Japan Ewellite

It Has Been Too Long

2011-06-28T02:58:00.003-05:00

Well, I must admit that it has been a long time since I posted anything. I had given up writing this blog and resigned myself you archiving it in my mind and using it to remember my Japan experiences. But, I will be dammed if my professor did not make me come here several times since I gave up writing in it. Since I am in Japan once again, I will keep with the tradition and post another article.

I, against my will, was sent back to Japan by my professor to do more 'research.' I do not consider what I do here research. I am just making samples. I can characterize them in only a few different ways. They do not have the ability to do nonlinear studies, so my purpose is just making new samples...which also doesn't make sense because I still have lots of other samples.

Since I am using this more like a journal about than a blog, let me update myself on what has happened in the past year. I have finally presented my topic before the board and filed for graduation. If everything holds, I should graduate in May. I am still having trouble getting Dr. Neogi to publish my papers (I have only 2 to give him). Once I get back, I will write another about Au-ZnO lifetimes and about the TPE-SHG switching processes in ZnO. If I can get those, I will feel okay about getting a postdoc. But it must start rather soon. I only have a year left. I will have to write my thesis (which I don't think will be very difficult) and publish papers. I have not found a postdoc yet, but I will start trying a few months before I graduate.

I arrived in Japan on the 7th of June and I will leave on the 11th of July. Once again I am in Matsue, Japan. It is a nice place in Japan. I prefer it to any city that I have lived in here. Last weekend I went to Izumo Taisha (Big Shrine) with the lab members (again). However, almost all of the lab members have changed since I was here last. Izumo Taisha is the oldest shrine in Japan I am told. It is the second most important (after Isejingu). After the shrine, we went to the museum about the shrine. It was more interesting to me. I learned a little bit more about Japanese history. Finally, we went to a winery. At the winery I bought lots of gifts for other people in Texas.

On Saturday I am going to see friends in Tokyo (or rather, some friends and I are going to meet in Tokyo). It has been some time since I have seen them. I don't know what we will do there yet. I am leaving all plans to another friend. Well, I don't have to feeling to write about Japan anymore. I don't find it an great place. But, I think you should decide for yourself. Your opinions and experiences could (and will be) different than my own. Maybe you can see it in a bette way. If I did not have as many friends here, I am sure I never would have made it through.

Last trip to Nagoya (for a while), "American Diner" and Research Paper

2010-05-31T00:16:00.004-05:00

On the left if Valeriya (Ukraine) and on the right is Felippe (Brazil)

Once again I returned to Nagoya to visit friends, but this is probably the last time for a while. My travel funds are running a little low at the moment. When I save up a little more, I will continue the travel. Anyways, this time we had a going away party for Felippe (Brazil) and Valeriya (Ukraine). The are leaving Japan on the 3rd of June. First, they will be going to Brazil for a month and then to the Ukraine for a month and then back to Brazil (forever?). I have to wish them luck and thank them for making my time in Japan better. However, I don't envy the plane ride that they will have to take. They will travel for a total of 40 hours straight. I would definitely die before I got there unless I was able to stop for a day and continue the travel the next day. But, I hope they make the trip safely and I wish y'all the best.

The next day I slept in until 10am because I didn't actually start attempting to sleep until about 2:45am. Paul (Ecuador), Fausto (Brazil), Lucas (Brazil) and myself (TEXAS) decided to go to a bar after we got back from the going away party...although none of us drank alcoholic drinks.

Above is at the "American Diner" in Nagoya. Marni is 'Enjoying' his Fish Burger.
I met with my language exchange friend from 1:00 to 2:15 and the headed to Osu Kannon. I've talked about Osu Kannon before. It has a large temple and a large shopping center...that is basically behind the temple. There are a lot of Brazillian places there. However, the reason we went there was to go to a "American Diner." The hamburgers looked normal in the pictures. Actually, there were just a little off. Of course, as expected, the size was a bit smaller than usual. I ordered the BBQ burger...Big mistake. I think they consider demiglass sauce BBQ sauce in Japan (not sure about that). Paul was running a little late (partially my fault for contacting him a little late, partially his fault for getting on the wrong train, partially Marni's fault because I need to blame someone other than myself and Paul), so I took the liberty of ordering him a plain hamburger (which is the safest choice). Marni ordered a CHEESE BURGER. I know Marni ordered a cheese burger because (1) he told me what he was going to order and because (2) I listed to him make the order and the girl repeat the order. Later, the cook came out of the back room and asked us if we wanted mayo on our hamburgers. Actually, when I say us, I only mean Marni...but he asked Marni about all 3 hamburgers. I replied and Marni replied to the cook, we don't want Mayo. The cook said okay and left. I made a comment to Marni about how nice it was that he came and asked us if we wanted Mayo. Then, about 5 minutes later, the cook returned with the same question to Marni. I was a littler perplexed because in some alternate universe I think I had already answered that question. Now, I should explain that the cook only talked to Marni (Philippines) and not myself. However, Marni's Japanese is much worste than mine (no offense Marni...your Japanese has improved a lot though). Once again, Marni said, "No Mayo." The cook explained to Marni that there were 3 hamburgers. I told the cook, we don't want Mayo an any of the hamburgers. Now, you have probably already guessed what has happened by the way I have kept writing about this. When we got the "hamburgers" Marni's hamburger had Mayo all over it. But, not only was it covered in Mayo, it was not a hamburger. It was a fish burger. Now in Japanese fish and cheese are kind of close, but I'm sure I heard the lady repeat Marni's order as a cheese burger. I would have said something if I heard it differently! Owell...things rarely go completely correct.

Anyways, I'm working on my first publishing. I'm not sure when I will have the data to finish it for publishing. I have to rely on another doctoral student at UNT to run my samples (which I don't like). Hopefully it will be accepted for publishing by the end of June. Of course, when I succeed I have to write about it here.

Not sure what comes next??? Oh yeah, the 2 researchers from the University of Noth Texas will be here on June the 10th. I think I will be showing them around. They will be here for about 2 months. At least I will have more company.
Well, thanks for reading.
Adios for now.
-Ben

Golden Week: Trip to Nagoya and LOUD Lab

2010-05-06T03:38:00.003-05:00

(Above: Missing my room in Texas a little. It just had a nice feel to it. The dorm I'm in doesn't have such a comforting feeling.)

So, I went to visit friends in Nagoya durning Golden Week. It was pretty fun. Just hanging out with friends makes me feel a little better here. Momoko and Paul gave me a birthday party with a interesting sandwich. They also go me an interesting tea set. I'm going to set it up at my desk when I get back to Texas, in my lab. It looks similar to a chemistry set. I will probably add a few other components to it just for the look. Anyways, it was fun.
We got stopped by the police at Nagoya station. They just wanted to see our alien registration cards and write down all of our information. Luckily, inside my passport it says that I am a professor (not graduate researcher). So I think this impressed the officer a little. He turned to me and say, 'Ah, Sensei?' So, I basically said yes. He asked me what I taught. I said physics. Not exactly a lie. I do teach physics...just not in Japan. Anytime I see a police officer I just want to take off running to see what they do. Then when they ask me why I started running, I will tell them I just felt like running. In Japan I could claim that I don't understand what the officer is telling me when he yells stop.
Anyways, now it is back to the lab. Tomorrow I will take my third exam for E&M II. After that I will spin coat some samples on glass and send them to UNT for analysis. If I get the results soon enough I will apply for a conference.
Something I don't understand is why everyone is so loud in the lab. I can hear them through the music that I play on my earphones while reading research articles. They are basically yelling to each other when they are right next to each other. I also don't understand why they need to laugh when they are just talking. I listen to what they are saying sometimes. Even if it's not suppose to be funny, they laugh while they say it. Listening to the loud talking while I'm trying to do work is bad enough, but when it is in Japan my mind finds it difficult to just ignore and instead starts to translate it. It gives me a headache. I'm trying to think and read in English but the loud perpetual Japanese conversation (about nothing), combined with the pointless laughter starts to make my head hurt and drains my energy pretty fast (because of the intense concentration I must give to do what I'm doing and process all of these things). I think it makes me a little dizzy as well. Too much I think.
I kind of wonder if they know I can understand what they are saying usually if I listen. There are certain words about foreigners that I hear that just catch my ears.
Well, I don't have much to say right now. I guess I will talk to you later.
Adios for now.

New Computer

2010-04-22T04:12:00.003-05:00

Well, it finally happend. My computer screen gave out. So, this post is being created on my new MacBook Pro. I'm still not sure if I like the layout or not. I guess if nothing else, I could always install windows on this computer (that would seem like a waist to me). This one was a little more expensive than my last computer. Okay, it was more than twice the price. I hope it lasts until I go for my postdoc.
Anyways, I've decided not to get board like I have been the past few weekends again. I have been asking people in my lab about places to go and things to do in Matsue (even though I don't know anyone her to do them with). I asked a person in the lab that is part of the Matsue wind orchesta if he knows anyone who gives violin lessons. It will give me something to do once a week if I can find someone to teach me that. This Sunday there is a get together of international students at some professors house, whom I do not know. But, Dr. Kumar invited me, so I am going to go anyways. He said that there will be about 20-30 international students there. Maybe I can talk to a few of them and become friends and we can hang out on the weekends (or even weekdays...most of the time I'm spending in the lab here is pointless). I'm going to concentrate on one aspect of the research...and that is to explain the increase in two photon emission and second harmonic generation of the nanoparticle ZnO. Also, I think I will tell that girl if she is still looking for a dance partner, I will volunteer...but she will have to teach me how to dance (because I don't know at all).
I still don't have a lot arranged for Saturday though. Dr. Funaki's concert is that day and I plan on going to that. I'm not sure where the place is. I will find it tomorrow.
I also contacted my home stay family from several years ago. They moved to Yokohama...which I think is near Tokyo? It must be a big change. They use to live in the country and now they live in one of the largest cities in Japan. I think I am going to go visit them while I am still here. This is probably the final chapters in my Japan adventures. After 5 more months this will end for good (probably).
Next chapter is going to be in Spain...The I can change the name of the blog to Spain Ewellite. At least, it will most likely be in Europe some where.
Well, I guess I'll see y'all around.
-Ben

STUFF

2010-04-16T02:39:00.002-05:00

Welcome back for another exciting adventure with...ME!
Actually, I haven't really done anything recently. I was hoping to go back to Nagoya for a friends birthday party, but decided instead to go over Golden Week (which is in 2 weeks) and just take him out to dinner or something. This will be the second weekend that I will be in Matsue. I should probably use the free time to get caught up in my classical electromagnetic radiation class. Actually, I haven't given it much attention since I got here. I still have an A, but there are two more exams left. It's okay if I do poorly on the next one, but I have to do great on the final. I think he is saving his good questions for the final. The next exam is at the end of this month (so I will need to take it the day before Golden Week). The the final shoudl be the week after we return. I really just want to concentrate on research right now...but I also want to finish my last class (that I will ever have to take) with an A (for the sake of memories). Also, for bragging rights.
Actually, I did meet the president of Shimane University and took photos with him for the purose of a catalog for the university. I posted a picture of it above. Anyways, maybe I will find something worth doing over the weekend out side of study and worth writing about.
Adios for now.

Hanami at a Buddist Temple and a Photo of the Goodbye Party of a Couple Friends

2010-04-05T20:30:00.002-05:00

Well, it hasn't been a long time since I wrote, but here are some photos that I want to post.
Photos are below the article.

The first one is actually from my first weekend back in Japan. My friends had a BBQ at a park in Nagoya (Tenpaku Koen). Some of them are gone now. It's not the same place without them.
The other photos are from Hanami at a Buddist temple in Matsue. We went there on a lab trip. Actually, usually one would sit under the cherry trees while drinking beer and saying great things about cherry blossoms, but at a Buddist temple I'm not sure if it is allowed. However, we were asked by the professor if we wanted to stop at the convenience store and get beer for the hanami. I, of course, turned down the offer along with everyone else. Instead, we drank traditional green tea (Maccha) and I listend to others say great things about the cherry blossoms...I don't really care for flowers to beging with.
At the end, everyone threw a 5 yen coin (and it must be a 5 yen coin) into a box, put their hands together and said a prayer (for whatever it is they wanted I guess).
Finally, we all parted to go home.
Anyways, like I said before, I may be headed back to Nagoya in a couple weeks. It should be fun.
Adios for now.

Friend's Birthdays

2010-04-04T19:44:00.002-05:00

So, I took another trip back to Nagoya this weekend because two of my friends had birthdays (Paul from Ecuador and Fausto from Brazil).
Unfortunately, everyone is a little busy recently. I think it is common in Japan at this time of year. The fiscal year starts on April first here. So, they also are dealing with the new semester and presentations, etc...
By coincidence, on my way from Nagoya to Matsue, I ran into a couple other friends of my in the subway (on my way to the bullet train). It was kind of interesting...It's a city about the size of Chicago and I ran into a couple people that I know rathe randomly. That doesn't happen often in the US.
Anyways, I didn't take any pictures of my friends parties, but I did take a few scenic pictures from the train and from the university that I can share (below).
I also met with my language exchange friend while I was Nagoya again. She seems to be doing fine. At least I was glad to meet her. We talked for a couple hours at Starbucks.
Some of my friends have left to go back to their home countries, so it seems that my circle keeps getting smaller and smaller. Japan isn't as good without them. I think that a lot of my friends are trying to get jobs and postdocs in Germany (for some reason). I guess if they are all going maybe I will do that too. I should probably start thinking about a postdoc now as well.

Back in Japan

2010-03-31T03:47:00.002-06:00

Okay, so I haven't written on my blog for a LONG time. Since I'm back in Japan I thought I may as well continue.
Actually, I ment to continue when I was in the US, but I just seem to have lost the time.
My first week back in Japan I visited friends in Nagoya. Several of them have just gone back to their home country. Now Japan won't be the same without them.
This weekend I'm making a trip back to Nagoya (I'm living in Shimane for the next 6 months) for a couple of my friends B-day. The only real question is what should I get them?
Well, I will write back again when I have some pictures to post...in a couple days?
Adios

Fouth of July and Hiking in the "Mountains"

2009-07-05T20:27:00.004-05:00

It has been sometime since I wrote last. I usually don't wait more than a month to write a new articles, but I've been a little busy. I'm still doing some experiments for a group in Japan (which is putting my research a little behind), and trying to do my research. Although I don't mind doing the experiments for the group in Japan...

Anyways, I guess a lot of stuff has happend since last time (but I'm only going to talk about a few things). It was the fourth of July here the other day, and my ex-roommate/friend (Abram) came down from LSU to visit. Abram, Jake (one of his other friends), and myself all went to the Wichita mountains in Oklahoma to go camping for a couple nights. Originally we were going to Colorado, but since Jake had a wedding to go to and needed to study for the MCAT exam he couldn't go to Colorado (so we had to go to OKlahoma). I don't think I would call the Wichita Mountains actual Mountains. I thought of them like hills, but they were tall hills and had a lot of interesting features. I'm posting and explaining some pictures below:

(Above: Random scenery as we were hiking. This hike lasted about 3 or 4 hours. We had to go through several valleys to get to the place we were trying to go.)

(Above: OF COURSE, anywhere I go I always have to get in a fight with someone using the crane kick. "If done right, no defend.")

(Above: Me climbing up the side of a vertical rock wall with my bare hands and no rope...actually the wall isn't verticle, we turned the camera to make it look that way.)

(Above: This bison kept showing up at our campsite. The one's that you see alone are the older males who have been ousted from the pack by the younger males. They are kind of dangerous. You should mess with them as much as you should mess with Texas...and everyone knows you don't mess with Texas. Anyways, it scratched it's butt on this pole for about 5 minutes before it left. I'm glad I didn't touch the pole. It became the butt of a lot of jokes while we were there. At one point, Jake actually went over to the pole and smelled it...although I still don't know why...?)

Also, there was some firework showing at the university football field. It was rather nice...In other words, not too crowded. I basically just talked to Abram most of the time. (Pictures Below)
It was nice having a friend stop by again. It's a little dull around here with everyone gone.
I had a lot more pictures, but I left them on other peoples cameras...which is unfortunate because most of them were a lot funnier than mine! O well. Maybe I will get them next time.

Anyways, that's all for now.
Adios

Trip Back To Japan

2009-05-26T13:10:00.004-05:00

I went back to Japan to visit friends in Nagoya. I can't say that I enjoyed the plane ride there, but I did enjoy spending time with friends (as always). I flew by JAL because I think they have better service. However, I was put in a middle seat between two people. First off, the space between the seats is not enough for my legs, so I was extremely uncomfortable on the 12 hour plane ride (and it's not so easy to get up when you are between two people). When I got to Japan I had to remain on the plane an extra hour and 15 minutes while they did a check of everyone on board for the swine flu (but seeing as how there was a outbreak of swine flu in Osaka when I was in Japan, I guess they couldn't help stopping it anyways). Luckily on the way back, I got an isle seat by the emergency exit where I was able to stretch my legs all I wanted (I think I even slept a little).
Well, I did too many things to actually talk about. Next article I do will be a repeat article of a trip that Marni and I took to Nagoya castle a long time ago. Basically, we did the exact same thing, the exact same way, took the exact same pictures, with the exact same results...just years later.
I went to the Toyota museum in Toyota city with Paul (from Ecuador). I thought it would be full of cars. Instead it is only art. This weeks exhibit was about an guy who was trying to bring his child's book to life by building everything in it (some pictures below).

On the last day a lot of us went bowling. There were some who couldn't go for some reason or another...but I won't mention any of them (caugh...caugh...Johney Bravo). Anyways, obviously we all had a good time. Of course I had to imbarrass everyone with my GREAT bowling skills (I did actually beat everyone...hahahaha...haha...hahahaha). Or maybe they were imbarrassed because I was wearing a shirt that translated as "You are Weird" in Japanese. I got a lot of laughs from complete strangers...but at the very least they wern't staring at me. I think everyone bowled until their arms hurt. We all started out pretty good, but got progressively worst as time went on (probably because we played too many games...I could have bowled more...but we had to catch the last train).

May Birthday Party and Time in the Lab

2009-05-07T17:26:00.003-05:00

May 4th was my B-day (May 5th in Japan). I didn't really do much. I was originally going to spend all day in the lab fixing the Raman system, but I got close enough to finishing it to stop for the day and I went to my mothers house for dinner and a few B-day gifts. My favorite gift was a book about "Chuck Norris Facts."
I finally fixed the Raman system (AGAIN). Hopefully it stays fixed this time, because I don't enjoy fixing it (the optics really suck).
Anyways, finals are coming up in a few days. I have mine on Tuesday and am busy studying. If I make an A on the exam I think I will get an A in the class for sure.
Other than that I am busy preparing for my trip to Japan. Two of my sisters b-days are also in May, so I have to get them something...but I'm not very good at finding gifts.
I'm not really doing anything that interesting until I go to Japan over the summer. I'll have to write about my trip in another month...that should be more interesting than talking about doing nothing...and I get to spend time with my friends again.
Well, thanks for reading.
See you around.

At the Lab, Texas Sucession From the United States, and Back to Japan

2009-04-16T17:35:00.003-05:00

Well, not much going on these days outside of school. Finals are approaching...so I guess that means I will be busy puting off reseach for a week or two when they get closer. I'm not sure how my grades will turn out this semester. Well, actually I will get an A for the research hours I am taking...however I do not know what I will get in Statistical Mechanics/Thermodynamics. I will either get an A or B (of course I'm hoping for an A).
My douchebag roommate moved out after another arguement about nothing (he was actually trying to kick my other roommate and myself out of the house...so I don't feel bad about anything). So, I have a new roommate and I still have my other cool roommate. Unfortunately, my cool roommate is moving out of state for graduate school (he's going to LSU). The lease is up at my house in May and I don't know what I am going to do yet. I guess I will either renew or move into an apartment (either way, no big deal).
As for what I'm doing recently, I'm just in the lab a lot. I have an experiment tomorrow where I will do TRPL of ZnO...I'm actually going to do more experiments on it soon and publish a paper on it...but the paper is a couple months away. I'm going to have to learn the femptosecond laser lab stuff really soon too (it will give me something else to do).
Anyways, I was looking at the news from the other day and saw an article where the governer of Texas was talking about Texas suceeding from the union. I guess it wouldn't be the first time that has happend, but I doubt in modern day there would be enough support for that. Besides, I remember what happend last time Texas suceeded from the union (during the civil war). When Texas joined the union, they were under the mistaken impression that they could suceed from it anytime they wanted...however, that was not in the agreement. Still, it didn't stop them from trying at one point. It's kind of amazing that the spirit that Texas is still its own country, in a way, lives on...even after more than 100 years of statehood. I've even heard people make serious jokes that Texas should suceed from the United States. Sam Houston, the first president of the Republic of Texas (when Texas was its own country) said to congress (before the civil war, but after Texas had joined the union) that Texas could survive without the United States, but the United States could not, without great difficulty, survive without Texas. Well, he may have been right...but I think that Texas probably needs the US as much as it needs us (notice the play on words). I'm pretty sure that any talk about sucession is just talk. Texas has no army of its own to stand against the US (which would definitely do everything to keep Texas a state...including force) and there is not enough support for it (even in Texas...seeing as how most people in Texas arn't actually from Texas). It would, however, be rather ironic if Texas broke away from the US, became it's own state and then was taken over by Mexico (a complete reversal of history)! It's kind of fun to think about though. Well, I obviously have too much time at the moment if I'm thinking about those things.
Anyways, I'm headed back to Japan over the summer for 9 days (May 16- May 25). Can't wait to see all my friends.
Update: I'm building a solar power car...however I will have to make the body over the summer. I pretty much have all the components outside of the frame (the engine, power source, DC engine speed controller, etc.... I originally was going to run it off of solar panels only, but I decided to use batteries and continuously have them charging with the solar panels (of course...I have a voltage regulator to prevent overcharging...but with the type of batteries that I have it doesn't really matter if you overcharge them). I'll have to post something over that when I finish building the car.

