Where does all the waste go?

Today, I woke up at 6 am. Ever since we arrived to Japan, I have woken up at the same time every single day. I find it to be annoying because I never wake up this early even when I’m getting ready for school. Anyway, today we ate breakfast and caught a bus and train to go to the Lake Biwa Environmental Research Institute. When we walked into the lobby area, we were asked to take off our shoes, put on slippers, and enter a lecture room. It amazes me of how clean Japanese people are. The material that was handed to us by the researchers was all written in Japanese. Not a lick of English. Therefore, Professor Webster had to stand in front of the room with the lecturer and translate everything for us. I was really impressed with her because I know it is not easy to translate between languages. After the lecture was over, we had a tour of the institute. They showed us some of the research they were working on and explained some of their procedures. One of the things that I found interesting was that in Lake Biwa, there is a species of plankton that is only found in that lake. I was super excited, and took pictures so I could look more into that research later. Overall, they showed how they measured water quality and if it met the standards needed to be safe.  After that, we then exited the research institute and walked down to the beach of Lake Biwa. We gathered a bottle of water so we could use for an experiment with our collaboration with graduate students on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Lake Biwa Environmental Research Institute entrance

Lab tour

Lab tour

We ate lunch at a nearby restaurant and I had beef with rice. This was actually the first meal that I was not quite fond of. Afterwards, we went to our next destination which was the Shiga Wastewater Treatment Center. Just like at Lake Biwa Environmental Research Institute, we had to remove our shoes in the lobby and put on some slippers. When we entered the room for the lecture, we were again given a packet, but all of it was in Japanese. Professor Webster had to translate everything for us again. With this situation, I found it so intriguing. For the first time since we’ve came to Japan, I saw the cross-cultural exchange between two languages that were nowhere similar. It finally hit me that I was doing research for a different country and I was seeing first-hand what it meant to understand science and do research in a different country. After the lecture, we were given a tour here as well. They showed the process of water treatment and where smudge cake goes if it is no longer useful. It was cool to actually see everything in play. Based on my notes, there are three different locations for Lake Biwa: Northern Basin, Southern Basin, and the Seta River. The lecturer wrote on the board that with sludge cake, 25% is solid and 75% is water. From the 25% solid, 80% of that is organic matter and 20% is inorganic matter. The 80% that is organic matter is carbonized and turned into coal. 

Where coal is stored when not used

Machinery in Shiga Wastewater Treatment

After tour, we went to a 7/11 store across the street to buy water. I decided to buy a doughnut and as I was handing the lady the money, I realized another cultural aspect from the Japanese people. Every time I hand someone money or any type of item of some sort, they hold hands together, receive the item, bow and turn away. I liked this because in the process of exchanging items, their body language tells me I have their full attention whereas in America, we just reach with our hand as if we are in a rush and don’t care for anyone else. After this encounter, we went back to BKC and got ready for our Welcome Party with the Environmental Systems Engineering Department students and professors. It was a nice little get-together where I was able to meet some Japanese students who were very nice and respectful. The party lasted for about an hour and we mostly ate little rice balls, a type of noodles, and chicken. I honestly don’t remember half of the things that were given to us to eat, but I sure did enjoy it! As soon as the party ended, I went back to our room and fell asleep for the night.