Meidaisai and I talked to my professor
Well, I went to Meidaisai (Nagoya University Festival) again, sort of. For the most part, it rained everyday of Meidaisai, so I didn't really go until the last day and even then I only stayed for a few minutes. It rained the morning of the last day of Meidaisai, so I couldn't go then and in the afternoon I had to meet a friend. Besides, it was way to crowded for me. I tried walking agains the crowd, but I made very little progress. Even though it rained, I think there were more people there this year than last year (at least that is how I remember it).
I finally told my professor that I want to return to a university in the U.S. rather than stay and graduate at Nagoya University. He didn't really get upset, but I think I made him rather sad. He discussed with me for a while the differences in the education of the U.S. and Japan and then he explained why the level of my physics classes were some what low. He said that because our department also accepts students from the chemical engineering department (chemistry as an undergraduate), many of the students are not prepared for the more advanced physics and math required to do advanced study in our department. Therefore, the classes start out at a lower level and move at a slower pace for those students. I guess I understand why the classes are taught the way there are now, but I also told him my some of my complaints about the classroom environment (the fact that some students just show up to class to sleep or play games or talk with their friends). I feel kind of bad that I disappointed him, but I think that it was good that I told him that I'm planning on applying to schools in the U.S. starting in July and August and lasting until December. I didn't actually ask him for a recommendation yet. I will ask him sometime next month before I send my application away. I told him that the chance of getting accepted into graduate school in the Spring semester is very small (the Spring semester start in January and I would have to leave Japan in December if I were accepted) and that most likely I will leave in August of next year (more than a year from today). Basically he discussed with me what we could do to make my learning experience better. At the moment, I'm still not sure how the conversation turned out or anything else really. All I know is that he knows (nothing else).
Other than that, I talked to my father a couple weeks back and he told me a really funny story. You see...My step brother (John) and my father went down to the coast (the Gulf of Mexico) to go deep sea fishing. The first day that they were there they went out to an island to fish off of the coast and the next day they planned on going deep sea fishing. To get to the island early in the morning, one must take a jetty boat. After getting off the jetty boat my father and John walked around half a mile or more down to a nice spot on the coast of the island and began fishing. According to my father after he had just thrown a line in the water, my step brother, who went over to a rocky part of the beach made a noise (as if he had hurt himself) and fell down. When my father went to check to see if John was alright, he found John laying down on the rocks not moving. John said that when he stepped on one of the rocks, he must have stepped on it wrong and he hurt his foot. After laying there for about 25 minutes, John tried to get up, but his foot was hurt to bad. My father said that he know that John must have been in pain because he lost all interest in fishing (and we all know John likes to fish). So, my Father tried to carry John back to the boat area where they could get on a jetty boat and get back to there car to go to the hospital. But, John is just slightly shorter than myself (he's around 6 feet or rather 180cm) and he weighs about the same as my father (I won't write how much they weigh, but it's more than I could carry half a mile), so after carrying John about 100 yards (that's around 100 meters) my father couldn't carry John any further. So, Dad called the jetty boat people to see if they could do anything. The jetty boat people then called the Coast Guard of the United States of America (I should explain that that is not strange. The Coast Guard is set up to had situations like this. I guess it would qualify as search and rescue?). After talking to the Coast Guard several times on the phone and explaining the situation my father and John were told to stay where they were and they would send help. Then about 15 minutes later help arrived in the form of 5 fire trucks and 2 ambulances with a large stretcher. So, anyhow, they get back to the jetty boat and it takes them back to their car, but the large boats that carry cars back and forth(the fairy boats) were not running yet. So, I'm assuming the Coast Guard called them and the fairy boat arrived early. But there was a long line of cars waiting to get on the boat. However (I'm guessing the fire fighters) directed my father and John around the other cars and onto the boat. At this point my father is thinking that they are probably going to let the car that they (John and my father) are in get on the boat and then let all the other cars get on the boat behind them (that way they would be the first ones off of the boat). But, as soon as my father put the car in park, the boat took off. I also want to explain that John's injury was obvioulsy not life threatening (he was not bleeding and he was only in pain if he tried to walk). It should be noted that the boat that my father and John are on, by themselves, is made to carry around 200 cars. Anyways, my father is trying not to laugh about the situation at this moment. Then, a guy that works on the boat that was carrying my father's car back to the mainland came down and asked my father, "Do ya'll need a police escort to the hospital?" My father turned down the police escort. So, after 5 fire trucks (with a number of fire fighters), 2 ambulances (for one person), the jetty boat, the fairy boat all to themselves and a declined police escort later, my father and step brother arrived at the hospital where my bothers injury was diagnosed (as not serious) and they put a cast on it. The next day, my father and John did go deep sea fishing (but I forgot to ask if they caught anything after hearing this story).
Well, I haven't been doing anything, so no nice pictures. Sorry. Anyways, see ya'll around. Later.
