Nagoya, Aichi - 2005 World Expo
From Thursday July 14 to Saturday July 16th, I was at the World Expo in Nagoya city in the Aichi prefecture for the "Goodwill International Assembly for Green Building and Living" conference (http://www.jgbc.com/English/IntlernationalAssembly.pdf) put on by the Japan Green Building Council.
Japan Green Building Council
(http://www.jgbc.com/English/indexenglishtop.htm)
I was there with a whole bunch of Tottori University international students, around 20 of us, to represent our countries and do presentations about environmental issues that affect our home countries. So I had spent the last week scrambling between finishing our design project for school (which turned out to be a huge success) and finishing this presentation about Canada's environment. Considering I was the only Canadian that attended the conference, I had to spend more time preparing the presentation. It wasnt so much composing the content that took so long, it was mostly translating everything into Japanese. But I got it done and I was satisified. It feels nice when you can actually take ownership of things like this.
Special thanks to Takeda-sensei (Professor Takeda) for taking his time to edit my presentation. It's greatly appreciated.
DAY 1: Thursday July 14, 2005 - The train adventure
So the first day was a HUGE adventure in itself. It was both funny and a learning experience. I was especially looking forward to this trip considering it was completely free. We didnt have to pay for anything. We all got up at 5 am in the morning to meet at the Tottori University train station at 6 am. So, considering I was up the night before working on the design project, I was super duper tired. I got up, packed everything, and headed off. When I arrived at the train stop, I realized that I was the youngest person there. The rest of the Tottori gang ranged from 24 yrs to 45 yrs old. So I was the baby of the group.. hee hee... So we had to take a local train from Tottori Univerity train stop to the main Tottori City train station, then from there, we take another inter-city train from Tottori to a city called Himeji. Then from there we take the infamous Shinkansen (the Japanese bullet train) straight to Nagoya. The schedule was really tight, so we all had to rush like animals.
So heres the interesting part: So we all got on the inter-city train from Tottori City train station headed for Himeji. Unlike local trains, where if you had missed your stop, you can get just get out and head back in the other direction. But with this train you can't do that. You can sort of see where this is heading. So I had gotten into the train first and I was sitting next to this lady from Mongollia, Siqingaowa, who is studying for her Ph.D. at Tottori U. So we got chatting and considering the lack of sleep I had gotten the night before I decided to take a nap. Considering it was a 2 hour train ride, I didn't see it being a problem. The train car that we were in only had one exit and I was sitting on the other end. So when I woke up from the nap, I saw that everybody from Tottori had already gotten up and got their things ready, whereas Siqingaowa and myself, had just woken up. Everyone was in a rush cause we all needed to catch the bullet train to Nagoya. So we had to dash up and start gathering our things. So by the time I had reached the door, it was already closed. I tried opening it with my hands, cause in Tottori city, some of the local trains required individuals to open them manually. But this wasnt the case: the train started moving... I was in awe at this point. Considering that this was an inter-city train, the next stop after Himeji was Osaka, which is an hour away. Thank goodness a professor and Siqingaowa was still on the train with me. I couldn't believe what was happening. We were both semi-freaking out at this point. What I didn't understand was why didn't anybody bother to wake us up. What I was worried about the most was missing the events that were going on at the Expo. So I gave Anastoria, my friend from Jamaica who had gotten off the train successfully, a call. At this point she told me that they were already on the Shinkansen (bullet train), but with one blunder: the professor who had also gotten trapped on the train with me had the bullet train tickets for EVERYBODY in the group from Tottori University. In Japan, unlike Canada, you show your tickets when you GET OFF the train. So when they arrive in Nagoya, they cant leave the train station until we get there. Thank goodness the professor made some calls and sorted everything out. The three of us can leave from Osaka and be at Nagoya only 7 minutes later than the rest of the group. I felt like I was in a movie. On the way to Osaka, I got to see a lot of scenery of the big cities like Kobe and parts of Osaka. It was very interesting. So we got off at Osaka and caught the bullet train to Nagoya. And luckily, we got to ride on the fastest bullet train in Japan: the Nozumi (http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2018.html). It was a very smooth ride, I didnt even realize that it was going at a speed of around 300 km/hr. I was quite pleased as I got the chance to ride on the infamous Japanese bullet train FOR FREE. I heard that the tickets are super expensive: about $100 US one way. So after learning our lessons, I didnt sleep on the shinkansen and remained alert.. hahahaha. I was suprised that it only took an hour to go from Osaka to Nagoya.
