Adventure Awaits...

Arrived 7:15pm Monday, March 25 to Narita Tokyo International Airport.  I flew Singapore Airlines from Los Angeles International Airport for 12 hours.  It was quite the journey... I spent my time watching movies. I saw... Life of Pi, Rise of the Guardians, Wreck-It-Ralph, Argo, & Amour. Great movies!

After I was able to go through Immigration and Customs, I was greeted by my colleagues and had my luggage shipped to the hotel in Kawagoe.  I was the first to arrive from my cohort of Global Teaching Fellows.

 Day 1: Tuesday, March 26th

We left the hotel near the airport to go to Kawagoe-shi.  We took the bus and it was about 2.5 hours ride. We passed around the main Tokyo area.  We were dressed to impress with our suits.

We were welcomed by the Chancellor and President of the university, and took a photo with other new faculty to Tokyo International University.  We settled a few things with housing, and our hankos.

さくら!

Sakura!

Cherry blossoms are in full bloom, and it is gorgeous. Spring time for new beginnings. 

Indeed it is a new life that I embark on in Japan.

New: teaching experience, living experience, language experience, eating experience, shopping experience, cultural experience...

personal & professional growth.

Cultural Exchange

Today we went to South Salem High School. Our students shared about Japanese culture, and South students shared their ethnic/ and American culture. All students shared and presented out loud in the library. They talked about differences and similarities in their cultures. They created a "cultural flag" as an end product. It was a great opportunity for our students to visit a public school in Salem. A different interaction than with Willamette students.

And... The sun came out today!

Keep calm and carry on $:)