Wrapping it all up - Resilient Rural Communities in Oregon and Japan

Hey everyone! We had some technical difficulties with adding content because I ran out of media space (in other words I had too many pictures on here), but I think I have figured it out and I should be able to share the rest of our adventures with you!

We’ve actually been back in the states for a few weeks now, but here are the pictures from the last of our time in Akita Prefecture. This mainly includes our time in Akata village and our final presentations.

The AIU Library is GORGEOUS! We spent a good chunk of time here working on papers.

We also spent a good deal of time riding in these buses.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0252. — Ryoko was trying to hide her face, but it just made the picture that much more fun!

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0259. — Rice fields for days!.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0277. — John mentioned that he wasn’t in a lot of pictures because he was always behind the camera, so I thought we needed a picture of him.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0278. — There was this really cool bridge that we walked across to see the waterfall after lunch.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0286. — This house was really cool and had a thatched roof.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0288. — We got to talk to a local farmer who was growing flowers.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0291. — We had a long discussion with him along the road and he answered all of our questions.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0294. — We then got to go down into the field.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0297. — There were a bunch of these adorable little frogs that were so small.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0303. — Then we went to an asparagus farmer’s field where he talked to us about his farm.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0304. — His asparagus farm.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0306. — He hopped down and showed us his plants.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0308. — A cool rice field behind some houses in Tenjin.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0310. — We had some down time and walked down to the river.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0313. — They had cemented in the rivers after WWII.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0317. — A Little Shrine in Tenjin.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0320. — We went to a farm where they raise cattle.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0327. — We also went to some more shrines/temples. .

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0340. — There were these cool oragami birds that I really thought were neat

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0343. — The water basin outside the temple.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0345. — This was the water reservoir above Akata that provided water to the irrigation systems.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0347. — There was also a pilgrimage in Akata where people go to 33 different locations and each has a poem along the way.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0350. — We also visited a graveyard where they have family graves.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0356. — This was another shrine within Akata, that was the oldest in the area, but it was interesting and different because it also had a Buddha statue in it that mixed Shinto and Buddhist religions together.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0357. — Outside the shrine.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0365. — The ceiling had this really cool dragon painting.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0367. — The Buddha statue.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0369. — After that we also came to this much larger temple.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0372. — This temple was really big and had a surprise inside that we weren’t expecting.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0384. — There was a huge many faced Buddha statue!

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0386. — There was also a lot of cool paintings and other statues.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0496. — The next day we went to a waterfall in the forest and harvested mountain vegetables.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0498. — There was a cool old mine.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0499. — A bunch of bats flew out of it too.

10996762_998697853475639_4583366645806206684_n — We had to celebrate 4th of July, so we got a bunch of snacks and played cards in Ryoko’s room! 🙂 It was a ton of fun!

Weeding — We also helped to weed an asparagus field

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0507. — The Asparagus field

Making Pizza — We also made pizzas in Akata’s pizza oven

11692674_999636483381776_302570466120767554_n — Yasu and his pizza with Ryoko being silly.

11403058_613868678750487_1679982072767621548_n — John baking his pizza

11248877_999636560048435_7677918837159274415_n — Christian and Andy picking blueberries

11704849_999636596715098_4211406235277879606_n — Holly and Andy with their host family

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0510. — My host family took Ryoko and I to the sea to see the sunset.

Final Presentations — Final Presentation

Andy's Birthday — Our final presentations were also on Andy’s birthday! Happy Birthday Andy!!! 🙂

Presentations in Akata — We also went back to Akata and gave our presentations again to our host families and the people who took the time to talk to us.

All of us with our host familes 🙂

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0511. — Rainy day at the airport. Bye Japan!

I hope you’ve enjoyed our journey as much as we did! Thank you for following along on our adventures and for allowing us to share our experiences with you!

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