Portland

Last week as my final few days of school were winding down, I took a quick trip down to Portland, OR to do site visit before the conference starts. Although I remain firm in my devotion and adoration of Seattle above all other Pacific Northwest cities, I must say, Portland's pretty cool. Here are a few of the things I saw and did:


1) scared myself on Reed's campus

2) impressed Meghan, the Reed contact,
with my unceasing professionalism

3) tested the bathrooms at Reed. They passed.

4) got directions for Portland's public transportation

5) led a 1-person tour through Portland. All there agreed it was an overwhelming success.

6) practiced my street performer skills

7) walked through the city block-sized bookstore

8) only read the first character on the sign and got really excited about a ラーメン (ramen) stand only to find out when I got there that it said "ランチ" (lunch) but by then felt guilty for getting the owner's hopes up about a customer so bought 揚げ出し豆腐 (tofu). It was a tasty letdown, make all the more bittersweet when, looking at the sign again, I saw how clear the ランチ had been. Curse my excitement for the ラーメン.

9) fell in love with an old Italian gentleman and his gelato (pink is strawberry ginger and yellow is egg custard)

10) was given yet another reason to feel blessed I get to live in the PNW.

I'm so excited for the Portland site.

(The umbrella shots reminded me: don't forget to bring an umbrella!)