The Process of Progress: Chapter Twelve

WE MISSED IT!

From the onset today was hectic. After missing the trip to Odeiba, I decided to return to the hostel to catch up on some work. It was still really early in the day, so Stephen and I decided to sit down and converse over some food. We had been talking about checking out an Indian restaurant for a while, so with so much time to spare, we made our way to an Indian restaurant across the street from the hostel. From the onset, we were greeted by the most amiable of people. He provided us with great service and an even better meal. I’d have to admit, that food has played a phenomenal role in me enjoying the great city of Tokyo. The food at this Indian restaurant was so good and plentiful that I didn’t even get a chance to finish my meal. After leaving the Indian restaurant, I chose to be a bit proactive by working ahead and reading ahead in the text book since I knew it would be a while before everyone was to return to the hostel. After catching up and getting ahead on my work, I chose to get ahead on my sleep, and boy was that nap refreshing. Upon waking up from my nap, I went up to the rooftop terrace to begin writing, something I love to do when I have spare time which is not so often. Once I decided I had written enough for the day, I walked down stairs to be greeted by Dr. Sellars. We had a really great dialogue about how she thoroughly enjoyed the island and really recommended that I still make the trip once everyone returned.

Later that evening, I met up with everyone that I usually hang with and we decided to show our buddies how we have fun in Asakusa. Our buddies had never been to Asakusa before seeing as how they’re not from Tokyo, and Asakusa is not one of the most popular districts. We ate at Mos Burger, and some really good food while we were there. After Mos Burger, we walked the city for a while before saying our goodbyes. Today turned out to be a pretty good day after all.

Japan Day 17, Hiroshima

Today was a very interesting  day. The mood for most of the Hiroshima group was very somber. Everyone seemed to be in their own state of self reflection after seeing the destruction caused by the first A-Bomb. Witnessing the horrific travesties caused by nuclear weapons, shows that war knows no limits. Japan refused surrender, even after seeing this bombing take place, which ultimately led to a second bombing. War is an ugly thing, and this was a first hand experience of just how ugly it really is.

Japan Day 16, bullet train for Kyoto

Today we took our first bullet train. The train maintained a speed of 160mph, and carried us 300 miles in under three hours. This was impressive seeing as the train didn't even shake. This was one of the most comfortable rides I've ever been on.

Arriving in Kyoto was a grand experience, we got to see Japan's longest string of escalators! This was a fun and semi disappointing experience.

Upon arriving in Kyoto we visited Nioj castle! This was an amazing experience, and full of cultural lessons.

An American's Japanese life X

May 24, 2015

      Today, we were awoken from what was a beautiful sleep by the staff to find out that today was the day that we had to move out. Its the second time that we had to move out of our room and move to another one. I guess you can say that's one way to start the day off. The thing is the time that we were allotted to pack. They gave us thirty minutes to fully pack and move out. Remember, this is the same morning that we were out till 5 am singing. So we were not in the fastest or best condition for the task. We managed to get the job down after much wondering around and picking up clothes. We asked and took our clothes to a classmate's room where we left them till we were assigned another room. After moving the last bit the stuff into the storage room, we went to return the keys and head out for lunch.
        We ate at this Indian place down the street from the hostel to pass the some. Sadly, we were homeless until our new room was a available., which by this time wouldn't be until three more hours or so. We tried to spend as much time as possible in the restaurant until we decided that it was enough. We ventured back the Hostel and fell asleep in the lounge until they finished the room.
       After slightly unpacking, my roommates and I decided to took a trip to Shijuku and look around for anything that would capture our eye. Time passed as we grew tired of walking through the large bodies of people that were everywhere and we turned our efforts to finding food. This drew us back to the place where we were the prior night. Its a food court that is located around the area that the university. We ate at the noodle place and it was one of my friends first time having Udon and I think its safe to say that he has a new favorite type of food.  We filled our bellies with as much food as we could decide to retire early for the night, since we got a huge day ahead of us.

