“End of the World” Party and my new role as…

Due to circumstances beyond my control, this will be my last post here as DanInJapan. It has been fun and I thank you all for following me on my journey here in Japan, but alas, all good things must come to an end; this journey and unfortunately, this world.

Yes everyone, that fateful day is finally upon us. The day that the ancient Mayan civilization determined as the end. The end of what you might ask? Well, just their long count calendar. But since everyone else seems to believe that indicates that our world will be ending as well, then… why not. Let’s party and live our lives like today is the last day we have to live. Although I suppose that in hindsight, maybe that is how we should be living every day. But in hind hindsight, maybe it takes massive crowds in a frenzied chaos, 1000 degree temperatures, and impending world destruction to realize this. Oh well, better late than never right? So congratulations, and welcome to the end of the world!

And so, with these thoughts in mind, I am taken back to my grade school days, living with my father and sister in a farm house in south New Hampshire. In those days, our idea of going crazy and partying like there’s no tomorrow would be to mix two different flavors of instant ramen together in one pot for dinner! I know, crazy right? Well, with that serving as inspiration, myself and some friends have decided to have our last supper at a ramen shop here in Takamatsu and then follow that up with table tennis and other sorts of games to greet the end with. Although, in case I gave you the wrong idea with the term “instant ramen” here is a picture relating what we will actually be having…

And so, this is how we will be distracting ourselves from the approach of world ending dangers such as rogue planets, fire storms, reversed magnetic poles, etc…

On a separate note however, it seems as though I have been unofficially embraced as the ambassador and spokesperson for the University of Toledo and the associated study abroad opportunities. Which of course, is a role I am happy to fulfill. If I am successful on this end, it means that most likely when I return to the states and UT, sometime during my remaining time there we will be host to a student from Kagawa University! So far for my new role, I have been petitioned to write two short pieces on my knowledge, opinions, and experiences at both UT and KU, I have been a guest in an English class that one of my professors teach where he was advertising UT, and I am also involved in the search for my predecessor from UT. As the first person to take advantage of this agreement between my two universities, I hope that my efforts result in an ongoing exchange of students, knowledge, and culture between Toledo and Takamatsu.

So, in accordance with my new unofficial role as a promoter for international exchange student relations between my two universities, here are some pictures of Kagawa University’s Engineering Campus.

 

The campus is in a beautiful location with mountains off in the distance to the south. Unfortunately it is a little far from the main campus (and from my home). But it is very functional and lively on its own.

Finally, always keep your eyes to the skies… and look out for falling debris! 😉

Good luck during the apocalypse!