The most exciting part of the day actually happened in the early evening, so I'd like to share that first. I went hiking with one of my colleagues through a mountain valley nearby after he suggested it during our meetings. When I'm free, I'm always up for a hike, so I tagged along.
Firstly, I wished I had brought my camera because the views were spectacular. (Secondly, I wished I had worn my hiking shoes because my socks got a little wet.) I haven't seen mountains this tall since my trip to New Hampshire last summer. And I haven't seen so many waterfalls since my trip to Oregon after coming back from Japan in 2001.
We passed by a couple of large waterfalls that provided a strong cool breeze, a natural air conditioning. Because we're at the end of the Japanese rainy season, the dominant sound of the area was rushing water from the various waterfalls and the mighty river running down the center of the valley. As we continued our slow ascent, we noticed that a lot of snow in the upper crags of the mountains.
Even more noticeable was a giant pile of snow that used to arch over a little stream from a waterfall further into the mountains. The center of the arch had collapsed, but both sides of this "bridge" towered over our heads. We were fortunate that one large overhang did not collapse on us as we passed under it. I got the opportunity to touch the snow and it was nearly ice because it was packed so well and melting.
More impressive was about 10 minutes further up the hiking trail. A massive bridge of snow covered a portion of the roaring river down below. Out from under this bridge came the mist of evaporating snow like the breath of a snow dragon living inside. From my perspective, it looked like a painting of the garden of eden. One of the nearby mountains is one of the most famous sacred mountains for Shinto monks. It is called Hakkai-san or Mt. Hakkai. Hakkai sounds a bit like Hawkeye, and so maybe that's what drew me here.
Before this hike, we had a long day of meetings mostly concerning the general overview of the course I will be teaching. Most of that time involved "norming" to make sure all the instructors agreed on the same grading level. I found myself to be on the stricter/lower end of scoring essays and quizzes, so I have to learn to lighten up a bit.
I also gained a lot of information regarding my research interest from the interactions I had with various instructors, but I will save that for the next posting.
Today I also got the chance to visit my office and try out my office computer. Nothing too exciting to report about this, except that my office is lined with shelves on the two side walls from ceiling to floor. And I have a nice view outside, except that it's too hot to keep the blinds open for a long period of time.
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