the day of the chill Entry 14

Today was not a super eventful day for me. I woke up thinking that I was going to Disney sea but it turns out one of our buddies friends was sick so they decided to cancel. But this was not a terrible situation because I had a lot of stuff to get caught up on. I proceeded to go and get some food for breakfast and then jumped into my journals that I was about 3 days behind in. After I finished that I went to go get some spicy curry at 7 eleven. then I came back and watched some Anime and read some monga. After I finished up with this stuff we went to Harajuku and walked around there for a little while. We went into a few shops and saw a few cool things. After a little shopping we went to Takeshita street where a lot of super trendy people hang out there were some crazy costumes. After that we took a train to the area where we generally meet for class and found a really awesome food cort there. I got way to much to eat starting out with a dish I had never seen before. It was a type of meat with an egg over it with a side of rice and been sprouts, it was truly delicious. After that I tried udon noodles for the first time which were very filling. After that we went to go get on the train and came back home. It wasn't a super eventful day but it was still a pretty fun day.

An American's Japanese life IX

May 23, 2015

        I can not say it enough, but I love the place I am in. No everyone gets a chance to be in the position that I am in. I'm 21 and I'm japan. I am truly honored to have this experience. So far, I have meet so many people that I will not forget for the rest of my life. So Americans, others Japanese. The bond that I share with these people is a strong genuine bond that can not be severed.
        Today, we had a party planned with the students from Chuo University. The party acted like a social gather where the students of the TnCis and the University could "break the ice" and get to know each other. Normally, things of that nature tend to have a slow start but this took off pretty well and was quite fun to participate in. The Students of TnCis sat around a table were visited by some Japanese students for a certain period of time. I got the experience some of the student body and I was happy with what I saw. We got to bond over things like music, hobbies, and even relation of major. It really blow my mind about how similar we are. You would think that since we are from two separate sides of the world we would seem different, but it's the complete outside in this case.

      The fun did not end with the party ended. Afterwards, we left with the group to get some food and talk some more. Over dinner, we connected more with the Japanese students. Food is a thing that everyone can bond over. As I look around and saw Americans and Japanese sitting together, laughing and having fun, it brought so much joy to my heart. I loved that I was about of that social cohering, and would not change that experience for nothing.
        We, later, took the event to Karaoke. Even through not the whole group went, we still had an eventful turn out. We started at around 9 pm and were singing our hearts out by 10 pm. By the time we were finish singing, it was 5 am. We literally sang for about 9 hours. It was insane. When we left the building, the sun was up. We waved goodbye to our Japanese friends as we took our separate ways.

Japan Day 15. The inner reflection of Ryan

Today was the first day that I have really just relaxed. With my supply of money running thin, I'm no longer able to live as lavishly as I have the past two weeks. I was able to get all of my gifts shipped to America, to save me the hassle of dealing with them at the airport. I feel that I accomplished a big task, and now I'm gearing up for two days in Kyoto.

On this day I have really had to stop and think. What about this trip has caused me to constantly smile? Mostly the amazing friends I have made, followed by the fantastic Japanese culture, and all only to be matched by the sheer beauty of this land.

With all of these things, I'm very happy that my original trip to China was canceled. Japan has opened wonderful doors, and inspired me to be an even better person. I'm so thankful TNCIS entrusted me with such an amazing opportunity.

Kamakura, Japan Day 14

Today was incredible spiritual journey, and I feel that I really connected with the culture of Japan. My Japanese buddies took us to the Kamakura Buddha shrine. This was an impressive 3 ton statue, that one could actually venture inside of. While at this shrine we witnessed monks and Japanese citizens praying to the Buddha.

The second part of this trip lead us to the Temple of the White Snake. This was a shrine with an underground passage. The point of this shrine was good fortune. Apparently one day a white snake appeared inside the temple, which is very rare to find in Japan, so they named it after it. We washed our coins, cleansing them, and prayed for good fortune. This was an amazing experience.