Back From Hawaii

2009-03-19T17:41:00.007-06:00

I'm back from my trip to Hawaii. It was fun and I had a good time seeing my friends. I have posted some random photos of the trip. There are too many to explain, so I chose to explain only a few. By the time I had arrived Fausto and Vik had already been in Hawaii for the past 10 days. The flight to Hawaii took a little more than 12 hours if you count the 3 hour layover in LA. I hate long flights and I have also decided never to fly Delta again (I had decided long ago never to fly American again). When I arrived I was a little impatient since the flight landed more than 30 minutes after schedule and I was in a hurry to meet my friends. Next, the rental car place is NOT in the airport as they claimed, but rather a mile down the road. However, the shuttle bus arrived quickly. Then, getting the car took a long time because everyone had a million questions and their was a line. Finally I was on my way to the hotel (and I got a little lost even with my GPS...I really need to work on that).
First thing I had to do was take a shower once I got there. Then we all went out to eat dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. Unfortunately I could not eat that much, so most of it went to waiste.
The next day we went to Pearl Harbor to see the Arizona and Missouri (pics below). It was pretty nice. I wore my 'anata wa bukimi' shirt. After Pearl Harbor, we went to the beach. I don't remember what the name of it was, but it was a pretty nice beach. The waves were kind of big...but the water was too cold for me.
The next day we went snorkling. I don't actually have any pictures of the even because I put my camera in a locker, but I do have pictures of the cove that we went to (before I put my camera up). It was really clear and there were a lot of fish. We went snorkling (which I usually wouldn't do in the ocean because I don't trust fish) and got sun burns (or at least I got one of those on my feet). After snorkling we went to a place called "Blowhole Point" and saw some whales coming to the surface of the water for air and then making large splashes with their tales. This was probably the best day for me. And unfortunately the last day.
Early the next morning I took Fausto and Vik to the airport so that they could return to Japan. I don't really like saying goodbye, but it was great to see them again. After they left, I drove around to a couple tourest attractions, but I didn't really feel like getting out of the car and going in. At one I was getting out of the car to go in, but couldn't find much of a point in it, so I just got back in the car and drove to the car rental return place and returned the car. It seems that even Hawaii is just another place without my friends there. I think I would have had just as much fun no matter where we were.
My flight was not until 10:30pm that night, but I returned the car around 1pm and sat at the airport for a long time. I had a couple margeritas to pass the time. The flight back was a little better than the flight there, but only because it was shorter.
Now I am a little depressed that they are gone and am trying to find something to do other than go to the lab. I should probably work on my homework. I guess I will get started after this.
BUT FIRST: some history about the battle ship 'Missouri.'
The battle ship Missouri was active in World War II and the Gulf War. It is where the official surrender of the Japanese was signed. We looked in the Missouri and probably stood around the same spot that the documents were signed (pictures below). Now it stands as a museum.

A Researcher Visits from Japan, Bronco Riding, and Pappy the Fortune Teller.

2009-03-12T13:55:00.008-06:00

Well, a researcher from Shimane University in Japan (whom I met I did my summer research there) came to the US for a conference at Argon National Lab. After the conference he came to visit my university and members of my lab and myself took him around to see the labs and to a couple spots in Forth Worth:

Long time no see...And I'm going to Hawaii over Spring Vacation

2009-03-05T21:53:00.002-06:00

Long time no see. Well, I've been a little busy. I've been trying to get the Ramen microscope aligned and running properly and also dealing with my class. Well, that's not important. More importantly is that I'm gong to Hawaii over Spring vacation to visit a couple friends. I'm headed to the island of Oahu. Not exactly sure what we are going to do over there. Anyways, it should make for an more interesting article than this.
Well, I did find a little free time and my father, step-brother, nephew and myself all went fishing at lake Tawakoni in East Texas. We cause about 170 pounds of blue cat in about 8 hours. It was rather fun. Unfortunately I forgot my camera so I didn't get to film the 30 pounder that my step brother caught.
I've been trying to upload a video from youtube to my blogspot, but unfortunately I cannot figure out how. So here is a link for you if you are interested as to what shopping in Texas is like...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y14Q6SdbkJI

Well, sorry this is so short. Not much going on now. I guess I will see you around.
Adios.

Frisby Gold, Changing Weather and me burried pirate treasure.

2009-01-24T22:59:00.004-06:00

So, it has been a while since I updated this, as usual. I came back from Skiing (as you know from the previous article) and started school. I'm taking one core class and six research hours this semester. I have been spending most of my time in the lab trying to optimize the laser in the Raman lab to 3 Watts, but I have only gotten 2 Watts thus far (and I've spend about 15 hours on it already). Not much is going on at the moment. I have to work at my part-time job sometimes, but that isn't difficult.
Before school started again my roommate and I went out and played frisby golf at the frisby golf course next to where I live. It's pretty fun. It's like golf, but with frisbies (pictures below).

On the frisby golf course I found a giant plastic X on the ground and had to pretend that I was a pirate looking for burried treasure.

Later on I decided that it must be a giant + and not X because there was no treasure under it.
Weellllllll, that's about all. Things are probably going to start getting a little busy since school started. I hope I can still do some interesting things (other than research) during this semester. I will probably be going to Hawaii over Spring Vacation. That's something to look forward to.
Adios for now.
-Ben

Chirstmas, New Years, Ski and sledding trip to Michigan, and Changing Weather

2009-01-05T16:58:00.008-06:00

I has been more than a month since I wrote the last article. I ment to write before this, but things kept coming up. I had a good Christmas, I went to Michigan on a ski trip and was there with friends over the New Year (more explanation in a moment). When I left Texas on December 28th the weather was nice and warm...but when I got back it was cold. Today there is freezing rain and everything is frozen over, but tomorrow it will be warm again. Weather changes fast here. (Pictures of the Cabin and place around the cabin in Michigan) So, let's talk about the ski/sledding trip to Michigan. A friend of mine invited me to go with him to Michigan to meet with a few of his other friends and go skiing for a few days. I eventually accepted and I had a pretty good time (of course I kind of wish my friends in Japan could have come with me). Below I posted a few more pictures of the things we did there (I'll post video of the skiing part later...I didn't bring my camera there so I will have to get the photos off of someone elses camera): A couple days after we went sledding, we went skiing and it was fun. I didn't know how to stop at first (and had difficult controling my speed) but I figured it out after a couple hours. I accidently went down one of the advanced slopes, which was a bit dangerous, but it was really fun (especially since I didn't fall). I'll post pictures of that soon.
I would like to tell you more about the trip (like how a accidently tackled some guy who got in my way while I was skiingg and stuff like that), but I don't really have the time (besides, Celso wouldn't read this if I wrote a lot of stuff).
Anyways, I had a pretty good time. I hope everyone elses Christmas and New Years was just a good. I'll talke to y'all later.
Adios for now.

Thanksgiving is Over and Christmas is Beginning...And Finals.

2008-12-03T14:05:00.003-06:00

Not really a whole lot to talk about...Thanksgiving is over...as you probably guessed from the title. I didn't do much. I went to my mother's home on Thanksgiving day and saw my little sisters and elder sister...that was pretty fun for the most part. I accidently broke my little sisters light by throwing stuff in her room for fun...but no big deal. On Saturday I went to my Father's house for a late Thanksgiving, but because I had a class until 12:30 I didn't actually make it to my father's house until after they finished eating. So I actually missed almost everything. But no big deal. It seemed rather hectic anyways. So, nothing really to report.
We started decorating for Christmas at my house. My cool roommate put Christmas lights up outside and inside the house. Yesterday we went and got a tree and decorated it for Christmas (now the inside smells like Christmas tree). We didn't have a star to put on top of the tree so instead I put a Troy Aikmen figure on top (pictures below)...my favorite X-Dallas Cowboy's quarterback. He's kind of a star.

My douchebag roommate apologized for his behavior and accusing me of using his bathroom. In fact he apologized for his overall behavior. I don't really think much about it. He says a lot of things and doesn't really mean them. I think he has talks with the priests and then when they tell him stuff about how he should have acted or something like that he changes his behavior for a short time...so I don't really listen to what he says.
Well, not much going on here at the moment. Finals are coming up next week. I only have one class that I actually need to study for. My other grades are pretty much already determined. I guess I will let everyone know how it turns out. Anyways, I have to go to work in a little while. I will probably have a lot more to write about around Christmas. I will probably take a 6 day trip to Michigan and go ski or something like that in December/early January.
Anyways, adios until then.

Japan, My New Scholarship and Finals

2008-11-22T14:50:00.004-06:00

(Also, Thanksgiving is going to be here on Thursday!!! I guess I will have an article over that with pictures.)
Well, let's update on a few things that have happened. Number one...one of my roommates is still cool and the other one is an even bigger douchebag than I told people he was. I guess I cannot describe the douchiness of this guy. He accused me of going into his room the other day and taking a really smelly dump...which I found halarious (even though I didn't do it). Peoples rooms are like a personal boundary that I won't cross unless I know the person very well and am sure it is okay with them. (What a douche that guy is.)
Let's see...I did get the scholarship to go back to Japan for a year (even though I don't really qualify for it according to the guidelines of the scholarship), but I declined it and instead accepted a more competative fellowship that lasts for upto 5 years (which I won't need it for that long) and pays me a lot more. It also gets me out of teaching all of the Astronomy Labs. It allows me to just spend my time doing research (which I'm pretty happy about). And, as I said, it gives me about $500 a month more. However, I will apply for the scholarship again next year, which will put me back in Japan in 2010, which, if my friends are not there anymore, will kind of suck!
I recieved an e-mail from my undergraduate professor yesterday saying that the research article that I wrote years ago was accepted for publishing (I guess he just submitted it a couple months ago). So, that's good. I will have a published paper in December.
Do you remember when I wrote about how bad I did on my Advanced Mechanics exam? Well, apparently everyone did, so the professor decided to offer a second exam to the class and he will weigh it more than the first. So, I studied rather hard for the exam and I'm sure I did better this time...unfortunately I think I will make a B instead of an A on this exam. Which is OK...but I wanted an A.
Finals are coming up. This semester ends in 3 weeks! I have another exam in one of my other classes in 3 days (so I should start studying for it) and a presentation in the other on Saturday. I expect I will make A's in 2 of my 3 classes and a B in the other. That is not that bad...but I still have never had a semester where I have made all A's. I have made a B in at least one of my classes since I started college. Next semester I think I will make all A's. I'm going to sign up for Statistical Mechanics, Mathematical Methods II, and probably a research/special problems class. It should be pretty doable.
Anyways, I have to start my Christmas shopping pretty soon. I'm getting a bunch of Solar Panels and money from my parents for Christmas (as I asked for)...maybe Santa will bring me some too:) Anyways, if any of my friends are reading this, I'm going to try and be there for the New Years, but I'm not sure if I can make it yet (it depends), so I may need your address to send you some Christmas gifts (or at least one of y'alls address to send all of the gifts and y'all can just sort them).

Halloween and Fall

2008-11-08T11:59:00.004-06:00

Well, Halloween came and went. We had around 30 Trick or Treater's stop by. I gave out chocolate candy bars, butter fingers, and Reese's peanutbutter cups. I actually ran out of candy to give them, so I had to turn off the front pourch light so they would know to stop coming by. I did carve a pumpkin for Halloween. I posted a picture of it below.

Also, Fall has arrived. It is rather nice out today. Unfortunately I don't have the time to enjoy the weather with all of the work that I have to do for school and stuff. I feels like I am a gofers in a hole that only gets to come out when the weather is either way too hot or too cool to enjoy.
Also, Thanksgiving is coming up rather soon. I only get 2 days off for it though and also I will have to use practically both of them to study for exams (FINALS!!!). I'm not exactly sure what I will be doing for Thanksgiving yet. Maybe going to my mothers. I think my Dad must work on that day, so they won't be having a get-together. Whatever I choose, I will have to leave as soon as it is over and come back here to study.
I was sitting down the other day teaching a Freshman (that's first year student) Astronomy lab when I thought, I bet I can easily derive the equations of motion for a central force (as I should be able to). Then I started to work at it. The problem should have only taken about 5 minutes, but since I forgot to account for the idiot factor (which people who are idiots must take into account when they start to solve stuff), I couldn't do it. But, when I remembered that I am really dumb when I don't sleep at all the night before I was easily able to solve the problem. In case you couldn't tell, this is all in preparation for my Advanced Mechanics exam. I need to do really good on it to feel good about the class.
My Mathematical Methods of Physics class is going pretty well now. However, they both decided to schedule their exams a day apart AGAIN, which is what caused me to do bad on the Advanced Mechanics exam in the first place (there wasn't enough time to study for both of them...so I studied for Math Methods and got the highest grade in the class on that exam...but did not so great on the Advanced Mechanics exam). I'm going to start studying for them today. I think I will do good on both of them this time.
I'm still trying to figure out if I can go to Japan over the Winter vacation. I think I will be able to, but I'm trying to work everything out. I will let y'all know how it is going rather soon. And if Fausto is reading this, my diplomatic problem is still bothering me a little.
Well, not much to report. All I can say is that one of my roommates is still cool and one of my roommates is still a giant douchebag. All I have been doing is working and studying. Which reminds me, I better go study. I guess I will see y'all around.
Adios for now!
-Ben

WestFest and A Family Reunion

2008-10-21T14:00:00.002-05:00

I know that image quality is not that great...the pictures were sent to me by e-mail. I don't think my sister knew she was changing the size of the images when she sent them, so you will only get a distorted idea of WestFest from these. Some time ago (Labor Day weekend in the USA) I went to WestFest as I always do when I'm in Texas at that time (it's tradition). WestFest is held in the town of West, Texas and is a large Czech festival. Since I am half Czech I am obligated to go, but I would go even if I were not obligated since I get to see some many people in my family that I haven't seen in a while. So, let me take you through the pictures (I can't actually see them, so I am guessing the order they were posted...so if my explanations don't look like the photo...sorry).
(Below SHOULD be my baby sister (I call her Ducky) and myself in front of the flag of Texas, The USA, and Czech Republic. Notice that they are all red, white, and blue...which have always been my colors (because of Texas)))

(Below: SHOULD be my baby sister and myself in from of a sign that says something in Czech...a language I don't speak...but my guess is it says something welcoming people.)

(Below should be my Elder sister (Jen) and my baby sister on the bleachers in front of the horse shoe competition.)

(Should be a picture of the horse shoe competition.)

(Below should be a picture of my nephew (Cole). He is not much more than one. Unfortunately he had an accident and got hurt at WestFest, but he is better now.)

About the horse shoe competition. I joined forces with my Uncle Rick (Cole's Father) and decided to compete against all the others that entered the competition. There were around 200 teams in the beginning. But, we started taking them out one by one. My Uncle would keep us in the lead the entire game and I would close it out by throwing a ringer and a really close shoe. Nobody could beat us...except the champions from the past 5 years straight. When there were only around 25 teams left we had to play them. It wasn't even close. I understand why they have won the past 5 years straight. But, I plan on practicing one month in advace for next years competition. I think my uncle and I will go further next year!
Anyways, I had a good time. I got to eat Kolaches and drink a bunch of Ice tea (which is something I enjoy) as well as meet with family members whom I have not seen in a while. All and all it was pretty good.
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Also, last Saturday I went to my family reunion. It was alright. I haven't seen those people in forever either. I was a bit surprised. I didn't recognize a few of them at first. How much weight do you think it is possible to gain in 2 years? Well, I don't know, but the answer must be more than 200 pounds! I saw my cousin James for the first time in a couple years and he succeeded at that. I think that one day he decided to just start eating and eating...kind of the same way Forrest Gump decided to just start running. The reunion was of course held in the town of West, Texas like it is every year (since that is where most of my family is from...it's a big Czech town). I won a couple prizes at the reunion, but nothing that great. Anyways, I have a colloqium that I have to go to pretty soon so I'm going to end this for now.
I guess I will write again in a couple weeks or so...although I don't know what about. So I guess this is adios for now.
See you around.
-Ben

Midterm Exams

2008-10-14T10:39:00.002-05:00

I did an article about finals last semester and not midterms...mostly because my midterms were not so bad last semester. This semester it is awful. I think I compared finals to Hell, but without laughter...well, midterms aren't much different. In one of my classes the midterm is worth 30% of my entire grade (thus, if you do bad on it you will not make a good grade in the class), and the professor is being very abstract on what the exam will be over (that class is advanced classical mechanics). In my math methods of physics class, I have a pretty good idea of what will be on the exam, the real problem is it is a difficult subject. It is over the calculus of residues, which is one of the two things I had trouble in when I was an undergraduate. Luckily, that midterm is only worth 20% of my final grade (I feel okay about that test...it's the mechanics test that is worrying me). I think I understand the calculus of residues now, but I'm still having a little trouble with branch points and how to choose the shape of my contour.
Anyways, my mechanics final is worth 50% OF MY FINAL GRADE!!! That means no matter how good I did on the entire class, I can still screw my grade up completely on the final day of class...I don't agree with this! But, then again, I'm not teaching the class (and to be fair, neither is the professor in my opinion).
My two exams are back to back (one on Thursday and one on Friday). That's making things pretty difficult right now. Luckily they forgot to hit me with their car before this started (what other way could they make this worst?), so I guess there is a good side to this. I will have to update my blog after this week is over.
On Saturday I am going to my family reunioun (the Czech side). It is held in West, Texas (West is the name of the town...it is actually in Central Texas) where most of my family is from.
Anyways, I have to go to class soon. Next time I will try and post articles of my trip to WestFest and also my family reunioun. Adios for now.
(Sorry, no picturers).
-Ben

Biking around Denton

2008-09-26T13:49:00.002-05:00

I decided to get a bike to go to school on everyday. The only problem is, it is about a 2.5 mile drive (which take about 15 to 20 minutes). I guess I didn't realize how much endurance it took to make it in that amount of time. But, since I will be doing it everyday, I guess I will get use to it rather fast. Anyways, my bike only cost about $75 (for the bike and repairs). In Japan it would have cost at least $250. That's why I didn't buy a bike in Japan (plus they are rather crappy).
Other than the fact I am biking to places now, nothing else is going on. Oh yeah, I found a Japanese conversation partner. I think she is going to be in the USA for at least one more year (actually, although I haven't met her yet, I think she is planning on just staying here). So, I will start Japanese language practice again (when I can find the time). It's good for me...it will help to keep me from forgeting something that took so long to learn. Anyways, I encluded pictures of my road bike. I hope everything is going great for y'all.
Adios for now.
-Ben

I Got a New Chuck Norris Shirt and Some Older Pictures

2008-09-21T13:22:00.002-05:00

Well, the title says it all. Not much has happend since my last post. I'm still busy. I did get them to scale back my hours at work a little (that should help me). I've included a few older pics along with this article to make it better. Not sure when I am going to get to do anything fun around here (depends on when I have the time and if I feel like it then...maybe I would prefer to rest...but I doubt it...I can even make the rest into some sort of fun...for example, I can sit outside by the river and just shoot random stuff with a shot-gun...for those of you who don't know, that IS fun and relaxing:). Well, Momoko if you are reading this, I'm working on a Chuck Norris T-shirt for you. I just haven't had time to go to the store and look for one yet. The one that I got was given to me (I didn't go to the store and get it myself). But of course I will get one for you!

Above is a saying of one of the first Texas Rangers. I think they made a few movies about him. He eventually died of TB. But, he is inshrined in the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame at the Texas Ranger Museum.

Below is my new Chuck Norris T-shirt. As long as I wear this, nothing can happen to me because Chuck Norris is so tought even his shirts ward off danger.

I guess a couple of my friends are back from Hungary by now. I think I will check up on them and see how their trip was. I WANT PICTURES of them eating cheese and playing waterpolo (maybe even at the same time).
Well, I got to run for now. I did this while I was teaching a lab (only 2 students came to this one. Maybe there will be more next hour).
Adios for now and I'll see y'all around.
-Ben

What is Recollection?

2008-09-14T15:01:00.003-05:00

It has, once again, been a while since I updated my blog (almost a month...okay, it has been a month). I keep meaning to update it, but I never can find the time. I didn't even submit my first homework assignments in two of my classes because I didn't have the time to do them (luckily, neither of the classes count a lot for homework...one is 15% and the other is 20% of the final grade).

So, what are you doing right now? Well, I am teaching a computer lab and having the students work independently. I am explaining how a camera works. The first question I am suppose to ask them is, "What is Recollection?" And then we discuss if for a while. The most common answers is "re-collecting thoughts." Can you actually say that is wrong? Of course, it is not wrong, but why give me the word broken down into the words it is actually composed of.
I probably shouldn't be doing this when I'm in the middle of teaching a lab, but I don't have time during any other part of the day. Besides, the students don't mind (they are working independently and will raise their hands if they need help).
I think I may have taken on more work that I can handle at the moment. I only have three classes, but two of them require a lot of work. I have a test in Mathematical Methods of Physics (which is one of my favorite classes...combines two things that I love), a difficult homework assignment in Advanced Classical Mechanic, a Test on Thursday, my Teaching Assistant duties, a job that I have to work at 4 days this week, Research, etc... Well, the list goes on and on. The outcome is that I have NO time to do anything.
It is looking more and more like I will be returning to Japan for a while (maybe a year...nothing is set in stone yet...and I have to beat up some other students for the position or something like that). But, instead of only having to return for the summer, I may have to go back for an entire year (don't know yet). We will see.
I still have one cool roommate and one that I don't like. The one that I don't like still knows nothing about physics. He expects to be able to graduate with his doctoral in 2 years, but he hasn't done any research since he has been here (he didn't do anything in Japan either). I don't think he understands what it takes to get a doctoral (and that he doesn't belong in this field since he is not willing to do the work). Doesn't really bother me though unless he actually does graduate (which I will take as an insult to the American education system and loose all faith in it). I really feel sorry for the class that he has to teach, but I'm not going to elaborate on the reason as to why.
I guess is was September 11th the other day. I remeber when I was in Japan, every September 11th they would have specials on and talk about the World Trade Centers, but in the USA it passed by rather quitely. I know there were gatherings in places and rememberance services, but it seemed to be a bigger deal in Japan than in the USA (or at least it felt that way). I almost forgot it was the anniversary.
Also, hurricane Ike came through, but didn't do much except give us some rain (did you know that hurricanes are caused by Chuck Norris practicing round house kicks in his back yard?). The weather at the moment is GREAT and will be for the next few days. Unfortunately, I will be stuck in here the rest of the day and inside studying for the entire week. So, even though it is nice outside (for the first time in a while), I will just be here doing other stuff and not enjoying it. (But, there will be other days of good weather). I have a little vacation at the end of November for Thanksgiving. I can't wait.
Well, just writing to keep my blog updated so you know I haven't forgotten about it yet. I hope that y'all are having a great time over there. I know that Viki and FauXto are in Hungary (aka: Hungaria) playing water polo and eating cheese (like nerds), so I'm glad that they are having a good time. Paul is working on his thesis (and probably applying for the doctoral program?...you better be, if I come back to Japan for a year and you are not there, I'm going to get upset and go back home!!!!). Well, thanks for helping me out with my situation. Y'all all are really good friends (let's all play a game of 'kick the puppy dog' when I get back...does any of y'all have a dog?).
Well, I guess I'll see y'all around.
Adios for now.

