Kyoto Exchange – Blog Finally Updated

I want to apologize for how long it took to get all the pictures and information from the Spring Break Kyoto Exchange posted to the blog. I’ve had an extremely busy and trying couple of months. Almost as soon as I returned from this exchange trip my boss was placed on administrative leave. Her contract was just bought out this past week, and she is now no longer with the district. I had to relocate one of my departments to a new facility. We’ve had to plan, cancel, and then replan the Kyoto students visit to Modesto this summer due to travel restrictions enacted by the Japanese Government (I will explain this in a blog post in the morning). And I have had my normal duties as Director of Information and Technology Services for Modesto City Schools to keep me busy in addition to all of these.

There never seems to be enough time. Today I had a fishing trip planned on a long overdue day off.  A sudden change in plans (the person I was going with was unexpectedly hospitalized) left me at home instead of fishing. I decided to take advantage of this window of unplanned time to finally get this blog updated. I sat down at my computer this morning at 9:00am. I took over 1,800 photos while on this exchange.  I spent the day today selecting, editing, and posting pictures and stories from this trip to the blog.  There are so many I left out, but there’s just not enough time or space for them.  I am typing this message at 1:00am.  That’s what I call a full day of updating!

I have been so busy this summer that I have not had time to reflect back on this trip much. Today was an awesome experience for me. It was so much fun to relive the trip by going through and selecting photos and recounting stories for this blog. I really don’t see how this trip could have been any better, from the weather to the sites and the people. Everything was perfect and made this a very memorable experience. This exchange will always hold a special place in my memory, as it was a first for me. It was my first time out of the country. It was my first time organizing and executing a trip of this magnitude for students. And it was my first time going to Japan.

I have made a commitment to myself to learn Japanese before returning this Spring to Kyoto. I am using the Rosetta Stone software to try and expand my Japanese vocabulary. I hope to be able to give my speeches next time in Japanese. I also hope to be a little more self sufficient (and confident) when out and about in Kyoto.