Tag: japan debate tour 2009

  • Really Great Debaters – Kyushu University

    Anything I say about the quality of the students that I have had the chance to meet, talk to, and watch debate during the tour will be lacking. I have had such a great combination of experiences – fun and exciting combined with intellectual stimulation – that it is hard to express my full appreciation…

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  • Halfway Finished Already??

    I have only about 10 days left on the tour, and I must say it doesn’t seem like I’ve been in Japan that long. Of course, by now I am very anxious to get home to my regularly scheduled life, but at the same time I feel like I just arrived. The tour is an…

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  • Without internet, but with plenty of food

    Eating and Greeting new Friends Sorry it’s been so long since an update, but we’ve had a lack of internet connection until the airport this morning, but my time was limited so I used it to make some necessary Skype calls. Now we are settled in Matsuyama – the apparent orange producing capital of Japan.…

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  • Lecturing Japanese High School Students

    From the back of the room as students prepare to flow the debate. Today was a very unique and exciting experience – teaching Japanese high school students. I started the day by (oddly enough) meeting Texans in the hotel lobby who are here in Fukoka just checking it out. We went to the school about…

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  • Welcome to Fukoka

    We arrived on one of the cleanest and smoothest flights I’ve ever taken, including the leaving of the plane which was super fast, polite and orderly. I was so stunned when the plane emptied out in about 5 to 8 minutes. My bags are suddenly overweight, which was a problem at check in, but it…

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  • More Reflections on Policy Debate in Japan

    Through the tour many debaters have introduced other debaters to us by saying “He/She is my Junior.” This phrase refers to the dominance of student-run debate programs in Japan. When a student reaches his or her senior year, he or she is expected to retire from debating and enter the tournament as a judge or…

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  • Amazing Sushi

    Last night we went to a very good Sushi restaurant here in Machida. This lovely piece of Tako should give you a sense of how awesome the place was. This was the end to a brilliant day of shopping and hanging out in Akihabara for me for most of the day. The debaters spent the…

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  • The East-West Debate Tournament in Tokyo

    Yesterday we were invited as guests at the 35th East-West policy debate tournament in Tokyo, which was really cool. I recorded both a semifinal and a final round, but had to use the miniDV camera, so I will post these videos when I return to the U.S. at the end of the month. The East-West…

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  • First Day Success at JBDF

    We had our first debate yesterday at the Japanese Businesspersons’ Debate Federation, and everything was amazing. The members of this organization are very sharp, and very interested in and good at debate. The crowd was about 30 people, all from various professisons. Many were interested in how to teach others at their workplace to use…

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  • First Day in Tokyo

    The flight over was without incident, except that they had no free drinks or personal entertainment screens – but the real kicker was no power points. I think I have gotten spoiled flying Air France and Delta everywhere. Well the PSP, noble creature that it is, survived me playing through about 5 or 6 demos,…

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