I had many chances to experience fun activities. We visited a few schools in 4 days. It was interesting for me that each school had different ideas. I learned both American culture and Japanese culture in Portland. Also, I learned about nature and felt natural beauty.
First, to visit some universities was a good opportunity. I went to Columbia Basin College at first and I talked about my cultural research with a student there. It was the first time to tell about Gambanyoku to a person who didn’t know about my presentation. It was difficult because my partner had no knowledge about Gambanyoku. I had to explain from beginning to end. I hadn’t memorized my presentation yet, so I used a script and explained it, but it was too hard to organize what I wanted to say. I forgot to ask him how much he could understand, but in my opinion he could understand a little. It means I needed to organize my opinions and practice more. Also, I visited other schools. One of them was Reed College. Reed College had a special system which was different from other colleges. It was interesting for me, but we have taken classes which are composed of less than 15 people at MFWI, so it was sometimes similar to our school. For example, we call teachers their first name and it was the same as Reed College. It was usual for us here, so I was surprised that it wasn’t common in other colleges. To my surprise, students in Reed College could take exams anywhere they wanted. It showed us how honest they were. It was new for me to hear this system, and I was impressed. I was also surprised at their tuition. It was about five times as expensive as MWU tuition. I couldn’t believe it. I also went to Portland State University. There were many international students and I had an opportunity to talk with a woman who was Japanese. She told my friends and me how challenging she came to United States and entered the university there. After that, we went to watch a women’s volleyball game. There were three men who cheered to PSU team, but they wore green clothes from top to bottom. They were strange and their attitudes were not good. They were stupid, but sometimes made us laugh and I heard it was common from an international student. However, I thought it wouldn’t happen in Japan. It disobeyed sportsmanship. There were many types of schools and to go there was fun for me.
Second, I felt sad at the Japanese American Memorial. There were two statues which wrote faces of people. Their faces were sad, and showed us how hard Japanese American lived in America at that time. There were also haiku and some words on the rocks. It told me how Japanese Americans felt during the war. I was depressed and shocked. The situation at that time was quite different from now. However, thanks to Weedflower, I had knowledge about their situation or life at that time, so I could understand their feelings easier than without knowledge. I thought they might struggle to make their life better. Also, it was good to visit the place I learned before because it helped me to understand correctly about the atmosphere of the situation. In addition, it was important to know the WWⅡ from many sights. If I were in Japan, I would have never understood and learned about Japanese Americans, so it was really a useful opportunity for me. We also visited the Japanese American Memorial in Washington D.C. last semester. It was helpful for me to compare both of them and think more deeply about war. I've thought war is very sad, so we have to remember this history forever.
Finally, the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center was the good place to learn not only history but also animal. We could learn about Lewis and Clark. We learned about them from Kris at MFWI in American West class, so it was easy to understand. To my surprise, people at that time cut their wrists to take blood out from their bodies. They believed that there was sick in their blood. It was too shocking for me to imagine. Also, their way to pull their teeth up was very different from now and the way was scary for me. Another interesting story was about owls. There was an owl and the guide showed us it. It was first time to see them very close, so it was interesting. The system of owl’s body is very different from human beings, for example, owls can turn their necks to 270 degrees. I couldn’t imagine it, but actually the owl which the guide took could move his neck. They also have special ears and sight. They can hear quickly and they can see other animals from many direction. It makes them easy to catch other animals. The story was really fun, so I enjoyed listening to her story. In addition, I could touch some items there, so it was exciting to study.
I could learn new teaching and learning system of some universities and it was fun. To visit other universities and tell them about my culture research was a good opportunity for me. I could notice what I should do. It was great to learn history and feeling of Japanese Americans was hard, but it was really important. Also, there was an institution which has been prepared a guide or some items for learning deeply. I had a good time there. The Portland tour made me interested.