At the Shinkansen (bullet train) station in Osaka (after getting trapped in Himeji)
On the Nozumi, the fastest model of the Shinkansen (Bullet Train)
So we met up with the rest of group in Nagoya at around 10:30. And we went to our 5-star hotel, which we were staying at for free. I was paired in a room with Ajay from India. I didn't realize how diverse of a group we are until I really sat down and took notice at what countries we are all from: Canada, Jamaica, South Korea, Mongolia, Bangledesh, China, Myanmar (formerly Burma), India, Ethiopia, Nepal, Pakistan and Mozambique. The conference started off in the hotel and the three keynote speakers took the stand: an architect from Spain, an environmental engineer from Vienna, and a Japanese environmental engineer. We were the only "school group" there. The rest of the attendees were business executives from all across the world. So that night we had a dinner party. We were supposed to wear our countries "traditional costumes". So, in the Canadian spirit, I wore my University of Waterloo sweather, my Canada flag hat, a Root's lanyard, and a Canada flag on my belt to top it off. The food was AMAZING. It gave us a chance to mingle with the others. The international students from Tottori U were brought on stage to introduce themselves to the group. So afterwards a whole bunch of business execs approached me and started chatting with me. They were impressed that I'm from Canada, am studying engineering, and can speak decent Japanese. I didnt realize how "high up" in the corporate ladder this people were until I got their business cards. They were presidents, vice-presidents and executives from Engineering firms in Japan. So that night was a great success: amazing food, and an amazing networking opportunity. What an amazing first day. And we havent even gone to the Expo yet.
Me at the hotel seminar room where the opening ceremony was held for the conference
Part of the gang from Tottori at the conference dinner
The Tottori U international students on stage introducing ourselves (in Japanese)
Siqingaowa (whom I was trapped on the train with) and myself at the dinner
The S. Koreans (Sung Ji Youn and Hong Seok Gyu) and myself
Part of the gang after the dinner with Professor Waka
That night after the dinner party a bunch of us headed out to downtown Nagoya in an area called Sakae(where all the main store, parks, and shops were) by the subway to check it out. Considering it was night time, there wasnt much still opened. So we went on a ferris wheel located right in the middle of downtown and we got to see the city from a birds eye view. Nagoya is a gorgeous city. The night lights are amazing. BUT, it still doesnt compare to Hiroshima. So when we left downtown it was around 11 pm. The subway trains were still PACKED. Japanese businessmen are scrambling to catch the last train home after a night of drinking...
On the Nagoya subway at night (packed with people)
Part of the Tottori gang at the entrance to the Ferris wheel in downtown Nagoya
Guo Nan, from Mongolia, and myself on the Ferris wheel
Me in front of Nagoya "Central Park"
Me in front of Nagoya "Central Park"
DAY 2: Friday July 15, 2005 - At the Expo
So we got up at 6:15 and had breakfast at the hotel. The breakfast was AMAZING. There was soooo much food. And it was all soooooo good. I havent had such a great breakfast in a loooonnnngggg time. So I pigged out. I didnt care if people were staring.. hahahaha...
So today we finally headed over to the expo. We took the local subway to the station closest to where the Expo is located. The expo itself isnt located in the heart of Nagoya, so after we got out at the subway station, we had to take the "Linimo" to the Expo site. The Linimo is this new technology of monorail-like cars that run without a driver and are powered my magnetic energy. The concept was neat but there wasnt anything special about it the experience when we were riding it.
