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| Interesting Signboard in Downtown |
First, I was really impressed by Reed College's unique study style. A women who gave us guidance said that most classes are discussion style in this college. Of course there are some lecture style classes, but discussion is the main study style in this college. The students always discuss many topics no matter if they are in class or outside. Therefore, this campus has many benches and some swing couches. They make students comfortable for their discussion. Also, I was surprised that students can take exams at any place where they can relax. It means teachers trust that students will not cheat on their examinations, and students answer to their theachers' trust. In addition, students can't know their own grade, because teachers don't give their students grades, they give students only comments. Reed College believes that the most important thing is how students study, not what they study. That's why teachers don't tell students grades. The students study subjects which they can learn with passion, without caring about grades. I was very surprised by their study style, and their passion for studying. I got energy from Reed College people.
Second, I enjoyed spending time at Powell's City of Books. At first, I was surprised how big it was. I knew that this book store is the biggest book store in the world, but I didn't expect it to be so big. I couldn't believe that this was a book store. I've never seen such a big book store. Inside of the building, there were tons of books. The shelves were filled with books from top to bottom. I've never thought how many books there are in the world before I visited there, but I got curious about that. While I was in this store, I felt that I was buried in the books. The books came from all over the world. I found many other language books, such as Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, Russian, Korean, not only English. The view which there were many kinds of languages books in the same shelf was very interesting. I had a good experience at this book store.
Finally, I had a great time with vendors at Portland Saturday Market. There were bunch of stands. Each stand sold different stuff, for example, jewelry, soap, knitwear, paintings, and so on. I talked with vendors about their stands. Almost all vendors said that the stuff which they were selling was made by themselves. They sold handmade stuff only at the Market. A women vendor who sold soap said that she made all the soap by herself with natural things, and as a proof, her skin was very soft and smooth. She was very friendly, and it was a good opportunity to have a conversation. While I walked through stands, I realized that the stands came from all the countries of the world. Usually, general markets have stands which sell local stuff. However, Portland Saturday Market has many kinds of stands. I found Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai stands. In addition, vendors also came from all over the world. I felt good, because various races people were enjoyed selling and talking there. The view which I saw at Portland Saturday Market was very unusual and interesting to me.
I really enjoyed spending time at these three places. I learned Portland is a very unique place, and the people are proud of being unique. I had a fruitful experience at Portland.