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Category: Traveling

  • My Heartland Stay Program—A Visit to Iowa

    My Heartland Stay Program—A Visit to Iowa

    For the past two decades, I’ve visited the cultural festival at Kokugakuin Tochigi University High School every year to see performances by Ms. Saigusa’s musical club. There, whenever I saw the display for the homestay program—organized almost every summer by Mr. Devin Kelso, an English teacher at the school, in which students from the school visit his hometown in Iowa—I’d dream of going there myself someday.

    That dream came true this year. During the week of Silver Week in September—which is packed with national holidays—I visited Mount Vernon and Lisbon in Iowa, Mr. Kelso’s hometown, as well as the filming location of the movie Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa, the world’s steepest funicular train in Dubuque, Iowa, and the Mark Twain and Tom Sawyer museums in Hannibal, Missouri—destinations frequently visited by students on the homestay program. By driving a rental car on American roads, staying at motels, and eating at diners, I experienced America’s good old-fashioned culture.

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  • Global Entry Approved

    Global Entry Approved

    While border control in the United States has become stricter year by year under the Trump Administration’s policies, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, is implementing Trusted Traveler Programs, or TTP, to alleviate long waiting lines at U.S. airport security checkpoints by granting eligibility for fast lanes to relatively low-risk travelers. Since most of these programs, such as TSA PreCheck, are open only to U.S. citizens, non-U.S. citizens like me receive no benefits from them. The Global Entry Program, however, allows even non-U.S. citizens to qualify for expedited processing equivalent to TSA PreCheck, provided they are nationals of DHS-approved countries. Earlier this year, I saw a post on Facebook announcing that Japan had been added to the list of eligible countries. That prompted me to apply for the program. Being approved for Global Entry not only makes my travel within the United States more convenient; it also means receiving an official endorsement from the U.S. government that I am a trustworthy individual.

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  • Kudos to Flight Attendants

    Kudos to Flight Attendants

    I have long been fond of airline flight attendants not only because of their charming appearance and graceful behavior on board but also because of their professionalism as security personnel who protect the cabin and passengers during emergencies. Their dignified appearance, backed up by their readiness to risk their lives to fulfill their duties in times of emergency, fascinates me.

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  • Visiting Taipei and the National Palace Museum

    Visiting Taipei and the National Palace Museum

    I visited Taipei last week. It was the first time I had gone abroad in four years, as the coronavirus pandemic, which began in 2020, had prevented people from crossing borders. Since the border opened this year, I wanted to travel somewhere overseas. I chose Taiwan for this trip because I wanted to see the entire National Palace Museum exhibition in Taipei. I also wanted to enjoy Taiwan before it was too late, given the possible unrest in Taiwan in the near future. 

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  • Changes of the World From COVID-19

    Changes of the World From COVID-19

    COVID-19 is dreadfully spreading throughout the world, hospitalizing more than 3,100,000 people and taking the lives of more than 200,000 patients as of April 29, according to Johns Hopkins University. It is no exception here in Tokyo.

    The virus is forcing all people in the world to change their lifestyles. Many have been grounded for months. Essential workers, such as doctors, healthcare workers, firefighters, law enforcement officers, supermarket clerks, garbage collectors, delivery service personnel, and staff involved in public transportation, work outside facing the fear of infection.

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  • Prelude to WWIII

    Prelude to WWIII

    The second year of the Reiwa period began with a nightmare. More precisely, at the beginning of the year, nobody could predict what would be going on just two months later. I am talking about what the entire world is fighting against—COVID-19.

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