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| Exciting School Visits! |
From November 17th to 20th, we went to Portland, Oregon as a trip. Before the trip, I had heard Portland is like Seattle, and that’s right, the weather, abundant nature and diversities are similar to Seattle, I think. But, there were several differences, it was “no tax” everywhere in Portland and I felt the distance between the downtown and the sea or mountains was longer than Seattle. However, I did get to know more about the origin of America, universities in Portland and nature of Oregon states through the trip.
Before going to Portland, we learned about “Lewis and Clark” and Oregon Trail in American West class. I didn’t know the existence of such a great expedition and I didn’t know they were the first expedition to the Pacific Coast in the U.S.. They gathered wisdom without electricity during the difficult journey from 1804 to 1805. The Oregon Trail was made up of old Indian and fur trapper trails. Between 1841 and 1869 the Oregon Trail was used by missionaries, settlers and ranchers to find a new life in the West, however there are still remnants of that long ago journey. The Oregon Trail became one of the main overland routes which allowed people to move from the Midwest to the Oregon territory in the Northwest. We visited McLoughlin House. Dr. John McLoughlin,”The Father of Oregon” was a benefactor and a trained physician who helped travelers on the Oregon Trail by providing supplies. The road was crucial to people in Oregon.
From the beginning of trip to the end of trip, we visited three universities and each university had strong characteristics. I had a really good opportunity, because I could compare them to other universities I have visited. Especially, I was very interested and impressed by Reed College, because I have never seen such a rich and special university. But I like the university and if I could afford it, I would like to go to the university, because I can agree with the honor system at Reed College and I think it’s good to be very close between teachers and students. There is no grade, but the process is important, so students have responsibility and teachers trust students. When I heard the big tuition one semester, I was really surprised by it, but I thought there are more benefits which make up for the big tuition.
Portland is surrounded by abundant nature, such as clear and huge rivers like Willamette River and Columbia River and mountains like Mount Tabor and Mount Hood. In the river, people use it as a hydroelectric power plant to generate electricity. We saw Willamette falls and on the way to Portland, we also saw many hydroelectric power plants on the Columbia River. Also, Columbia River has abundant fish, like salmon. When we visited Multnomah Falls, we could see them. I have known salmon can survive in only clear rivers, so I felt the beautiful nature. In the mountains, there are several large paper mills in Oregon, because papers are made from woods. Nature connects to major industries of the state.
In conclusion, I had a really good time through the Portland trip, because not only shopping, but also the trip teaches me about the foundation of America, like the expedition, Oregon Trail and tons of nature in Oregon. Through my experiences on every trip, I have got the knowledge of the American origin little by little. Also, through the school visits, we could touch the diversity of America and interact with American university students. To think this is last trip, I’m really sad. I’ll never forget this trip.