Wood: Getting lost in translation
Morgan Wood, Columnist
December 8, 2017
After three months in Japan, I think I’ve learned only about two dozen words and phrases in Japanese. At the top of the list is always “arigato gozaimasu” (thank you), “sumimasen” (excuse me) and “kanpai” (cheers). These are really the only three things you need to know. Japanese has...
Wood: Keeping up with kawaii culture
Morgan Wood, Columnist
December 1, 2017
The first time my friends in Japan shouted “so kawaii” at something, I was deeply confused. I must confess that I came here with an extremely limited vocabulary. I haven’t progressed much, but “kawaii” is one of the words you can figure out without trying. Kawaii is used to describe the particular...
Wood: Japan reacts to Donald Trump
Morgan Wood, Columnist
November 17, 2017
American President Donald Trump arrived in Japan last Saturday, Nov. 4. Tokyo was the first stop of a twelve-day Asian tour. He was greeted enthusiastically by the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe. The two played golf, ate hamburgers and even signed hats that said “Donald & Shinzo: Make Alliance...
Wood: Sushi’s great, but cheese is better
Morgan Wood, Columnist
November 10, 2017
I know I’m in the land of sushi and ramen, but a girl can only go so long without a good cheese sauce. Yes, I know Tokyo is “so international,” and that it has the highest number of Michelin-starred restaurants out of any city in the world, but let me tell you about the struggle to find good chees...
Wood: The writing on the museum walls
Morgan Wood, Columnist
November 2, 2017
There is little more jarring than an art history major openly admitting to contempt for texts included in museum exhibitions. Curatorial text is everything you want in a good source; it is brief, specific and scholarly. Recently my contemporary art history class took a field trip to the Tokyo Photogr...
Wood: 72 hours or less in Taipei
Morgan Wood, Columnist
October 25, 2017
There’s something to be said for taking the time to really get to know one country well, for deciding to stay in one spot and exploring all its nooks and crannies. But when you’re already halfway across the globe, it sounds crazy not to take advantage of the cheaper, shorter flights to surrounding ...
Wood: The case for solo travelling as a woman
Morgan Wood, Columnist
October 13, 2017
“A woman should never ever travel alone,” is what my mom told me upon hearing of my weekend plans to travel from Tokyo to Nara, Japan alone. Little did it matter to her that Japan is one of the safest places in the world for foreign female travelers due to high legal penalties for anyone who commit...
