Final Thoughts

We have been back from Japan for almost 2 weeks.  Students are back to school and we are are all back to work.  Memories of our experiences will fade, but I hope, with the help of our blog and the many thousands photos everyone took (I took over 1600, and about 1150 are posted on Facebook, (www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10156220720699473&type=1&l=1fad148190)), the experiences will stay with everyone.  Thanks to those of you who have followed our adventures (we have almost 15,000 page views at the time of this writing).  I know the students really appreciate your support.

This was the 5th year UACOP/IPSF and I have led a PharmD student study abroad trip, and this was our 3rd trip to Japan. While the activities each time are mostly the same, each trip is unique.  We had 21 fabulous UA PharmD students with us, the largest group to date. These students are our best and brightest, and I know my profession's future is in good hands. The most gratifying aspects for me about these trips are getting to know the students as we travel and spend 10 days together, and seeing Japan through their eyes.  Every student is unique, and each group develops its own unique culture.  I enjoyed being with and getting to know each and every one of you.  I know the schedule was packed, that we didn't always do things that every student wanted to do, and it was really hot and humid every day.  I admittedly try to pack as many activities into the trip as possible--after all, how often does one go to Japan?  I appreciate the students' continued enthusiasm and excitement throughout the trip, even when you were tired, and your support of each other. One unique aspect this year was having a majority of students from our Phoenix campus.  Since the Tucson- and Phoenix-based students have little opportunity to get to interact, this was a great opportunity for these students to get to know each other.  I hope these students will help the College work towards strengthening the bonds between the Tucson and Phoenix campuses.

I want to thank the 2 "chaperones" who accompanied me, my wife, Tomomi Katz and my co-worker, Akiko Ota.  Managing a large group is challenging, and their logistical skills, patience, enthusiasm and Japanese language abilities were key to the success of this trip.

If you read the students' post-trip reflections, many commented on the the hospitality and warmth of our Japan hosts.  Until you have experienced that aspect of Japanese culture, it is impossible to really explain or understand, but the planning, hospitality, caring and friendship from our KGU friends and colleagues (particularly Nakagawa (Sari)-sensei, Shirakawa (Sho)-sensei, Takano-sensei and Kamiya-sensei from Kobe Gakuin University, Uejima-sensei and Niki-sensei from Osaka University and all the students from both universities) made our visit truly special and memorable.

My hope is that after our trip, each Japan 2018 student will have a broader view of the world, be eager for future international travel adventures, and to place the best parts of our experience into your hearts forever.

We are already starting to work on next summer's trip to Thailand, and we are even discussing Japan 2020. I hope some of you will follow our future adventures.

Todai-ji temple, in Nara

Osaka-jo (castle)

Yukatas!

Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavillion) in Kyoto

Fushimi Inari-taisha (shrine), Kyoto

Miyajima Island, near Hiroshima

Sayonara party

Day 2: Kobe and the Sights!

Now that we are back home I can properly put together my thoughts and show you guys a little bit of the journey our overseas pharmacy adventure took us. 

Our second day was all about scouring Kobe and experiencing the 48th Kobe Minato Fireworks Festival with our Kobe Gakuin University cohorts. 

First starting with the Kobe Gakuin University on Port Island, we discovered places where our eastern half learn, study, and practice. Such a beautifully designed and made campus. It is one of the newer campuses.

The cafeteria food was pretty dang good considering we could barely order. Thankfully, Dr. Nakagawa, the school's pharmacist and professor, was always there to the rescue in translating our needs. We were a 21 member party so getting us places and making sure we were never with out food was definitely a challenge. A lot the ease in our travels and places to dine really came from her and her colleagues as well as the student who were apart of the international program. We are so lucky to have them!

They threw us a warm welcome party as we ended the campus tour in their highest room of that tall building shown in the picture. It was the best room to see the city of Kobe and the waters surrounding the island. After this, we all made for inland! 

We shopped near the Port Liner station at SOGO and other nearby department buildings. They even had ice out for people touch and cool down! The day was hot and humid, but that couldn't stop us.

We made way to our first shrine: Itsuka Shrine.

We hit up the close at hand Chinatown; we ate taiyaki, shaved ice cream, and dumplings. If only we had known how much more we were going to enjoy Japanese food!

We ended the night by watching the 48th Kobe Minato Fireworks. I wish I could say that I've seen fireworks that could match what I saw, but clearly there are reasons we don't have hour long shows back home in the desert. The professors and students from Kobe Gakuin University made sure we got a sweet spot for the viewing. My images will not do it justice so I will add a video.

What a fabulous way to end the night! Thanks for staying in tune!

Day 2 out of 10

Sayonara, until we meet again!

Now that I've finally adjusted to being back home on Arizona time I wanted to take a few minutes to reflect on the trip.  Despite the August heat and humidity this was one of the best trips of my life and I am already trying to plan my next visit (that will probably a few years and more than a few student loan payments from now).  Japan is a place unlike any other!  Everywhere we went the cities seemed well planned out and efficient.  Everyone we encountered was polite, kind, and so well dressed!  As I was commenting on all of the unwritten rules of etiquette everyone seemed to follow, I was reminded that when you live on a island with such a large population you have to figure out how to live in harmony, and then it all made sense to me.  If I had to choose one word to describe Japan, it would be exactly that, 'harmonious'.  

