This college is a liberal arts college, and it is known as a very prestigious college. There is an unusual rule about dorms in this college. It says that all freshmen have to live in dorms at least one year. In addition, some bathrooms are used by both men and women. If I were a Reed College student, I couldn’t stand it. The student who introduced Reed College said they are used to it, but I might not be able to do it. However, I liked this College because of their policy. For example, they must study all kinds of good things even if they are not their major. The students have a chance to extend their view, so it is very effective for them. The most amazing thing is that the teachers trust the students, so they can take an exam anywhere the students want. I’ve never heard such an astonishing thing in Japan.


Next, when I visited UWAJIMAYA, I liked the atmosphere, because the shopping store’s style is very similar to the Japanese one. Almost all of the goods are Japanese products, so I felt Japanese. In the store, there is KINOKUNIYA: a book store that is familiar to Japanese people. The contents waft Japanese to us, but the attitude of the clerk was not Japanese style, so I was disappointed a little bit. The products were the same as Japan, but the prices were terrible. These products were one and a half times more expensive than those in Japan. However, the business may be prospering, so I thought Japanese products are recognized by people around the world.


Finally, I saw an ice hockey game at the Memorial Coliseum. I’d never seen it, so I didn’t know the rules even how many players there are on the ice. There were six players including a keeper, and they play ice hockey. The player can replace another player freely, so they changed by turns quickly. They skated gorgeously as they were shooting the puck with the stick. The most incredible part of the game is fights between the players. Sometimes the referees tried to stop the fight, but they couldn’t do that, so there were some fights during this game. One audience member who was in back of Barbara said that he’s never seen a lot of fights like that, so we must be lucky. It seemed that people hope to see fights between the players, because the audience was most excited when they saw the fights.


In conclusion, I could learn another side of American culture. These three things are part of the tour, and this was the study tour although I could really enjoy visiting several places. In my opinion, people tend to grow through new experiences, so this was a very good opportunity for me. There are some interesting and fun things in Portland, so I recommend you visit this town.

Learning Something New

Learning Something New

I had a really wonderful time in Portland, because I was able to obtain a lot of things which are not only knowledge that I have learned on this trip but also good things for me,and I enjoyed them. It is a part of my wonderful memories!

First, I learned about the history of the area at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center. Our guide gave us maps around the Columbia River, and there were some marks that indicated about something important for the adventure. Those marks were a little difficult to understand, but sometimes it was easy to understand, so it was interesting for me. They also taught me how to make fire and tried to make it. It was windy and cold, so I thought it might be difficult to make fire, but he was really good at doing that. It was absolutely amazing!! He also showed us how to shoot a gun. It scared me so much, but it was interesting as well. We had a opportunity to hang the gun up, and we tried it. I was surprised when I handed it up, because it was very heavy for me, so I could not imagine people used such heavy guns. We had already known about Lewis and Clark, so I was able to share some information when they lectured about them. These experiences made me interested in the history of the area.

Second, I was able to have a confidence about my presentation topic. My presentation topic is about Japanese philosophy of peace, and this philosophy means how Japanese feel and think about something. In my presentation, I especially focus on peace, so I taught these things to my partners at Columbia Basin College. At first, my partners were a little bored, and I think they were not interested in my topic. I could not talk about it and show any pictures about peace. Fortunately, however,the next partners were really interested in my topic, and they taught me something about them. I hesitated to talk about my topic to the next pertners when I talked to my first partners, but I will give a presentation, so I realized I had to try to talk about it to the next partners. I asked them how they feel when Japanese talk about the war. They said to me, "It is Okay!" The words and their behavior gave me confidence to talk about my presentation topic. I think this visit was a very good opportunity for me to obtain such a strong confidence.

Finally, I felt how Japanese American felt during the war at the Japanese American memorial. I went to visit Mr. and Mrs. Kawahara who are Christopher's neighbors before we went on the Portland trip. My friends who visited them and I really enjoyed listening their experiences. We have great knowledge from them, so we gave some information for everyone. I think everyone including me thought deeply about this history when we visited the Japanese American Memorial. We saw 13 stones that had carved poems. Some of them were written in Japanese, and others were in English. I was able to understand how Japanese Americans felt about the war and their situation during the war a little bit. This place was not large, but it was absolutely wonderful. This visit was a really good opportunity for me to think over and be thankful for today's wonderful situation.

In conclusion, I experienced a lot of wonderful things, not only just enjoying myself but also relating to learn about something. In fact, I really enjoyed something fun, but I really enjoyed visiting the museum, the college and the memorial to obtain knowledge. I think it was a really great opportunity for me to think and compare between American culture and Japanese culture. It was an absolutely fabulous memory!!

History of Rose City :)

History of Rose City

Do you know what Rose City is? It's Portland's nickname. Portland has been known as "The City of Roses" with many rose gardens. Portland is the largest city between San Francisco and Seattle. The major industries are tourism, high tech (the Silicon Forest is a nickname too), health care, and manufacturing. I was a little surprised when I knew that the sister city is Sapporo, Japan. Through the Portland trip (November, 18-21, 2010), I could learn this city's history, especially about the exploration by Lewis and Clark, Dr. John McLoughlin, and the sad story of Japanese-Americans.

