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American Life Style

Old Victorian house in MASSACHUSETTS
I got this picture from a freind living in Massachusetts in February.
It has a note: It says like this...

Now, I don't want to hear any complaints about the weather you are having! <GRIN>

BULLET MARKS on the great faces
They are crying, I think, when I saw it. 

POP 1 ELEV 4996
I passed throuth this sign board and returned to make sure what it says.
The population of this town, LOST SPRINGS, is 1 person in the town.
I want to write to the people living here.

Gator Tail
Have you ever eaten gator tails? Frog legs? 
Americans eat anything using the same recipe:Just fry it and eat it with French fries.

Pub in South Dakota
Inside this pub, we can see many shoes hanging on the ceiling.
I prefer brassieres.

Cowgirls Restroom in South Dakota
I found out a unique sign, Cowgirls Restroom in front of Lady's room.

Baggage Craim in Las Vegas Airport
This is where we have to get our own baggage in Las Vegas Airport.
Beside conveyor belts, we can see many slot machines.
I think Americans need patience.

Tornado Shelter in Denver International Airport
This is a shelter for tornade in Denver International Airport.
I was surprised to find this facility.

Baggage claim in Denver Airport
In Denver airport, I could find strange baggage claim. This is for golf bags or ski bags.  

Mystery Circles in the U.S.A  
We can see circles which are made of grasses. We can't realize its forms from the ground but from the sky we can find many circles on the land of U.S.A.  

A GRADER
In the outskirts of Big Horn National Park, there are just 140 people living in this town. All vihicles come and get gas. This is a construction machine, which used to smooth out dirt roads before asphalt is placed. When I was here, I heard a big siren. There was a mountain fire. That siren was for village people, who came to fire department and got on a fire engine to extinguish the fire. 
(A village near Big Horn National Park, Wyoming)  

State Trooper
These are Wyoming State Trooper, High Way Patrol. I hope I will not be caught by them.  
It alsoe known as "Smokey" like the movie "Smokey and the Bandit". Smokey comes from the Smokey the bear character used by the national parks to help prevent forest fires. State Troopers wear the same hat as Smokey the Bear, so they are called "Smokeies". 
(Cody, Wyoming )

License Number Plate 2
This New Mexico licence plate is the only one plate which has USA letters.  
The mark between 3 and M is a Native American's Sun.
 
Below this is the temporary licence plate which is made of paper.    

Graduation Ceremony 1
Q.Why did graduates wear the same clothes?
  It has always been the american tradition to wear a cap and gown for high school and college graduation. Students who have made the top 10% of their class, class officers, and student council members wear additional scarves around their necks to show their ranking in the class.
 
Q.Are there any special meanings?
  The graduates wear the school colors. The girls wear the lighter color and the boys wear the darker. 
 
Q.Is this just Pinkaton's tradition? 
  No, this is a tradition at all high schools. Kevin's school colors were blue and gold, mine were maroon and white. 

Graduation Ceremony 2
Q.How long has this ceremony lasted?
  This was Pinkerton Academy's 185 graduation. Pinkerton has always had the graduation ceremony on the lawn in front of the chapel. This is an American tradition and I don't know how long it has been going on. The actual ceremony lasted about 2 1/2 hours. Bryan's graduating class was 608 students. The ceremony itself can very in length depending on the school.
 
Q.Each student has to buy this clothes, doesn't he?
  No, the cap and gown are rented. The students can keep the cap and tassel with their graduation year on it and the gown is returned. The rental fee is paid for by the annual student dues which also pays for their year book.  

Graduation Ceremony 3
Q.Will you tell me all about the ceremony?
  Their are alot of speeches by students (valedictorian and president of the student council), and the headmaster of the school. The announce the students who have receive grants and scholarships for their continued education (Bryan's class received more than $3,000,000 in scholarships and their where alot that were not announced because the students received them after the deadline for turning them into the office). The each students name is announced and they receive their diploma. It is a big day for all the students.
 
Q.After graduation ceremony, what students will do?
  Well, the kids tend to party......we won't go into details. Bryan will be going to college in the fall. He will be attending Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, MA to major in mechanical engineering. We are VERY proud of him.

Middle School Graduation Ceremony
In June, it is the season of graduation. Young people are full of dreams. They look happy to think of their fruitful future as well as a long summer vacation. 