Entry 13

Yesterday was the best day by far that I have spent in japan so far. It began by waking up in our hostel getting something to eat and meeting our buddies at the G18 station. we then proceeded to a beautiful place known as Kamakura. when we arrived our buddies wanted us to try this dish that was made famous in Kamakura it was the strangest thing I have ever eaten in my entire life. It was raw and boiled fish but not like sushie or sashimie these little guys still had their eyes and everything else on them as well, this was over a bed of rice like most things in Japan. It was surprisingly not disgusting but it sure was hard for me to get up the nerve to eat it just because what it looked like. after the fishy surprise we went to a huge statue of Buddha in a very pretty place in Kamakura surrounded by nature. we where even able to go into the Buddha statue and see the history of how it was constructed. After the Buddah statue we did something that has been on my bucket list for a while, we went hiking in japan!!!! This is something I have wanted to do sense I was a junior in high school and it was so much better then I thought it would be. We saw some truly breath taking views of the coast line of japan and of the various mountains around the area. I also got to see some really cool bamboo forests and stuff around this area. Near the end of the hike we got to see one of the mot peacfule areas I have ever seen, it was a shrine area where there was a lot of statues and different types of Japanese architecture. One of my favorite things a saw was all the Japanese spirit gates that were around the area it was truly an awesome experience. After a mountain adventure we went back down to the city area of Kamakura and went on the hunt for some good food. Our buddies had a type of Japanese dinner food in mind known as Okonomiyaki which was basically a mix of veggies, meat and egg all heald together by some kind of creamy substance. how it went was they would bring the mix to the table and then have you mix it up and cook it the want you want to. It was covered with mayo and some kind of special Japanese sauce that was so so good. After we ate here we went back to our hostle and went to bed. what a day!!

Panasonic report

This is an optical heat sensor. It is able to detect the exact right amount of temperature nescasary for cooking whatever it is you want to eat. this allows you to have a better chance of not burning your food. very helpful advanced technology.

This is an IH. What it does is it allows you to heat up your food without wasting any energy, because it uses magnetic currents to warm the bottom of your pan so no electricity or fuel is wasted on making your food. This could be used for a more energy efficient future!

This is a SiFi caliber device for the future. It is literally a Robot that cleans up after you. When I first saw this it blew me away because I had never seen anything like it in the past. just goes to show you all the advancements that are being displayed around the world truly fascinating stuff!!

Entry 12

Today was an AWESOME, AWESOME DAY!! We woke up and met Dr.V at the front of the hostel, Then we ventured to a docking area in Asakusa. We waited in line for little bit and got our tickets for the boat ride. We then proceeded into the boat which was one of the coolest boats I have ever seen. it was covered in Glass panels so you could see all around you, it almost looked futuristic. While we were in rout to a place known as Odaiba Island we saw a once in a lifetime phenomenon known as a solar rainbow. It is pretty much a circular rainbow around the sun, truly a beautiful blessing to see something so rare, I think I must have taken at least 5 pictures of it. After seeing the rainbow the boat continued to the docking point at Odaiba island where the fun really began. We started out by going to a museum that had all kinds of new technology that I had never seen before, starting with a hug light up globe that was showing exactly what the earth was doing, it also changed colors and layout periodically. it was here where i saw Asimo the fully programed interactive robot who sings dances hops on one foot and runs. it was so crazy to see something like this in person just because it is so farfetched and sifi. It was truly a peek into the future. I also got to experience this crazy room where you are constantly monitored by a computer database that can utilize your information and make a song that is specific to who you are, that was one of the coolest experiences I have had henceforth. After the museum The marketing class went over to the Panasonic facility and saw some crazy awesome advanced technology that I have never seen before. Finally after Panasonic we made our way to Gondam park where you could see a life size Gundom! It was so cool! All in all a truly awesome and memorable day!!