The Expo front gate was PACKED. We were there at 8 am and already there were thousands of people waiting in line to get in. Thank goodness we were given VIP passes to get in from "behind the scenes". These special passes arent too special, according to Waka-sensei (the main professor who organized the trip) considering that we werent really here at the Expo to see the Expo, but instead, we are here to give and listen to presentations.
Us lining up get on the Linimo to the Expo site
Us lining up get on the Linimo to the Expo site
Expo front gate packed with people
Me with my VIP entrance pass
There were so much attractions I wanted to see in the park from corporate pavillion/rides to country pavillions. Examples of the main attractions were the 'Nature Contact -Hitachi Group Pavillion", the Toyoto Group Pavillion", and the fully intact wooly mammoth that was found in Siberia a year or two ago. So at 11 am we went to a part of the Expo called the "NGO Village" and watched fellow schoolmates do their presentations. It was scheduled to finish at noon accounting for 10 minutes per presentation for the 8 that was presenting that day (I was scheduled to present the next day: July 16th) . But it went over time till 1 pm. Afterwards was supposed to be our free time around the park, but we were forced to watch some Japanese drumming ceremoney and some aerobics show. We were all kinda annoyed cause we all wanted to go see the park.
Us watching the presentations
The Toyota and the Hitachi corporate pavillions (which I had no time to go see)
The Japan Motor Association pavillion (which I also had no time to go see)
So finally at 2 pm we were allowed to go explore the park until 6 pm. Basically this whole entire trip we are only given 4 hours to see the Expo itself. Considering the whole thing was free, I wasnt gonna complain too much cause I'll just come back sometime in the first week of September. Considering that the line ups to the main attractions were minimum 1 hour, we decided to go explore the country pavillions instead. First I decided to go to feel at home and explore the Canadian pavillion. I informed the people working at the Canada pavillion there that I was Canadian, and I was given special treatment as a" VIP member". I was able to skip the line-up to get in and I also received the a "Expo Canada" pin. I was also invited to go into some VIP room, but considering the amount of time I have to explore the rest of park, I graciously declined. The Canada pavillion had a really impressive light show that displayed the lives of 6 Canadians from different parts of the country. It was really neat. They also had RCMP officers marching around taking pictures with tourists. Then aftwards I rejoined the group to go see the Asia area of the park. Most of the Asian countries didnt have much to see other than little stores and museum like things. The China and India pavillions were pretty neat. I had Paksitani food for lunch: curry with nan. It was very delicious. After finishing Asia, we went to see the USA pavillion. Anastoria and I, since both of us speaks fluent English, decided to pretend to be American and get VIP treament into the USA pavillion. So we approached one of the men at the gate and Anastoria, from Jamaica, told them she was from the Bronx and I told him I was from Manhatten... lol... he kept interrogating me where in Manhatten, and I ended up naming some place where this guy lives... its insane... Out of all the cities in the USA, I decided to choose a city where the man in charge lives. hahahaha. Anastoria couldnt stop laughing. But he let us in anyways. The USA pavillion wasnt so impressive. Just some video effects show about Benjamin Franklin. After doing the Canadian pavillion, this was nothing. By the time that was done, it was already 6 pm. So we all headed back to main gates and met up with the rest of crew. On the way to gates I saw the "human robot" that was being advertised on Discovery Channel before coming to Japan in April. It was cool. When they talked to the robot, it talked back.
Me in front of the super duper fast futuristic trains of Japan
In the Khazakstan pavillion
Me with an Indian police officer at the India pavillion
Me in front of the Canadian pavillion
The human robot (as previous advertised on the Discovery Channel)
So at night, we went back to our hotels and we went out for dinner in Sakae (downtown Nagoya). This time we went to an Indian restaurant that is actually run by Indian people. We ordered many types of curry and nan (indian bread). It was super duper yummy. But considering it was my first time eating "genuine" indian food my stomach started getting gasy... hee hee... But it was extremely yummy. Very delicious. You can always count on me in trying new food.