One final thought, I was pleasantly surprised by the genuine camaraderie that I felt amongst everyone involved with this trip.  It was nice getting to know the students from the U of A Tucson campus as well the KGU and Osaka University students and faculty.  I actually miss sharing the tiny hotel room with my classmates as they were so kind and supportive throughout our time together.  I hope that the friendships formed on this trip will carry forward past graduation and into our careers as I'm sure our paths will cross many times.

Thank you for reading! :)

End of a fantastic Trip

It is exactly a week from the time that we came back from Japan. I had a fantastic 11 days there. First, I want to thank all of our hosts there, Kobe University, faculty, and students for making all of those amazing moments for us during our trip. Also, thanks to Osaka university for hosting us and again organizing all those wonderful experiences and moments. I also want to thank University of Arizona College of Pharmacy for making this trip happen, Dr. Katz, Dr. Tomami, Akiko, and IPSF Organization for all they did. They had been organizing this trip for almost 9 months and everything about this trip from the first moment in the plane to Japan until the time we came back to the states was so organized and flawless.

I learned a lot of great things and important life lessons during our Japan trip from everyone; from the Japanese people, their manners, their behaviors, their efficiency, their hospitality, their politeness, intelligence and their technology, and also how clean they are and each individual cares so much to have a better society for not only themselves but also for all the country. I learned so many valuable things from our visits to different pharmacy settings in Japan, about their pharmacy practice and their health system in general. And, I'm not surprised why they are considered the 1st country having the longest life expectancy, and no wonder that they are one of the first top 5 countries in the whole world regarding their best health system.

I also learned a lot from the patience and hospitality of our hosts there. Spending 11 days with my classmates was also so precious for me. I had the chance to be with each one of them and know them more. My Japan trip was one of the memories that I will never ever forget in my life and I will always talk about all those good memories that I experience there to my families and my friends.

I enjoyed every second of that trip and I cannot express my thanks enough to Dr. Katz and others that made this trip happen.  I will for sure go back to Japan at least one more time in my life.

Until then... bye Japan, the country of respect and cleanness!

With love,


Atefeh

See you next time Japan!

Our time in Japan has come to an end. It was short but an amazing experience nonetheless. It was definitely be an experience I'll never forget. I really appreciate the opportunity to travel and learn more about Japan and its culture. The most rewarding aspect of the trip was getting to learn something new every single day. New activities and new sites awaits us each day of the trip and I was excited to see what each place had in store for us. It's not everyday that I get to go someplace completely different so I tried to embrace the opportunity and felt excited to be going to new places each day.

I felt very welcomed by our hosts, KGU and really appreciate their hospitality. The faculty and students went above and beyond to help us with whatever we needed during our time there. I thank them for all their effort and all the time they spent with us. They helped make this trip a wonderful experience that I will remember forever. I would also like to thank Dr. Katz, Tomomi, and Akiko for all their help and everything they did for us. I greatly appreciate it and this trip could not have been amazing without them. I would like to thank the Osaka University faculty and students as well for spending their day showing us around and treating us to wonderful meals. I truly appreciate all the kindness everyone we have encountered has shown us on this trip. You've all made it great so thank you so much!

The most surprising thing to me was how humid the weather was. However, that didn't stop us from doing what we wanted each day. We tried to embrace our newfound glow and went on with our day.  There are still a lot of places that I would definitely like to visit as well so I will be back Japan.

Until next time!
Michelle

Final Thoughts

Our time in Japan ended earlier this week and I already miss being there. It was an amazing week filled with many adventures and new friends. Thank you to all of our hosts in Kobe and Osaka for a wonderful trip! The most rewarding part of the trip was being able to explore a new country. We were able to see some of the cultural and historical sites throughout the Kansai region and it was amazing. One of the most surprising things about the trip was learning about the differences in pharmacy practice between Japan and the United States. I look forward to returning to Japan one day to see more of the country!

See you again soon, Japan!

The summer is concluding and so has our incredible experience in Japan! The ten days I spent there will forever be a special place in my memories, and I definitely look forward to visiting again soon. I’d like to thank Dr. Katz, Tomomi, and Akiko for watching our backs and keeping everything organized as well as the faculty and students from the university who showed us some incredible hospitality. Every place we visited was stunningly beautiful and the other students on the trip were a delight to be around making the entire experience that much more enjoyable. The free time we had at the end of each day, and the free day we were given, also made the trip so much more unique because running around the city and finding new places has always been the highlight of any trip for me. One night, Cindy and I scouted our an arcade and aimlessly wandered the city for a few hours. Doing something like that provides the opportunity to see things you normally wouldn’t expect to see having a point A to point B schedule. Also, this trip has an additional special meaning to me because I was able to spread my mom’s ashes and take pictures of all the places I did so to honor her memory. It’s something that is very important for me and my sisters to do for her, so to have that opportunity... I couldn’t be more thankful. If I could have spent more time there, I definitely would have. For now I’ll just have to enjoy my beach time in Rocky Point until school starts!