Overseas program(s):
Fuji Summer 2017
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The Osawa Failure, a Controlled Disaster Zone - Natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are unsettling reminders of human fragility. There is nothing we can do to stop tectonic plates from colliding or volcanos from exploding. At most we can monitor tectonic movement, take seismic readings, prepare evacuation plans, and hope for safety. Disaster prevention planning makes it possible to mitigate […]
The Engine of Iriai: a Stalled Motor - For three days Michihito Watanabe, three other Lewis & Clark students, and myself trekked through the rain and blistering heat of the Motosukōgen and Nojirisōgen grasslands in order to collect data concerning the population of endangered butterflies within satoyama environments. Satoyama, which translates as “upland countryside,” consists “largely of second-growth environments such as grasslands, cultivated […]
Tourism: Pilgrimage Evolved - I wish it were easy for me to feel at ease as a tourist. However, no matter how I try, I am always slightly embarrassed by group photos, sight seeing, and other obvious signs of tourism. While I am aware of the blatant consumerism that usually accompanies the tourist industry, I think the main reasons […]
Mount Fuji: A Holy Cliché - (Zoom in on the lower marker to find three objects found in the same store.) In Nemba, my morning routine consists of waking up in the farmhouse, cooking breakfast with the eleven other members of the Fuji 2017 Summer Program, and walking outside to meet our professors at the Fujisan Club Building. As I walk […]