In the USA August 21 - September 11

I visited my family in Boston, Massachusetts and Berkeley, California. Here are a couple of pictures.

Sailing on the Charles River, Boston


Walking in the hills of Berkeley

Hawaii

As I have gotten older, I have become less tolerant of the cold weather. Last week, I took my family to Maui for 5 days. At first, my son was petrified of the water either at the pool or on the beach. He remained petrified until his mother took him down the water slide in the hotel pool. The excitement of the slide made him forget about his fear of the water. In the picture to the left, my son and I are going down the water slide at the hotel. To the right is the path I walked down every day to go to the beach.
After living in Japan for 7 years, my stomach has told me it has decided it prefers Japanese food to American food. When I first came to Japan I thought the food was bland and unfilling. Now, though, rice is a staple and when I go to the states I find the food either too oily, salty, sweet or just too much.

Honest Talk about Studying in America

Gami, who is in Illinois for a year, is writing about her experience studying at a US university on her blog. She has made some pretty interesting observations about the differences between Japanese and US universities. Keep us posted Gami!

Good Luck Gami!

Gami has gone to the USA to study for a year. Gami, when you have the time please write in your blog and tell us your news.
I am sure that you are going to have an excellent year. I am looking forward to seeing you next year and hearing your stories.