I really enjoyed
learning and shopping in Pasco and Oregon. I traveled by bus to Portland from
November 9 to 12 with Extension students who are studying abroad together for 4
months. It took about 7 hours to get there. This drive was the longest hours for
me and the last trip in this semester. I was quit looking forward to going in
there. One of the reasons I enjoyed the trip is that Portland is urban city.
There were three things that I enjoyed most on the trip.
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| wonderful students at Columbia Basin College |
First of all, I really enjoyed visiting the Columbia Basin College in Pasco. I participated in Japanese class and taught the students about Japan. There are pretty people who are studying Japanese more than I expected. My partner was very interested in Japan. I taught her how to make craft and kabuto which is a Japanese traditional hat. It was especially difficult to teach her the craft because it took a long time to finish completely. I had problems with difficult words although she knew some words. In addition, she already knew how to make origami so I was totally happy to teach it to her. We talked for 2 hours although I felt like it was only 30 minutes. She highly liked Kabuto because it expresses the Japanese and looks cool definitely. I was happy to share with the students about Japanese culture.
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| amazingly perfect games |
Second, the basketball game at the University of Portland was highly amazing. One of my hobbies is to watch basketball games. It was the pilots versus the Vikings. There were many people in the arena. It was more exciting than ever before. This game was men’s basketball so it was a powerful and compelling game. Almost all of the men are definitely tall so I felt especially excited when they scored a goal. The home team was continuing one point behind the visiting team and It was the end of the game. Each team had strong points. The home team’s strong point was free shooting. On the other hand, the visiting team’s defense is perfectly strong. However, the home team blew a lead and list the last minute. The basketball game was very close, 75-79. I enjoyed their game a lot. It was fantastic and awesome time.
Finally, Uwajimaya in Portland was amazingly marvelous. At this store that we could buy Japanese items such as snacks, seasonal food, meals, and cup noodles. The size is like half of Costco. This was our first trip to go a place with ramen noodles because they just opened from this year. We are lucky people. When I ate ramen noodles, I was extremely moved since the taste reproduces the real tastes of Japan. The noodles were not so expensive. The prices were reasonable. I also had a chance to talk with Japanese people. They came from Aomori which is located in the northern part of Japan’s main island of Honshu. I was glad that I could communicate with them. I couldn’t wait to buy Japanese food although the staff also fascinated me and I bought only many green tea snacks. This memory makes me smile.
To sum up, Portland has many enjoyable places such as great Columbia Basin College, exciting basketball game, and significant Uwajimaya. I could get good experience every single day. I think Portland is a good place to live comfortably for Japanese. I will visit there one more time absolutely. This was an unforgettable experience.