Going back to School (GOOD)

2008-08-24T15:27:00.002-05:00

I don't know why, but I'm always a little excited to go back to school. It doesn't actually start until tomorrow, but I'm here (at school) now writing on my blog. I'm not really prepared yet...i.e. I haven't bought the books that I need for class, I didn't buy school supplies or new clothes really. Now that school is about to begin again, I have to look back at what happened over the summer. I went to Japan (again), I saw my old friends, I traveled different places in Japan and met new people, I did new research, I came back to Texas, I showed my girlfriend around, I went to New York (unfortunately), I moved into a new house (with roommates), etc... I guess that's a lot. I'm reminded of how many more years I have to be here to complete my doctoral and where I will go and how long it will take me to finish my post doctoral degree. One thing I'm glad to be doing again is work. After spending most of the summer in Japan and then doing little in the USA, it feels good to go back to Sylvan's Learning Center and teach a little. When school starts I will have to teach a lab or a class. For some reason, university students aren't as sharp as high school students it seems. Or maybe they are just less embarrassed to ask simple questions (that I assumed they already knew). But I'm sure that's not it...when I test high school students on the same thing I test university students on, the high school students show better understanding. It makes me wonder what happens to someone between high school and college. Does one night of drunken celebration destroy years of education? That can't be true or most university students would be brain dead by their second week of classes. I don't understand it.
Well, not much to talk about right now. I'll just leave you with some pictures.

I went to Shiraishi and back to Nagoya

2008-07-15T04:42:00.016-05:00

A lot can happen in two weeks. Before I ever came to Japan (for the first time), I wanted to go to this island in the inland sea known as Shiraishi. On this island lives and author from the Japan times (humor articles of her adventures in Japan). I even bought her guide book to Japan a long time ago and had her sign it (she signed the first 50 copies that people ordered from her). Unfortunately I lent that book to someone who said they wanted to go to Japan, and then I never got it back...
So, let's get started. On Shiraishi there is practically nothing. A few stores and a bar. More specifically, the "Moooo! Bar," which happens to be owned by the author I was telling you about. I convenced a few people to go with me (Karol-Poland/USA, Rob-Chicago/Arizona, and Paul-Ecuador). We stayed on Amy's (the author) yatch since all the hotels were booked. I'm not giving a long detailed story this time. I'll try and explain as I post the pictures:
SHIMANE TRIP

(Karol, Rob and I set off for Shiraishi at around 4:30 in the morning from Matuse)

(We arrived at Kasaoka station by train, where we had to walk a little ways to the Ferry...or Felly if you read the Japanese sign in English.)

(We stopped at the Cafe for some breakfast. The picture is of the peach bread with peach cream inside. In the cafe some Japanese guy wouldn't stop talking to me...and he had a very difficult accent. I found it hard to understand him.)

We finally found our way to the FELLY after using the directions I got off of Amy's web-site. Oddly enough, there are 2 FELLYs and we ended up at the one we were not trying to go to (but it went directly to Shiraishi).

Me in anticipation of getting there (it's like finishing the circle of something you said you would do a long time ago, but never go around to doing).

Random scenery from the FELLY

This is the only road on the island, and it goes all the way around, so I knew it would lead to the Moooo! Bar. And I had no fear of getting lost.

And finally, we reached the Moooo! Bar...the circle was complete. Only problem was, it still want open because it was 10am.

So, we decided to go exploring:

Finally, we made it back to the Moooo! Bar...and it was open. (I had a Ben's Double Moooogarita)...You can see Paul in the picture with his Chuck Norris shirt on. He joined us there later on that day.

And, now some picutures the floating hotel:

To tell you the truth, I have done way too much in these past couple weeks to actually write it all here. So, let me just end with a few random pictures:

Well, now I'm REALLY busy. I don't like the way they do things here. They should have told me certain things so I had more time to prepare...but that just wouldn't be the Japanese way. I think I will be back by the very end of July (to Texas). I'm trying to reschedule my ticket now. They don't make it easy.
Well, adios for now.
-Ben

I went to Kyoto, After going to Nagoya

2008-06-08T23:50:00.014-05:00

Well, I have been a little busy, but not with work. I went to Nagoya on Friday to visit friends (as I plan to do almost every weekend that I'm here). In Nagoya I went to Nagoya University and had dinner with one of my friends (Celso-from Brazil) at the university cafe. I gave him my old softbank phone (which was useless to me in the USA since none of the phone companies use USIM cards it seems). On Saturday I went to Meidaisai...if you have been reading my blog for a long time, you know what Meidaisai is (it is the Nagoya University Festival). I posted pictures and a video of Meidaisai below, with a few comments:

(In one of the pictures above, you will see a STRANGE Japanese comedy play. You will think it is strange as well if you see the picture.)
Two years ago (on this very month), if you go to my archives, you can see my first article over Meidaisai. I think I complained about it being too crowded. Well, not much has changed...it's still very crowded. After I finished going to Meidaisai, I went to meet a friend for language exchange. We used to have language exchange every week when I lived in Nagoya, but since I left it is impossible. So, since I'm back, we are continuing language exchange over the weekends. She had just got back from a visit to Taiwan and she brought me a few gifts from there. I haven't tried them yet, but they look similar to some Japanese snacks I have had before...I'll let ya'll know if it taste the same later.
On Sunday, I went to Kyoto with a couple friends. It is actually kind of interesting since I went to Kyoto with the same friends last December before I left for Texas. If you go back to my archives (or just scroll down my blog), you will find my post about the trip we took to Kyoto 6 months ago (and you can compare those pictures to the new ones that I posted below):

(Isn't this the oldest phone you have ever seen in use today?)

(Picture of Paul-Ecuador and I pondering the meaning of the pictures at the International Mangu Museum. They were about peace and war.)

(A small snack and a random building that I liked in Kyoto)

(A monk or something like that asking for donations)

(Above are just random photos of Kyoto. In one you can see Paul holding up the roof of one of the land marks. Okay, it's obvious he is not, but that's only because I didn't have enough time to position the camera before people would step in front of it.)

(Above is at the temple that we spent a while trying to get to. Aparently there are 2 Shijo stations. If you get off at the wrong one you will end of a long way from the temple. If you get off at the right one you will be rather close. So, why are their 2 Shijo subway stations you may ask? Well, I do not know, but I'm sure I could just make something up...well, at this moment nothing is coming to mind...but I will make something up later. Anyways, it was rather scenic at the temple. On the way back to Kyoto station I got a few snacks that I plan on bring back to the USA later. I would have to say that the trip was rather enjoyable. Thanks Paul and Momoko if ya'll are reading this).

(Let's talk about the above picture a little. Have you ever seen that commerical where the guy who loves nature is pretending to make a nature video and he is out in a mountain stream. Then he takes a cup and gets some of the water from the stream and drinks it...and then starts talking about how good it tastes. Then, the nature guy looks up stream and sees 2 really dirty looking men, in old dirty cloths, bathing in the river together and pointing and laughing at the nature guy? And then the nature guy makes a bitter look as if he just drank something bad? Well, the water that these people are drinking comes from the mountain. I was asked if I wanted to try some, but I said that I don't drink strange water...I just don't trust what has been in it.)

Finally, I went back to Matsue for experiments on Monday (today).

(above is a picture of me, taking a picture of Paul and Momoko...where Paul is taking a picture of me taking a picture of him. Did't understand what I just wrote in English? Well, neither did I, but if you look at the picture you may)

It turns out that over the weekend, the two people that came to Japan with me to do research (Carl and Saul) did do a few things in Matsue. I can't remeber what Saul did, but I know Carl went around Matsue and other places on his bike (visiting a few temples and a Japan heratage place). Also, Carl went to Kumar's place (Kumar is the Post Doctorial student in our lab) and took part in a cultural exchange between other international students (at least it sounds fun to me). Saul claims that he is going to go to take the train to Hiroshima this weekend. I haven't told him that there is no train to Hiroshima from Matsue yet...he has to go by bus. I also haven't told him that they don't speak much English at Matsue station. I am a bit curious as to how he is planning on buying the tickets. Of course, if he just goes to the station and keeps saying "Hiroshima!...Hiroshima!...I want to go to Hiroshima," I think they will put him on a bus just to get him away from there. There is a chance that someone at the station will speak enough English to help him. But, from what I understand, he wants to go to Hiroshima to visit the Catholic Church there...nothing else. Well, I guess I accept that. I would rather the trip be for different purposes, but... Of course, this weekend I plan on going back to Nagoya (in fact I will leave Friday morning because I have to take care of some business at Nagoya University). I don't have much planned for Saturday (but I will find something to do), however on Sunday I'm going to repeat my "Failed Trip To Nagoya Castle" that I posted about 7 months ago before I left Japan. This time I expect a different outcome. (If you haven't figure it out yet, I like doing repeat articles and having a different outcome. I'm going to try to do a few more repeats while I'm here. One of them will be over strange Engrish.) Anyways, I'll write more in a week or two (I still have a little more than a month in Japan). I'll be back in Texas in time for West Fest! Well, Adios. -Ben

I Visited Friends in Nagoya and SHORT NOTICE Once Again

2008-06-01T22:01:00.009-05:00

Well, like I already said, I went back to Japan. Over the first weekend in Japan (this last weekend) I went to visit my firends in Nagoya. It was pretty fun. I gave out omiyage (gifts from my country) to everyone. I stayed at one of my friends apartments...but with my bad since of direction, I forgot how to get back to his apartment Saturday night after a few friends and I had gone to a lot of different shops looking at things (and trying different foods)...so I kind of wondered around Kurumamichi for a while looking for the place. At one of these shops, I tried Lotus Tea...I had never tried Lotus Tea before. I think it is my new favorite tea. On Saturday night, after I found my way back to my friends apartment, a few friends and I tried the red wine that I brought from Texas. Well, I found out that I don't like red wine...but they told me it tasted good. Next weekend I plan on going back and seeing everyone again. I might even stop by Kyoto on the weekend and look around with a few other friends (not sure yet). Anyways, I posted some photos (and explanations) below:

(At Starbucks in Nagoya...Wyle (Palestine) and Shino (Japan))

(At the Brazillian Place "The Amigos" near Fukiage. From left to right: Celso (Brazil), Wyle (Palestine), Shino (Japan), Anna (Japan), Nobuyo (Japan), Chow (Vietnam), Marni (Philippines)

(In the subway at Nagoya headed to a friends apartment...From left to right: Celso, Momoko (Japan), Paul (Ecuador), and holding California red wine is once again Marni)

Well, I need to explain this picture. I have had a running joke about Chuck Norris with all of my friends for a long time. I memorized a lot of Chuck Norris facts and say them all the time around them...and even make of some of my own. So, when I came back to Japan I brought a Chuck Norris shirt for myself and one of my friends. Well, we are both wearing them in the picture above (Paul and myself). Paul's shirt says, "Chuck Norris counted to infinity...Twice!" and mine says, "When Chuck Norris does a push up, he isn't pushing up...He's pushing the Earth down!"

(At a friends apartment...you can see Paul and Momoko in from of Texas Wine)
There are actually a lot more pictures (and better ones), but they are on other cameras (I'll get them later).

Next are just random picture of Japanese country side taken during my train ride to Nagoya. I do like the look of the Japanese country side.

Once again, I received short notice about something that I could have been informed about a when I arrived and given propper time to prepare. I have to give a presentation at 8:30 tomorrow morning over the research I hope to do while I'm in Japan. I was told around 11am...that's less than 24 hours. Well, I have nothing else to do while I'm in this lab all day anyways. I guess that will give me something to do. Actually, this is really common in Japan. I usually only get one 1 or 2 days notice to do something. Once I received 2 days notice about having to go to an accelerator facility on the other side of Japan for 2 days to do research (and this was while I was doing preperations for the Thanksgiving party that I was hosting). I posted that article on my blog a long time ago. Well, I guess I complain a little too much while I'm here.
Actually, while I was gone, 4 people from the lab took one of the other people (that came with me to Japan) to Matsue Castle. Unlike most historical castles in Japan, Matsue Castle is not a replica that was rebuild after WWII. It is actually the same castle from a long time ago. I am going to visit it myself before I leave here. Also, the 2 students that came with me to Japan took a tour of a soy sauce factory together over the weekend (how or why they did that, I do not know). At least I was happy to hear that they didn't just sit around and do nothing over the weekend.
The professor of the lab came over to me today and asked me how my trip to Nagoya was and if I knew how to use the train in Japan (this was right before he told me that I need to prepare a presentation for the seminar at 8:30am tomorrow). Well, it was nice that he asked about my trip to Nagoya, but a little insulting to ask me if I knew how to use the train...It's not rocket science. Also, I can read and speak Japanese pretty well...I guess he doesn't get that.
Well, that's all for now. I guess I better get started on that Powerpoint presentation I just found out I have to do tomorrow morning in front of everyone. I'll post another article in a week or two.
See ya'll around.
-Ben

Back to Japan

2008-05-26T20:36:00.003-05:00

(The Dog Days of May)
Well, here I am again...back in Japan. I remember that I left because I didn't like certain things about it. Well, this time I'm on a different fellowship and studying photonics. But, things are still the same here. Today we had to give a presentation (a self introduction presentation) along with members of various labs. After the presentations, we found out that we have to attend a conference later on today at Izumo city and that we need to meet at the main gate of Shimane University at 4pm to leave with everyone else. So, once again the amount of notice that we were give was only a few hours. It kind of upsets me when they don't tell me stuff in advance...but maybe that's just me.
Anyways, I think the residence that we (Myself and the 2 other guys that came with me) was pretty good, but it has a Japanese style toilet. I don't know if you know what that looks like, but let me describe it to you....a hole in the ground that you use the restroom in. I can't make it sound any better than that. Well, I wasn't thrilled about it, but the other two were very offended by it. One of them is even trying to get the international student center to install a western style toilet in the residence (rather successfully I might add). Anyways, long story short, the other two people are rather unhappy. One of them made a board with 51 days marked on it and is counting down the days that we have until we return back. I'm doing fine though. Speaking Japanese really helps. I navigated our way around Japan thus far. We went from Dallas to San Francisco airport, from San Fran to Tokyo-Narita airport, from Narita we took a bus to Haneda airport, and from Haneda we went to Izumo airport (where the professor picked us up and we went to the residence with the Japanese style toilet that I already mentioned). We traveled more than 24 hours straight.
I'm feeling pretty good because I get to go back to Nagoya over the weekend and visit my friends. If I'm told that there is something I have to do over the weekend at Shimane, I'm going to completely ignore it a go to Nagoya anyways (I already made the plans). My excuse is that I don't work over holidays (Memorial Day...it doesn't matter if it's true or not...which it's not). The city that I'm at right now, Matsue, isn't that bad. It's in the country...which I like more (I don't like living in Japanese cities).
Anyways, I took the people that came to Japan with me out to eat at a Chinese place last night for dinner. They liked it for the most part. We had gyoza and harumake (gyoza is like meat and some vegi's wrapped in rice paper...they look like dumplings, and harumaki is like an egg roll...just smaller).
Is it bad to not care that the other two guys arn't having a good time here?..I don't know why, but my feelings are kind of split over it...It's too bad that they arn't having a good time, but it doesn't really bother me a lot. I knew they wouldn't have a great time here, but I hope they can make the most of their time. Since one is origonally from Poland, maybe he can appriciate a different culture more.
I don't know what they are going to do when I'm gone over the weekend. I don't plan on taking them with me. I showed them where they can go to get a little entertainment and sightseeing. Maybe they will take my advice. One thing is for sure, they will have a bit of difficulty getting around without knowing any Japanese.
Well, I've taken pictures of Shimane, but not many yet. I'll do another post soon and post better pictures.

(The Kaikan...the place I'm staying...all Japanese style)

Finals are OVER...the results....I'm Moving into My New House

2008-05-14T14:40:00.005-05:00

Finals are OVER. How can I describe what finals are like to you? lWell, I would have to say that it is like Hell, just without the laughter. It turns out that I did better than I thought. I made an A in two of my three classes. But, the one that I put the most effort into and wanted an A in I received a B (but after the final exam, I was happy to receive even that grade). By the way, the grades are done differently here than in Japan (you shouldn't compare the two).

The class I really wanted to make an A in (and gave the most time and effort to was quantum physics II. It's a difficult class and the professor is known for being difficult (among other things). Unfortunately, the professor that taught the quantum class is retiring, which means that I won't be able to take him for quantum III, which bothers me because that means I won't ever receive an A from that professor! An interesting thing about that professor is that he also taught my academic advisor when he was at this university (i.e. he was my professor's professor as well).
Other things that are going on....I'm moving into my new house. It's pretty nice. I posted some pictures of the inside of the house and the front and back yards below.

In one of the pictures you will see a cross above the fire place on a cardboard sheet. That belongs to one of my roommates. I have to share the place with 2 other people. I have never had a roommate before...I hope it's not that bad.
My elder sisters Birthday is today. I tried to call her, but she may be a work...which would mean that her phone is turned off. My younger sister's birthday is on the 19th of this month. I got her a gift card to Barnes and Noble book store (because she loves books). She turns 16 years old, so she is about to start driving (this is a warning to all drivers on the road...look out!).
My parents are going on vacation to the Virgin Islands this weekend, so I have to go to their home and take care of their dogs. Maybe I will get to go to the Alamo before I leave for Japan, but since I'm going to be babysitting little dogs, I kind of doubt it right now.
At the moment I am out shopping for Omiyage for all of my friends. I don't think I will have room in my suitcases for all that stuff.
Well, I have to go because I have to get ready for work (I need to leave in about 25 minutes). Luckily, I'm not going to loose my job even though I will be gone all summer long (they are going to give it back to me when I return).
I'm still preparing for the trip to Japan on the 24th of May. I hate long flights. O'well. I guess I will see everyone at the end of May or beginning of June.
So, I guess I'll see ya'll around.
Adios
-Ben

Finals and My B-day

2008-05-05T22:19:00.002-05:00

Well, I haven't actually done anything for my B-day yet, but after finals I will...In fact, this Saturday I'm being treated to lunch at the place of my choise. Also, my elder sisters B-day is on the 14th and my younger sisters is the 17th.
Anyways, have you ever really needed to do something, but just had difficulty forcing yourself to do it? In my case, I cannot seem to force myself to study for my quantum physics final. It's not as bad as it sounds. I have to make a 92 on the final to make an A in the class or a 53 to make an B in the class. I hate finals. But, I did get an A in my Theoretical physics class (in fact, I was told by my professor, "I give you A plus plus!" He's Italian, so it sounds normal.
After this week is over, I have to really start preparing to leave for Japan, AGAIN.
But, at least I will get to see my friends.
There are a couple other students going to Japan with me. I'm trying to think of ways to amuse myself at their expense, in Japan (I wouldn't really do that, but it doesn't stop me from thinking about it).
Well, I'll write something interesting and with pictures after finals.
Adios

Dead week and FINALS

2008-04-24T10:56:00.002-05:00

This is the last week of actual school and all of the professers have decided to give tests (as usual). These are not the final exams, but rather regular exams. Two of my classes decided to give take home exams (which means that the problems are so long and difficult that I doubt I will be able to finish all of the work required by the deadline. My other class is having us do a presentation (I have to do mine on Monday or Wednesday). These presentations take a little while to prepare for, but as long as I do it I'm pretty sure I will get an A in that class at least. Next week is what we call 'Dead Week.' During dead week, prefessors cannot give any homework or exams, but those that were assigned before dead week are still okay (and therefore, take home tests that were assigned the week before dead week and have a deadline in dead week are okay). During dead week, I have to give another presentation in Solid State Physics. That souldn't be too hard. The hardest part will be finding time to make the presentation. The week after 'dead week,' FINAL EXAMs start. I hate final exams. The professors never prepare you for the material that's on the final test and there is never enough time to prepare for them. On top of everything, I have to work. Actually, my TA duties are over after this week (so I don't have to teach any more Astronomy labs until next semester), but I still have a part-time job that will take about 5 hours every weekday (and that will affect the amount I can study). But, I still could make all A's in everyone of my classes...but it will be very difficult. I'm looking forward to this semester being over. I need a break. Plus, when it's over I'm going to visit San Antonio and go to the Alamo and river walk. Anyways, that's several weeks from now. Not too long after the semester ends I have to leave for Japan (about a four and a half weeks from now). I guess I will see everyone then.
Adios
-Ben

I'm coming back to Japan over the summer (and other things important)

2008-04-05T14:02:00.012-06:00

It's official...I will be doing summer research on bionanophotonics at some university in Shimane. The date has not yet been set in stone, but I do believe that the professor is planning on sending me (and 2 or 3 others) to Shimane for 2 months starting at the end of May. That means I will be able to visit my friends in Nagoya for a couple weekends (the amount of the scholarship is a little more than 200,000 yen per month...that's more than my previous Monbusho scholarship). Of course, I don't have to pay for housing (they university is actually renting an apartment for us). With the extra money, I will be able to visit my friends in Nagoya and go a few places (so I'm feeling pretty good about that). Actually, when I think about it, I have never been turned down for a scholarship in math or physics that I applied for...I'm 5 of 5 (A undergraduate summer physics research scholarship $2,500, a TXCEPT math scholarshop $600, the Monbusho scholarship 170,000 yen/month, and now the IREA research scholarship $2,000 per month, and my current TA scholarship of $1,550 per month). I guess I have been lucky.
I have to choose a graduate advisor to oversee my graduate research really soon. I'm still not sure who I will choose...but it's an important decision, so I'm thinking about it a lot.
At the moment, I'm trying to think of what to bring back to everyone in Japan. I went to a book store the other day and saw a bunch of books about Texas history, but I don't think any of my friends would want to read that stuff (despite how great it is). But, I did get a book about somethings in Texas that one of my friends will like. I guess I still have plenty of time to figure that stuff out (about 7 weeks).
Speaking of Texas history, I'm going to do an article over a few very interesting events in Texas history (the anniversary of the battle of San Jacinto is coming up soon...the battle where Texas won its independence from Mexico and became its own country). I will visit the Alamo before I leave for Japan and take pictures and stuff for my blog...I'll probably do the article then.
Anyways, I didn't have to work today (Saturday), so I decided to put of my advanced quantum physics homework for a few hours and see what I could find around my town to write about on my blog.