Gorgeous night light Nagoya
DAY 3: Saturday, July 16, 2005: Rush, rush, rush
So today Waka-sensei told us that we should get up earlier considering that its a Satruday and that even more people will be going to the Expo. So we did the same routine as yesterday, but this time much quicker and more effcient considering we did it yesterday. So after the giant breakfast, we left for the expo at 6:45 and we arrived at around 7:30 which is about an hour and half before the official opening. Since we had VIP passes we got to go in before it was actually open, but sadly we had nothing was open and we had no time to go see the cool pavillions. The schedule was solidly packed. We headed over the NGO village to finish up the presentations.
My presentation was the second one so I was a bit nervous. Usually during these presentations I'm not nervous, but this time I'll be presenting in Japanese. The only difference from the day before and that day was that no one was allowed to go overtime. We were on a tight schedule to present, lunch, present, and leave Nagoya. So during my presentation, I had to rush a bit. Near the end, I decided to change back to English so I can speak faster and cover all the material in my presenation. But overall it went very well. It was an amazing experience and it was worth all the work that I had put into it. Becuase I wrote it myself and because I was the only Canadian there, I felt extra proud that it went well. But the one thing I regretted was that I tried to cover too much material. I should have concentrated on one area of Canada's environment problems instead of all of them.. hahahahaa.
Me presenting about Canada's environmental problems (in Japanese)
Ajay, my roomate, presenting about Indian culture
So after the first set of presentations, we had a lunch break. Anastoria had bought this "Expo Passport" thing, where you go around to the different pavillions and they'll give you a stamp. So durign lunch we had approxmiately 1 hour so we decided to run back to the Asia pavillions and get all their stamps. It was sooo exciting cause we were darting throughout the Asia pavillions area from country to country getting their stamps. I felt like I was on the reality TV show "Amazing Race". I managed to see all of the Asia country pavillions, including the ones that I didn't see yesterday. It was very adrenaline pumping.
Myself, Anastoria (from Jamaica), and Sung ji Youn (from S. Korea), posing with a Korean lady in traditional wear
S. Korea pavillion
Qatar pavillion
Iran pavillion
Saudi Arabia pavillion
The fan I used to put my pavillion stamps on
So we afterward, we ran back to the NGO village to finish up the rest of the presentations. Siqingaowa, the Mongolian lady, with whom who I was trapped on the train with, did this really aesthetic traditional Mongolian dance during her presentation.
The entire Tottori gang in front of the NGO village after presentations
Back row from left to right: Siquingaowa (from Mongolia), Sharma (from Nepal), Nadar (from Pakistan), Zahoor (from Pakistan), Daniel (from Mozambique), Jia (from Mongolia), Seok Gyu (from S. Korea), Kelali (from Ethiopia)
Front row from left to right: myself (from Canada hehe), Lu Lin (from Mongolia), Kin (from Myanmar), Professor Waka (from Japan), Perveen (from Bangladesh), Monica (from India), Anastoria (from Jamaica), Guo Nan (from Mongolia)
Taking the picture: Professor Danya Aklog (from Ethiopia)
Absent: Ajay (from India)
After the presnetations, we headed back to Tottori. Luckily this time we didnt get trapped on any of the trains. One thing I forgot to mention about Japan is their disgusting habit of excessive cigarette smoking in public areas. On the Shinkansen, on the subway, everywhere.. I guess we are quite spoiled in Ontario, where people can't smoke anywhere. But still, the second hand smoking was a lot to handle. Very disgusting indeed.
The following are links to videos of us on the Shinkansen:
(Video 1- on the platform)
(Video 2- in the Shinkansen)
Me at the Nagoya Shinkansen (bullet train station)
Everyone at the Nagoya Shinkansen station
Everyone on the Shinkansen (on the way back to Tottori)
Me eating my dinner at a train station noodle hut in Nagoya
REFLECTIONS
Overall I would have to place this short three day trip up on top of my list. Even though it wasnt too long and that I didn't get to see too much of the Expo, it was uforgettable. The fact that I got to travel with a diverse group of people from 11 different countries and got the opportunity to represent Canada and present to others, in Japanese, about the environmental problems that happen in our country is very rewarding. On top of that, the 20 or so of us socially bonded quite well. Even though I was the youngest there, everyone treated me as an equal, with respect and importance. Getting a chance to hear and learn about the other cultures was invaluable. It has also helped me get rid of the many narrow-minded stereotypes about other countries that exist in Canada. Its great to be in a venue which brings the world's people together in peace.
