Have you ever been to Portland? I went on the Portland trip which was from November 9th to November 12th with my classmates. We went to Portland by bus and we stopped at Columbia Basin College. Also, I totally enjoyed going shopping and I bought a lot of things. In my opinion, this trip was the best trip ever. I had a pretty fantastic time during the Portland trip.
First of all, I had an absolutely wonderful time at Columbia Basin College on November 9th. The mascot of Columbia Basin College is hawks and it is really cool and stylish. I had a conversation partner who is an American and learns Japanese. I absolutely enjoyed talking with him. We talked about Japanese culture, American culture, our hobbies and so on. It was difficult to explain Japanese culture to him because there were many special words and they were difficult to translate in English. Also, it was really interesting to know about American culture such as music and college. In addition, I was surprised that there were kinds of gardens in the buildings and that was nice.
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| Marvelous Powell's Books |
Next, I really enjoyed going shopping in Portland. I went to Pioneer Place Mall, Washington square mall, Powell’s Books which was the largest books store in the world and Uwajimaya which was a Japanese grocery store. I really wanted to go shopping because there was no tax in Portland. In the malls, I bought many cosmetics for my souvenirs and my friends. Also, I extremely enjoyed Powell’s Books which was the largest bookstore in the world because I love reading books. I didn’t have enough time because I had only 1 hour and half to stay there. I wanted to have much more time to explore the store. Besides, I had a great time at Uwajimaya because there were many things which I wanted to buy. I bought many Japanese foods such as Oden and vegetable soups. However, the Japanese foods at Uwajimaya were really expensive. Although they were expensive, they were absolutely yummy.
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| Exciting Basketball Game |
Third, I enjoyed my time at University of Portland on November 11th. The cafeteria was pretty and very reasonable. I wanted this cafeteria to be in my college in Japan because there were a lot of choices of meals. I ate fried rice and chicken, they tasted so good. Besides I watched a basketball game there. That was my first time to watch a basketball game directly in America. The game was PILOTS versus VIKINGS and very active. I didn’t know the basketball game rules exactly, so I was confused at first, but it was really fantastic. If I have some chance to go to watch basketball games, I want to go again.
In conclusion, I made absolutely great memories during the Portland trip. It was great to have a conversation with a student at Columbia Basin College because we hardly can have conversations with Americans in Japan. Also, shopping was really interesting, especially Uwajimaya and Powell’s Book Store. I wish I could go to the Portland trip with my friends again.