(More views of the court house)
One of the pictures above has a band that just happend to be outside in front of the court house practicing that day. Actually, I think they were pretty good.
(Above: One view of the historic downtown court house)

A lot of towns in Texas have historical court houses. The one in Denton, the town that I'm living in now, was built back in 1850. That was only 5 years after Texas had become a part of the United States. Before that, Texas was its own country called, "The Republic of Texas." With the exception of Hawaii, not other state in the US can claim being an independent country. Many people seem to think that the state of Texas was always this size, but in actuality, Texas was a much larger place when it was The Republic of Texas. As a compromise for settling the debt that Texas had accumulated, part of Texas was giving to the US when Texas joined the union (i.e. when Texas became a state). Before that, Texas comsumed parts of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Wyoming (all very large states). When Texas beat Mexico for its independence, not only did Texas win what we today call 'Texas,' but it also won a lot more land that people don't really remember (you are welcome Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Wyoming!).
Also, I thought that a few of my friends may want to see my university, so I walked around campus a took some pictures. I hope you like them. I also included the physics building in there. Since some of the pictures are off topic, I will explain them as I go along:

(Almost in the middle of nowhere, these buildings pop out of the country side and form Texas Women's University)

After visiting downtown and TWU, I decided to get some lunch and figure out where to go next.

(So, for lunch I went Texas style. A 0.5Kg BBQ sandwich and a Dr. Pepper...It was delicous. Two of the things I really missed while I was in Japan.)

I decided to walk around campus and take some pictures for everyone to see. I didn't walk all the way around campus, because it is too big to do that. Below are some random pictures of my university...One of them has the physics building that I work at in it.

(Physics building)

There is a rule that no buildings on campus can be taller than the tower (in the picture below). A lot of universities in Texas have similar rules (such as, a building cannot be more than 4 stories). The rules were made by the university itself for some reason.

The campus that I'm at now (like many other universities) has a few historical buildings that are still in use.

These next picture are from last Saturday when, once again, I took my sisters to putt-putt golf and a movie:

Finally, I found something interesting. Do you remember the article where I talked about Nagoya University beer? Well, at UNT they are not allowed to make beer, but they do make University of North Texas water (picture below):

Well, that's all for now. Hope to see everyone in Japan in a about 7 weeks or so. I'll write again in a couple week. Adios.
-Ben

Updates (Scholarship, Part-time Job, Spring Break)

2008-03-19T20:29:00.002-06:00

Well, it's Spring Break here. The other day was St. Patric's day. I didn't really do anything. Usually there is a parade and people drink green beer, but I didn't really fell like doing anything by myself, so I stayed home.
Before Spring Break, professors throw a bunch of test and my classes were no exception. Normally, I would have made A's on every test, but since I have a part-time job (tutoring students at Sylvan's Learning Center in Math) I didn't get to study as much as I should have. I don't think it would have made much of a difference in my quantum physics class since NONE of the stuff we were told to study was actually on the test. I was expecting a challenging test, but I was also expecting a test that was over the topic we covered! The test was over stuff that we covered in pervious classes in quantum mechanics and I wish I would have known that's what was going to be tested because I would have easily have been able to prepare for such a test. Instead, I think I bombed it and lost my A in the class (at least temporarily).
Speaking of part-time job, I wrote last time that I applied for a part-time tutoring job...well, I got it. Good right? Well, they say that "there is a good side to bad and a down side to up." I guess my situation is more like the "down side of up." I get more money, but I loose time that I really need to study.
I was going to go to the Alamo (in San Antonio) and take pictures and post them on my blog, but I doubt I will be able to go because of work. Soooo, I'm still going to try and go (there is a possibility that my work day on Saturday will be canceled due to lack of students, but I doubt it), but it does not look like I can. I wanted to do an article over it. The Alamo is not really the place were Texas began (Texas was created after the battle of San Jacinto), but it is a really important event in Texas (and U.S.) history and a symbol of Texas.
The other day I took my little sister to see a movie, but my baby sister was sick, so she couldn't go. Other than that, I haven't really taken advantage of my Spring Break time.
Now, about the scholarship...I still don't know anything for sure. I had to have recommendations submitted from previous professors the other day. I will know for sure if I'm coming back to Japan by the first week of April.
I was trying to figure out what I would do if I were able to come back to Japan. First, I have to burn down that place that gave me food poisoning! Next, I will have to stop by and visit my friends in Nagoya and give them all omiage from Texas. Then, my friends and I will all have to go out and do something fun...like dance on the ashes of the place that I burnt down for giving me food poisoning! Then we can hunt down the cooks who gave me food poisoning and give them food poisoning (I like that idea).
I know this wasn't really that interesting. I'll put something interesting up in a week or two (with pictures). Other than that, I hope to see ya'll in Japan in a couple months. Adios.

My Part-Time Job Application, Scholarship to Japan and my Baby Sister's Birthday Party

2008-02-24T00:01:00.007-06:00

A few things have happend since my last article (but none of the were very interesting). My neighbors have become really annoying (they are really loud at 1am to 3am almost every night...so I can't sleep), I went to my baby sister's birthday party, asked a professor about the scholarship in Japan and applied for a part-time job tutoring math. Let me tell you about those a little. First, I'll write about my baby sister's birthday party (of which, I have posted pictures below).

Well, my baby sister turned 11 years old the other day. Instead of going out to eat, as we usually would do, she wanted to stay at home for a small party. She received a new bike, professional golf lessons, a gift card, some money and a few other things. I think she had a good time. After the party, we went to the mall for a little while.
I was looking for a part-time job that would work around my class schedule and give me enough time to do my class work, when I found an ad that was looking for a math tutor for a place called Sylvan's Learning Center. I think I met all of the qualifications, so I applied. I had to go for an interview 2 different times and I will know if I got the job on Monday (they are still interviewing other applicants). I think I am the most qualified, but they may be looking for someone with a more flexable schedule. The job pays $10/hr and I think I would only work about 8-10 hours a week. (I would be tutoring high school students.)
It is looking (or rather sounding) like I will be able to return to Japan for 2 months in the summer (and if so, I'm going to stop by Nagoya for a while to visit some of my friends). If I return for the summer, I will be going to Shimane University. I was in class the other day when the professor that decides who will receive the scholarship for summer study in Japan came over to me and asked if I was still planning on submitting the application for summer study in Japan because he wanted to know if he should book the plane tickets early so he can save money. To me, that sounds like I will get the scholarship as long as I apply. I guess we will see.
Well, my class schedule is keeping me a little busy. I have a couple quantum physics problems I have to solve before the weekend is over (which may take the entire weekend) and I have to teach a class all day tomorrow. I think I will write another article around the first week of March (after I submit my scholarship application).

Office Hours

2008-02-08T09:19:00.000-06:00

So, what do you do when you are stuck in your office for 4 hours? Well, if you are me, you bring your computer along and write on your blog. The other guy did it too, so don't look down on me.
Anyways, as part of my Teaching Assistantship Award, not only do I have to teach class for 10 hours, but I also have to spend 4 hours (it is actually suppose to be 5, but I got out of the other one some how) in the office answering student questions. I don't know why. I have not seen a student ever come by and ask questions. There classes arn't really difficult (we called it Cowboy Astronomy/Physics at my undergraduate university...because it is taken by non-science majors and there is little to no math required), so I understand why there are no questions. What I don't understand is why most people miss a couple EASY answers on the quizes. I review everyone on the quiz questions right before I hand it out to the students (giving them the answer in the review and telling them it WILL be on the quiz). The quiz is only worth 3 points of the 10 point lab grade, but most people loose don't care about the easy grade...they will find a way to get something very obvious wrong. For example, I told them "when the peaks of the spectral data are far apart, it means that the object is spinning fast! The further apart the peaks are, the faster it is spinning." Then, they would have a question that showed 2 different sets of sprectral data (one with peaks close together and one with peaks far apart) and be asked, "which object is spinning faster?" So, what was your answer? Obviously it should have be the sprectal data with the peaks furthest apart, but... on average, 2 out of every 5 people in every class (5 total classes) missed that question.
It reminds me of a joke that my friend Fausto from Brazil told me. I was telling Fausto that I went to a conference at Nagoya University (hosted by my lab). The conference was held in honor of a partnership program between UCLA (University of California LA) and Nagoya University. But when I went, all of the students and professors that came from UCLA were NOT actually American. This surprised me a little (2 professors-one French and One Chinese, 5 students-4 Chineses and 1 Taiwanese, and the dean of the Department of Engineering of UCLA-he was Indian, all came). When I told Fausto that I found this funny and I don't know why no Americans came, he made a pretty good joke about Americans not knowing how to do science (or something like that). After teaching that class for a while, I get that feeling a little (despite the fact that I am American and I know that we can do science...I just think they don't care about the class).
Now a different topic: I have more quantum physics homework, but it's not due for 5 days. I went over the first problem and it seems pretty easy (I only have one question). The last homework assignment was hard (even for me)! I found out later that a lot of people went to ask questions to the professor on that problem...I probably should have done the same thing. Have you ever spent 7 hours on a problem and felt like you have made no progress (I wonder if that's how politics feel).
Speaking of politics, it looks like John McCain will run for president on the US in the next election for the republicans. His only competition is Mike Huckabee. All Chuck Norris jokes aside, if a republican is going to win, I would rather John McCain win. Now, I would also like to say that Mike Huckabee was in last place at one time during the primary elections (behind 5 other people). But then, Chuck Norris endorsed Huckabee and now Huckabee is almost in first. I don't think that everyone knows Huckabee was endorsed by Chuck Norris, because if they did the world would have already named Huckabee as president. By the way, there isn't a chin underneath Chuck Norris's beard, only another fist. "Chuck Norris doesn't sleep. He waits." When Chuck Norris does a push up, he's not lifting himself up; he's pushing the world down.
Seriously though, Chuck Norris is in his 70's or 80's and he looks like he is in his 30's or 40's.
For the democratic party, it will definitely be either Mrs. Clinton or Mr. Obama. I don't know which one I want to run for president. I personally think that, because the republican parties reputation has suffered, the democratic party will win the presidency. The race may be close. There are certain state that always vote republican and certain states that always vote democrat. Each state has a number of electorial votes (which are the only ones that count) dependent on population of the state. For example, California is the most populous state and has the most electrial votes (but it usually votes democrat) and Texas has the second largest populous and the second most electorial votes (but it always votes republican). Florda is a 'swing state' (it sometimes votes republican & sometimes democrat...it was the center of debate in the Bush vs Gore election). It's a myth that the president is elected by popular vote (of citizens). In the constitution it states that only the electorial votes (the electoria college matters). Therefore, like in the Bush vs Gore election, even if the people elect one candidate, but the electoria college (the electorial votes cast by the representatives of the state) elect the other, the one that the electorial votes elected counts (not the popular vote). It was upheld by the supreme court. But, they have been talking about ammending that for years.
I guess, most of the world does not care for President Bush. He seems like a nice guy, but I don't know if he was cut out to be president.
Well, at the moment I am writing about my "future research goals" for a scholarship that I am applying for so that I can come back to Japan over the summer (for 7 to 8 weeks). I'm told that 2 or 3 people from my university will receive it (wish me luck). Well, I still have 50 minutes before I have to go down stairs and finish the last 2 hours of my office hours, but I'm going to quit writing now anyways. Talk to y'all later.
Adios
-Ben
(Enjoying Texas...still warm here.)

My new car, computer and classes

2008-01-28T15:44:00.000-06:00

Well, I guess I already told you I got a new car. This time I posted pictures of it.

Also, today I went to Best Buy (it's an electronics store) and bought a new laptop. They didn't actually have the one I wanted. This is the third time I went there and they were still sold out. Normally I wouldn't be able to afford a laptop yet (without saving up my money), but I'm paying it of monthly ($15/month). That means that my computer payment is less than my internet payment. But, my computer has wireless and satellite connections (I'm using wireless) and the AMD turion 64 core duo processor (so it runs pretty fast)...I wish the signal was a little stronger though (I only get 3 out of 5 bars). I almost got a gateway with practically the exact same things (memory, satellite and wireless uplinks, same processor, etc..., but it was $200 more).
Yesterday I had to teach an Astronomy class from 11am to 9pm (actually I finished at 8:15pm, but it is suppose to end at 9pm). That was kind of dull. I don't really feel confident that people are listening to me after I tell them what they need to remember for the easy quiz at the end of class, and despite the fact I basically told them the answers they still miss many of the easy questions.
Anyways, I'm thinking of taking a trip to the Alamo during Spring break in March (it is usually pretty nice weather at that time of year in Texas). It would be the first time I've ever been there despite the fact that I live in Texas. If I do go, of course I will take pictures. You know what the Alamo is don't you? I think it is special to everyone from Texas.
I will find out if I was accepted to the University of Texas in March. Even if I am accepted, I'm not sure that I will leave the University of North Texas. Despite the fact that the community surrounding the university is not very nice, the university itself and the people at the university are. I guess I will make that decision later if I have to.
Since school started, I will practically be doing the same thing every day for a while. So...not much to report.
Talk to y'all later.
-Ben

Started the new semester

2008-01-16T14:03:00.000-06:00

Well, I finally got everything taken care of (almost) and have started school. I got an apartment, a car, etc...Everything that I need to live on my own (again). Unfortunately my apartment is not very nice. Chained to the stairs that I use to go to my second floor apartment, there is an old lady walker (it's a device that old people use to lean on when they get older and have a difficult time walking on their own). My only question is, why is it chained to the stairs? I can understand chaining a bicycle to the stairs or something like that, but a walker? If a kid steals a bicycle it may be difficult to tell if it is a stolen bicycles. It's very common to see a kid on a bicycle...it doesn't attract suspicion. However, if I were to see a you man or woman with a old lady walker I don't think it would be that difficult to figure out that it had been stolen...what would they use it for anyways? The couldn't sell it on the street. I don't know of any walker chop shops. And if a theif that actually needed a walker stole it, they couldn't be that hard to catch (they can't run from you, they need a walker)! Maybe I'm looking at it in the wrong way. It could be a type of art. I've heard of a guy that made himself live in an exhibit at a museum for a week with wolves and claimed that it was a form of art and expressing himself. Maybe this walker chained to the stairs is trying to symbolize (an expression of art)....there is heavy sarcasim (not hiniku...that has a bad meaning, we use it differently in the US) in that statement.
Anyways, classes have started. Everyone at the university is nice, but I have to start teaching a class pretty soon as part of my teaching assistantship. It turns out that I have to teach an astronomy class (which is a hobby of mine). I guess I will have to wait and see how it goes. I don't have a good camera at the moment, so I can't take any pictures to put on my blog (they took the USIM card out of my camera phone at the airport and the camera won't work without it). Denton (the town that my university is in) is not really a nice town, but it's okay. When I came here for the first time looking for apartments I saw about a dozen Mexicans standing on the street corner waiting for people to come by and offer them jobs. I've seen that in the movies before, but that was the first time that I saw it in real life.
It was warm here the past few weeks. People were wearing short sleeve shirts and shorts, but today it is cold and it is about to get colder (no more warm weather). That's too bad. My football team lost it's first game in the playoffs, so I'm not really happy. Also, the NFL said that one of the officials made a really bad call (even though the team was argueing it at the time the call was made) and formally apologized to my team for possibly costing them the came (and it was a very crucial call). But that doesn't make me feel any better. I will feel better if the Green Bay Packers win the superbowl (because Bret Farve is one of my favorite players and I hate the New England Patriots).
I haven't really been doing anything recently. I have been busy getting everything ready for school and finding an apartment and car. Now that school has started I don't know when I will be able to do anything...plus I don't have any money at the moment to spend on anything other than rent, insurance, car payment and food (making an unhappy face). But, at least I'm home.
Well, I'll try to get a camera and post a picture for the next story (and I will try to make it entertaining). See you around. Later.
-Ben

Trip to Kyoto

2007-12-27T23:12:00.001-06:00

A couple days before I left Japan, some friends of mine put enough money together and sent me to Kyoto (sort of like a going away gift). Actually, I had already planned to go, but did not know if I would have enough money because of repairs that I may have had to pay for at my apartment building (actually, as it turns out, I did not have to pay and would have had enough money...but didn't know until a week after I had returned home). Had I known that I would not have had to pay for repairs, I would have done a lot more before I left Japan. So along with Paul (from Ecuador) and Momoko (from Japan), I went to Kyoto. We went to 2 different places (unfortunately I cannot remember the names of all the places, but I have them writen down in a book...that I don't have at the moment).

The first place that we went to was the five story pagoda (I'm not sure if I spelled that correctly). There were a few ancient temples there, but I could not take pictures of the inside because it was not allowed. In fact, one was not even allowed to draw pictures of what was inside of the temples. We did not go inside the 5 story pagoda. There is only one day of the year that people can go inside, and even then, only one the first floor. It was pretty nice. I like seeing historical and cultural things from Japan. (By the way, I wanted to load more pictures, but my parents computer take forever to load pictures...so I don't have the time.)
Next we went to an ancient shrine. It was very nice with all of the Fall leaves, but it is a manufactured nature. Momoko pointed out how everything was manufactured and was not real nature, but rather man maid. It seems that the type of nature that Japanese people enjoy most is the type that they manufacture, and actually it is pretty nice. I enjoyed it. But can you really call it nature if it is not natural? I wanted to see the golden pavilian, but there was not enough time.
Here are some tips if you are visiting Kyoto:
(1) It may be cheaper not to buy a 1 day pass (1200 yen) and just pay the travel fee.
(2) You will have to use the buses with everyone else, because the subway does not take you to all of the places that you want to see...Therefore expect it to be too crowded to sit on the buses and see people hanging out the does and windows of the bus (so that they don't have to wait 20 minutes to catch the next one). I keep waiting for the day that one of these crowded buses is in a fatal accident and hear on the news "two buses collided in Kyoto today. All 518 people on board the buses were killed." If you didn't get that joke, a bus is suppose to carry about 50 people.
(3) When you read in books that 'Japanese people where doctor masks when they catch colds in order to protect other people from getting a cold,' what they really mean is 'Japanese people where doctor masks in the middle of cold and flu season to protect themselves from catching a cold since they use the mass transit system and do not have the habit of covering their mouths when they cough on other people...this is void if they already have a cold, then they do not wear a mask (or if they have allergies, they were them in the summer to protect themselves from pollen).' With this knowledge, you as well can keep from catching a cold on the mass transit system in Kyoto (or anywhere in Japan for that matter).
(4) Just take the shinkansen (bullet train), unless you like long trips by bus or train.
(5) Kyoto is a big tourest destination (all year round...foreign and domestic) and tourists eat out for breakfast, lunch and especially dinner, so be sure to make reservations for dinner.
(6) Learn a little Japanese while you are there...although, even if you speak Japanese they will try an answer in English (whether you like it or not).
(7) Try to enjoy it. Even though there will be a crowd, it is worth going.
(8) You are not allowed to take pictures of certain things or inside of certain places...reason unknown. Be careful not to do this.
Anyways, I enjoyed my trip. I was only able to go thanks to all of my friends. Maybe I will go again one day.
Well, Christmas is over and as expected I got a little money. Unfortunately, I don't get to spend it on what ever I want. I'm stuck using it to pay for the deposit and first months rent on my new apartment (which I will likely only be at for about 6 months) and eventually (I think in Febuary) my car payment and insurance. I'm still a but busy taking care of things for school...these next few weeks are going to be busy. If I can, I will write another article before Jan 15th (probably about Christmas and New Years), but it may be after that. The weather here is still changing a lot from day to day. It won't stay cold until mid-Jan I think. I don't think there will be too many pictures in the next few posts...I need to get a USIM card before my camera will work (or I need to buy a new camera). If any of my friends are reading, I hope everything is going good for yall and that yall are having a great holiday season. See you around.
Adios
-Ben
(No quote this week.)

I went home to Texas

2007-12-11T22:10:00.000-06:00

It's not like me to write an article out of order, but today I am going to talk about leaving Japan before I write about the Kyoto trip (that my friends sent me on...which I will likely write about in a few days). Where should I begin? My stay in Japan has finally ended. I was happy to come to Japan in April 2006 to do graduate studies at Nagoya University, but after being in Japan for a long while my opinions started to slowly change. There are things that are difficult for me to accept (not about the culture, but rather about the way that people who are not Japanese are treated and the difference in education...no specific examples). Eventually, I decided that it would be better for me to return home and continue my education in the US. Fortunately, during my stay in Japan, I made many friends from all over the world (well, from a lot of contries anyways) which made my time in Japan better. Of course while I was in Japan I missed some people back home, but now I'm going to miss having good times with my friends in Japan. So, instead of making this a really really long post talking about all of the things that I liked and disliked in Japan I decided just to post a lot of my favorite pictures (but not all of them because that would take a VERY long time).

I still have yet to read over every article I wrote for my blog (something I ment to do on the plane). My last few days in Japan were hectic. I was trying to finish as much of my research as possible before I left and could not make much progress because the people who made the sample holder I needed for the experiments took too long to make it and when I did finally receive it, it was too small and I therefore had to make a lot more samples and spend 4 times longer than what it should have taken me (that drained most of my time). On Saturday (the 8th) some friends and I went to Kyoto (article coming in a few days). It was rather interesting. On the 9th I had to go to the lab and try and finish up my research until around 3pm. Later that night we had a 'going away' party for me (article will be with the Kyoto article in a few days). It was rather fun. I ate a lot of tebasaki (like spicy chicken wings...famous Nagoya food). When I returned back to the apartment, I had to start packing (nothing like waiting until the last minute). It's a shame that one cannot have it both ways. Out side of the people that I know, I don't think there are too many things about Japan I will miss (it would be great if my friends in Japan were to live around here, but that doesn't seem possible). I have a language exchange friend that I would talk with once a week, but there is a good chance I will never see her again. My friends from other countries still have some years in Japan. But, slowly they too will start disappearing from Japan (maybe a few will choose to stay there for good). I was not the first to go (I guess that would be Flavia), but it feels different when you are the one who is leaving as compared to saying goodbye to somebody else who is leaving. Maybe I will go back to Japan for a couple months over the summer (if I can). Now I will have to re-name my blog (of course Texas will be in the title) and find a new theme. But, I guess my friends and I can keep contact with each other threw the internet. Don't know when I will get to see them again. Anyways, Flavia is returning to Japan to visit them pretty soon. That should be interesting (unfortunately I won't be there). And, if any of my friends are reading, I want you to know that I had a great time when y'all were around.
Adios
-Ben
(Kyoto trip and goodbye party will be posted in a couple days, then an article about looking for an apartment and a car, and then a Christmas article...if everything goes as planned.)

