I know what you are thinking.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Seth, you forgot to post W&G Day 4! What are you...an idiot!? Don't you know that 4 comes after 3?"
First of all, yes I do know that 4 follows 3 (I learned this in college). Secondly, I also know that 50 follows 49 (...again, college). In case you didn't notice, this will be my 49th post. I'm breaking my strict Chronology Clause as defined in the "Tsukuba-Dooba-Doo Bill of Writes" because I wanted my 50th post to have a little more pizazz than normal. It will be about Thanksgiving, so loosen your belts in preparation. However, for now, bare with me as I skip ahead one day.
W&G Day 5
This day was the last full day that my mom and Joe would be in Japan. As usual, we put a very ambitious plan together. In order to do everything we wanted to do we had to walk a lot. Therefore, I made sure that we would be making frequent pit stops along the way. We started off the day with some breakfast at Anderson's bakery down the street followed by a stroll in Doho Park.
Japanese Maple in Doho Park. Katie and I vowed to plant one of these at our house once we get back to the U.S. They are awesome.
Next we headed to the central campus of AIST to the science museum called AIST Science Square.
These are the two mascots for AIST. The question mark emphasizes the need to ask questions in life and the exclamation point represents the pursuit of the answers. I've heard that there names are "Aris" and "Totle" after the famous scientist Aristotle.
Learning about the humanoid robots developed at AIST.
Jonce with the therapeutic robotic seal called "Paro." He responds when you call his name and pet him.
Discussing the development of a more efficient bike pedaling design.
Following the science museum we went to the AIST Geological Museum which houses an impressive collection of rocks and minerals. This is where you really separate the nerds from the norms. It is always difficult to keep people from yawning their way though the whole thing. I can't help but think of my grandfather, the geologist, every time I go in there. I know he would find it all very fascinating.
At least I could nerd out with Jonce.
From AIST Central we walked over to where my office is located, AIST East. It was just about lunch time when I brought everyone into the my room. This is also the room where many people in the Turbomachinery Group eat lunch. As we walked through the doors, my coworkers looked at me, then at Jonce, then at me again and exclaimed "Sugoi (cool)!!!! Twins!!!!" I tried to explain that not only were Jonce and I not twins, but that I was 4 years younger than him. They had a difficult time believing me and thought that Jonce looked like a guy who should already be drunk. Apparently I wasn't the only person that thought Jonce looked like a hobo.
I proceeded to lead everyone down to my lab and explain the work that I do here. Remember...I do more than just blog and travel. It was a pretty bad nerd out session. I tried to keep it brief because I started to see drool pools forming from the less interested individuals.
We had a reprieve from walking as we were able to catch a bus from AIST East to Tsukuba Center. Once there we took care of some serious business; eating, shopping, banking. Later that night we made some tako yaki (fried octopus balls) on the 9th floor, which is becoming quite the tradition for visitors.
Katie taking the captain's chair on the tako yaki.
Even Jonce cooked up a batch for everyone. Look at this brotherly bonding! Just think, we used to fight everyday of our lives...but not anymore, we had become civilized.
Oh ya, now I remember what it was like. By the way, it may look like I'm getting "taken to school" but I was just wearing him down and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
It was an excellent, low key evening for mom and Joe's final night in Japan. The next day Jonce and I would take them to the airport and return to Tsukuba for more shenanigans.
Stay tuned for the next post: "Thanksgiving in Japan!" --> Post # 50!
-Seth
Post a Comment