This past weekend was an extended one because this past Monday was a Japanese national holiday. Therefore, it was the best weekend for some labs to have their lab get-togethers. I was invited to the one held by my lab, and then a second one held by another professor on campus. I ended up attending both, and it was a heckin' good time.
Sunday was the trip with my lab. We traveled in a convoy from Aizuwakamatsu to a farm/park hybrid in Koriyama for a picnic. The attendees were some of the grad students and their families, another professor, my advisor, Prof. Tei, his wife, another professor at the university, and one of his college-aged relatives from the states.
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| Prof. Tei is the guy on the right. |
The trip almost didn't happen due to the weather. It was my job to check the weather, but Apple's Weather app, which runs off the weather channel, kept thinking that it was continuously raining or very close to it. I therefore had to observe some of the domestic-based websites, which assured me, even the early morning of the trip, that even though there were some clouds and some drizzle, the weather would be clear enough for us to enjoy the day.
And then, at the meeting time and location, it rained. Stupid fucking weather websites.
But we weren't going to let the rain stop us. We decided to try going to the farm in the hopes that the weather would clear up. And, as a thankful surprise, it did.
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| Lots of open space |
There were a lot of families at this park, and there were plenty of kids as well. We set up camp next to a blocked-off area by a stream and ate lunch. As a prerequisite for eating, we had to share a story with the others. I ended up sharing the story of that time in high school when someone fell out of the back of my Explorer during Halloween. Prof. Tei shared a really good story about the time that he got so wasted that he couldn't fulfill his duties as a translator while chaperoning a foreign businessman. Laughs were had by all.
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| JDM t-shirt |
At some point during lunch, I spilled some Coke on my sock. A few minutes later, a bee decided to make itself comfortable on said sock. I managed to kill it and throw it away, and we soon found out why the bee was present. In that blocked-off area that we were sitting next to was a tree. This tree had a rather visible nest in it. If I didn't properly kill that bee and let it fly back to the nest, I'd probably be too sore to type this right now.
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| Koi on steroids |
One of the features of this farm was a series of tandem-style bicycles that groups could rent. It's different from a standard tandem bicycle in that the riders are seated next to each other, and the others can also ride on the bike as well. I went twice; once as a passenger, and again as the driver. I had more fun as the passenger, because as I had found out, I have no core or leg strength at all. This especially was problematic when I tried to pedal us up the hill. I ended up having to get out and push the bike up the hill while the other guy pedaled. I need to get to the gym this summer.
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| JDM tandem bicycle |
The next day, Monday, was the trip with Prof. Cohen, another American who is a professor at the university and taught one of my classes last semester. The group was much smaller, as this was a second outing that he was conducting and some of the people who went with him on Sunday could not go on Monday. It was myself, Prof. Cohen, two German research students, and a Japanese student. This time, we all went together.
We first went to Lake Inawashiro for a swim and a Frisbee toss. Again, my lack of bodily strength proved challenging when I tried to go swimming out past where the shoreline dropped off. I would swim out, realize that I could not go out any further, and then flail myself back towards the shoreline. Still, it was nice soaking in the lake. The water temperature, while cold at first, eventually felt nice. It's a shame that my boating license back in the states can't transfer to Japan, because seeing all those jet skis out on the water made me envious.
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| >that guy on the far right that thinks he's the shit |
After the swim was a trip to the touristy area of Inawashiro, where we had lunch at a "German" beer hall. (One of the German students lamented the quality of the German sausages that was being served.) We also stopped across the street at the museum dedicated to Hideyo Noguchi, a bacteriologist known for his contributions to fighting syphilis. A humorous point in the exhibit was an animated caricature of Noguchi at his desk. There was one loop where he used English terms, and when he said "Just do it!", I started cracking up. (This is to blame.)
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| This portion of the exhibit had a Western retro comic book theme. |
On the way there, Prof. Cohen told me that he had a gold driver's license, where if you have no offenses on your driving record for about seven years, you get a gold bar on your license, and that lets you get cheaper insurance and the like. On the way back, he got busted by a speed trap for going 71 km/h in a 50 km/h zone, and had to pay about $150 on the spot. Needless to say, that was a bit awkward. But if he doesn't do anything else after a year or so, he can get his gold endorsement back. I hope he does.
This weekend was pretty fun, but now I have to start focusing on preparing for my presentation next month for my research plans. This is an important step towards finishing my degree, so I'll be doing a lot more work in the lab trying to get ready. In addition, my last TA class was today. I'm being recommended by the head professor to come back and TA the class again next year, but in the meantime, I'm hunting for an internship. I have a possible lead with a local laboratory; I'll see how that goes.
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| Bonus pic: caught me off guard |
-wp
(Credit to Prof. Cohen and Prof. Dogun Tei for the nice[r] pictures.)
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