Japan Green Building Council
(http://www.jgbc.com/English/indexenglishtop.htm)
Special thanks to Takeda-sensei (Professor Takeda) for taking his time to edit my presentation. It's greatly appreciated.
DAY 1: Thursday July 14, 2005 - The train adventure
So the first day was a HUGE adventure in itself. It was both funny and a learning experience. I was especially looking forward to this trip considering it was completely free. We didnt have to pay for anything. We all got up at 5 am in the morning to meet at the Tottori University train station at 6 am. So, considering I was up the night before working on the design project, I was super duper tired. I got up, packed everything, and headed off. When I arrived at the train stop, I realized that I was the youngest person there. The rest of the Tottori gang ranged from 24 yrs to 45 yrs old. So I was the baby of the group.. hee hee... So we had to take a local train from Tottori Univerity train stop to the main Tottori City train station, then from there, we take another inter-city train from Tottori to a city called Himeji. Then from there we take the infamous Shinkansen (the Japanese bullet train) straight to Nagoya. The schedule was really tight, so we all had to rush like animals.
So heres the interesting part: So we all got on the inter-city train from Tottori City train station headed for Himeji. Unlike local trains, where if you had missed your stop, you can get just get out and head back in the other direction. But with this train you can't do that. You can sort of see where this is heading. So I had gotten into the train first and I was sitting next to this lady from Mongollia, Siqingaowa, who is studying for her Ph.D. at Tottori U. So we got chatting and considering the lack of sleep I had gotten the night before I decided to take a nap. Considering it was a 2 hour train ride, I didn't see it being a problem. The train car that we were in only had one exit and I was sitting on the other end. So when I woke up from the nap, I saw that everybody from Tottori had already gotten up and got their things ready, whereas Siqingaowa and myself, had just woken up. Everyone was in a rush cause we all needed to catch the bullet train to Nagoya. So we had to dash up and start gathering our things. So by the time I had reached the door, it was already closed. I tried opening it with my hands, cause in Tottori city, some of the local trains required individuals to open them manually. But this wasnt the case: the train started moving... I was in awe at this point. Considering that this was an inter-city train, the next stop after Himeji was Osaka, which is an hour away. Thank goodness a professor and Siqingaowa was still on the train with me. I couldn't believe what was happening. We were both semi-freaking out at this point. What I didn't understand was why didn't anybody bother to wake us up. What I was worried about the most was missing the events that were going on at the Expo. So I gave Anastoria, my friend from Jamaica who had gotten off the train successfully, a call. At this point she told me that they were already on the Shinkansen (bullet train), but with one blunder: the professor who had also gotten trapped on the train with me had the bullet train tickets for EVERYBODY in the group from Tottori University. In Japan, unlike Canada, you show your tickets when you GET OFF the train. So when they arrive in Nagoya, they cant leave the train station until we get there. Thank goodness the professor made some calls and sorted everything out. The three of us can leave from Osaka and be at Nagoya only 7 minutes later than the rest of the group. I felt like I was in a movie. On the way to Osaka, I got to see a lot of scenery of the big cities like Kobe and parts of Osaka. It was very interesting. So we got off at Osaka and caught the bullet train to Nagoya. And luckily, we got to ride on the fastest bullet train in Japan: the Nozumi (http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2018.html). It was a very smooth ride, I didnt even realize that it was going at a speed of around 300 km/hr. I was quite pleased as I got the chance to ride on the infamous Japanese bullet train FOR FREE. I heard that the tickets are super expensive: about $100 US one way. So after learning our lessons, I didnt sleep on the shinkansen and remained alert.. hahahaha. I was suprised that it only took an hour to go from Osaka to Nagoya.