Okayama and Thanksgiving Party

2007-11-30T21:27:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since my last post and a few things have happened since then. Let me start from the beginning.
A couple weeks ago, I told my professor that I was going back to the United States for good. He took it extremely well and told my academic advisers for me. So, now I am trying to do as much research as possible before I leave. On that same topic (research), I finally received the sample holder that I needed in order to do the high-k dielectrics sputtering (my main topic), but the sample holder is way too small and almost impossible to use. I have to sputter 4 different samples to do one experiment (as apposed to one sample) which takes 4 times longer (which means close to 6 hours). Therefore, I have to waste a lot of time to do that (and will not be able to make the progress that I thought I would be able to in my research at the end of my stay).
Next, I learned (two day before I had to go there), that I had to go to a particle accelerator facility in Okayama (in a town called Aioi) for a couple days. I was apposed and told my adviser that I didn't want to go because I was busy, but he said that SPring8 (the name of the facility) is a very special place and that I need to go. Well, the scenery was pretty good and everything, but we didn't really do anything while I was there except sit around all day and watch other people. I've posted pictures of the place below:

The last picture is posted on a door at the facility...So, what good is a door that doesn't open? It's kind of like that riddle, "If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is around to hear it, does it make a noise?" That's kind of like a car with no gas, isn't it? If the door doesn't open, that sounds like a major problem to me. Somebody should fix that door.

I returned from Okayama around 9pm on the 23rd, which was bad because that means that I only had the rest of that day and the next morning to prepare for the Thanksgiving party (which was scheduled to start at 1pm on the 24th). Did you notice how I said 'was scheduled to start?' Well, once again I underestimated the time that the turkey would take to cook in a Japanese oven. Last year we were only able to find a small turkey, but this year we ordered a large turkey from the United States (at a dramatic increase in price... around $100). I started cooking the turkey (which was WAY too big for the oven...we had to put it in at an angle and hold the oven door shut) at 6am and I finished cooking the turkey around 3pm. When I arrived at Kaikan (the place the party was held and also the place I origionaly lived when I came to Japan), everyone (including my host family from Tsu) was there. They didn't mind my lateness though. Most people arrived around 2pm anyways. There is a video of my friend, Paul from Ecuador, carving the turkey while my friend, Celso from Brazil, makes comments.

All and all, the party was a pretty good success. I there were a few other people that I wanted to come that could not, because of the timing or other reasons. This years party was bigger than last years. There was one difference (other than the turkey was bigger than a chicken this year...22.5 pounds), this year we encouraged foods from different countries, where as last year I banned them. My host family told me that they like trying foods from all over the world when I stayed with them in May, so I thought that since they are coming, I would ask everyone from every country to make something from their country. The Brazilians brought a Brazilian chocolate, my friend from Ecuador made something (but I cannot remember the name...although I should because I thought it was a Mexican dish, but they have something similar in Ecuador...that tastes a lot different), there was food from Palestine, Japan, Texas (of course...Texas Chili), etc... So, I think it went pretty well. There are some pictures below:

After the party, I had to focus on moving out of my apartment (I had to be gone by the 28th). Before you move out of an apartment in Japan, they have a person come in a price any damage to the apartment. Well, it seems that my AC was leaking water under my floor and I didn't know about it. But, opposite from the US where the apartment would fix that (I know, it has happened in my apartment in the US...the water heater instead of the AC), the person staying in the room is at fault for the damages it seems. Therefore I will have to pay around $1,000! I was surprised. I wasn't expecting anything like that. So, instead of going home with some money (like I thought I would be), I won't have any. The contractor wants to replace the entire floor and not just the spot that the water damage is (he explained why, but I didn't catch it all) and he also wants to replace the wall that the AC is on (what bad news). I checked with the insurance and they don't cover such things (what good is the insurance if it does not cover the damages?). I guess there is nothing I can do about it.
Anyways, I have moved into my friends place for the remainder of my stay in Japan. Because I am trying to finish as much research as possible before I go, I doubt I will be able to take the trip to Kyoto as I had planned (also, I don't think I will have the money to do it now).
I'm really looking forward to coming home. I think that Japan is a nice place to visit, but I don't want to live here. More recently, many of my friends have been feeling the same way. In fact, I was surprised to hear it from a few of them...they always seem as though they are having such a good time. But, it seems more of my friends share the same feelings as I have about Japan (I guess it is not as easy for them to leave as it is for me).
Speaking of leaving, in order to withdraw form the Monbukagakusho fellowship, one has to go through a ton of formalities (AGAIN). And there are even meetings. I think I have it all taken care of.
On December 4th, I was asked by my professor to go to the lab 'Year End Party' (it's actually just a drinking party...in Japan, most people attend several of these before the end of the year and they can start as early as mid-November) and announce to the lab that I will be leaving on the 10th (because the students do not know yet). Everytime there is a announcement like this, it must be made at a party it seems...I hate public speaking. I think on the 8th I will stop my research (only to continue the last part in Texas and send the final paper back to the lab for publishing in a physics journal...my second publication, but my first with my name as the main author) and try and enjoy my last day in Japan as much as possible (it is difficult to do with the way everyone stares at me in the streets and the facial expressions I receive sometimes...hopefully I can avoid that on my last day).
There will be one last post before I leave Japan about my final week here. But, unless something big happens, there will not be anything before that. Thanks for reading this far.
Quote of the month:
'I sleep away the years in my puny cosmos, while I should be dusting the stars.'
(I wish I could remember who said that, but I cannot.)
Well, I guess I will see you around.

Engrish

2007-11-08T02:55:00.000-06:00

I ran out of time while I was doing this article and I wasn't able to finish loading all of the pictures (and some of the best are left out). But, these will at least get my point across. I didn't really search for them as I had planned, but I still have some pictures to post. Actually, if you want some really bad (and even discusting) Engrish, you have to go cloths shopping in Japan...they have stuff that I wouldn't dare post on my blog (and people wear them all the time). Most of them feature volgare words and/or cute animated animals saying and doing bad things. I saw in a picture a little girl wearing a shirt that said, F**K You, with a teddy bear giving the finger to everyone. That's not even the beginning of them.

From a pizza box. The box is advertised as a "crispy carton." Well it sounds delicious.

Lemon Tea. The carton says, "Lipton is one of the world's great refreshment brands, making a big splash in the global beverages market with tea-based drinks. Enjoy lipton chilled ice tea-one of a range of tasty. Well, it was one of the range of tasty. I thought it was tasty okay.

I don't think I really need to comment on this, but...do you think that they actually try to come up with a name that will make a native English speaker laugh or is it one of those things that just happen? If you read in Japanese, it says creamy chocolate collon. They are even in the shape of little colons. (I know they have an extra L, but the sound is the same.)

Yes, famiry is very important. Actually, although they corrected it, when I first saw the sign a long time ago they had the famiry and the single apartments backwards (so the famiry was only single looms and the single was famiry looms).

This is taken at the bus stop in Hoshigaoka. It says "Alight Only." Well, once again a dictionary would have come in handy. According to my dictionary Alight is defined as-(1) Burning, (2) Someone whose face or eyes are alight is excited and happy, (3) bright with light or color. Do you think they are asking us to start a fire? Again, this is a PUBLIC SIGN. ERRORS SHOULD NOT BE MADE ON PUBLIC SIGNS!!!

This is one of my favorites. No, there is no spelling error, but this can not be too good for peoples self confidence. Feeling good about yourself are you? Then just look in this mirror. (Why would anyone write TRASH over a mirror that people have to pass by in the subway anyways? You get to see it everyday. So a mirror gets to call you trash everyday.)

This energy gum claims to be men's style, but when I tried it, it made my breath smell like a mens room with cigarets thrown in the toilets. But luckily the chocolate that I bought with it saved my life.

This is a pizza box. Maybe it means to open the lid with a smile, but instead says, "open up with your smile." Well, not that big of a complaint there.

Sign says, "Let's Buy Go Toys." Another one of those public advertising things again.

"Ladyes and Mens"...Okay, we need to talk about plural forms (these are not the possessive forms either). Are they trying to make it more plural than it already is?

Well, I'm going to try this place tomorrow morning. Looks fun.

I have no objection to the English writing that they used in this sign. I couldn't find the smallest error, but...Vandalism is prohibited, Interference with administrative duty is prohibited, and General misconduct is prohibited??? Man, I miss the public places where they allow you to vandalize, interfere and behave badly.

They were right, I was able to digest these chocolate cookies! I was surprised.

About the above picture...I have no comment (but it wouldn't really bother me).

On a public sign!?! Be sure fo keep away from diksionairees when making a public sign (that everyone will see).

At least it is right to the point. Vitamin Drink (no fancy smancy brand here).

The package says, "We provide a first class taste brought directly from the earth." Well, I guess it's nice to know that aliens are not making my apple ring snacks.

Again, no comment (but it's okay with me).

Photos of The Premium Calpis and Calpis Water (try pronouncing that 5 times fast...don't kid yourself, it does sound like what you're thinking). Calpis has all kinds of drinks. I even came across one that was called coolpis (no joke, but didn't have camera at the time).

Next is Skal. It says, "Skal is our proprietary milk-based pop, the unique hybride of skim milk and soda. Just take a sip of it and you will find it so cool and refreshing. 'Love Skal' always our pride."
What kind of person would have thought to combine milk and sode??? He or she must have thought, "hum...I like milk, but I also like soda...if only there were a way to have them both at the same time." Well, trust me when I tell you that it tastes the same way that it sounds (I know).

Next is Platinum Water BD. It says, "We are entering an age of Body Designing done freely by individuals. This is a gift to those who wish to be beautiful. New age Mineral Water designed to support beauty and health." Sounds like genetic engineering to me (cool). But they say it's a gift, but they wouldn't let me leave the store with it without paying.

Now is Pocari SWEAT (not Sweet). Don't you want to try a drink that has sweat in the name. Here is the description on the bottle, "Pocari Sweat is a healthy beverage that smoothly supplies the lost water and electrolytes during persperation. With the appropriate density and electrolyes, close to that of human body fluid, it can be easily absorbed into the body."
Well, it does taste the way I imagine human body fluid would taste.

Trying to finish up my research at the moment, but it's becoming difficult because of the short time that I have with the machines and we haven't received some things that I need to continue my experiments. Looks like I'm leaving on December 10th for good. Anyways, I really have to go (I'm a little busy right now). Not sure what I'm going to be doing in the near future, but I will have a Thanksgiving party (once again this year) on the 24th. There will definitely be an article for that. Anyways. See y'all around.
-Ben

My Failed Trip To Nagoya Castle

2007-10-26T10:04:00.000-05:00

I know I said the next article would be about strange Japanese English, but I decided I could get some better pictures for that article if I go walking around and searching for it over the weekend (tomorrow or Sunday). This article is about the trip a friend I took to Nagoya Castle.
I got to my friends apartment around 12 in the afternoon. Unfortunately we could not leave because my friend was waiting for a package from a Japanese meat delivery company. It arrived around 3pm, but we still did not get to leave until around 3:30...So we were off to a slow start from the very beginning. First we went from Sakurayama to Sakae to transfer buses (we decided it would be a better trip if we took the bus-you can see stuff that way). Anyways, it turns out that there are three number 1 stops on the map at Sakae...probably because having only one number one stop wouldn't be logical (our bus was suppose to leave from the number 1 stop according to the map). These stops are not close to each other, so we walked to all three of them and checked the bus schedule. However, none of them had the bus to the castle (or so I thought). So, my friend (Marni) and I walked back to the map. Apparently, the other number one stops were not in Sakae (despite the fact that they were on the map), but rather in a place that is 5 minutes walk from Sakae. The actual stop was 7 minutes from the Sakae bus station (in another Sakae bus station). To recap, the 2 bus stations in Sakae are further away than the neighboring bus stations in a region by Sakae (which I can't really tell the difference). By the time we got to our bus stop, we found that the bus didn't actually come for another hour, so we decided to walk around and see what we could find. We came across this interesting place that had a fountain on top of a 6 story platform (pic below)

After getting on the bus, we went to Shiyakusho (I think...the name of the place where the castle is). By the time we got there is was getting dark.

But, I thought we could still see the castle. So we walked around the perimeter, but the view was completely blocked by trees. So, to try and keep it from becoming a complete loss, I decided to climb the wall and sneak in the castle.

But, unfortunately the rocks are not very stable and I had to give up my attempt in the fear that I might destroy Japanese heritage.

Speaking of that, the castle is not the real castle. It was rebuilt after being destroyed by US bombing raids during WWII. In fact, the place that I live now used to have a temple there (there is a new one on top of the building, but the older one was a big temple), but it was also destroyed by US bombing raids around the same time. I spoke with the head monk of that temple and he told me that, since he was against the war he did not care that the temple was destroyed by US bombing raids.
Anyways, I'm very busy at the moment so I don't have time to make this article interesting or explain in detail. I will try and post the strange English article soon. Later.
Thanks for reading.
-Ben

Japan's Drinking Culture

2007-10-12T06:39:00.001-05:00

Where should I begin? I new about Japan's drinking culture before I came to Japan (that's why it says in my profile that I don't drink but I've been meaning to start), or so I thought. I think that sometimes it is better to have examples of the thing one is trying to explain instead of a direct explanation, so here is my first example. Let us start with universities and move on from there. Since the only comparison I can really make is the comparison between the US and Japan, I will use that as the bar for counter examples. At universities in the United States alcohol is forbidden on campus and even around campus sometimes (my university was in a dry town). In fact, if you are caught intoxicated on campus, not only will you be arrested you will most likely be kicked out of school. If they find alcohol in your dorm or, god forbid, in your hand you will be handed the same punishment (furthermore it is unlikely that you will be able to enter any other universities when you have to explain that, and you will have to explain that, to the other universities) except maybe a community college. HOWEVER, in Japan, drinking is not forbidden on campus. During cherry blossom viewing and festival a lot of people get drunk on campus. 'But where do they get all this beer that they bring to the campus to get drunk with?' one might ask. Well, the answer is very simple. They by it at the university store or at a near by conveniet store or one of the many many public beer vending machines (yes, they are everywhere). You may not believe me when I tell you this next part (that's why I had a friend take a picture and send it to me), but Nagoya University actually encourages the students to drink beer. 'How?' one may ask. Well, when you have your own brand of beer that you sell on campus (between the hours of 8am and 5pm...the perfect drinking time), what else would you call it? Yes, I was surprised too. NAGOYA UNIVERSITY BEER (since 1999). Don't believe, then just look at the picture below:

It comes in Ale or Lager! (Quality of picture isn't that good because it was taken with a cell phone) I also wanted to include a picture of a beer vending machine by the street, but I didn't bring my USB connection for my phone.
Back to the Nagoya University BEER; I wonder if they would kick me out of class if I brought a couple of these bottles into class with me and proceeded to chug them in front of the professor.
Professor: You! What are you doing?!?
Me: Having my morning drink? What are you doing? And stop writing on the board so fuzzy!
Professor: Is that beer?
Me: Yeah, but it's Nagoya University beer and it's only my fourth one, so it's okay. You want one? It will make the class funner.
Actually, I doubt I would suffer any consequences even if I did something like that. Because I have relized that school (at least graduate school) in Japan is just a formality of time. They cannot allow these people to start at high career levels so young and have extremely young people that can climb the career latter so fast...they have to send them to a place of waiting before they can enter. Well, most don't really seem to mind though. Universities in Japan (not just graduate school) are a last step before people enter the ever so harsh business society that is Japan. My respect for Japanese companies is lower than my respect for Japanese universities (almost empty). Knowing that these will be the last free years of their life before they have to conform to society (or as they say, become a valuable member of society) and endore things that have no logic to them at all, they spend their time at the universities having fun and going out to drink often. My Japanese friend in my lab goes out drinking almost every night (weekend or weekday). When their university life comes to an end, the best years of many of their lives will also end.
More about Japan's drinking culture...Alcohol is not really a bad thing, but I do believe their is a responsible way to drink and an irresponsible way. Unfortunately I do not see the first one of those here. I'm tired of stepping over drunk people when I ride the subway from Sakae on a weekend. That's not the half of it. These drunk people are allowed on the subway. I think this is very dangerous. Japanese are not the strongest of drinkers and many of them to something that I so dub the 'drunken pit fall.' It is where a drunk person seems to be perfectly aware for a little while, standing up, looking around, etc... and then just blacks out and falls down. Of course they can hurt themselves falling down, but I'm more worried about them falling onto the tracks as the subway train is coming. Also, they throw-up all inside the subway station and the subway cars! It's not a pretty sight to see a seet, the floor, the stairs or in some cases a window with vomit all over it. Furthermore, Japanese people are not really held that responsible for what they do when they are drunk (there are exceptions). They also pick me out of a crowd much better after they have had a few drinks (and that is kind of awkward for me). In comparison, this is illegal in the US. People go to jail for public intoxication. (Well, it seemed more like I was complaining about the drinking culture than explaining it...Sorry.) I guess I will end with that. I do get some joy out of knowing that Nagoya University has its own brand of beer.
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Things that are recently going on... My internship ends on the 19th, so I will return to Nagoya on the 20th.
The Nobel prizes have been awarded (the Nobel prize in Physics is shared between 2 guys, one from Sweeden and one from Germany, who you can think for the small size of current electronic devices).
I'm currently reserving a flight home. I came across a really good site to buy plane tickets from and I think I can make it back around the 9th or 11th for around $700 (which is a good deal).
No news about my university applications; I haven't been able to send a transcript from Nagoya University yet (because you have to be there in person to do it, which will be even more difficult when I leave the country, if I need another transcript from NU), so my application is not exactly complete anyways.
Next article will probably be in a couple days about interesting names of drinks and mispellings in Japan (especially on FORMAL documents...they say they are in English and indeed the words are in English, but I cannot understand the meaning when they are put in a really strange order).
I guess that's all. No quote, I can't think of any good ones right now.
Adios and thanks for reading (if you read this far, I hope your not asleep).
-Ben

My internship and a brief stop back at Nagoya

2007-10-03T06:08:00.000-05:00

Okay, my blog is doing some strange things because I cannot see the pictures or control where they will be before I publish the article (so please forgive me if it is out of order). Anyways, I don't have access to the internet at the temporary housing that I'm staying in while I do my internship (in Tsukuba) and I cannot write in my blog at the company (it's unprofessional).
I returned to Nagoya a couple weekends ago to visit my friends and go to a birthday party. It was Lea's birthday (she should be in the top photo). I forgot how old she is now, but since she is a girl does it really matter? The only thing that is important is that she is older than me. Anyways, she is about to graduate with her second masters degree. I don't know if she will leave Japan and go back home to the Phillipeans after that or stay in Japan. For her birthday party we all went to a Brazillian place in Sakae. They served mostly meat, which made me happy because most Japanese dishes don't have that much meat and have a lot of greens. I also got to taste a baked cinnimon pineapple (it was delicous). I　would like to know where to find that in the USA. All and all, the party was pretty fun.

One of my friends finally returned from Brazil (but I still haven't been able to contact him by phone yet). He's in Tokyo for a conference and I'm in Tsukuba (close to Tokyo) so I was trying to contact him and talk him into going to the one and only Burger King in Japan. In fact, this BK just opened up a few months ago. I really want to try it.

Next with the pictures are 3 pictures of Tsukuba. The rocket is part of the Expo center in Tsukuba. Tsukuba is also the place where Japan's space program is located. If I have time I will visit it before I leave. The other picture is just some picture of one of the many many parks that are here. And last is a picture of the inside of a house built several hundered years ago in Tsukuba. Not that interesting, but I posted it anyways (besides, the tour was free). Tsukuba is also a place that advertises to large research companies (even from abroad) to open branch offices in their town and the city will give them some financial benefits. I don't know about foreign companies, but Japanese companies latched onto the idea. There are a ton of research companies here. In the morning most of the buses at the station are private buses sent to pick up company employees (I ride one of those).

I must say that I like the atmosphere of Tsukuba MUCH better than Nagoya. Maybe I just hate the crowds and the noise of Nagoya... Anyways, I better go, I'm at an internet cafe writing this and there are other things I need to do on the computer before I leave tonight. My internship ends on the 19th of October. I will probably do another article on the 21st or so (it will be over either names of drinks and Japanese English or Japan's drinking culture...Either way it will be a funny article I think). See you around.
Adios
-Ben

Batting cage and Dr. Pepper

2007-08-28T23:56:00.000-05:00

There were a couple other articles that I wanted to do before this one, but I cannot do them yet because of summer vacation. I've been meaning to do one about the 'interesting' names of some of the Japanese beverages (but I have not taken enough pictures yet) also I wanted to one about the difference in the drinking culture of the U.S. and Japan (did you know that Nagoya University has it's own brand of beer that it sells on campus at the cafe?). But, I will have to do them later.

About the basketball tournament...Well, we lost the first game. The reason is because everyone wanted to run down the court and shoot a 3 pointer instead of trying to drive to the basket. I know of a play that could have torn that team apart (it would have been so easy). The team wasn't really that good, but I was also really tired before the game began (for reasons that I don't understand). There were pictures taken at the game, but they haven't been posted yet (I'll post them later if I remeber).

Anyways, the sputtering machine (which I need to do experiments with) was down yesterday and I had nothing to do, so some friends and I went to the batting cages (I had to force them). We went to a batting cage that I had never been to. There is a better batting cage in Aratamabashi. It's newer and more convenient than the batting cage in Ueda (the one that I use to go to). I was batting pretty well that day. I batted at the fastest speed, of course, which in Japan happens to be 135Km/hr. I think that is some where around 80miles/hour. It was pretty fun. I hit the home run sign several times (although I don't think that the balls would have actually of been home runs). I posted a video of my last two swings in the cage (one of which happend to be one of the balls that I hit that hit the home run sign...although that's not in the video). I have never posted a video before, so I don't know if it will work.

