Money Well Spent
Summer is progressing nicely…and so is the heat. I was appreciative of the early morning and late evening rain showers over the past few weeks but since summer rolled in last Friday hadn’t seen much of them. Except for heavy rain, lightning, and thunderstorm I drove through briefly Sunday on our way back from Nashville. My rainstorm driving skills haven’t been tested like that since a trip to Orlando three years ago. And it’s amazing how thirty minutes of hazardous driving can feel like three hours.
Anyway, I will revisit Nashville later and how my two Brown STEM Chicks (Robyn & her science bestie Liz) made me so proud with their Top 5 Georgia Medical Innovation project during last week’s HOSA international competition.
Six days after the school year ended, Robyn embarked on her long awaited nine day STEM Robotics, Engineering, and Cities for the Future in Japan tour. She had been so excited for this trip since I enrolled her last August. Though it was organized by the engineering department and featured a large portion of technology exhibits, science was also a big part of it. As a biotech student, where science meets technology, Robyn was all in. Of the 17 students traveling, all except for Robyn and one other, were engineering students. The other was her elementary school mate who was traveling with her mom, an engineering teacher—Jacob’s former engineering teacher who led his TSA middle school robotics team to a nationals victory.
It was Robyn’s first international trip and she was probably more interested in just seeing how the Japanese culture functioned more than anything. But she got so much more! At first, I cringed at the overall price of the tour but it came with a lot of assurances for me. She was with a school group of people she all knew, there was a dedicated Japanese tour guide with them at all times, and I knew all of the adult chaperones.
Her engineering bestie, not to be confused with her science bestie, was going and so was her mother. Her mother Patricia and I became fast friends a decade ago when we were at all the same events repeatedly because we had two kids that were in the same grade and same schools. Even now, our youngest are transitioning to the same high school into flip flop pathways as their older siblings. Patricia is a no nonsense parent and that put me at ease for those nine days.
Anywho, the first challenge for Robyn was packing. It was advised to carry on one suitcase, a duffle, and a back pack. She was mortified as there was a plan for day and night outfits for most days. And don’t get me started on the shoes. My little dainty girl has blossomed into quite the fashionista, I wonder where she got that from?
We eventually worked it out and widdled it down but she was quite upset when she got to the airport on the day of departure to see several with carry on and checked bags. I reminded her it was better to have “all” of her belongings rather than “some” of her belongings as luggage does get lost. Patricia had a huge check in, a small carry on, tote bag, backpack and a bag of snacks. I asked her did she have enough, and she replied “I won’t be missing anything.”
They headed out on a Thursday morning for their 14 hour plane ride which would put them in Tokyo, where they would be based, at around noon the next day as their time zone is 13 hours ahead of us. I told her to call or text when she landed or on the plane, if possible. I received plenty of cloud and wing pictures, as she had a window seat. She texted about 2 a.m. to tell me that they had landed and were checked into their hotel. I got no rest that night for family and friends calling to see if she had arrived. It made no matter because I wouldn’t have slept anyway.
The advisor was on point, too. He had set up a WhatsApp chat to dispense information like arrivals and departures for different cities and events. He did a good job the first few days, then fell off for two days, but recovered nicely though.
All was going well with my dear Robyn. Her first few photos were of food. She eats very clean, always has from a young age. Her first breakfast had quiche, potatoes, fruit cocktail and noodles (of course) but what she raved about was the apple juice—it’s clarity and taste. Her picture looked like grapefruit juice to me. She said it tasted amazing, like fresh squeezed with no additives. She got addicted to their jelly candies while there bringing back a whole bag to share. Matcha was her favorite but she knew I would like the fruity flavors.
Their visit to Disney Sea on Day 4 brought out my ire. I sent her with her debit card, one credit card, American cash, and some yen. Tips and most meals