At the Shinkansen (bullet train) station in Osaka (after getting trapped in Himeji)
On the Nozumi, the fastest model of the Shinkansen (Bullet Train)
Meeting up with the rest of the group in a Nagoya local train (left to right: Hong Seok Gyu from S. Korea, Professor Danya Aklog from Ethiopia, and Anastoria from Jamaica)
So we met up with the rest of group in Nagoya at around 10:30. And we went to our 5-star hotel, which we were staying at for free. I was paired in a room with Ajay from India. I didn't realize how diverse of a group we are until I really sat down and took notice at what countries we are all from: Canada, Jamaica, South Korea, Mongolia, Bangledesh, China, Myanmar (formerly Burma), India, Ethiopia, Nepal, Pakistan and Mozambique. The conference started off in the hotel and the three keynote speakers took the stand: an architect from Spain, an environmental engineer from Vienna, and a Japanese environmental engineer. We were the only "school group" there. The rest of the attendees were business executives from all across the world. So that night we had a dinner party. We were supposed to wear our countries "traditional costumes". So, in the Canadian spirit, I wore my University of Waterloo sweather, my Canada flag hat, a Root's lanyard, and a Canada flag on my belt to top it off. The food was AMAZING. It gave us a chance to mingle with the others. The international students from Tottori U were brought on stage to introduce themselves to the group. So afterwards a whole bunch of business execs approached me and started chatting with me. They were impressed that I'm from Canada, am studying engineering, and can speak decent Japanese. I didnt realize how "high up" in the corporate ladder this people were until I got their business cards. They were presidents, vice-presidents and executives from Engineering firms in Japan. So that night was a great success: amazing food, and an amazing networking opportunity. What an amazing first day. And we havent even gone to the Expo yet.
Me at the hotel seminar room where the opening ceremony was held for the conference
Part of the gang from Tottori at the conference dinner
The Tottori U international students on stage introducing ourselves (in Japanese)
Siqingaowa (whom I was trapped on the train with) and myself at the dinner
The S. Koreans (Sung Ji Youn and Hong Seok Gyu) and myself
Part of the gang after the dinner with Professor Waka
That night after the dinner party a bunch of us headed out to downtown Nagoya in an area called Sakae(where all the main store, parks, and shops were) by the subway to check it out. Considering it was night time, there wasnt much still opened. So we went on a ferris wheel located right in the middle of downtown and we got to see the city from a birds eye view. Nagoya is a gorgeous city. The night lights are amazing. BUT, it still doesnt compare to Hiroshima. So when we left downtown it was around 11 pm. The subway trains were still PACKED. Japanese businessmen are scrambling to catch the last train home after a night of drinking...
On the Nagoya subway at night (packed with people)
Part of the Tottori gang at the entrance to the Ferris wheel in downtown Nagoya
Guo Nan, from Mongolia, and myself on the Ferris wheel
Me in front of Nagoya "Central Park"
Me in front of Nagoya "Central Park"
DAY 2: Friday July 15, 2005 - At the Expo
So we got up at 6:15 and had breakfast at the hotel. The breakfast was AMAZING. There was soooo much food. And it was all soooooo good. I havent had such a great breakfast in a loooonnnngggg time. So I pigged out. I didnt care if people were staring.. hahahaha...
So today we finally headed over to the expo. We took the local subway to the station closest to where the Expo is located. The expo itself isnt located in the heart of Nagoya, so after we got out at the subway station, we had to take the "Linimo" to the Expo site. The Linimo is this new technology of monorail-like cars that run without a driver and are powered my magnetic energy. The concept was neat but there wasnt anything special about it the experience when we were riding it.
The Expo front gate was PACKED. We were there at 8 am and already there were thousands of people waiting in line to get in. Thank goodness we were given VIP passes to get in from "behind the scenes". These special passes arent too special, according to Waka-sensei (the main professor who organized the trip) considering that we werent really here at the Expo to see the Expo, but instead, we are here to give and listen to presentations.