Gym in high school
This is a gymnasium. There is an electric scoreboard. One side of the gym, there is a board fence. Do you know what it is for? It is seats for spectators. When students have a game, they will slide the fence, pull it out, and use it as seats. 

Mail Box
This is the typical American mail box. They use it when they send a letter to someone as well as when they get a letter from someone. If they want to send a letter, they will put up a flag and put a letter in the box.. Mailmen will come and find the flag raising. He will get it and deliver it. This blue box is for newspaper.  

High School
This is a good school in Derry, New Hampshire. I learned a new phrase, "blackboard jungle". It means "school violence". Sometimes teacher can't control class and students in America as well as Japan. There wasn't any jungle in this high school, of course. On the contray, I found a beautiful student and I took a picture with her. I look like a kidnapper.

A Stary Cat
There was a notice on the pole saying "FOUND KITTEN Grey / Black & White Strip ". I hoped this poor kitty had returned safe and sound.
(Derry, NH)   

Graffiti on the top floor of Empire State Building 
We can see a wide variety of graffiti on the handrail, most of them are English, some of them are Spanish, others Japanese, Chinese. Many men, many minds, indeed, but they do the same bad thing.   

Fridge  (Refrigerator)
Americans use a surface of their fridge as a bulletin board. It is full of family pictures and information. I have once found a school card of my homestay's daughter. Soon I knew how smart she was.   

KARATE
Even in a small town, there is at least one KARATE gym. This gym's name is TOKYO JOES. One of my friend, Victor Smith is a "SENSEI", a master of KARATE. His faction comes from OKINAWA in Japan. He showed me some basic patterns with two sickles. After his performance, I strightened myself and behaved myself.   
(Derry, NH)

ELVIS PRESLEY
August 16th falls on American popular rock' roller, Elvis Presley's deathday. In order to express their condolence they were flying at half-mast. I realized how Elvis is loved. He has lived in the bottom of their heart still and forever. 

License Number Plate 1
In America, people choose a license number using some alphabets and numbers.  
This Pick-up truck has "TOYZRA".  
A back picture you can see has MRFOTO, which belongs to a photographer.
I will give you a question.
Can you read this number plate?

"THK4GOD"

My friend, Mr.GAO ran into this.  
Its meaning is "Thank you for God!".   
What a cool license plate!  
(Salm, NH)

The Sophomore Semi-Formal Party at school
The party is called the Sophomore Semi-Formal (Dance and snacks) 7:00 till 10:00 at the School. The girls get dressed in nice long dresses and the boys wear very nice suits. It costs about $20.00 US Dollars. They have a very good time.

Next year is the Junior Prom. Very Formal Tuxedos and full length gowns. Again this is held at the school but they have a full course dinner and then dancing to a live band. They normally hold this in the Gym all decorated. A very big event.

Senior year is the Senior Banquet. Not very formal but nice.
(Derry, NH)

American School Bus
As you know, this is a typical school bus in USA. 
Can you see the stop sign at the right side of the bus? 
Can you see the bar in front of the bus? 
This is a safety bar which prevents students from crossing right in front of the bus. 
At every stop, the driver switches it on and pumps it up. 
I feel this bus has a sweet heart.
(Derry, NH)

SAT-Scholarship Aptitude Test
I happened to meet him on the whale watching boat.
He came with his family.
Can you see the book whose title is "SAT"?
SAT is a kind of tests to enter university or college.
Which school he can choose depends on what his score will be on this test. 
He had studied SAT textbook on board.
Now he tried to memorize something important, I guess.
(Hampton, NH)

LAS VEGAS NEON SIGN
This is one of the hotel's neon signs in Las Vegas. 
I took this picture on 30 March 2002.
Can you see the American flag with GOD BLESS AMERICA?
At the entrance of the casino, my wife said to me, " God Bless you."
But I lost half of my money.
(Las Vegas, NV)

World Trade Center Twin Buildings in 2001, August
This photo was taken from Empire State Building.
This scenary is a symbol of 20 century.
When I took this picture, I was excited.
That is because, long time ago, 
King Kong climbed up this same building.
Maybe he saw the same scenary, I imagined.
But, this was my first but last picture of Wrold Trade Center Buildings.
From bottom of my heart,
I want to say,
"God bless America!"
(New York, NY)