Two of my friends (Fausto and Celso-both from Brazil) went to the cage with me. Celso has played a little baseball before and he has gone to the cages with me a couple times, but it was Faustos first time to ever do this. He chose the slowest speed after he couldn't hit in the 120km/hr cage. It was funny because after he stepped into the cage (that was throwing really slow) there was a little child that stepped in line behind him (and the little child had to wait for hime to finish)...I was telling Fausto before that that was a childs speed (I posted a picture of it below). That being said, I think for his first time he improved a lot. He corrected his stance to where it looked normal and then at the end was at least hitting most of the balls (even if they were slow).

I remeber complaining before that I couldn't find Dr. Pepper anywhere in Nagoya (but I eventually found it at Village Vanguard...which is very inconvenient to go to). Then I reported that I found Dr. Pepper in Tokyo at the vending machines everywhere. Well, I guess somebody heard my complain and sent Dr. Pepper this way because recently I have been able to find it all over Nagoya. I went to the Family Mart (a convenience store) nere my friends apartment in Sakurayama and there was Dr. Pepper! Then, the other day when we went to the batting cages, we stopped at a 99yen store (a dolar store) to get a drink before we go to the cages and there was Dr. Pepper! I have been walking into random stores and finding Dr. Pepper (so that is good). One thing to note is that Dr. Pepper in Japan is bottled by Coca Cola (which is strange, because it's recipe is suppose to be a closely guarded secret) and also that the mascot on the bottle is different than in the U.S. (Peggy Pepper in the U.S.). I posted a picture so that you can see.

I went to the Coop (the store on campus that has various purposes) and looked at the places to travel in Japan (for my up coming trip...I still haven't decided where to go yet), when a sign caught my eye (the picture of the sign is posted below). If you can't read it, I will translate the part that pertains to what I'm talking about.

Look at the top yellow part where it say 70,000 yen. It's advertising a round trip ticket to the United States (America refurs only to the United States in Japan). Below in small katakana (one of the character writing systems in Japan) is says "New York, Washington, Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, Toronto. Last time I checked, Toronto still belongs to Canada. But, later I noticed another sign that said that Egypt was in Europe (I didn't take a picture), so I assume that mistakes like these are common. It made me smile a little.

Not much else going on right now. The sputtering system is still down, so I have not done anything in a while. I am going over my old undergraduate textbooks to keep my memory fresh. My internship starts on the 10th, but I have not started to prepare or anything. One of my friends, Paul from Equador, returned to Japan from from Equador today (I'm expecting Omiage-a gift from his home country that he is suppose to give everyone when he takes a trip). My friend Celso (Brazil) leaves for New York on the 4th. And my friend from Hungary has a birthday party on the 2nd of September (we are having a BBQ on that day). I have not decided where to go yet (but people have been giving me ideas, so I will consider them later).

That's all for now. Now quotes today. Thanks for reading. See you around.

University Applications

2007-08-15T23:59:00.000-05:00

I have been a little busy lately doing experiments and trying to get all the requested information to the 2 different graduate schools I'm applying for (University of Texas-Houston and University of North Texas). Unfortunately I was told that the University of Texas only does entrance in the fall semester for the medical physics program (which is the one that I applied for), so I had to defer my application until the fall semester of next year (August 2008). But, as far as the University of North Texas, I think that I may actually be able to get in this fall semester. As luck would have it, the physics department thought that my application was for the fall 2007 semester instead of spring 2008. I received an e-mail this morning from the secretary of the physics department saying that all my material was received and could be looked at for the fall 2007 semester (she said that the graduate school has me down on record as applying for spring 2008 and if that is a mistake to send an e-mail and ask them to correct it). So, I get the impression that I may have been able to gain entrance into the fall 2007 semester. If I were to have accepted that (or rather get accepted for fall 2007), then I would have to leave Japan at the end of this month (actually within a week and a half). Of course, that is not enough time to make preperations. I bet my professor at Nagoya University would take that new badly (A conversation that would go like, "Dr. Zaima, I decided to leave earlier than planned. I won't be able to go to the internship that you set up for me...Sorry." Yeah, that would turn out good). I had already told him that I wouldn't leave until August of next year or December of this year at the very earliest. But, when I think about it, maybe it would be a good option to go ahead and leave as early as possible. I don't really feel like I'm accomplishing much anyways. In fact, if there wern't so many things holding me back (preperations, internship, promises) I would go ahead and leave. I like the study environment at a U.S. university much more. I could be wrong, but I think I will be able to get into the University of North Texas for the spring 2008 semester (they say that it depends mostly on if they have any openings and the funding to support another student). One of my recommendations is from my academic advisor from Tarleton, who was the student of the head of the physics department at UNT. Of course, there is tha possibility that they will not have the funding or room to support another student (that basically means that they don't have anymore room for another TA) and if that's the case I will not be able to leave until August of next year (then I would regret not taking this falls entrance offer).
Other stuff that's going on...Another one of my friends is leaving next week, but one of my friends that has already left will be returning in about 2 weeks. I plan on traveling around Japan a little over the summer break and am currently trying to think of where I should go and the best way to get there (I'll have to ask my friend Celso who seems to have gone everywhere in Japan). I will probably start my travel at the end of this month or the very very beginning of next month (I need to be here most of next month to prepare for my internship). Also, in early December (I will probably still be here) one of my friends for Brazil (who returned home about half a year ago) will come back to Japan to visit all of us. That should be pretty fun. There is a basketball tournament very soon (of course I plan on playing). I have also been trying to get my arm back into shape for baseball (but finding someone around here that can catch at the speed that I throw is difficult). Most of my friends have never played baseball.
Other than that, nothing else going on at the moment. I will probably make my next article in a week or so. Anyways, see ya'll around.
-Later

A Lot Of My Friends Are Going Home Over Summer Vacation

2007-08-06T07:54:00.000-05:00

Four of my friends have now left to go home for summer vacation. My friend Paul (from Equador) left today at around 4:30pm, but he left Nagoya to go to Tokyo 2 days before his actual flight, so that he could look around. He went to Tokyo by bus. Normally I would say that a bus is a bad way to travel because it's crowded, slow and doesn't save that much money. But if you leave Nagoya at 10:30 at night by bus, you can sleep in the bus on the way to Tokyo (arrive at Tokyo around 6:00am) and then not have to pay for a hotel (doesn't sound that bad anymore, accept that I cannot sleep in a bus). I think he went to Tokyo a day early so that he could look around (but not spend that much money). It's actually a pretty good idea, but I don't think that I could stand it. Even if I took a shower a couple hours before I got on the bus, I would still have to pass the entire day in Tokyo and a 22 hour plane ride without a shower (I couldn't stand that).

Also, my friend Wyle (from Palestine...Not Palestine, Texas-> Dad or Uncle Rick) is actually leaving at this very moment. I went over to his apartment to say goodbye earlier. Actually, it was only him and his girlfriend there. I was expecting a few more people to stop by and say goodbye. Maybe they already said it earlier that day.

Then there is my friend Undrum (from Mongolia), who left about a week ago for her country. She didn't really give us enough notice to do anything for her going away party (so we didn't do anything). She was really happy to be going home.

Finally, my friend La (from Louste-I know I spelt that wrong) left a few weeks ago (I did an article over it in my blog a while back, so there is no further explanation needed).

In a couple weeks my friend Celso (from Brazil) will make the long flight back to his country. Before coming back to Japan he is going to stop in New York for a week or two. I don't know if he will understand what the people are saying since they talk very fast.

Now, all that aside, it was Celso's birthday party the on the 1st of August. Unfortunately he was away on a trip (that lasted about 2 weeks) and so we had to celebrate it a little late (the picture is below).

Starting from the left and going clockwise around the table there is Vicki (from Hungary); she is also Fausto's girlfriend. Next to Vicki is (of course) Fausto (from Brazil). Moving on in the back left corner (looking way too much like the Joker, played by Jack Nicholson, in Batman) is Marni (from the Philippines). The one with the cell phone is his hand is the birthday boy, Celso (from Brazil). Next to him is his girlfriend, Lay (also from the Philippines). I want to say that I find this couple interesting...Celso is Brazillian, but genetically Japanese (second generation) and Lay is a Filipina, but genetically Chinese. If they were to get married and have children, the children would be Brazillian and Filipina/o (depending on if it's a boy or girl) by nationality, but half Japanese/Chinese genetically. Moving on, there is ME (not looking my best and extremely tired). Sitting next to me is a professor from Chukyo University (whoms name I cannot remember, but it doesn't matter because I will probably never see him again anyways). This professor brought 3 different types of camers, all of which probably cost over a $1000 a peice. He must be a serious photographer. After him is another girl clouded in mystery (I can almost remember her name, but I cannot). She is Japanese and I think she speaks English (she didn't talk to much, so I'm not sure). She is a student in the professors lab (not sure there relation to the party, but Paul brought them with him). Last, and closest to the camera, is Paul (Equador). This is a last minute photo. As soon as it was over, we all rushed down to pay so that Paul could leave to catch his bus to Tokyo (I talked about that above). About the place...Well, it's a all you can eat/all you can drink place (but it's really not). It was all you can drink (alcohol, juice and soft drinks), but the all you can eat is only on Sundays, so we had to order a course of food for all of us. It was pretty fun. I'm not a big fan of drinking, so I really didn't drink much at all.

Other stuff that's going on...I found out that my internship does not start until September and lasts until October 20th (i.e. I will not be able to attend class for the first 3 weeks of the Fall semester). I submitted my graduate applications to the University of North Texas and University of Texas-Houston. I found out the the program that I want entrance into at UT-Houston only allows entrance in the Fall (medical physics). My UNT application is looking up though (I received some incouraging messages from them about Spring admissions). But, what if I get accepted to UNT for the Spring of 2008 and accepted to UT-Houston for the Fall of 2008??? I would have to choose to stay in Japan for another year and wait for the program that I want to enter the most or go to a really good program that I really enjoy (leaving Japan for good this December) that may let me do what I wish in the future (you can become a medical physicist with a PhD in physics, it doesn't have to be a medical physics program). At UNT I would do nuclear and particle physics, but at UT-Houston I would immediately start in medical physics. Well, I don't know. It would be a difficult decision (but it would be nice if I actually turn out to have to make it). Anyways, my semester is over and all I am doing is research at the moment. I have a basketball tournament coming up in a few weeks (of course I will write about that). Other than a lot of my friends are leaving, there's not much going on. I plan on traveling around Japan at the end of this month/beginning of next month (if you have any suggestions of where I should visit, let me know). Of course, there will be lots of pictures. Well, thanks for reading.

The quote of the week has to do with the anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

I read it in Richard Rhodes book "The Making of the Atomic Bomb," several years ago.

(It's from a 10 year old girl whoms mother was trapped under burning debris in Hiroshima on that day.)

"I was determined not to escape without my mother, but the fire was steadily spreading and my cloths were already on fire and I just could not take it any longer, so screaming "mommy, mommy..." I ran into the flames. Not matter how far I ran it was a sea of fire all around and there was no escape, so beside myself I jumped into my families water tank. The water was hot like a bath and the sparks kept flying in, so I put a peice of tin over my head to keep out the fire. Beside me in there were four or five other people, all calling somebody elses name. Eventually, everything became like a dream and I lost consciousness. After I woke up five days later, I learned that mother had died, just as I had left her."

Quote of the week is by President Truman after making the decision to drop the A-bomb:

"What will the people of the future say about us? Will they say what Roger Williams said about some of the Massachusetts indians, that we were wolves with the minds of men? Will they say that we had resigned our humanity? What ever they say, they will have the right."

Sorry to end on that note, but it is the anniversary.

Adios amigos.

Fireworks, cubic watermelons, cucumber pepsi and no sleep

2007-07-23T17:25:00.000-05:00

I don't have long to write this article because I have to go to class in about an hour. Last Thursday I went over to my friends house to help another friend create a mathematical model for his research. But, since the friend that I was going to help was late at arriving (to his own apartment), my friend Paul (from Equador) and I went out to eat at a place called the Bikuri (surpised) Donkey. This place was decorated in the Japanese idea of the old west style. The Japanese idea of the west (and places like Texas) is that we eat a lot of hamburger steaks (not hamburger sandwiches) and infact we call hamburger steaks, Salisbury steak (I have never seen it writen as a hamburger steak on a menu in my life). I their idea of the west is a little off (but maybe people did eat a lot of hamburger steaks a long time ago). Anyways, on the way to eat, Paul and I came across a EXPENSIVE fruit shop with interesting fruit. I saw a regular size watermelon (which claimed to be the egg of Godzilla) for about $90 (the picture is below) and I also saw a cubic watermelon (price not listed).

Actually, I have read about these cubic watermelons before. They are created that way so that they can be shipped and stacked easier (it's easier to but cubic shapes on top of each other than round shapes, plus they take up less room). I thought it was interesting when I read about it, but I thought that the ease and efficiency of shipping should make the price go down (not up). Of course, I did not actually see the price, but all of the fruit at that store was extremely expensive (so I assume it was high).

Last Saturday I went to joint some friends at Nagoya port to see fireworks. Unfortunately I did not get to meet them. The reason that we did not get to meet was because there were too many people using their cell phones. The network was too busy and I could not get through on the phone (it was because the port was too crowded with people using their cell phones).

It reminded me of how much I don't like crowded places and why I try to avoid them (that's very difficult in Japan). But, I must say that Japanese firework displays are very good. They are much longer and more compact than U.S. firework shows. The fireworks lasted for about an hour and there were very few gaps inbetween (they were practically continuous). After the fireworks were over I had to go home by EXTREMELY crowded subway. I know I said this last time that I went to Toyata city to see the fireworks, but I won't go to another firework show in Japan (even though I think that they are very goo). It's not worth fighting the crowd.

In Japan, naturally there are flavors that we don't have in the west (mainly because our tastes are different), the opposite is also true. One flavor that is a big hit in Japan that would never pass in the U.S. is Cucumber flavored Pepsi cola. I was talked in to trying some of this (pictures posted below).

I understand why pepsi does not market this flavor in the U.S., Brazil or Equador. My friends reactions were about the same as mine.

Last and least, I made a mistake on the deadline of one of my reports. Usually one forgets about the deadline until the last minute, but I thought that the deadline was today and I stayed up all night (literally I have not left the lab...I've been here since 8am yesterday...it's 8am now) trying to finish it. Well, I finished and then I looked at the deadline again (AUGUST 24). The professor gave us 1.5 months to do a simple report (that just take about 8 hours straight through). Yes, that means I didn't start on it until midnight. I did not expect to receive that much time, but that is not the only class with that deadline. Today is the final day of another one of my classes (I will be down to 2 out of 5 after today). As soon as my 8:45 class is over I am going to my apartment to sleep. I really don't like staying up so late.

Other than that I am not so busy. I have to prepare for 2 seminars and I have one more report to submit before the end of the month (maybe I will finish it tomorrow). Most of my friends are returning to their countries over the summer break (but I have to do internships). I'm sending my applications for graduate admissions to UNT and UT this week (but I'm having a little trouble with the GRE people...I can't get ahold of them, only a recording). Nothing else. I guess I'll write again when there is something to write about. Adios.

Typhoon #4 & a Birthday party of a girl I don't know.

2007-07-16T01:19:00.000-05:00

Recently I have a lot of reports to get done for my classes. Not that they are difficult (they arn't), but they take a lot of time. Also, I have to prepare for two presentations that I must present (which takes some time) and I have to create a research plan for the internships that I have to do over the summer. Along with that, I'm helping a friend from a different department (department of Transportation Engineering) with a few math aspects of his research. I guess I am a little busy. This semester will end at the end of July. After the summer seminar of my lab (which only lasts a couple days, but it lasts ALL DAY LONG on those days) we are suppose to have the annual lab trip again. If I decide to go, and I don't think that I will, it will be the second time that I wrote about it on my blog. Since more than one year has passed, I have been creating 'sequels' to previous trips already taken. Actually, I don't think I will go on the lab trip this year. Instead, I think I will grab a few friends and travel to different places in Japan. Maybe I will go to Shiraishi-Shima (like I've said many times before).

Anywyas, on to the subject of this article. Typhoon #4 hit Japan. It was suppose to hit Nagoya as well. Because I wanted to see the typhoon up close, I did what any logical person would have done...I went down to the port of Nagoya to welcome the typhoon. Unfortunately, the Japanese internet based weather station that was tracking the storm was slow to update their website, so the trip my friend and I took to the port was in vain. We left as early as the subway system started (about 5:30am) to go to the port. All we saw was a lot of trash floating in the water and light rain. Actually, there were a lot of boats at the port (that might not sound strange, but I have never seen more than a couple boats at the port in the past). There were not docked, but rather floating a ways from the shore. It must have been some sort of saftey measure. Anyways, since no typhoon came, I instread tried to fake what it would have been like if there were a real typhoon and I was at the port (my friend Paul took the picture and I think his finger was covering the lens a little). I wish the picture was take while I was not smiling.

Also at the port were birds that would not stop following us. They followed us the entire time we were there. Maybe they thought we were going to feed them?

We decided that there was no reason to stay at the port any longer and we decided to go eat breakfast. In Nagoya there is something called 'Morning Service.' If you go to a coffee shop before 10 or 11am (depending on the place) and you order a drink (300 yen), you will recieve free breakfast (the breakfast differs depending on the place, but I'm told it ranges from salad to eggs and toast). My friend and I stopped at a coffee shop called "Coffee Shop Fat." Yes, I know the name is strange. It was a small place, but the owner seemed nice (she was an older lady and a little on the hefty side herself). While my friend Iand I were outside looking at the menu, she came out and explained what morning service was in very simple Japanese (because I didn't have much sleep I was glad that she spoke slow and used simple words...otherwise I may have not of understood). Anyways, I had an Latte American (that's the name of the drink) for 300 yen. At this coffee shop, morning service included a hard boild egg (not bad with salt) and a thick slice of toast. It was pretty good I guess. If it were not so far away, I would go again (because the owner was nice).

The next day I went to over to my friends home (5 of my friends live together in a 5 bedroom apartment, which helps them save money). On my way I recieved a call from one of my friends at their apartment telling me that it was Banban-san's birthday. So I said, "Who is Banban-san?" Well, during our conversation, my friend failed to mention that the party was at their apartment. So, when I got there I walked in on a party for someone(Banban) that I didn't know. It was okay though. I knew most of the other people there and I got to meet 3 other people (Banban, Tomo and Natsumi). Most of the people there were from Brazil and/or were Japanese decendent from Brazil (second generation Japanese). It turns out that Natsumi had lived in the U.S.A (Tennessee, one of my favorite states) for almost 5 years. However, she didn't understand English that well, which was very surprising to me. I know that in Japan a person can get by with knowing ONLY English, but in the U.S. it is not possible to get by with knowing Japanese and only a little English. In the Southern and Southwestern states it is possible to get by with only knowing Spanish, but most of those people know a little English as well. Perhaps her English ability has diminished since her return to Japan. Anyways, it was kind of fun. Again, I don't know when my next article will be or what it will be over, but I will try to post it before next month. That's all for now.

Quote of the day is by Sir Isaac Newton (perhaps the greatest physicist to walk the face of the Earth)

"If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention, than to any other talent."

Later.

Dinner with friends and Independence Day

2007-07-04T23:49:00.001-05:00

I posted an article much sooner than I had origionally planned. Well, July 4th was Independence day for myself. I didn't really do anything except watch the movie "Independence Day." Usually on this day in the U.S.A. there are many fireworks and other activities. Also, this is traditionally the day that people who apply and are accepted for U.S. citizenship are sworn-in and become American citizens. That's still true about America. Anyone who wants (and there is a waiting list and education requirement) can become a American and they will be accepted as a American citizen by other Americans, but for other countries there is often a genetic requirement. Meaning, even if you can get citizenship, you are not always seen as a true countryman by other citizens. This is not ONLY true in the U.S. but, it is definitely true of the U.S. This is my second Independence Day away from home.

Anyways, one of my friends is returing to her home country for a couple months (she is the only one of us that is allowed to do that for such a long time, the rest of us can only be gone from Japan for less than a month at a time). Actually, I don't like that rule. If I feel like going home for more than a month I will do it even if it's against the rules. I don't really like being told what I can and cannot do (seeing as how I am a responsible adult who can make decisions for myself). I will decide how long I stay away from Japan, without anyone elses help. Back to my friend who is returing home. We went out to eat with her at a small Italian place in Sakurayama (it's between Nagoya City University and Nagoya City Museum). Actually, although the place was small, I liked the atmosphere and there wern't that many people until we had been there for about an hour. Of course, the dishes were much smaller than I had hoped (but I am use to that). They made the wrong type of pizza (we ordered a different pizza than what they made for us), but we told them that it was okay and we ate it anyways. They told us that the pizzas were large, but they were really small (I guess we have different concepts of size). It was okay. The taste was pretty good. I think I will go back to that place again when I have time.

In the photo that I took at the Italian place, you should be able to see (starting with the person on the left and going clock wise around the table): Paul from Equador, Wyle from Palestine, Toyoshima-san from Japan (she is the lady who runs the office of the Kaikan, the place I use to live, on the weekdays), La from Loust (I doubt I spelled her country correctly, but she is the one returning home), and finally Marni from the Philippines (why do we spell the country with a Ph and the people from the country with an F... Philippines and Filipino (for men) and Filipina (for women)?) When La returns home, she is going to visit her family for a couple weeks and then go to the capital city of her country and do research the remaining time. Maybe her trip home won't be that fun (but I hope it is). Actually, at the Italian place I had to REMIND EVERYONE (it's required by Texas law:) that my state is bigger than all of their countries (it is kind of a true joke that I like to make with them). However, Marni pointed out that my state is not larger than all of their countries put together (and he is correct), it's just bigger than most of their countries put together. It was pretty fun I guess. I can make almost everyone at the table laugh with my jokes, except Toyoshima-san (and she actually does laugh at some of them). I think it's more difficult to make Toyoshima-san laugh because she does not always know if I am serious or just joking (it has to do with a different concept of humor between Japan and other countries). The words irony and sarcasim (which my jokes are usually heavily based off of) don't translate correctly into Japanese (they have bad meanings). In fact, even when I try to explain what these are to a Japanese person I usually fail. If you tell a joke in Japan it is probably best to make sure the joke is straight forward. It will probably be mis-understood other wise. Anyways, that's all for today.