Us lining up get on the Linimo to the Expo site
Us lining up get on the Linimo to the Expo site
Expo front gate packed with people
Me with my VIP entrance pass
There were so much attractions I wanted to see in the park from corporate pavillion/rides to country pavillions. Examples of the main attractions were the 'Nature Contact -Hitachi Group Pavillion", the Toyoto Group Pavillion", and the fully intact wooly mammoth that was found in Siberia a year or two ago. So at 11 am we went to a part of the Expo called the "NGO Village" and watched fellow schoolmates do their presentations. It was scheduled to finish at noon accounting for 10 minutes per presentation for the 8 that was presenting that day (I was scheduled to present the next day: July 16th) . But it went over time till 1 pm. Afterwards was supposed to be our free time around the park, but we were forced to watch some Japanese drumming ceremoney and some aerobics show. We were all kinda annoyed cause we all wanted to go see the park.
Us watching the presentations
The Toyota and the Hitachi corporate pavillions (which I had no time to go see)
The Japan Motor Association pavillion (which I also had no time to go see)
So finally at 2 pm we were allowed to go explore the park until 6 pm. Basically this whole entire trip we are only given 4 hours to see the Expo itself. Considering the whole thing was free, I wasnt gonna complain too much cause I'll just come back sometime in the first week of September. Considering that the line ups to the main attractions were minimum 1 hour, we decided to go explore the country pavillions instead. First I decided to go to feel at home and explore the Canadian pavillion. I informed the people working at the Canada pavillion there that I was Canadian, and I was given special treatment as a" VIP member". I was able to skip the line-up to get in and I also received the a "Expo Canada" pin. I was also invited to go into some VIP room, but considering the amount of time I have to explore the rest of park, I graciously declined. The Canada pavillion had a really impressive light show that displayed the lives of 6 Canadians from different parts of the country. It was really neat. They also had RCMP officers marching around taking pictures with tourists. Then aftwards I rejoined the group to go see the Asia area of the park. Most of the Asian countries didnt have much to see other than little stores and museum like things. The China and India pavillions were pretty neat. I had Paksitani food for lunch: curry with nan. It was very delicious. After finishing Asia, we went to see the USA pavillion. Anastoria and I, since both of us speaks fluent English, decided to pretend to be American and get VIP treament into the USA pavillion. So we approached one of the men at the gate and Anastoria, from Jamaica, told them she was from the Bronx and I told him I was from Manhatten... lol... he kept interrogating me where in Manhatten, and I ended up naming some place where this guy lives... its insane... Out of all the cities in the USA, I decided to choose a city where the man in charge lives. hahahaha. Anastoria couldnt stop laughing. But he let us in anyways. The USA pavillion wasnt so impressive. Just some video effects show about Benjamin Franklin. After doing the Canadian pavillion, this was nothing. By the time that was done, it was already 6 pm. So we all headed back to main gates and met up with the rest of crew. On the way to gates I saw the "human robot" that was being advertised on Discovery Channel before coming to Japan in April. It was cool. When they talked to the robot, it talked back.
Me in front of the super duper fast futuristic trains of Japan
In the Khazakstan pavillion
Me with an Indian police officer at the India pavillion
Me in front of the Canadian pavillion
The human robot (as previous advertised on the Discovery Channel)
So at night, we went back to our hotels and we went out for dinner in Sakae (downtown Nagoya). This time we went to an Indian restaurant that is actually run by Indian people. We ordered many types of curry and nan (indian bread). It was super duper yummy. But considering it was my first time eating "genuine" indian food my stomach started getting gasy... hee hee... But it was extremely yummy. Very delicious. You can always count on me in trying new food.
Gorgeous night light Nagoya
DAY 3: Saturday, July 16, 2005: Rush, rush, rush
So today Waka-sensei told us that we should get up earlier considering that its a Satruday and that even more people will be going to the Expo. So we did the same routine as yesterday, but this time much quicker and more effcient considering we did it yesterday. So after the giant breakfast, we left for the expo at 6:45 and we arrived at around 7:30 which is about an hour and half before the official opening. Since we had VIP passes we got to go in before it was actually open, but sadly we had nothing was open and we had no time to go see the cool pavillions. The schedule was solidly packed. We headed over the NGO village to finish up the presentations.
