Unforgettable Two Weeks!

AGU in America 2008 was really wonderful! I enjoyed it very much. The most interesting experience was communicating with mentors, teachers and friends in English. we talked about many things! I found it to difficult to express what I wanted to say, wanted to talk with you more! It was very good experience for me. I’ll keep trying to study English. And I enjoyed excursion of Washington, DC, Alexandria, Georgetown, Rockville and so on. It was so beautiful that I took a lot of photos by my mobile phone. Eating was also enjoyable. Japanese food in America was sometimes strange but American food like hamburger, sandwich and French fries was really good! This program is unforgettable. I want to go to Maryland and see you again! Thank you.

Who Is He?

Yesterday we went to DC. That was last time to go to DC. I learned a lot of thing there. The most impressive place we went is the White House! I was very very excited! I wanted to see George W. Bush. And we also went to the United States Capitol. It was so cool! I felt the center of politics of the United States. After that, I was tired yesterday. I walked very slowly. But talking with Mike was funny! I enjoyed it so much. Returning to the College Park of UM, we went to a restaurant which was the Middle East restaurant. Joe’s friend works there. I ate Beef Kebab Pita, it was delicious! And we enjoyed talking. I also met Joe’s friends, Sachi and her boyfriend. (I’m sorry. I forgot his name.) After the dinner, we enjoyed talking at QI lobby. I don’t want to return to Japan. I want to go other place like New York. And I’ll miss Mike, Joe, Nikki, Nina, Heather and friends:-( This program is really wonderful.

Nikki's Exciting House!

Yesterday we went to Nikki’s house. I met her family. They are very friendly. I enjoyed the evening so much! I played wii with friends. That was first time to play wii. Nikki’s father plays it very well! He is also good at basketball. He is like superman :-) I tried wii, it was very interesting. I played bowling, basketball and tennis games! But it was difficult for me to play it. I became excited, and I hurt my right arm. I was sore. The dinner is so cool! I loved it everything! Thank you, Nikki.

Smile

Wonderful Days!

This photo is taken in front of the White House. By the way, I was too tired to sleep yesterday. Because I was still excited! Since Thursday, I’ve been enjoying everyday! Thursday, I went to Inter-American Development Bank. IDB’s building is so beautiful like hotel! I also met Ms. Hiroko Miyakawa who works is Public Information Officer, Office of External Relations. It was very interesting. I realized that the necessity of Spanish Then we went to zoo. I saw many animals! They were very cute! Friday, we went to Baltimore. Then we went to the American Visionary Art Museum. The Art is so interesting! Then we took water taxi around the Baltimore. In evening, we watched a baseball game! That was first time to watch baseball game! It was very very exciting! Also fireworks were beautiful! Saturday and Sunday, we went to many museums. Surprisingly, we met Japanese students of Hokkaido University in the National Air & Space Museum. After that we played volleyball. Even though I was not good at volleyball, I enjoyed so much! And we had dinner at Potbelly near the University of Maryland. The sandwich I ordered was so delicious! I want to go there again! But I miss Japanese food occasionally. Indeed there is Japanese food in the United States, but something is very strange taste. So I’ll enjoy American food this week!

My Nickname In America:-)

We got a nickname in America. It is “Smiles” named by Nikki! I’m glad to hear that. So I want to keep smiling even though I Oversleep. So this morning, I did oversleep. I’m terribly sorry. Yesterday we went to Newseum & DC. I studied about 9/11. I found Japanese newspaper in America! I found that how shocking 9/11 was. I wanted to study about it more. After that, we went to shopping, taking a rest and Whitehouse with Mike! It was very interesting! And I ate “beef ochadsuke”! It was so cool! I thought that it was mixture of Japanese food and American food. I enjoyed talking with Mike. He knows Japanese words a lot! Thank you for having a good time Mike!

Like A Sports Festival!

Yester was like a sports festival! We played tag, volleyball, soccer. We enjoyed it so much! After that, we went to Nikki’s house. We ate pizza! It was so delicious! I want to write down many many thing, but there is little time to edit my blog…I’m sorry!

On The Boat!

The Wonderful 4th Day!

Yesterday we went to the John F. Kennedy Center and Dupont Circle. Before we went there, we had Nina’s class and Heather’s class. I could finish editing my blog. It was really interesting! Then in Heather’s class, we thought about cultural differences between the U. S. and Japan. Next we talked with University of Maryland students who are taking Japanese. It was so surprising and interesting! Because the students knew about Japan’s culture very well even though we didn’t know things. For example, Japanese music groups, TV shows, actors and actresses. One of them likes natto, and I like it too. We also talked in Japanese. Their Japanese was so fluent! I want to talk with them again, and I think that I should study about my country! After that, we went to the John F. Kennedy Center. We listened to a jazz concert, it was so cool! The center was so stylish, and very very large! Then we went to a sushi restaurant. We enjoyed talking with the mentors! While editing my blog, I made a lot of mistake. But Nina corrected the wrong sentences. So I want to write sentences correctly and smoothly

Alexandria and Geogetown

Yesterday was Sunday. So it was holiday! We went to Alexandria and Georgetown with mentors. We met at QI at 10 am. The long and wonderful trip was started! The town was so beautiful. And we went to Christ Church. I talked with Weber who was in Christ Church. He knows about Japan very well. For example, he knows “Hokusai” who was famous old Japanese painter. I was glad to talk about Japan. Next we went to restaurant with Mike. We ate hamburger. It was so delicious and a little expensive. The most exciting program was boat trip! It was really cool! I took many photos! We also enjoy shopping! I bought a light blue short-sleeved shirt. Some of friends bought sunglasses. They look so cool. Then I tried it, but I didn’t look nice. So I gave up buying it. After shopping, we walked so long. We become tired, and we went to Chinese restaurant. Strangely there was Japanese food! I ordered “Shrimp Tempura Roll”. So I enjoyed so much and slept very well!

I am in America!

Hello! My name is Nozomu Kawashima. I am freshman of Aoyama gakuin University. I major in International Politics.
This is first time to come to America. I would like to communicate with American people, and brush up my English skill. The flight from Japan to America was tiring. It took about 12 hours.
After the long trip, I arrived in America! First time, I talked with Joe who is mentor. It was very interesting! Next, I talked with Mike. He is very tall! And He majors in Japanese. I think that he can speak Japanese fluently. On the bus, I talked with Nikki.I realized how difficult to speak in English! But I want to talk with mentors more and more!