Last week, all Extension
students went on the Portland trip. I learned Portland is famous for its
weirdness. In this case, weird is not negative. They use 'weird' in the
meaning of uniqueness. So they say 'Keep Portland weird'. I thought it was very
interesting. So I am going to talk about three unique places I visited: Reed
college, Saturday Market and Powell's bookstore.
On the
second day during the trip, I went to Reed college. This college is a private
college so their tuition is quite high. But there are a bunch of advantages of
being a student in the college. I learned the differences of this college from other
colleges or universities from a woman who graduated from Reed College and
now works there. What I was surprised at the most was Reed College doesn't have a
grading system so that the students there don't have to be worried about their
grades. I thought it was great because we can concentrate on our studies more
without being worried about grades. Instead of grading, the teachers will give
you tons of comments or suggestions on your paper. Also, the teachers will not
teach you contents of your subjects but how to learn. So students find the ways
to study and they are not forced to learn. I think Reedies are eager to learn.
One of the biggest features of the college is having lots of discussion even
with students who are from different learning fields. I liked the interrelation
with other students. After listening to the woman's introduction, we went on the
campus tour. The guide was one of the students there, his name was August. He
guided to some interesting sites. My favorite was the place called 'MLLL'. There
are bunch of comic books or manga. There were Japanese comics too. And
their library was like in the movie 'Harry Potter' and many graduation thesis
books were around. There is much artistic scribbling everywhere on the campus. Those
were all unique or weird for me, so I really enjoyed the school
visit.
On day 3, we headed to downtown Portland and we
enjoyed the Saturday Market. In the Saturday Market area, there are many street
stalls. I went to one of the stores, which was a store that sells body care products
like lip balms, body lotions and so on. These products were all of good quality and
smell good. I bought the lip balm. It was so good that it keeps my lips moist. I
asked if the store is a chain or not to the shop keeper, and it was the only store in
the world. And all the products are made by her! So they are all natural. I was
very amazed. I found out most of the stalls were the only stores. That was why
the things there were creative and unique. In addition, that place was
intercultural. There are some exotic stalls, for example, Japanese Bonsai.
I was impressed by the creativity of Portland people.
On the same day, I went to one more interesting place. Powell's is the biggest book store in the United States. I have never been to such a huge book store before, so it was a very exciting visit. Powell's has four stories so some people might be able to stay there a day. There are all kinds of books. I learned it is open 365 days a year, contains over 68,000 ft and buys around 3000 used books a day. Since I don't read books often, I really loved the souvenir section. The section has many cool stuff. I bought a card with a motif of Pegasus and the Powell's cup for my teacher in Japan. There were so many kinds of cards, calenders, diaries. We had countless choices. People were everywhere in the bookstore so I could see how popular Powell's was. I was surprised at their art gallery there. It is unusual in a bookstore. Also, there was a divided room which sells rare books. I regretted I didn't enter there but I hesitated to go in. The atmosphere was too noble for me. Anyway, I really enjoyed shopping and observing there.
In conclusion, through this Portland trip, I discovered many interesting uniqueness in Portland. There are a bunch of things to do, not only in these three places. So many people are fascinated and visit Portland. Its weirdness connects people! I think it is amazing fact. I'd like to visit Portland again in the future.
On the
second day during the trip, I went to Reed college. This college is a private
college so their tuition is quite high. But there are a bunch of advantages of
being a student in the college. I learned the differences of this college from other
colleges or universities from a woman who graduated from Reed College and
now works there. What I was surprised at the most was Reed College doesn't have a
grading system so that the students there don't have to be worried about their
grades. I thought it was great because we can concentrate on our studies more
without being worried about grades. Instead of grading, the teachers will give
you tons of comments or suggestions on your paper. Also, the teachers will not
teach you contents of your subjects but how to learn. So students find the ways
to study and they are not forced to learn. I think Reedies are eager to learn.
One of the biggest features of the college is having lots of discussion even
with students who are from different learning fields. I liked the interrelation
with other students. After listening to the woman's introduction, we went on the
campus tour. The guide was one of the students there, his name was August. He
guided to some interesting sites. My favorite was the place called 'MLLL'. There
are bunch of comic books or manga. There were Japanese comics too. And
their library was like in the movie 'Harry Potter' and many graduation thesis
books were around. There is much artistic scribbling everywhere on the campus. Those
were all unique or weird for me, so I really enjoyed the school
visit.
On day 3, we headed to downtown Portland and we
enjoyed the Saturday Market. In the Saturday Market area, there are many street
stalls. I went to one of the stores, which was a store that sells body care products
like lip balms, body lotions and so on. These products were all of good quality and
smell good. I bought the lip balm. It was so good that it keeps my lips moist. I
asked if the store is a chain or not to the shop keeper, and it was the only store in
the world. And all the products are made by her! So they are all natural. I was
very amazed. I found out most of the stalls were the only stores. That was why
the things there were creative and unique. In addition, that place was
intercultural. There are some exotic stalls, for example, Japanese Bonsai.
I was impressed by the creativity of Portland people.On the same day, I went to one more interesting place. Powell's is the biggest book store in the United States. I have never been to such a huge book store before, so it was a very exciting visit. Powell's has four stories so some people might be able to stay there a day. There are all kinds of books. I learned it is open 365 days a year, contains over 68,000 ft and buys around 3000 used books a day. Since I don't read books often, I really loved the souvenir section. The section has many cool stuff. I bought a card with a motif of Pegasus and the Powell's cup for my teacher in Japan. There were so many kinds of cards, calenders, diaries. We had countless choices. People were everywhere in the bookstore so I could see how popular Powell's was. I was surprised at their art gallery there. It is unusual in a bookstore. Also, there was a divided room which sells rare books. I regretted I didn't enter there but I hesitated to go in. The atmosphere was too noble for me. Anyway, I really enjoyed shopping and observing there.
In conclusion, through this Portland trip, I discovered many interesting uniqueness in Portland. There are a bunch of things to do, not only in these three places. So many people are fascinated and visit Portland. Its weirdness connects people! I think it is amazing fact. I'd like to visit Portland again in the future.