In the spirit of Independence Day, the quote of the day is by Elmer Davis:

"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave."

See ya'll later.

-Adios

I went to Nagoya City Museum

2007-06-27T21:39:00.001-05:00

This will be a short article. My friend Paul (from Equador) and I went to the Nagoya City Museum. Actually, I had been meaning to go for a while. In fact, when I lived at the Kaikan (my first 6 months in Japan), the museum was just a few minutes walk down the road. Anyways, because we arrived later than we orgionally ment to, we only got to see the first two floors (in other words, we did not get to see the third floor which I THINK is mainly art stuff). Most of the objects we view came from Aichi prefecture (that's the prefecture that contains Nagoya). Most of it dates back to about 500 years, but some of the stuff that was up stairs dated back to the Paleolithic period (mostly jars and arrow heads). Unfortunately, they do not allow pictures of objects on the first floor (I think the flash can deteriate the old paintings) and they keep the objects under very dim light so it was not easy to see in detail. All of the pictures are from the second floor (there are explainations of the pictures below the pictures).

(This picture is of an old fire pump. You can see the hose near the wheel and the big object on the cart is the actual pump. It looks just like the other fire pumps that we see in the U.S. from this era)

(I took this picture as the museum people were asking us to leave, it was closing, so I do not know the significance of all of the names on this flag. It was in a section of pictures from Japanese schools, so maybe it is the names of the graduating class, but I'm not sure because I didn't take the time to read since they were closing the museum.

(Of course, everyone knows what this is a picture of. No real explanation needed. Maybe I need to work on my Zen Buddist pose a little more)

(This is a picture of a really old jar. The museum calls it the Big Jar. Much of it could not be restored as you can see from the picture. The parts made of cement, and not stone, must have been crushed into dirt or may have never been recoved.)

(I saved the best for last. If you click on the picture and read words below it says "Governing the People." Now if you look at what they used to govern the people you will see a bunch of objects that look as though they are used to punish/torture people. The reason for that is because, that is what they are used for. I guess most museums have a small section like this no matter what country one is in. I just think the title is kind of strange, but it does make since I guess.)
Anyways, I'm really busy trying to finish my reports in the last minute. I got distracted over the weekend and did not work on them at all. I went over to my friends house the other day and a lot of other friends showed up as well, so we played Uno(a card game) for a while. Other than that, I have to write a bunch of research reports for the internships I have to do over the summer break (which starts in about a month from now). Not a whole lot going on really. The lab trip is coming up again in August. If I decide to go I will take lots of pictures to post on my blog again (just like I did last year). Anyways, that's all for today. Thanks for stopping by. See you around.
Quote of the day is by Brendan Gill
"Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious."

Don't know when I will write another article, but I will do it before a month.
-Adios

Meidaisai and I talked to my professor

2007-06-12T19:05:00.000-05:00

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.

Arrival in Japan (more than a year ago)

2007-06-01T07:05:00.000-05:00

This article has been a long time in coming. I know I said my next article would be of Meidaisai (Nagoya University festival), but it seems the festival my be postponed because of an outbreak of measils (although I'm immune to measils, it seems others may not have received an MMR shot in the past or are not longer immune).

The picture that I included is from my friend Celso (Brazil) and was taken on April 5, 2006 (the day after I arrived in Japan). We are on the Shinkansen headed to Nagoya from Tokyo. On this trip, I met many of my friends that I have today (Celso-Brazil, Fausto-Brazil, Paul-Equador, Felippe-Brazil, and others). I remeber that day, it doesn't really seem as though it was that long ago. I guess a lot has changed since that day (I was 22 years old the time that picture was taken and now I'm 24). I don't remember the guy next to me, I think he is and Engineer from Taiwan. It took me about 2 months before I memorized all of my friends names (I'm bad with names). For about 6 weeks I was making it by without calling my friends by their names and just refering to them as 'you' (which is perfectly acceptable in English, but not in Japanese). I finally memorized my friend from the Philippines name when he was wearing a name tag one day. I still don't know the name of everyone in my lab and I've been here for more than a year. That's probably a bad thing.

Since I arrived here I have made a lot of friends from all over the world. And as one would expect, they are all just like everyone else (in other words, they are no different from you or myself...the same as the average American). Thinking about it, I have friends from Brazil, Equador, the Philippines, Palestine, Jordan, Amebia (that's in Africa and might be spelled wrong), Japan, Mongolia, Iran, Cambodia, China, etc... Maybe I have too many friends. At the very least, I got that much from my experience in Japan.

The other day I went and got my younger sister (who just turned 15 years old) a couple birthday gifts for her new computer. If one goes to the big shopping center in Osu during the weekday it is not that crowded (so it was okay).

These days I don't really get to do anything anymore. Over the summer I have a couple internships that I must go to (which will last all summer long), but I also plan on going to a island in the Japanese inland sea called Shiraishi (white-stone island). I want to meet a writer who lives there and works for the Japan Times (so that should be fun, although it will only last for a day or two). I can't really do experiments for another week or so, because the machine that I need to create samples is broken at the moment. Other than that, I am currently working on my graduate school applications for the USA once again (Plus I'm going to take the GRE later this month). I'll have to write about my experience taking the GRE again. Also, I have to tell my professor that I want to leave and I need his recommendation to get into graduate school in the US. I really really hope that turns out okay.

Not much to talk about so I guess I'll say good night.

Adios

-Ben

(No quote tonight, I'm not in the mood)

Just a quick up-date

2007-05-20T21:04:00.001-05:00

Not much going on right now really. A friend of mine has a B-day party on Wednesday. We are going to an Indian resturant. There are many birthdays in May. Two of my sisters, my step-mother, 5 of my friends, several of my friend's friends and their parents, etc...
I'm going to be busy the rest of the day creating samples and tomorrow I have to analyze them with the scanning electron microscope (SEM). I noticed at the grocery store that the potatoes were in a bag marked fruits (in English) and the strawberrys were in a bag marked vegitables (in English). That was probably the best part of my day. Currently I'm spending all day in lab doing almost nothing (with classes that I have to go to sometimes), but at the beginning of June, Nagoya University has Meidaisai (Nagoya University festival). That will probably be my next article and I will post pictures (of course).
Recently, I have mostly been studying on my own and working on my Statement of Purpose for graduate university applications (Statement of Purpose is required by every graduate university in the U.S.A. and is one of the most, if not the most, important things the evaluation committee judges applicants on). I still can't figure out how to tell my professor that I want to go back to the U.S. to study (I don't know what his reaction will be). I don't want to sound rude when I explain the reasons (which is mainly the level of education in Japan is not as high). I also have to ask him for a recommendation letter in order to get into the other universities. I decided that I will tell him by the end of this month or the beginning of next month. It seems more likely that I will get entrance in the Fall semester of next year (September 2008) rather than the Spring semester (January 2008). So, I have around 7 months to 16 months left in Japan.
I'm going to retake the GRE next month (the GRE is a test that is required to get into any graduate school in the United States. The score will also determine which schools you can gain entrance to). My last score was okay (I made a perfect score on the math section), but I want top improve on the verbal section a little. Although my score meets the requirements for any school in the U.S., I want to retake it because I want a better score (also a better score will make me look even better to the graduate school). That's not the only reason, the score reports are only good for about 5 years, but many schools would rather it be more recent. Since I took the GRE about 2 years ago, I'm going to take it again. If I can get a 500 on the verbal section, I will be happy (that means my score will be around 1300, which is good). My main problem with the GRE is that I cannot read as fast and the way they word some of the problems is confusing (even i n the Math section, they try to trick people on the wording-which is wrong because it is the MATH SECTION). There arn't to many schools that do Spring entrance where I want to go(I only know of University of Texas-Houston (which is MD Anderson) and Texas A&M University). I would rather go to University of Texas (MD Anderson) rather than Texas A&M, because it is a better school and the research is more interesting (plus they are better funded). Even if I were accepted to Texas A&M and not MD Anderson, I would really consider not going to Texas A&M, because I would have a better chance of getting in MD Anderson in the Fall semester. Still the Spring and Fall deadline for applications to the graduate schools are really close together, so I will have to work on about 5 or 6 applications at the same time (which means 5 or 6 different statement of purposes). Also, MD Anderson's application has another essay that I have to write about socio-economic problems and/or education disadvantages that I have had in my life (and I can't think of any).
If I'm not fluent in Japanese by the time I leave this place to go home, I think I'm going to continue studying Japanese in Texas until I'm fluent. Maybe in several years I will be completely literate as well. I'm told that if you learn a language and then never use it, you will forget it. I don't want to learn Japanese and then forget it all (I only understand around 70% of what people say to me these days, and that's only true if I get an okay nights sleep). I will have to find a Japanese language tutor when I return home to Texas.
Well, I have to go eat lunch. As I said, next article will be over Meidaisai (which will be around the second week of next month). So, until then. See ya'll around.
Adios
(because I don't consider this an article, there's no quote today)

Golden Week, Hot Springs, Nagoya Port, Italian Village (but, not in that order)

2007-05-06T00:15:00.000-05:00

It has been more than a month since my last article, but there wasn't really that much to write about. Before Golden Week, some friends and I went to an arcade by Nagoya Port and we also went on a big Ferris Wheel where I took some photos of Nagoya. I only posted one below.

The port was okay, but I found out that they closed my favorite store (Village Vanguard). There are other Village Vanguards in Nagoya, but I think the one at the port was best. I was able to find Dr. Pepper there when we went to eat a place that serves Tacos and Beer (but the taste of the tacos were slightly off). Also, I posted a picture of there sign below.

Can you tell me anything strange about this sign??? I give you a hint, it's under the part that says, "HARD SHELL TACO." Well, did you find it??? The part that reads MEAT or CHICKEN. Last time a checked, chicken is meat. It makes me wonder what they ment when they say meat. My best guess is that they don't use 'just' beef in there tacos. In Japan it is very common for people to use a ground beef/pork mix to make such things (where as in the U.S. we use only beef or only chicken and I have heard of fish tacos). I should have taken a picture of the taco place as well (it's kind of interesting). After that, we went to the Italian Village (I posted on picture of it).

It was okay as well. The imported store there was more expensive the other imorted stores (don't know why). For the most part, it is a clothing department store and food court, but the atmosphere is okay. We (my friends and I) met a few of my other friends there (one that I didn't really know that well was celebrating the fact that they return to Brazil the next day-a good bye party). It's a shame that I didn't get to know her better, she was some what interesting and she has friends in Houston, Texas (so she couldn't be that bad).

On the 2nd of May I went to visit my host family (the same one I visited last year and did an artilce for my blog over) in Tsu. Of course, they seem the same. We went to the Onsen (hot springs) which was a little strange for me because my culture is different. It's difficult for me to be in the same room as a bunch of guys who are bathing (that was really strange to me). But I was trying to think of it as a cultural difference. I wore a bathing suit! I'm sure I stuck out really bad.
Also, at the hot springs there was a guy who was a professional carver (he only uses chainsaws), making chainsaw art. It was rather interesting. He was carving an Eagle head attached to a giant feather. (There is one picture of that)

He could speak a little English.

On the 5th of May it was Kodomo no hi (Children's day). Even though it's called Children's day, it's only for boys. Girls have a different festival called Hina Matsuri (festival of the dolls). Around Children's day, you always see carp streamers every where. The pictures below were taken at a Shrine with my host family (they have 2 sons). The oldest son of my host family got to dress up in Samurai armor. Actually, it is very heavy and it was difficult for him to wear and walk around in. But, at the Shrine they priest prayed for the children to grow up to be stong and healthy. Then after praying for them, told them that if they eat their food and listen to their parents they would grow up to be Genki (translates as health, but doesn't EXACTLY mean that). We all got fortune slips at the shrine after that. I got one that said I would have Big Luck (so I was happy about that). I don't really believe in fortune slips though.

So, my visit with my host family went pretty well. I was able to communicate with them a lot better this time (I think). The last day it was a little difficult for me because I wasn't getting much sleep (it's difficult for me to sleep at nights).

They threw a party for me the day before I left (a birthday party, I'm 24 now). I invited them to our next Taco party if they can come. They said that maybe they could, but wern't sure. I had a good time. But, now I'm back in Nagoya and working on a report I have to get done by the 10th (and it's in Japanese):
Wish me luck on my report (I'm not that good at Japanese yet, so I'm going to need it). Anyways, I have no clue when my next article will be (I think my friends are throwing me a surprise party tonight, but I don't think I will do an article about it). I guess I'll see ya'll around. Thanks for reading.

Quote of the day is from Harrison Ford in the movie Indiana Jones:
"Nothing shocks me. I'm a scientist."

-Adios

Hanami and my 1 year anniversary

2007-04-04T23:48:00.000-05:00

Cherry blossom viewing (or hanami-which literally means flower viewing) is a very big deal in Japan. These cherry trees only product cherry blossoms once a year and only for about a week. They start blooming from the south of Japan and then spread to the North. Some people travel accross Japan at this time of year along with the blooming of the cherry blossoms, just for the purpose of viewing them. By the way, these trees are the most populous trees in Japan because they are planted every where!!! Also, when I first did this a year ago when I arrived I felt a little deprived after all the blossoms had fallen because I was expecting to get a lot of cherries to eat. BUT, Japanese cherry trees DON'T produce cherries (can you really call them cherry trees then?). Being such a big deal and wanting the true Japanese experience, some friends and I had to go do hanami (I posted pictures below). They had foods like corn dogs and steamed potatoes at the park that we went to to do hanami and those tasted okay. We went at night to a park that has lights hung every where just for the purpose of hanami (it was a little chilly). I think that it was kind of fun. And as always I was able to make a few jokes with my friends while doing it (so that wasn't so bad).

The next picture is taken while I was standing next to my door. Maybe you can get an idea of how popular cherry trees are here. You see them every where. There are white and pink cherry blossoms. The one outside my apartment are white, but the ones at the park (near Tsurumai station) were pink. If I am here next April, of course I will go again (by the way, if you click on the picture you can see it better).

This marks my one year anniversary of when I can to Japan.
As of today I have lived in Japan for one year. I didn't actually arrive in Nagoya until the 5th, but I was at Narita airport on this day, one year ago. I think that my feelings about Japan are rather mixed and have changed a lot since I arrived. My friends easily adjusted to life in Japan (probably because the standard of living is higher in Japan than there own countries I think...but don't hold me to that statement). I myself have actually had some difficulty adjusting to life in Japan and have not completely adjusted yet. Of course, there are some things in Japan that I will never get used to and there are some things here that will never make since to me (and why these things don't change is another thing that will never make since to me). (I believe that, if one wants to learn about themself, they should live in a foreign country for a long time then they will understand a lot more about themself). I think that Japan is a nice place to visit though (especially around this time of year). If my stay were much shorter, I would have enjoyed Japan greatly!!! Since I have been here I have seen many interesting things though (if you have read some articles in my blog you may have herd of them). In fact, the other day I went with a couple of friends to the Outback Steak House. While we were looking for some place to eat (before we decided on the Outback Steak House), we got on an elevator with some people who we believe to be Yakuza. We think they were Yakuza (Japanese Mafia) because we saw that one of them had a gun and they did not look like police officers (and they were going to the fourth floor on a building that did not have a business on the 4th floor...probably a Yakuza office). That was interesting. By the way, if you did not know, unlike Texas where everyone can have a gun, guns are illegal in Japan (so the fact that they had guns was strange). I think that some of my friends plan on staying here for a long time, even after they graduate. I don't think that it will be difficult for them, in fact it will probably be very easy. I have see some of my friends return home (at least one of them did not want to because she liked Japan). Also, one of my other friends told me that her friend from Taiwan had to return home and she as well did not want to. Recently, I have seriously been considering applying for Spring admissions to the Ph.D. programs to some universities in Texas. Of course there are serious problems with this. #1) I would have to leave Japan before I finished my masters, #2) I would have to have a recommendation from my professor in Japan (and if I told him I wanted to leave his lab, I don't know how thrilled he will be about it since I had to be accepted by his lab to come to Japan in the first place), #3) it is more difficult to be accepted in the Spring semester than in the Fall semester and there is a chance that I would not be accepted to any of the places that I applied to. If I were turned down after asking my professor to write me a recommendation to leave his lab, and then had to stay anyways (at least until the fall semester in U.S.A. started) that would feel kind of awkward the rest of the time I was here (and of course I don't want that). But the good side is that I would be back in Texas and making progress towards my Ph.D. My opinion of Japanese universities is not so high anymore (although, before I came here it was rather high). I think it is one of those things that you can't really know about until you come and see for yourself. So, even now I'm kind of home sick and think of returning home all the time. The other night, I caught myself thinking about trying to gain entrance into Baylor University because it is close to my home, but the Ph.D. program in Physics is just a little above average there. Perhaps, I should just stay the entire length of the program here, but that doesn't make much since to me. I'm not really after the degree, I after the understanding and I have serious doubts as to if I can learn the things I want to learn here. Plus, since the school year is different in Japan and the U.S.A., I would loose about a year waiting for school to resume between my graduation here and the start of the Fall semester in the U.S.
O'well, just things that I'm thinking about right now. Other than that, things are going alright. Tomorrow I have to choose my class schedule (which is done differently and is more inconvenient here for some reason). I don't really see any other events in the future to write about. I plan on visiting my host family from last year's Golden Week soon. Also, Golden Week will be something to write about (just like I did last year). My birthday is coming up as well in about a month (I hit the big 24). Well, that's all for now. The quote of the day is by Sir Isaac Newton:
"If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention, than to any other talent."

That's all for today. See you around.
Adios
-Ben

I went to Universal Studios, Japan

2007-03-26T05:26:00.000-06:00

(There are actually a lot more photos that go with this article, but I will have to post them at a later date)

There were a lot of things I wanted to talk about today in my blog, but I forgot about half of them. First, my elder sister finally wrote to me. There is a picture of her with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck (at a theme park called 'Six Flags Over Texas' below). She will graduate from college this December. Only a few years after me, hahaha. Actually, she has also been working as a nurse for the past few years, so it makes since that she is graduating now.

As I said above, I went to Universal Studios Japan in Osaka. For those who don't know, Osaka is the second largest city in Japan, but it is a little dirty I'm told. When I arrived, I had to meet up with some friends who were already there exploring things (I would have left with them early that morning, but I had to wait for a delivery of food from America). Since I arrived around 4:30pm I didn't actually get to do much with them that day(I did gain some confidence in my ability to travel around Japan by my self though). Basically, I just went to Osaka port and met my friends and then we went to eat and then to the hotel. Let me comment about the hotel; it was the smallest hotel room I have ever seen in my life. But, it was clean I think. Also, I found spelling errors on their official documents (daily errors are okay, but documents should be checked and rechecked for errors I think). Also, I found this cool bag (there is a picture below) in the drawer. You are suppose to use this bag incase there is a fire. My guess is: instead of burning to death, you are suppose to put the bag over your head (as shown in the picture) and suffocate your self (apparently, it's as easy as one, two->the number of steps it takes to do it). Actually, if you can't see or breath because of the smoke, you are suppose to fill the bag with air and put it over your head and try to make it to the exit.

We had to walk forever to find a resturant to eat at that didn't have a one hour or more wait. It was a bit expensive, but it tasted okay. In the morning there was a free breakfast buffet and it was actually okay (not good, but it wasn't bad either). As soon as we finished breakfast we left for Universal Studios (which opens at 9am).
Let me explain something which makes absolutely no sence to me. When one goes to a theme park in the U.S.A., if they pay for a ticket before they go to the park all they have to do is walk up to the entrance gate and give it to the person. It does not matter if that ticket was bought off the internet and printed, if it was bought at a store or anywhere (as long as it is legitimate). People often do this for the very purpose of avoiding the long lines at the theme park ticket counters. However, in Japan, we bought our ticket at the convenient store the day before we left. Then when we arrived, we went to the entrance gate and they told us that we had to take the tickets that we bought at the convenient store to the ticket counter to get the ticket to enter the park (the point of buying a ticket before arriving at the park seemed to be lost on these people at the park). So, we had to go and wait in the ticket line, behind the people who were buying there tickets at the gate, for the exact same price we bought ours for, to get the 'REAL' ticket. In other words, there was no real reason for the tickets at the convenient store. In fact, you had to select a specific date for the ticket at the convenient store, so if something happend and you couldn't go that day, the ticket would be useless and you would have lost your money (because they don't refund here).

Anyways, I did get some good pictures. And of course, I found something that had something to do with Texas, not just the west (the picture is below). It's a popcorn shop. I didn't actually get to stop by because we were in a hurry to get back. I have never actually seen this store in Texas.

I took the picture of the Hello Kitty float for my baby sister, but I doubt she ever gets to check my blog.

This picture is of my friend Paul (from Equador) and myself standing by the car from Back to the Future. They have this exact same ride at the Universal Studios in Flordia (so I had already been on it before), but this one is in Japanese.

This picture is of the entrance of the park. We are all about to enter the gate (this is a picture of all of us, except me who is taking the picture). Dispite the weather prediction, it did not rain that day.

Another picture of the parade.

Now, let me explain a few more events. On the way back we thought we had plenty of time to make it back to Nagoya, but as luck would have it, there was a problem with the train, so we had to wait more than 45 minutes before we could actually leave the station. Everyone tried to pile on the train after the long delay and we had to stay packed in there for the 20 minute ride back to Osaka station. The next train was pretty full to, but atleast we were able to get seats (others were not so lucky, they had to stand for about 1 hour to the trip to the next station called Ogaki). At Ogaki we had to transfer for another train bound for a station called Maibara. On that train we did have to stand for about 50 minutes (this is after a long day of walking). At Maibara we transfered again, but this time we got to sit the rest of the way to Nagoya station. Because of the delay we were getting worried that even though we would make it to the station, maybe we would not be able to make the last subway back to our apartments. I made it back to mine on the very last train (in fact, I only made it to Motoyama, one station before the one I needed, but it is withen walking distance). It was a long day (but it had fun parts).

As for the rides, most of them were just a little under average (spiderman was fun though). They had a small roller coaster (it was okay). I think that my opinion of the theme park is a little worste than my friends opinions because I have been to a lot of theme parks. I think it would have been better if I had only been to one or two. Actually, I probably shouldn't compare it to Six Flags Over Texas. That is a little unfair I think. Six Flags has a larger advantage. Over all, I think the trip was worth it. Now I can say that I have been to Universal Studios Japan! If any of my friends come back with me when I visit Texas, I think I'm going to take them to Six Flags Over Texas. I'm sure that will be fun. There was more I wanted to talk about, but I can't remember what it was.