Quote of the day is also at the top of my blog (one of my favorites) and is writen by the great Dr. A.E.
"I know not with what weapons World War 3 will be fought, but World War 4 will be fought with sticks and stones."-A.E.
I finally told my professor that I want to return to a university in the U.S. rather than stay and graduate at Nagoya University. He didn't really get upset, but I think I made him rather sad. He discussed with me for a while the differences in the education of the U.S. and Japan and then he explained why the level of my physics classes were some what low. He said that because our department also accepts students from the chemical engineering department (chemistry as an undergraduate), many of the students are not prepared for the more advanced physics and math required to do advanced study in our department. Therefore, the classes start out at a lower level and move at a slower pace for those students. I guess I understand why the classes are taught the way there are now, but I also told him my some of my complaints about the classroom environment (the fact that some students just show up to class to sleep or play games or talk with their friends). I feel kind of bad that I disappointed him, but I think that it was good that I told him that I'm planning on applying to schools in the U.S. starting in July and August and lasting until December. I didn't actually ask him for a recommendation yet. I will ask him sometime next month before I send my application away. I told him that the chance of getting accepted into graduate school in the Spring semester is very small (the Spring semester start in January and I would have to leave Japan in December if I were accepted) and that most likely I will leave in August of next year (more than a year from today). Basically he discussed with me what we could do to make my learning experience better. At the moment, I'm still not sure how the conversation turned out or anything else really. All I know is that he knows (nothing else).
Other than that, I talked to my father a couple weeks back and he told me a really funny story. You see...My step brother (John) and my father went down to the coast (the Gulf of Mexico) to go deep sea fishing. The first day that they were there they went out to an island to fish off of the coast and the next day they planned on going deep sea fishing. To get to the island early in the morning, one must take a jetty boat. After getting off the jetty boat my father and John walked around half a mile or more down to a nice spot on the coast of the island and began fishing. According to my father after he had just thrown a line in the water, my step brother, who went over to a rocky part of the beach made a noise (as if he had hurt himself) and fell down. When my father went to check to see if John was alright, he found John laying down on the rocks not moving. John said that when he stepped on one of the rocks, he must have stepped on it wrong and he hurt his foot. After laying there for about 25 minutes, John tried to get up, but his foot was hurt to bad. My father said that he know that John must have been in pain because he lost all interest in fishing (and we all know John likes to fish). So, my Father tried to carry John back to the boat area where they could get on a jetty boat and get back to there car to go to the hospital. But, John is just slightly shorter than myself (he's around 6 feet or rather 180cm) and he weighs about the same as my father (I won't write how much they weigh, but it's more than I could carry half a mile), so after carrying John about 100 yards (that's around 100 meters) my father couldn't carry John any further. So, Dad called the jetty boat people to see if they could do anything. The jetty boat people then called the Coast Guard of the United States of America (I should explain that that is not strange. The Coast Guard is set up to had situations like this. I guess it would qualify as search and rescue?). After talking to the Coast Guard several times on the phone and explaining the situation my father and John were told to stay where they were and they would send help. Then about 15 minutes later help arrived in the form of 5 fire trucks and 2 ambulances with a large stretcher. So, anyhow, they get back to the jetty boat and it takes them back to their car, but the large boats that carry cars back and forth(the fairy boats) were not running yet. So, I'm assuming the Coast Guard called them and the fairy boat arrived early. But there was a long line of cars waiting to get on the boat. However (I'm guessing the fire fighters) directed my father and John around the other cars and onto the boat. At this point my father is thinking that they are probably going to let the car that they (John and my father) are in get on the boat and then let all the other cars get on the boat behind them (that way they would be the first ones off of the boat). But, as soon as my father put the car in park, the boat took off. I also want to explain that John's injury was obvioulsy not life threatening (he was not bleeding and he was only in pain if he tried to walk). It should be noted that the boat that my father and John are on, by themselves, is made to carry around 200 cars. Anyways, my father is trying not to laugh about the situation at this moment. Then, a guy that works on the boat that was carrying my father's car back to the mainland came down and asked my father, "Do ya'll need a police escort to the hospital?" My father turned down the police escort. So, after 5 fire trucks (with a number of fire fighters), 2 ambulances (for one person), the jetty boat, the fairy boat all to themselves and a declined police escort later, my father and step brother arrived at the hospital where my bothers injury was diagnosed (as not serious) and they put a cast on it. The next day, my father and John did go deep sea fishing (but I forgot to ask if they caught anything after hearing this story).
Well, I haven't been doing anything, so no nice pictures. Sorry. Anyways, see ya'll around. Later.
Quote of the day is also at the top of my blog (one of my favorites) and is writen by the great Dr. A.E.
"I know not with what weapons World War 3 will be fought, but World War 4 will be fought with sticks and stones."-A.E.
posted by Ben at 7:05 PM
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