Today, in the morning it was very cold, but in the afternoon, it was fine and sky was clear. We had a meeting from 8:30am where we learned about John Hancock and Samuel Adam, men who played big roles in founding America. Samuel Adams and Paul Revere, who played an active part in the War of Independence. After taking a short trip by train, we were divided into two groups and took part in the Freedom Trail Tour, where we listened to stories
about the history of Boston told by guides dressed in colonial costumes. We walked around the Freedom Trail. We heard that last year’s students had had to walk in the snow. However this year, we luckily had good weather that was suitable for tour participation. We walked around and saw the Boston Common, the Massachusetts State House, the Park Street Church, the Granary Graveyard, Benjamin Franklin’s statue, the Old South Meeting House, the site of the Boston Massacre and Adam Smith’s bronze statue in Faneuil Hall. We gradually became accustomed to listening to the English spoken by the guides, and some students asked questions to. We developed a better understanding of the history of Boston, as the tour progressed. After that we had lunch
and enjoyed shopping freely at Quincy Market, a place popular with tourists.
In the afternoon, we enjoyed looking at the streets of Boston from the Skywalk on the 52nd floor of the Prudential Center. After enjoying the view from the Skywalk, we enjoyed some more shopping time at the Prudential Center.
After that we were guided to the Berklee College of Music. In spite of our sudden visit, we were allowed to visit inside the schoolhouse. Because it is a prestigious contemporary music school, the percentage of overseas students at the school has increased in recent years. Seeing students making songs and watching an ensemble session was interesting. After that we took a walk around the hall where the Boston Symphony Orchestra plays.
Afterwards, we enjoyed shopping at the supermarket near the Prudential Center. We enjoyed observing the differences between Japanese supermarkets and those of the U.S. and many students choose souvenirs to bring back to Japan. When we got together again after half and an hour, some of the students had their hands full of souvenirs!
After eating dinner at a restaurant, we went back to the hotel and reflected upon the day. Tomorrow is our last day. We will visit the Boston Museum and give our presentations in front of university students. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. Since last night, we have been working on our group presentations at night. I hope we can show the university students how much we have practiced.
