US trip concluded

I am back in Japan! I wasn't able to add more updates to my blog when I was in the US last week because I spent most of my free time there going around sight-seeing, doing a little shopping or visiting famous spots and museums. I moved around a bit from the northeast (Maryland and DC) to the northcentral (Kentucky and Ohio) in just 7 days! Including the international flights, I boarded the plane six times! That was so far the most airborne week of my life. Good thing, I was born to travel having crossed the rugged sea separating Manila and my hometown a million times since I was a kid, so I didn't have any problems with air sickness or jet lag.

Baltimore was freezing! The temperature dipped to around -10 degrees centigrade. It was there that I had to relearn how to convert fahrenheit to centigrade. The city was nice with a relatively mixed population of several ethnicities. I dropped by the dental school which is historically the first dental school ever in the world. The school boasts of the Samuel Harris National Dental Museum which is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institute.

Kentucky was definitely more that just the fried chicken that it is famous about. Louisville, one of its major cities near the Indiana border was a lovely place. Lots of exquisite architecture, museums, nice people and good food. I and my friends went to a traditonal southwestern steakhouse where we feasted on pounds of eat-all-you-can delicious grilled steaks. Yum! I had three hefty servings, baked potatoes and side dishes included.

We also visited the dental school and the research lab of Dr. Kinane, a prominent figure in the dental field. The set-up was very inspiring so that I am now contemplating on pursuing post-doc studies there in the future, if given the chance of course.

My trip to the US was definitely memorable and fun. I had to get used to the humongous servings of food or drinks even if I was asking for the smallest size. I had to share my food or just leave it unfinished to prevent my belly from bulging any further. The Americans were kind to me, most of them would readily spark up a friendly conversation about anything under the sun. I also met some Filipino residents there who were very helpful and nice. I'd like to go back there in the future, either to work or to visit the other cities.

You can see some pics of my trip there by clicking this.