Sylvia's Journal

Being at the airport again, in less than a week, makes Japan a bit of an ‘in-and-out’ place. Axel’s good luck did not produce an upgrade but that might have required a grade of luck higher than available. We did get two adjacent economy comfort seats, so we are feeling a little bit lucky, and we get to use the lounge.

The second day of the workshop we were riding a wave of great enthusiasm that lasted into the evening. The students invited us to eat in a Chinese restaurant that is famous for its Peking Duck.

The atmosphere was festive and full of energy. Pitcher after pitcher of local beer was ordered to wash away the various little dishes of Chinese delicacies. The chef himself came out with two whole gleaming roasted ducks, to great applause, before carving them up into tiny slices to put in the thin rice paper wrappers.

I am already being contacted through LinkedIn and facebook by my newfound student friends. They wanted to know how I got to where I am now – how a psychologist could be working in public health – question after question rained on me. “Look for mentors, role models,” I suggested, and then they picked me as their mentor. “Ask people who do this work what books to read,” I said and then they wanted my email so they could ask. “Visit the departments of management and psychology and find out whether there are courses on organizational behavior.” They wrote down the suggestions in their notebooks and in their phones. I have a feeling I am going to be doing some mentoring in the near future.

We said our goodbyes and extended our good wishes to everyone’s future. A similar course is being planned next year – I hope I can do it again. It is quite nice to have students who come for the learning rather than the extra money that a training workshop entails in the developing world.

This morning Axel took me for a short walk near the hotel to one of the art places. There are many buildings with names that include ‘Art,’ ‘Tokyo,’ ‘National,’ ‘Center,’ and ‘Museum,’ so I can’t quite remember the name of this one. It is an enormous display of architectural daredevilry and art, even without the exhibits, with its chrome, glass and wood, its four story atrium, its cone-shaped bases for restaurants at level 2 and 3 and its wide veranda along the galleries. Despite its size it had an intimate feel and they served good coffee, including a little barista heart drawn in the milky foam.