I had to go to a seminar today. It was a joint seminar between Nagoya University and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). It was in English and was very interesting, but what I also found interesting was that none of the invited speaks (professors from UCLA) nor the students from UCLA were actually American (by birth at least)! The three invited speakers were born in India, France and China. All the students from UCLA came from the lab of the Chinese professor and they too were all Chinese (actually, this is common in California because of the large Asian population and the fact that around half of the teaching assistantships/fellowships are awarded to foreigners). Personally, I think it is a good thing that so many people come to the U.S. to study and live, but I would have liked it if at least one of them that was born in the U.S.A. Maybe I will begin to think that the foreign students that study in the U.S. in the same fields are actually better at what they do than those born in the U.S. studing in the same field.

I'm going to try to save up enough money to visit Texas this summer. I hope that I am can. It's difficult being gone for so long. By the way, as of April the 4th I will have been in Japan for 1 year. Maybe in another year I will be fluent (I hope). I think that my friends and I will have a party to celebrate that. We'll see.

Well, it's late and I want to go to sleep. Thanks for reading. See ya'll around.

Quote of the night is by Popeye the Sailor Man:

"I ani't no physicist, but I knows what matters."

Quote of tomorrow is by some guy I have never heard of named Jack Handey:

"Maybe in order to understand mankind, we have to look at the word itself: 'Mankind'. Basically, it's made up of two seperate words- 'mank' and 'ind'. What do these words mean? It's a mystery and that's why so it mankind.

That's all.

Adios.

(See you around Uncle Rick. I got your E-mail).

I Went to Tokyo and a Friend is Returning Home

2007-03-20T23:04:00.000-06:00

I went to a conference in Tokyo last week, mostly about semiconductors and nanocrystals and nanowires (that kind of thing), but the conference was entirely in Japanese so I did not get much out of it. Most of the time I didn't even pay attention to what the people were saying. But, more importantly than all of that, I found Dr. Pepper in Tokyo. In fact, it is very popular in Tokyo it seems, since it is available at almost every vending machine. There are two main differences: (1) it is bottled by Coca Cola, (2) they have a different mascot on the can (as in the U.S. it is Peggy Pepper, in Japan it is a bit different of a character->I put up a picture so you can see).

The first day after the conference I had to find my way to my hotel (all the way on the other side of Tokyo). The subway system in Tokyo is not as convenient. In fact, one has to use the JR train system as much as the subway and they do not put the maps of the JR trains and the subway together (even though the systems are integrated). Of course, I got a little lost and it took me about 2 hours to get to my hotel. I went to the so called "Western" resturant at the hotel and it only served Italian food (they should have said Italian resturant on the web-site). Also, contary to the sign outside, I was not able to get the waffles that were advertised (I was a little disappointed).

But, the next day, I had to get back to the conference by 10am. So, to make sure I wasn't late I left the hotel at around 7:45. Unfortunately, this put me in the middle of Tokyo rush hour (which I have herd stories about even in America). As I got closer to Tokyo station the train was becoming more and more crowded. Yes, it's true, they pack you in so tight in the train car that you can't even move. However, I was lucky enough to be taller than everyone, so I had my own breathing air (everyone else had a more musky environment).

After the conference, some friends and I went to something called the Ramen Museum, were I was able to try Ramen from all over Japan. It was pretty fun (it's in Shinyokoyama). I took a picture of it (below). It's suppose to look like a scene from the 1950's in Tokyo. We had to hurry though to catch the Shinkansen(bullet train) going back to Nagoya. I would have like to have stayed at the museum for a little longer.

Finally, just yesterday I went back to the Hard Rock Cafe in Nagoya(picture below). This time to celebrate a friend returning to her home country of Brazil. I went to Village Vanguard and got her a few Texas themed gifts (a Texas licence plate that was made into a CD holder and a cowboy gun liter). I guess it will be sad to see her go. She told me that she wanted to stay in Japan because it is convenient and also because her town in Brazil was not so great. She did tell me a few things that she didn't like about Japan (and I think I can agree with her on those things), but they were rather small things like: even if you complain about something nothing is done (people just smile and are polite about it), you can't really tell if someone is being nice because they like you or just because they are suppose to be, and the strict formalities. But, her overall experience of Japan was rather good I think (or so she told me). As I said, she didn't want to leave Japan. (In the picture, she is sitting next to her Japanese boyfriend who is in the pink shirt.) Actually, she is half Japanese herself.

Today there is a drinking party in my lab. I don't really want to go, but I think I'm suppose to. I'm sure after the drinking party, there will be another party (which I think I can talk my way out of). Although I am at the lab, today is a holiday in Japan (Spring Equinox). It is actually a really nice day (the first one we have had in a while).

On Saturday, some friends and I are going to go to Universal Studios in Osaka. Also, we will visit some other famous places in Osaka. I was told by one of my Japanese friends that Osaka is not a very clean city and that a lot of things are old and dirty. I guess I will see if she is right this weekend. Of course, I plan on taking picture of the places that we visit in Osaka and posting them on my blog. I think we are also going to the castle in Osaka (which was destroyed and then rebuilt, so it is not really that ancient of a castle. Still, I'm glad that it was rebuilt).

Well, I guess that is all for today. By the way, Uncle Rick, if your reading this (I tried to send you an E-mail, but I don't think it worked, so I sent you some snail mail instead). As always, I'm glad to see anyones comment. See ya'll around. Adios.

Quote of the day is by Abraham Lincoln (not a physics, but that's okay):

"In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."

Catch ya'll next time. Later.

-Ben

I went to Fuji Safari Park

2007-03-12T00:04:00.000-06:00

I know i said that I would have this article out in a few days on my last article, but I'm a few days behind. Also, since I'm going to comment on the pictures I should say that I have no idea how the layout of the pictures and the words will be before I publish the article, so if you can't understand which picture I'm describing, sorry. I put the words by the pictures on the layout menu. The one that I think will appear first is me climbing a rock in my search of Mount Fuji. Later, I pointed out the direction that I decided that Mt. Fuji must be in. Of course, I may have been wrong.

We went to this place called Mt. Fuji Safari Park. They are really serious about you not getting out of your car. I remember when I went to Texas Safari that we were able to get out of our cars, but I don't remember there being any lions or tigers at Texas Safari(maybe bobcats). For the most part, I enjoyed the trip. It was a little cold outside and the wind didn't help any. I went with 7 other people (mostly friends). The animals are not able to roam around (despite the fact that the place is suppose to be a safari). They are kept in by fences and electric wires.

They did however have a petting zoo. My friend Celso is sitting down holding one of the rabbits from the petting zoo. The rabbits were hard to catch if you tried to get one, but if you just sat down on a bench, they would go under the bench and nibble on your shoes (that's how we caught them).

Also, they had something like a miniture ranch where they raced little ponies (and you could bet on it). My friend and I bet on different ponies and we both lost. I wish I could have seen that I picked the fattest one before I bet on it. They were all wearing small cowboy hats at the ranch place. Of course, I had to laugh about that a little (being from Texas and all).

I think that the trip was fun, but I don't think I want to go back.

At the end of this week I am going to Tokyo for a conference (it is all in Japanese, so I'm a little worried). I have to make my own hotel reservations and arrange my own trasportation (I'm going to go by bullet train there and back).

On Saturday, I get my shipment of American foods (so I'm happy about that). I get one the week after that as well. So, my friends and I are going to have a party with some of it.

Also, I just found out that one of my Brazillian friends is going back to Brazil on the 22nd of this month (for good). They won't be coming back to Japan. So, we are going to have a big party for her. I wish I would have known she was leaving earlier.

Actually, we had a party last night for one of my other Brazillian friends (it was his birthday). I baked a cake with the cake mix that I brought from the U.S. I also used the frosting that I brought back from the U.S. It turned out to be very good this time (unlike my other cake cooking failure). I guess that the icing wasn't to sweet for the Japanese people that came to the party after all (because they ate it and said that they liked it). In Japan, they don't have frosting. They put whip cream on top of cakes, so I was a little worried that the Japanese people who came wouldn't like it. The party turned out to be rather fun, but I had to leave at 11pm to catch the subways home. It probably got better later.

Anyways, my next article will probably be over my trip to Tokyo. I don't know when I will post it. It probably will be a very short article I think (depending on what I do).

That's all for now. So I guess I will see ya'll around.

(No quote today)

Adios

Miho, here is the explanation about the comment

2007-02-26T01:19:00.000-06:00

Hello Miho. Thank you again for correcting my Japanese. I think that the particles も、が、は、を、に、and で are difficult to understand. I think it is probably the same for things in English such as: is, the, were, too, to, where, may be, maybe, there, their, etc...

I should probably explain what my uncle wrote (since his computer is slow, I don't think that he checks the internet that often). I should probably say that what my uncle wrote is probably very difficult for non-native speakers of Enlgish to understand (and maybe even native speakers of English who are not from Texas, because of the southern dialect).
I think that you understood a lot of if (you understood that miho is short for friend in Tex-Mex).
I should explain Tex-Mex. Because Texas is so close to Mexico (in fact, it use to be a part of Mexico a long time ago), there is a lot of Mexican and Spanish influence. Tex-Mex kind of refurse to those things that are influenced my Mexico and Spain from the past (although we are not of Spanish or Mexican lineage).
This next part will be difficult to understand, but I will try to explain.
He said that your name "Miho" is short for "Amigo," which means friend (I think you understood that part). But, he was using your name as a "play on words"。僕の電子辞書によると "play on words"の意味は「ごろ合わせ、しゃれ、地口」。 It's sort of like a word game.
About when my uncle said, " Oh,by the way Ben, Miho says she is always looking for ideas to paint?Give her American words she does not undestand and ask her to paint what she thinks they mean.Then, tell her what they mean and do the same." He really didn't mean anything by this, he is just making a joke. Obviously he does not really mean that you should take the time to paint what you think a word means.
When my uncle speaks, he is not always serious. I think that it must be very difficult for Japanese people to understand when English speakers are serious and when they are joking. When I try to speak the same way in Japanese that I speak in English, Japanese people think that I am serious when I say outrageous things (although I am just joking). In English, usually what I said would have been funny, but in Japanese it is strange. Since there is not equivalent way of speaking in Japanese, I think that my uncles English must be very very difficult for you to understand.

I will try to explain a little in Japanese of what I wrote:
僕の伯父の文には説明したいけどちょっと難しい。テキサス弁から英語にもちょっと難しい。　じゃあ、伯父の文：「Me and my buddies always say "hey miho" when answering the phone with eachother. MEANING----miho is short for migo,which is short for amigo,which is Tex-Mex for friend!!」。あの文には美帆ちゃん分かったと思う。
伯父の文：「Oh,by the way Ben, Miho says she is always looking for ideas to paint?,give her American words she does not undestand and ask her to paint what she thinks they mean.Then, tell her what they mean and do the same」には実は意味がない！！　冗談だけ。だけど、いちじ一句の意味は「ところでBen、美帆ちゃんは絵のために新しいアイディアが探しているといった？　じゃ、もしBenはMihoに知らないのアメリカの言葉調べたら、Mihoは分からないの言葉の意味油絵の紙で推測の意味描写して、そのあとでBenはMihoに本との意味説明したらいいと思う」。説明はまた変けど。。。ごめん。まだ日本語で説明できない。 I tried to explain the meaning a little, but I don't think it was that helpful. I hope you understand a little better at least. Anyways, talk to you later.

Also, to anyone who reads this, the next article will be up in a few days. At the last minute, I went with a few friends to a safari park near Mt. Fuji (I also took a lot of pictures). I plan on doing an article about that in a few days.
Later.

Taco Party, The Hard Rock Cafe and Searching for My Little Sisters Birthday Gift

2007-02-20T01:58:00.000-06:00

The quality of the pictures are not that good this time. I took them with my phone, which is 5 Mega Pix., but in order to post them I had to send them by E-mail, so I lost some quality in the pictures. Where to begin??? Last Wednesday, three other friends and my self went to the Hard Rock Cafe to celebrate their passing of the entrance exams. I had a hard time convincing them that Fajitas are not Mexican food, but rather Tex-Mex food (which, like me, comes from Texas). It was pretty fun and the taste of the food was the same as in the U.S.

The Friday after that we had a taco party (which do, of course, come from Mexico). I was happy that every seemed to like the taste. We used the Taco Bell tacos that I brought with me from Texas. Also, we used the Texas-Texas salsa which I brought back with me (one of my friends really like the taste, but you could tell that it may have been just a bit to hot for her). I think a total of 9 people came, not including myself. We played Uno after we finished eating (that was pretty fun). Unfortunately, I don't have to many pictures of it.

Then, on Saturday, a friend and I went to a big temple in Osu Kannon,where there are a lot of small stores, to look for my little sisters birthday present. I got her a Yukata and another friend helped me make a picture slide show on a DVD-R to send to her as well. I think she will be pretty happy with it (I won't know for a little while, because it will take about a week to reach her and I sent it on Monday).

At the moment I'm in the lab doing experiments. Next month on the 15th and 16th I will be in Tokyo for a confrence. I'm not really sure if the presentations are in English or Japanese (if it is an international conference, the presentations will be in English). I guess that is what my next article will be over. Also, sometime over spring break, I plan on going to re-visit my host family in Tsu and perhaps even take a trip to Kyoto or Sapporo. Those should be interesting.

I decided to apply for entrance into the University of Texas for August of 2008. So, I think that I will be in Japan for about another year and a half. At the beginning of April, I will have been in Japan for a year now. I don't think it matters how long I stay here, I will always be a little home sick. Also, while I'm in this part of the world, I'm going to try to travel to other contries that are close to Japan when I can. I think I will try to visit Korea before I leave here for good.

Anyways, I know this sorter than usual, but I'm a little busy at the moment. So, I guess I will see ya'll around.
Adios

Quote of the Month
"I ask you to look both ways. For the road to a knowledge of the stars leads through the atom; and important knowledge of the atom has been reached through the stars."
-Sir Arthur Eddington

Taco Party Next Week

2007-02-08T23:49:00.000-06:00

If your reading this article Uncle Rick, I left a couple comments for you in the comment section of the last post, below your comments. Of course, everyone liked the gifts that I brought them and the rattle snake eggs worked like a charm (I explained it more in the comments).

Okay, I have not up-dated my blog for around a month, but I had good reason. I haven't really done much lately, plus I was very sick. For the first time in my life I got food poisoning from eating out. It was awful. I still haven't fully recovered. I can't walk that far or I feel like I have run a long ways. At least I have recovered enough to do my general things. Also, there is something else in Japan that causes my chest to hurt. I don't know if it is the water, food or the air, but what ever it is goes away when I return to Texas. My chest was hurting for about a month before I left for Texas, but when I got to Texas (the very next day) it vanished. However, when I returned to Japan it came back. I wonder what causes it. Anyways, my friends and I are having a Taco party (that is taco as in takosu, not octapus for those who are thinking about this in Japanese) next week on the 16th. Of course it won't just be Tacos. We will have Texas style white corn bread, chocolate cake, brownies, pudding, jello, and other things. I know, there were a lot of sweets in that list, but I just want people who have never tried them before to try them. I'm really trying to show my friends what Texas is like just a little, but it seems that it is impossible since everything here has to be compromised a little (it can never be exactly the same). Also, I found this GREAT online store where I can get a lot of great foods (American and British foods of course). I think that I will be able to have turkey sandwiches now after all (which makes me happy). My little sisters birthday is also next week, so the chocolate cake that we make will have 'Happy Birthday Stephanie' on it, even thought she won't be there. I'm going to make a picture slide show of the party and send it to her on a DVD. Although, I still don't know what kind of gift I can get her from Japan. So, next article will probably be posted (with pictures) on the 20th of this month. Right now, many of my friends are preparing for the entrance exam that they have to take on the 15th, so not much to do right now.

I returned to Japan

2007-01-09T20:30:00.000-06:00

So, I returned to Japan. I can't say that I enjoyed to long flight. I saw them unload on of my bags from the plane to the luggage car when I was in Detroit and I must say I have never seen a peice of luggage do a tripple back flip and land in the up-right position. I know that they are not trying to becareful with peoples bags, but I did not know that they were actually trying to break stuff. Even my bag is a little damaged (there is a hole through the material all the way to the inside of the bag). By some small chance, nothing actually broke. Lucky me. So the first day that I returned some friends met me at the airport and helped me carry my luggage (which was good, because I could not do it myself). I just stayed at their house that night. The next day we had Sloppy Joes (which is a type of sandwich if you did not know) that I brought from Texas. They did not taste EXACTLY the same, but it was very similar. Everyone said that they like them. Now, school has started again and I am in the lab all day. Being in Texas and seeing everyone was fun while it lasted. I'll probably return to Texas for my Doctorial studies in the future (after I have completed my masters in Japan). I brought a book back for my friends that teaches them how to speak Texan, so maybe they will be able to understand me when I feel like speaking Texan. Anyways, I posted some pictures of Texas, hope ya'll like them. Of course it is winter in Texas so things are not really green (so some of them were pictures that were taken in Texas about a year or so ago). That's all for now. Yope ya'lls new year goes well.
Adios.

Howdy Y'all, I'm in Texas!

2006-12-28T00:34:00.000-06:00

Howdy, this is my first and last post while I'm here in the Lone Star State (a.k.a. Texas). I really missed a ton of things from Texas, such as: open fields, having a lot of space, horses, breads, cheese, Tex-Mex food (and I'm eating a ton of that stuff), understanding people (words and logic), friendly people (don't get me wrong, Japanese people are usually very kind and helpful, but Texans are friendly->it's a little different), etc... I only have about one more week here. I visited my sisters of course and my Uncle Rick and his wife, son, and new born son (that is always fun). Uncle Rick and I went to West and got some Kolaches (that may not be the correct spelling) and they were good!!! I missed Kolaches. I want to bring some back for my friends in Japan, but I don't know if I will be able to. I have a ton of gifts for people back in Japan (but getting them to Japan will be a bit difficult because of the weight limit for luggage). Also, things that are really expensive in Japan are really cheap here. I remember once that my friend Paul and I went to a place called Village Vanguard and saw a Texas belt buckle. The price of the belt buckle was around 15000 yen. But in Texas you can get a much better quality belt buckle of the same size for about 15 dollars! If it wern't illegal, I would just bring a ton of stuff like that back with me and sell it (I could make some serious money). Also cowboy boots, you can get 3 pair of okay quality boots for around 100 dollars, but in Japan it would be more than 600 to 800 dollars per pair (atleast at the places I have seen them at in Japan). The only thing that cost less in Japan is the luggage (and also I think that Japanese luggage is better). I know for a fact that Japanese electronics cost more in Japan than in Texas(for the same product)!!! Well, I wrote once before that when I returned here I was going to go to Whataburger and get the most unhealthy burger on the menu; along with large fries and large drink (which is several times larger than a Japanese large drink and you can refill it as many times as you want for free), but I didn't get the most unhealthy burger (which for the record would probably be the Tripple meat, tripple cheese, tripple bacon whataburger with everything on it). I only got the double whataburger with no cheese and no bacon. Also, I couldn't finish the entire drink there (nor the fries). I think I will try again before I leave. I will have a couple days of vacation left when I return to Japan, I think I will go and visit with my friends (I have a ton of gifts to give them). I like Japan, but I'm not sure I will really be able to completely adjust to being away from Texas. But for now I think I can still live in Japan for a while (usually it's fun because of all the people I get to meet from around the world). I get to learn a lot from them I think (maybe they learn a thing or two from me as well). Anyways, I took a picture and posted it on this article. It is at my uncle's place. Because of the shading you can't really see the horses in the background, but they are there. Well, lets end this article with some good ol' fashion Texas wisdom (this is a Rickdom that has been posted here before):
"You can pick your friends and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friends nose."

Well, that's all from Texas. I'll post another article about my trip (with a lot more pictures) a few days after I return to Japan. Unfortunately, I did not get to visit any of my professors while I was in Texas, so if your reading this professor Jones...I wanted to come by and say hello, but I just couldn't.
See y'all around.

Packing to leave again-Back to U.S.A.

2006-12-08T02:17:00.000-06:00

Howdy! Well, once again I'm packing to leave (but not for a long time, just for about 3 weeks). I'm returning to the U.S.A. for the holidays. At the moment I'm doing XRD in the lab, but there is a 2 hour wait for the process to be over, so I'm waiting. I have a basketball tournament tomorrow. Maybe I will do a quick article with a picture or something before I leave (which is in about 6 days-> on the 14th). I'm busy trying to figure out what to bring people back from Japan, which is actually really difficult since we can get pretty much everything in the U.S. that one can find in Japan (but the opposite is not true). Plus, Japanese products in the U.S. are cheaper than in Japan (I find that strange that they would charge their own citizens more than another contries, even after transportation expenses). I'm not sure how the tournament will turn out tomorrow for me (because my toe still is in pretty bad shape and it hurts). I have a ton of stuff to do before I leave (again) and not enough time to do it in (again). But, I don't really care. I'm happy to be going back for a short time to visit. I probably wont get to do it again for another year. Atleast I'm understanding Japanese much better (when I get enough sleep). Maybe I'll report on the tournament before I leave.

Anyways, what am I going to do once I get back to the States??? First, I'm going to go to Whataburger and order the largest, most unhealthy burger that they have with large fries (so probably a double whataburger with cheese, extra bacon and all the toping except onions. Heck, leave the onions, I won't care.) It makes me hungary just thinking about it. Then after I eat ALL of it I will probably just go to bed since I will have been up for more than a day straight thanks to the plane ride. The next day it is off to Six Flags over Texas(which is the greatest theme park in the world). Then I will leave Dallas/Fort Worth for a while and go to Waco. After that my schedule is not decided, but I'm really looking forward to seeing open spaces once again. I have a TON of gifts that I will have to bring back from Texas to other people. I promised people I would bring back lots of pictures (but my camera cannot be recharged in the U.S. without an adapter). While I'm in the U.S. I will continue working on my blog so my friends can keep track (because I have told them enough about Texas that they should be close to native Texans by now). Well, as I said I'll try and keep everyone posted. Have to talk to y'all later (I need to get back to the XRD machine). See y'all around.

The quote is the same as you will find at the top of the blog. It's one of my favorites:
"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.