Do you know that Portland is said to be one of the best places to live? Portland, "the City of Roses", is the largest city in Oregon. Extension students went to Portland to learn history and culture from November 9th to 12th. I understood why Portland is said to be one of the best place to live. Portland is artistic, peaceful and fantastic. There are three memorable things with you from my trip: Columbia Basin College, the Portland Art Museum, and Powell's Bookstore.
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| the memorable photo at CBC |
First of all, the experience to visit the Columbia Basin College gave me a precious memory. In the last semester, I met some students from the Columbia Basin College for volunteering. I met them again in this semester on the trip. I could not believe that I got friends and I could meet them again in the US. What a wonderful thing! I had the chance to talk with some students who learn Japanese. We talk a lot about my presentation topic, our future, and many more. They have a lot of interests in Japan and they have a high motivation to learn new things. During talking with them, I realized my English skill growth. The chance to talk with them made my motivation high and gave me a confidence to talk in English, so the memory to visit the college became my precious memory.
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| Exhibition of Kubo and the Two Strings |
Next, the Portland Art Museum gave me a great memory. It has an exhibition to celebrate Animating Life: The Art, Science, and Wonder of LAIKA, artistry and technology of the globally renowned animation studio. The exhibition shows the process to make a LAIKA movie, and we could see materials of movies, such as, Kubo and the Two Strings (2016), The Boxtrolls ( 2014), ParaNorman (2012), and Coraline (2009). I couldn't believe that movies were made by people with amazing technical skills with teeny-tiny materials. The miniature world of the movie was on display spread throughout a room and it was amazing. It made me feel that it was like I was in the movie world. I had a great time at the Portland Art Museum.
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| Books that made me a shopaholic |
Finally, Powell's Bookstore gave me a memory that was just like a dreamscape. Powell's Bookstore was like heaven for me. I want to ask a question for you who are reading this blog and who are a bookworm. Have you ever been to Powell's Bookstore? Powell's Bookstore is the best bookstore ever. It was like a maze, the heaven of books, or a jungle of books. It was the place that I was really looking forward to going to the most on the trip. We spent 1 hour and a half there, but it was not enough time to enjoy the whole of the huge bookstore for me. Time flew so quickly and It was almost like a dream. Powell's Bookstore made me a shopaholic. I bought 4 books without looking at the cost. I had a wonderful time at the bookstore and I want to go there one more time.
In conclusion, I was able to have great experiences in this trip and I spent memorable time with extension students. I will never forget my time at Columbia Basin College, the Portland Art Museum and Powell's Bookstore. The Portland trip was a valuable time, because it was the last trip in this extension program. Trips with extension members are lifetime memories for me.
