IATSS Forum

My name is Vo Quang Toan from Vietnam (you can call me Tea). Up to now, I’ve still remembered the happy and fruitful moment when the secretariat announcing the name of two lucky guys, including me, who will be the participants in the next 49th IATSS Forum in Japan. To summarize myself, I am a travel personality who have been backpacking most parts of my country, Vietnam, from the mountainous to the crouded downtowns, from North to South but rarely gone abroad. Truly, I have never been in a foreign country for such a long time and this opportunity can be a great experience in my life. I sometimes imagine about the days when all 10 ASEAN and Japanese friends live and learn together, sharing our traditions, views and ambitions with each other, discovering ourselves through a well-design interactive programs. Moreover, in my opinion, Japan is a special nation which has a rich culture and its post-war economic growth miracle was a historical phenomenon that I have admired since a student. Thus, I am eager to study your lessons in development and be an enthusiastic active member of the 49th IATSS forum. Finally, I wish you health and hope that we will have a practical and successful time this year. See you soon!

Hello 50th batch I am wondering what I can speak to you about my 55 remarkably marvelous days in Japan last year. However, this is for sure: You are one of the luckiest people in the world to be participating in the forum, in such a beautiful country as the land of the rising sun. I still remember the first day we came to Suzuka. It was grey and interrupted by drizzling rains for hours. Suddenly, the sky did brighten so that I could contemplate the beauty of the campus and surrounding flora which were twinkling by the drops under slanting sunlight. I started loving Suzuka from that time. Then we traveled Toba, Kyoto, Nara, Tokyo and many other cities. Each of them brought me from one surprise to another, gradually and leisurely. I was sunk in the amazingly blue sea of Toba. I was drowned in the mystery and ancient surroundings of the temples, shrines and castles in Kyoto and Nara, the last two old capitals of Japan. And Tokyo, yes, my childhood’s dream city, exposed to my eyes, step by step. Tokyo Sky Tree, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Imperial Palace, red leaves, Mt. Fuji etc, they were so amazing. I totally got lost in the colorful crowds that kept moving all the time in Shinjuku, Akihabara, Asakusa or Odaiba. Oh, a light Starbucks coffee in busy Shibuya crossing could not wake me up. I was hypnotized by Japan.