Anne's Quest

This summer vacation was very busy for me and my daughter. Anne Mikiko's quest was go to the US to study there for a short time. So, we left for the United States on August 10th to take Anne Mikiko to study at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Charlotte is a big city in the Southwest part of North Carolina state. My younger sister, Heather, lives in Winston-Salem, about an hour north of Charlotte, with her husband, Peter, and daughter, Lilly. We stayed with Heather's family for the first week of our trip, to help Anne get ready to move into her dorm at the the university. There, we ate great food, went shopping, went mountain biking and swimming, and had a great time with Heather, Peter, and Lilly. We even went to church.

Then Anne and I went to Charlotte where we stayed for one night and got her moved into the dorm room. The dorm is very nice and the university is very large - about 29,000 students go there. The first day, we went to the mall to go shopping and ate at the Cheesecake Factory, and then went to our hotel. The second day we went to the university, met with the staff, got her identification card, and got her moved in to the dorm room. After getting her moved in, we went and had lunch at her university cafeteria. Tons of food, and a great atmosphere! Finally we had dinner together, and I said goodbye. I was very sad to say goodbye because I was only there for a short time. After returning to Japan, I was very exhausted. I will stay longer the next time I go, that's for sure!

Summer 2017

This past summer was quite a busy one for many people. There were a few changes in America with the new Trump presidency. For example, there was a travel ban instituted for travelers from certain countries. This is difficult because many people had been living in the US, legally or illegally, for many years, and long before Trump took office. For this presidency to suddenly ban people from entering the US is a bit "too little, too late." And then he started talking about sending illegal immigrants back to their home countries, with certain exceptions. This is still an ongoing process. In addition, there is the Russian  probe, and the cabinet members who have resigned or been fired. Yes, it was truly a busy summer for those involved with Trump, that's for sure!