Bob writes...

Two days ago, the CGS homestay students arived in Japan, and our experiences that day can only be summated with one word: Cleetus.

14 hour plane ride. 2 and a half hours of bussing... over an hour of walking...half the group passed our time by brainstorming the most redneck name humanly imaginable. Yeah, we hit a couple lows...

Yesterday was a completely different experience!

Fresh off an average of 3 hours of sleep the night before, we were pumped. Doug'll probably give himself a stroke when he sees this, but we were so glad to not be in. plane. Anyways, our adventures in Japanese brought us to Odaiba for the experience of a lifetime... well, many of them.

From our experiences so far with the great and powerful Mrs. Bilodeau, resident CGS history whiz, we knew Japan isn't very accepting of foreigners... well, we were wrong. Pleasantly so. It's not so much foreigners that throws of the Japanese sense of harmony than it is outsiders. Yesterday's trip gave us the opportunity to contribute to Japan's harmonic lifestyle, even as foreigners.

I could try to describe it untill I'm blue in the thumbs (hey, at least my host family has wifi), but I don't think I could get the point across with words. So... picture this:

Our group mingling with the eb and flow of Japanese commuting --
The peaceful sway of everybody clinging to their handholds for dear life as the train turned a bend...
Our feet stomping in unison in a cacophony of footsteps which all merged into
a single beat... step... step... thud... step... thud...
Our smiles, laughter, and curious faces resonating with Japanese tourists around us. In a museum, every visitor is the best kind of tourist-- curious, eager to learn, and damn well confused about which way to go. (Seriously... there was so much to do that pathfinding was more confusing than the interractive quantum physics exhibits and insect-driven mechs. They had those, by the way.)



Let me tell you, we felt that last part as hard as any of the Japanese there. In a way, it made us feel included. (Or maybe it was the English translations on all the exhibits and the gigantic globe. Meh, I'm not one to fuss) Everybody connected, at least a little, on a spiritual level when we gawked at the androids. Geez, those things were creepy... like, bottom of the uncanny valley creepy (that's a thing, google it).


Allow me to end with this: The sights were beautiful, the fun was boundless, and the feelings of unison were priceless. I can preach all I want, but the museum trip was a must have experience.

p.s. we also saw a giant non-insect-powered mech guarding a really good food court


p.s.s. Jules, James, and I went on a 2km taiyaki run in Yokohama... we were unsuccessul :(

⁃ Robert Kovach (Or Bob. Bob works)