By Bobby Soileau, Ph.D.
LSU Ag Center

It’s the day after returning from our Ag Leadership international trip to Japan and Thailand and one word comes to mind – Grateful. 

By Karl Wiggers
Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation

I’m sitting on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner en route to New Orleans, by way of Tokyo and Houston. It’s a long trip home. The flight to Tokyo from Bangkok is around 6 or 7 hours. The next leg is twice as long. Add in a few hours for customs and layovers and yet, somehow, we’ll land around sunset on the same day. As I look back on this trip, and my entire time in the LSU Ag Leadership program, I believe it has never fit better than now.

By Neil Melançon
Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation

There are just some songs that I just don’t like. There are also songs that I used to like, but overplaying them made me sick of them. I’m not even sure from one day to the next what I’ll be in the mood to listen to, if at all—sometimes silence is indeed golden. After 14 days traveling with 30 people, this introvert is looking for some of that gold when he gets home.

By Kyle Fontenot
LSU Ag Leadership Class XVI

It is now 10:24 A.M. Bangkok time, January 30, 2020. I am on the plane flying to Tokyo which is out first leg of a 3 flight 25-hour travel time to home. Some may say that sounds miserable, terrible, or perhaps just slightly uncomfortable. Class XVI of the LSU Ag Leadership program is en route home. That signifies a couple of things. 1st , we have almost completed our international trip to Japan and Thailand. 2nd , and more importantly, we have completed our 2-year program and our class will graduate at the end of the month. That will be the last time we will all get together as a class. 

By Heath Herring
LSU Ag Leadership Class XVI

Thirty four years ago, I traveled to Japan to stay with a family for a month.  It was a national 4-H program coordinated with a similar organization in Japan. It placed us with willing families that had children our age. Multiple states met up in San Francisco and we flew from there to Tokyo to meet the people who would host us for the next month.  

By Trey Wiggers
LSU Ag Leadership Class XVI

Tonight we are at this hotel, tomorrow-a resort. These were the words our tour guide used to describe our accommodations in the Thai countryside in his somewhat broken English. I have had some classes in Spanish and have come to expect a bit of confusion when translating languages. Sometimes the bathroom is called a “happy room” which is likely a translation from a “relief room” of some sort.

By Neil Melançon and Avery Davidson
Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation

We know you’re seeing a lot about coronavirus in the news and we’re seeing that, too. We also know that you’re probably worried about us since we’re not far, relatively speaking, from the Wuhan Province in China, the area hardest hit by this new strain of coronavirus. 

By Adam Caughern
LSU Ag Leadership Class XVI

I decided to venture out on my own this morning. I didn’t want to leave Tokyo without being able to say I tried the Japanese Burger King. I made my way into the fast food chain, and ordered my meal.

By Avery Davidson
Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation

I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’ve been starting each blog with a quote. Until this one, I’ve only used quotes from the band Rush and that’s because I’m diving deep into the works of the late Neal Peart, who was the chief lyricist for the band. Toby Daspit, Ph.D. is the reason why I’m beginning each of these posts with a quote.

By Neil Melancon
Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation

I’m writing this on our last day in Japan, since we’re sitting on the tarmac for the next hour due to a rain delay.  It’s a productive use of my time to reflect on the trip, but I think between the other bloggers and pictures you can see on SmugMug, you’ve probably gotten a good idea what the class is up to.

Instead, I thought I’d write about my interest and connection to Japan, which began even before I was born.  Somewhat ironically, that connection and my ties to agriculture come from the same place: my paternal grandfather. 

By Avery Davidson,
Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation

I have to admit, this is one of the blog posts I’ve been eagerly awaiting the chance to write. Since I started preparing for this trip, Rush’s A Passage to Bangkok has been a steady, relentless earworm in my head. I’m sure I listened to it at least 50 times in the week leading to our departure for Japan.

First, let me speak about Japan. The people here are kind, warm, caring and extremely friendly. They are proud of their history, embrace the present and are poised for the future. Japan is, after all, the world’s 3rd largest economy. 

By Avery Davidson
Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation

A text message. Words sent by fingers, thumbs, electrons, radio waves, liquid crystal screens and light. One text message and we learned there was a near tragedy back home. And the means of avoiding that tragedy has ties back here to Japan. 

It started when LSU Ag Leadership Class XVI member Trey Wiggers scurried down the blue textured aisle of the 44 passenger bus we boarded only minutes before. The “it” is our learning of the near tragedy. 

By Karl Wiggers
Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation

“It just dawned on me that we’re walking through the streets of Tokyo right now, and I’m just a redneck from South Alabama.” 

That’s a simple statement of incredible realization. My roommate, Daniel Stephenson, pointed out the obvious last night as we were walking around trying to find a place for dinner. It was a small group of us -- Daniel and myself joined by Ashley Dupree, Trey Wiggers, and Randy Fair, an alumni of Class XIII.

By Avery Davidson
Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation

Obi Wan Kenobi told Luke Skywalker that Darth Vader betrayed and murdered Anakin Skywalker. Once Luke learned that Darth Vader was his father, he became upset with Obi Wan. The elder Jedi explained that once Anakin became Vader, the previous person ceased to exist and that his first explanation was accurate, “from a certain point of view.” 

By Neil Melancon
La. Farm Bureau Federation

I’m excited not only to be back in Japan, but blogging again for the LSU Ag Leadership’s International Trip.

This is my third time in Japan, having visited on my own in 2003, 2017 and now. I have a vested interest in the country, having done Japanese martial arts my entire adult life.  As such, I travelled out ahead of the group on some personal time and have been here 10 days. Bobby Soileau asked me earlier in the year to speak to the class to help them get ready for the trip.  

By Avery Davidson
La. Farm Bureau Federation

Those of you who know me well know that every word I see or hear makes me think of a song lyric. It’s sometimes a blessing, but it’s normally a curse… for everyone around me. I also tend to not keep what’s in my head in there for very long. So, I am compelled to share the sudden earworms that slither forth from the deep recesses of my warped and twisted psyche.

Another adventure is about to begin for our Ag Leadership program when we leave for Japan and Thailand this weekend. Our program hasn’t been to Asia since Class X traveled to China twelve years ago. 

This trip will be very different from a production and cultural perspective. Japan and Thailand are important for many reasons, and trade is at the top of the list. Japan is one of our biggest trade partners and Thailand is another trade partner that is a big producer of sugar, rice and seafood.