I went on the amazingly fabulous Portland trip from November 13 to 17. It was last trip during this studying abroad. Until then, we went to East coast, Seattle, and South west. Portland is There are a lot of attractive places and also I had a precious time there. I mingled with a lot of people, learned about Japanese American and enjoyed shopping.
First of all, I had some warmth and funny encounters. I went to Columbia Basin College (CBC). I was able to talk with the students who study Japanese language about my presentation topic. I talked about it with one student at the CBC. It was the first time to explain and talk about my presentation topic with people who are not MFWI teachers or my Japanese friends. I was worried whether the students were able to understand my topic or not. But, the student was very kind and tried to make sense about my topic. He is 28 years old and an American which grew up at Washington State. After he graduated high school, he seemed to work, and now he started to study at CBC to go to Washington State University. Also most of students who study Japanese like Anime, so they started to study it. I really enjoyed talking with them.
Next, I felt a pain in my chest at Japanese American memorial. Actually, I didn't know about Japanese American since I came to Spokane and studied about them. In reading class, Extension students read "Weed flower" which is based on Japanese American people life during World War II. In this book, it was distributed about the situation of the internment camp and their distressing life. I learned how they felt and how they survived their severe life. Actually, we visited Japanese American Memorial in Washington D.C. at last semester. I saw a crane statue which struggled to try to be free. It symbolized their feeling. Also during this trip, we was able to go to another Japanese American Memorial. There are twelve stones. It was engraved with short poem which was written by Japanese American people. I felt a pain in my chest when I saw and read their poetries. I remembered the story of Weed flower. The memorial is in the beautiful park. At the day which we visited there was very cold, but I saw that many people came to the park and saw the memorial.
Finally, shopping in Portland was super fantastic. Oregon State has no tax and there are a lot of charming stores and shopping mall. Especially, Saturday Market was super fantastic. This market is hold from March to Xmas eve on every Saturday and Sunday at Portland. There are a lot of arts stores, such as pottery, staind glass and felt stuff. I heard about 750,000 visitor come to this market a year. Surprisingly, all of them are handmade! I really like such as handmade products, so I was truly excited. Also, I enjoyed talking with clerks. Most of them made the stuff by themselves, so I asked how to make and talked about their stuff. Indeed, this market has a famous shop, "voodoo doughnut". I heard the shop from students who is students who studies at Portland English Language Academy when I mingle with them. They recommended this doughnuts, so I'm interested in the shop. When I went to this shop, a lot of people was lined up. So I realized the shop is more famous shop than I expected. In the store, there were pink color occupied and it was so cute, it was crowded though. Even I walked around the market, it was fun for me. I made a good purchase there.
In conclusion, I had a delightful time at Portland thanks to our superb teachers, tender bus driver, wonderful Extension students and gentle local people. As you can see, I enjoyed talking with a lot of people, could know how Japanese American felt and had a good shopping. This trip is unforgettable for me. I enjoyed Portland fully. I want to go there someday again.
First of all, I had some warmth and funny encounters. I went to Columbia Basin College (CBC). I was able to talk with the students who study Japanese language about my presentation topic. I talked about it with one student at the CBC. It was the first time to explain and talk about my presentation topic with people who are not MFWI teachers or my Japanese friends. I was worried whether the students were able to understand my topic or not. But, the student was very kind and tried to make sense about my topic. He is 28 years old and an American which grew up at Washington State. After he graduated high school, he seemed to work, and now he started to study at CBC to go to Washington State University. Also most of students who study Japanese like Anime, so they started to study it. I really enjoyed talking with them.
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| Silently Japanese American Memorial |
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| Splendid Saturday Market |
Finally, shopping in Portland was super fantastic. Oregon State has no tax and there are a lot of charming stores and shopping mall. Especially, Saturday Market was super fantastic. This market is hold from March to Xmas eve on every Saturday and Sunday at Portland. There are a lot of arts stores, such as pottery, staind glass and felt stuff. I heard about 750,000 visitor come to this market a year. Surprisingly, all of them are handmade! I really like such as handmade products, so I was truly excited. Also, I enjoyed talking with clerks. Most of them made the stuff by themselves, so I asked how to make and talked about their stuff. Indeed, this market has a famous shop, "voodoo doughnut". I heard the shop from students who is students who studies at Portland English Language Academy when I mingle with them. They recommended this doughnuts, so I'm interested in the shop. When I went to this shop, a lot of people was lined up. So I realized the shop is more famous shop than I expected. In the store, there were pink color occupied and it was so cute, it was crowded though. Even I walked around the market, it was fun for me. I made a good purchase there.
In conclusion, I had a delightful time at Portland thanks to our superb teachers, tender bus driver, wonderful Extension students and gentle local people. As you can see, I enjoyed talking with a lot of people, could know how Japanese American felt and had a good shopping. This trip is unforgettable for me. I enjoyed Portland fully. I want to go there someday again.