Last post in Maryland

On Aug 13, to buy some souvenirs for my family and friends, I went shopping at a gig department store called ‘Target’. There are many interesting toys, sports goods, electronics product, TV games and sweet food. I wish I could have bought as many souvenirs as I wanted. But, it was too large to walk around, and because of lack of dollars, I bought only packages of Oreos. I think that I will need more careful money management next trip.

As all review of this program in university of Maryland, thanks to my classmates, teachers, and mentors, I really enjoyed everything, everyday. This program became a great memory in my life. I want to keep in touch with my classmates after we go back to Japan. And my desire to work globally with many people who have different languages, cultures, religions and many other differences became much stronger than ever. I want to come back to Maryland and Washington DC when I become a great businessman.

I'm lovin it.

On Aug 12, I made two good memories First, I ate McDonald’ hamburger for the first time in the USA. I was surprised that they served only big size hamburgers, but the taste was really same with that in Japan, so I enjoyed eating very much. Secondly, I took a Capitol building tour. It had beautiful pictures and building architecture like in Hollywood movies. I wish I had had more time to spend.

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Fantastic Nikki's house

We went to Nikki’s house on Aug 11. It had many interesting games, two pretty cats and a very large yard where we can play basketball. We are welcomed with delicious hamburger and lemonade. Especially, the most interesting thing for me was playing the game called Wii. On the game, we can play bowling, boxing and tennis. I enjoyed the first experience of Wii. It reflects all of our motions, so I was surprised of this ability of operation. I’m proud of Japanese game products which are popular around the world. One of my friends, Nozomu can not only play any sports well in the real world, but also can not play those sports on the game. Finally, he stained a muscle in his right arm because of his very fast and wasteful actions unfortunately.

Good Experiences

On Aug 7, I went to the Inter-American Development Bank. The president and some Japanese staff talked to us about the outline and roles of that bank, and they answer the question which some students asked. On Aug 8, it was the most exciting day. We went to watch a major reargue baseball game, between orioles and rangers. I bet Masatoshi on the baseball game, and I won the bet because orioles made a clean sweep of rangers. And after the game, we could see a beautiful wirework which continued for a long time. It was so fun that I bought a baseball bat and ball and enjoyed till midnight. On Aug 9, at morning Nikki, Masatoshi, saya and I woke up early and run around a beautiful lake. At noon, we went to the National Museum of the American Indian and National Air & Space Museum. I thought that they were so-so, maybe because I prefer art to history or science. I want to see more art museum. On Aug 10, we made a successful ascent of Washington Monument. Its view was very nice, and I wish I can do that again with my family someday. At night, we played basketball. I thought that Nobuya was the best basketball player among all my friends up to now. Nobody couldn’t stop him, but I will stop him tonight’s battle.

the sixth day in America

We went to the Newseum where we can see many valuable exhibits. For example, we can see a part of Berlin wall and 9/11 gallery and can be a special TV reporter. It was so interesting for us that we spent many times there. And Nozomu and I bought a president’ card which enable us to remember the presidents of USA. And at night, some of us played the billiard. It cost much cheaper than that in Japan, so I want to play again to beat Mike completely. Hahaha!

Volleyball & Pizza

We played volleyball in the beautiful grass court on August 6, 2008. It was really fun. And the game was very excited, so I did my best which is only once in a year.

The Fifth Day

I met three female students who are studying Japanese at the University of Maryland on Aug 4. Surprisingly, they could speak Japanese very well and were so familiar with Japanese TV dramas and music. For example, one of them really loves musicians belonging to Avex, Ayumi Hamasaki and Kumi Koda, so she has been studying business in order to work at avex as an attendant of musician. And another loves Japanese pop idol groups like SMAP. I really enjoyed the three-hour conversation. We exchanged e-mail addresses, so I am going to send an email as soon as I can after returning to Japan. And after that, we went to the Kennedy Center for a free jazz concert. It was such a good performance and a female singer was so energetic that it froze us for a short time. And finally, we went to a sushi restaurant which served delicious sushi . What a shame that I couldn’t take pictures there because of lack of battery of my camera.

The third day - Alexandria and Georgetown

I went to Alexandria and Georgetown on Aug 3. Alexandria is the town which is hometown of George Washington and is called as old town. Its atmosphere was so fine, and I felt relaxed when I was walking around there. If I move to America in the future, I want to live in such a good town. And especially, the most impressive time was when I rode the boat. I could see beautiful sky, shining river, and landmark building. So I took many photos on and from the boat. In the afternoon, I really enjoyed shopping in many brand shops and bought a polo shirt and souvenir with my friends.

Arrival at Maryland

Yesterday, AUG 1, 2008, 19 other Aoyama Gakuin University’students and I arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport. 2-hours flight from Japan was so long that I got very tired and sleepy. However, I made a remarkable recovery when I saw Nina, Nikki, Joe and Mike who is my teacher and mentors. And view of Washington DC is quite beautiful, so I thought that I would take a lot of pictures during this trip. For dinner, we went to the restaurant which serves big hamburger and pasta. We really felt American size and was satisfied with its taste.