Author Archives: elizabethmchapman

By Zoe Pham Forget Project Runway or the overwhelming flash of the American catwalk; we stood in silence for 10 minutes watching a kimono fashion show.  I was excited to see any fashion, however traditional, in Japan. Although the kimonos would look nothing like the glamorous fashion of the Harajuku district, the kimono as aContinue reading “Project Runway… or Nah?”

By Arlenn Maldonado  Yesterday, we went to the Fushimi Inari Shrine. It is a place that has many Tori gates that are said to be for the perching of birds. The Tori gates, which consist of two vertical red beams and two horizontal red beams, are given by donors to the shrine. They do thisContinue reading “Fushimi Imari Shrine”

By Sarah Birenbaum March 14 2017, our Japanese adventure took us to the bamboo forest and monkey park. The bamboo forest was absolutely spectacular. As we walked through the forest, we could feel a real connection to nature. The way the bamboo shot up so perfectly straight, made for some pretty aesthetic photos. The windContinue reading “Bamboo Forest and Monkey Park”

By Ashlyn Martin The Golden Temple was very beautiful. The temple was very well-structured and it was an amazing sight to see. Also, the Golden Temple had an amazing history. The history was very deeper than I thought it was. It is a Buddhist hall containing relics of beautiful Buddha statues. It was formerly namedContinue reading “The Golden Pavilion “

By Andrew Abdallah Yesterday, on our first real day in Japan, we visited the Nijo-jo Castle, built by the first shogun. The first I noticed was the architecture. Unlike the typical castle one would think of with stone walls and high towers, the building was much more intricate. Every part of the castle had soContinue reading “Nijo Castle”

By Justin Hu             During our expedition to Nara, we came upon many deer and the largest Buddha statue. As we walked through the massive gates, it seemed as if there was a strong spiritual and holy aura around the site. When we entered the temple, our group was greetedContinue reading “Nara”

By Zak Pham Today, I took a total of about 15 hours of flight time, changing from Houston to San Francisco then to Osaka, where we traveled by bus to the city of Kyoto. After the exhausting plane ride, I was truly ready to experience the exciting new culture and overall design/look of Kyoto andContinue reading “Crossing the Threshold “

We have some happy and tired Cardinals! We are currently on the bus from the airport to our hotel. Tonight we’ll have bento boxes for dinner and turn in early to be rested for our big day tomorrow.

Ms. Chapman here! In just a few short hours, we’ll be on our way to the Land of the Rising Sun! If you have taken English with me, you know that Everything is About the Odyssey, and I’m sure this journey will prove the rule. It’s only eight short days, but we won’t be entirelyContinue reading “T-Minus 6 Hours “

We’re less than one month away from our cross-planetary adventure! Please join us for our pre-departure meeting on Thursday, February 23, at 6:00 PM in Ms. Newton’s room.