My presentation was the second one so I was a bit nervous. Usually during these presentations I'm not nervous, but this time I'll be presenting in Japanese. The only difference from the day before and that day was that no one was allowed to go overtime. We were on a tight schedule to present, lunch, present, and leave Nagoya. So during my presentation, I had to rush a bit. Near the end, I decided to change back to English so I can speak faster and cover all the material in my presenation. But overall it went very well. It was an amazing experience and it was worth all the work that I had put into it. Becuase I wrote it myself and because I was the only Canadian there, I felt extra proud that it went well. But the one thing I regretted was that I tried to cover too much material. I should have concentrated on one area of Canada's environment problems instead of all of them.. hahahahaa.
Me presenting about Canada's environmental problems (in Japanese)
Ajay, my roomate, presenting about Indian culture
So after the first set of presentations, we had a lunch break. Anastoria had bought this "Expo Passport" thing, where you go around to the different pavillions and they'll give you a stamp. So durign lunch we had approxmiately 1 hour so we decided to run back to the Asia pavillions and get all their stamps. It was sooo exciting cause we were darting throughout the Asia pavillions area from country to country getting their stamps. I felt like I was on the reality TV show "Amazing Race". I managed to see all of the Asia country pavillions, including the ones that I didn't see yesterday. It was very adrenaline pumping.
Myself, Anastoria (from Jamaica), and Sung ji Youn (from S. Korea), posing with a Korean lady in traditional wear
S. Korea pavillion
Qatar pavillion
Iran pavillion
Saudi Arabia pavillion
The fan I used to put my pavillion stamps on
So we afterward, we ran back to the NGO village to finish up the rest of the presentations. Siqingaowa, the Mongolian lady, with whom who I was trapped on the train with, did this really aesthetic traditional Mongolian dance during her presentation.
The entire Tottori gang in front of the NGO village after presentations
Back row from left to right: Siquingaowa (from Mongolia), Sharma (from Nepal), Nadar (from Pakistan), Zahoor (from Pakistan), Daniel (from Mozambique), Jia (from Mongolia), Seok Gyu (from S. Korea), Kelali (from Ethiopia)
Front row from left to right: myself (from Canada hehe), Lu Lin (from Mongolia), Kin (from Myanmar), Professor Waka (from Japan), Perveen (from Bangladesh), Monica (from India), Anastoria (from Jamaica), Guo Nan (from Mongolia)
Taking the picture: Professor Danya Aklog (from Ethiopia)
Absent: Ajay (from India)
After the presnetations, we headed back to Tottori. Luckily this time we didnt get trapped on any of the trains. One thing I forgot to mention about Japan is their disgusting habit of excessive cigarette smoking in public areas. On the Shinkansen, on the subway, everywhere.. I guess we are quite spoiled in Ontario, where people can't smoke anywhere. But still, the second hand smoking was a lot to handle. Very disgusting indeed.
The following are links to videos of us on the Shinkansen:
(Video 1- on the platform)
(Video 2- in the Shinkansen)
Everyone on a local Nagoya train
Me at the Nagoya Shinkansen (bullet train station)
Everyone at the Nagoya Shinkansen station
Everyone on the Shinkansen (on the way back to Tottori)
Me eating my dinner at a train station noodle hut in Nagoya
REFLECTIONS
Overall I would have to place this short three day trip up on top of my list. Even though it wasnt too long and that I didn't get to see too much of the Expo, it was uforgettable. The fact that I got to travel with a diverse group of people from 11 different countries and got the opportunity to represent Canada and present to others, in Japanese, about the environmental problems that happen in our country is very rewarding. On top of that, the 20 or so of us socially bonded quite well. Even though I was the youngest there, everyone treated me as an equal, with respect and importance. Getting a chance to hear and learn about the other cultures was invaluable. It has also helped me get rid of the many narrow-minded stereotypes about other countries that exist in Canada. Its great to be in a venue which brings the world's people together in peace.
posted by Arthur Kong at 4:44 PM
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