September 17, 2004
The final Day
I am writing this log in Hawaii. I returned to Hawaii yesterday to submit an internship report to JAIMS.
The final day in San Francisco was a concentrated day. I enjoyed San Francisco from dawn till night. I will remember the day.
In the Dawn
I started cycling before dawn. In the half way, the sun came up. The town was beautiful in the early sun light. After a while, I arrived at a hillside park. That was my destination. It had a forest. Big trees looked native. But they were actually planted. The history of San Francisco tells that any trees here were planted. When the first adventurer arrived at San Francisco, they only found a bald hill. The CEO once told this story. I respect those who planted trees. San Francisco is now one of the most beautiful cities in the US.
The last Day in my Workplace
Unfortunately, the CEO had a critical job today. But he could spare time at the end of the day. We promised to keep in touch. We may submit an article to Microsoft Developer’s Network to share a programming technique that we found.
The last Cycling
After work, I went a good-bye cycling. I went along the water. I went by Giants stadium, Bay Bridge, and Ferry Terminal. Then, I headed for a steep hill. On top of the hill was Coit Tower. I enjoyed the last view of the downtown and the bay. After that, I went down to Chinatown.
The last Language Session
I hurried to the Haynes Valley. The time of the last language session was coming.
In the last session, I asked many questions. I was curious to know his idea on cultural issues, including what I expressed in “Being Suspicious in Public”.
His explanations expanded my view. I wish I could share all with you. But the log would become too long. So, I will write on only one question. I asked him why quality of American service was so diversified. I told him some of my experiences. His reply was that it was because companies and people were diversified. For some companies, customer service can be ignorable. For some customers, such service does not count, either. American customers are accustomed to this situation. However, this does not mean that their expectations are low. Many American prefer better service. Thus, they have two measures for better service. First, they study competitive situation. Companies in hard competition could provide you better service than those owned by the government. “United Airline was more kind than Caltrain, wasn’t it?” he asked. Yes, definitely. Second, they are accustomed to negotiate with service people. They even enjoy the negotiation sometimes as a game to win the service.
It was over nine o’clock when I was back to my accommodation. My flight to Hawaii was scheduled in the next morning. I found that I have not even started my preparation to leave. But this is the other story.
So, this was my entire experience in the internship. Now, I like to show my appreciation to the CEO, my friends, the JAIMS people and many other people who were kind to me. I also appreciate your patience. Thank you for tolerating my Japanese-English. I hope to see you someday.