21st Century COE of Flow Dynamics F2004 International Internship Program Experience Note Jim Gregory

I was fortunate to receive a COE of Flow Dynamics International Internship Award this summer. I worked in Prof. Keisuke Asai's laboratory at Tohoku University. We worked on pressure-sensitive paint measurements of a fluidic oscillator. I shared the laboratory with his two graduate students, Shunsuke Ohmi and Toshiyuki Kojima, as well as Asai's research associate, Hiroki Nagai. All of my colleagues were very helpful and friendly. They were gracious and patient to speak English with me, even though some of them had never had an English conversation before.    Shun and Toshi even invited me to join them for fun things to do on weekends. On my first weekend in Japan, we went to Matsushima together. Matsushima is a beautiful bay with many islands,  not too far from Sendai. We took the train together and spent the whole day there - we toured an old temple, took a boat tour through the bay, and enjoyed a traditional tea in the afternoon. Shun and Toshi also taught me a lot about Japanese food, language, and culture.

I also took trips to visit Tokyo several times. In Tokyo I attended a flow visualization conference, and stayed with an old friend whose family lives there. I also went to Soma to see a horse festival (about 1 hour south of Sendai by train). During my last week in Japan, I went to see a professional baseball game in Sendai (two teams came to play an exhibition game), and Toshi joined me. Our research group also had a nice cookout during my last week on the banks of the Hirosei river. Finally, on my last night in Sendai we watched fireworks from the top of the mountain to celebrate the Tatabana festival.