“It’s been about fifteen days since we departed from LAX and I have the same excitement as day one. Recently we’ve been taking anime class and I’ve learned some pretty incredible knowledge on creating anime. We learned how manga was drawn and finalized, how anime is animated, and how to animate our own custom anime characters. It’s a lot easier to watch an anime character walk then having to make them walk yourself. The food in Japan repeatedly amazes me. There hasn’t been much I don’t like. My favorite would have to be the beef bowl, a bowl of rice with beef slices on top. There’s still half the trip to go and I’m looking forward to meeting my host family. They should be pretty amazing from what I hear. I will definitely be returning to Japan one day in the future.” – Daunte
“I initially had no feeling towards the trip to be honest. I was terrified to travel to a new country with people I had never seen in my life before. Here I am now hanging out with everyone like I have known them forever. This trip is amazing, and it changed my view on strangers- some strangers are meant to become friends and that’s what I’m hoping for this trip. For the rest of the time I will be here I hope my new friends and I get to know each other even more and eventually hang out even after the Experiment is over. This trip has opened me up to a new environment and has allowed me to improve my artistic skill and my ability to speak Japanese. There is really nothing bad to say about this trip so far- I have had very minor issues and none strong enough to phase me. This trip is great to push out of your comfort zone and I’m glad I have been permitted this opportunity.” –Victor
“Being able to visit Japan has been a very big dream of mine ever since I started watching anime. While I was scared at first about the people in my group, it turns out we all got together very well. In Japan I have so far only had one weakness, and that’s how Tokyo is organized. While there are names given to different streets and roads, all of the blocks seem to be very disorganized, some blocks are curved and have a triangular structure to them. As a result it’s sometimes hard to understand where you are even if you look at a map. Some of my favorite things so far in Japan are the animation classes, vending machines everywhere, the amazing sights, and the traditions Japan has kept. The animation classes have been amazing, allowing us to use our creativity and strengthen our art skills as animators. While it may seem weird that I put vending machines as one of my favorite things here, it’s actually really amazing how many vending machines there are, I mean there’s practically two vending machines every block. Last but not least, I love how Japan has kept many traditions of the past, from showing respect to elders to making different foods passed down from families and make it the same way even if it uses older technology. Sometimes old-fashioned is pretty good. This is why I am enjoying my stay in Japan and hoping I come back again to take in even more of Japan’s culture.” – Harry