The Columbia Gorge Discovery Center was a really interesting museum, because there we could touch exhibits, such as a rifle, a canoe, and the real skins of two animals. First, I had a big rifle. The rifle was much heavier than I expected. It's very hard for me just to keep it in my arm. I couldn't imagine, moreover, hunters like Lewis and Clark had shot at some wild animals. The shot was also heavy, and I felt as if someone had made a hole in my stomach. It's a uncomfortable and strange experience. Next, I rode a canoe. The canoe was smaller than I expected. It's impossible to ride on it in a row. While I was riding it, I could understand how difficult it would be to sail angry waves with such a small canoe. It might be a hardship for crews. Finally, I touched a beaver's skin and an otter's skin. Both of them were soft and comfortable. I'm so sorry for these two animals, but actually these were necessary things to live in a land of severe cold. It might be really helpful to protect them from the severe cold. Through such valuable experiences, I could imagine the exploration by Lewis and Clark.

Visiting McLoughlin House was so exciting and helpful to know about Dr. John McLoughlin and his family. Mr. McLoughlin was famous because he helped travelers on the Oregon Trail by providing supplies for settlers during their first winter. I had known that fact before I visited his house, so I thought he was such a kind gentleman. I don't know actually how his character was, but his face which I saw from a photo was too scary, and I couldn't imagine his great job for travelers. In addition, his looks were like a Japanese 'sumo'. It's easy to understand how big he was. There were six people in his family; Mrs. McLoughlin, two daughters, and two sons. Mrs. McLoughlin was a fat woman, but on the other hand, her daughters were skinny. It's kind of funny. I could guess Mrs. McLoughlin's hobby was sewing, because there was a nice sewing room. There were a fire place and a keyboard. These things show she had been sewing while enjoying listening to music in a warm place. It sounds good. The time period when the McLoughlin family had lived was kind of hard, (because there was no electricity), but as I saw their house, they had lived a comfortable life comparatively.

The Japanese-American Memorial was different from what I thought. It's more simple than the memorials I saw during the East coast trip. However, it was also an irreplaceable memorial. The place was so quiet that the space was away from a noisy environment. The thirteen stone markers made their presence felt all the time. I found many great poems in both English and Japanese. For example, 'Sure, I go to school same as you. I'm an American', 'Our young men and women joined the army too. They are proud to be American.' Through these poems I felt their strong love for their family and Japan and sadness against a loss because of WWⅡ. I was surprised at the fact it was forty-three years later the US government made a declaration for an apology to them. I think it took too much time. After I visited the Japanese-American Memorial I thought deeply about peace. We must never repeat such a terrible war. The thirteen commemorative stone markers told me the sad history.

I had a memorable time in Portland which is known as Rose City. Every experience; to learn the exploration by Lewis and Clark at the Columbia George Discovery Center, to visit the McLoughlin house, and to read many moving poems at the Japanese-American Memorial were important for me to understand the history. I really enjoyed this trip, and if I have a chance, I'd like to go there again with my family. ;)

Invaluable Portland Trip

Invaluable Portland Trip

I went to Portland from November 18th to 21th, and I had a wonderful time there. It was not only a fun trip, but also a trip to learn cultural differences. What I especially liked was visiting Columbia Basin College. At the university, I learned a lot of things like about students who were studying Japanese, sharing our cultures, and my presentation topic.

First, I went to a class room to see students in a Japanese class, and I realized that they were really interested in Japanese culture or people, because their eyes were shining and looked at us with much curiousity. Then, we began to talk with them. They talked to me much more than other students that I met in high school. They said that the hardest thing about studying Japanese was the Chinese characters, and those were like just lines. Although they just started learning Japanese in September, they knew a lot of things about Japan, so I was impressed by their endurance because I have been studying English for about 8 years but I am still a greenhorn. I think it is because they have a clear goal: students who I talked first, said that they want to be teachers in Japan. I thought that was great because most of us don't have clear goals yet. My goal is also unstable so I was encouraged by their energy.

Second, I was asked many things about Japanese culture, like what differences there are between American schools and Japanese schools. I was at a loss for responses, because they asked me a lot of things that I had rarely thought about I thought it was difficult to explain about them to students, but they listened with interest so I was glad. I learned from them about differences between community college and university. They said that community college took 2 years to graduate, on the other hand, university took 4 years to graduate. Also, the degrees are different; community college students can get an associate degree, and university students can get a master degree, bachelor degree, and so on. I was curious to hear this, because I didn't know either American degree system or Japanese degree system. What I was surprised about was there were students who were 26 years old and 27 years old. This is unusual for me. Unfortunately, I could not ask the reason because it was too personal so I want to ask someone about this.

Finally, I explained about my presentation topic: wabi sabi. As a matter of course, nobody knew about wabi sabi. I thought I was able to explain it properly, but sadly I couldn't. I was hasty, although they listened carefully because I thought they might have no interest, and I did not have clear examples to explain wabi sabi. I really regretted it and thought that I really didn't understand how much Americans did not have any idea about wabi sabi. However, it was a great opportunity to know how much they and I did not understand it. Once Christopher said it would be the hardest to explain wabi sabi, and I realized what he meant at last, but if I did not talk with students, I could not know how they would feel when they heard about it, so I was glad to go there and talk with them.

In conclusion, although I was depressed that I could not explain my presentation topic clearly, I learned a lot about their culture and thinking from students at Columbia Basin College and what I need to do for my presentation. It was a great experience for me.