Six Years in Japan

Tomorrow, June 19 will mark my six years in Japan and to commemorate this special day, I am posting a picture taken on my first day here.

To my Fellow Trainees

This week being my last week in Nagano (i.e. last week with my fellow trainees), I choose to dedicate this entry to my fellow AOTS-ESD trainees, who have been very critical during my transition period in Japan. So critical that I even cried (a lot!) when the time came to leave them and move to…

When the Trainees went to Tokyo

For three days starting October 7, we went on an adventurous and money-eating trip to Tokyo. On Saturday, we visited the land of milk and honey for all techno-freaks out there, Akihabara. On Sunday, we visited the magical world of Tokyo Disneyland and on Monday, we had an ocean adventure at the Yokohama Sea Paradise.

Fire Drill

Well, there’s nothing so special about this week except for the fact that on Thursday, we took part in a company activity they call the Fire Drill. We’ve already been informed about the fire drill days before the event but this didn’t prevent us (AOTS trainees) from being the least prepared group in the whole…

Week Before the Last Week in CKC

Some good things simply don’t last. Hmp. Next week will be our last week at the CKC. After which, we’ll be moving to the Hirooka Laboratory of Epson Software Development (ESD), Inc. Then on November, we’ll all be moving to our own laboratories, where we’ll be training until June of next year. Just recently, I…

Routinary Life

We’re now on our fourth week and now, I’m starting to feel the pain of a routinary life. Everyday, it’s the same. I wake up early in the morning so as not to be late for my 9:00 class. We have two 10 minute breaks… one at 10:00 and the other at 11:00. Lunch time…

Factory Visits Galore

We had two factory visits this week and both were so much fun each having its own distinct characteristics. On Wednesday, we went to Toyota City, in particular one Toyota plant and the Toyota Museum. On Friday, we went to Jyosui Elementary School, which is only a fifteen minute walk from the Chubu Kenshu Center.

The Chubu Kenshu Center

We have finally settled in the Chubu Kenshu (Training) Center (CKC) where we will stay until August 2, 2000. Let me tell you something more about this Center. This is the newest among the several Kenshu Centers of the Association of Overseas Technical Training (AOTS). I believe this is the reason why the facilities are…