For the next four months I'll be studying abroad at Kansai Gaidai University in Hirakata-shi, Osaka, Japan. If you're thinking of studying abroad, especially in Japan, I will try and maintain an updated look at my life abroad through this blog so you can get a sense of what life might be like for you. I arrived in Japan January 28th, so I have only been here a week. Since arriving in Japan I have been to the main campus of Kansai Gaidai as well as taking a guided tour of Kyoto accompanied by current Japanese students. You might be wondering why I am here, no I am not a Japanese language student, in fact I have very little experience with Japanese and cannot hold a conversation or navigate the city on my own. If you want to study abroad but are afraid of the language barrier, don't worry, it'll most likely be okay. I'm also not an Asian Studies major, I'm here studying mass media and popular culture in Japan as part of my MAS major. Anyway that is enough of the boring details about myself. So far being abroad has been extremely exciting and an experience that you cannot expect to create staying in your comfort zone. I came here knowing little about the language, and no one to help me assimilate.

Eyes in the Sky: Indianapolis, like all most major cities, has cameras stationed around the city. These cameras can zoom two blocks down a street with great clarity. Every minute of footage is recorded and can be recalled when needed. These cameras are also monitored by former sworn officers who have been instrumental in stopping drug transactions, thefts, and violence. Additional temporary cameras have been installed for Super Bowl week. These cameras with: stationed uniformed officers, non-uniformed officers throughout the crowd, and stationed officers on rooftops all make up a small part of the efforts to keep the crowds in Indy safe this week.

Tip of the Iceberg Walking through Indianapolis, you can see uniformed police officers directing cars and pedestrians at every major intersection.  These officers account for roughly 10% of the security at this event. The other 90% you will never see. This is, of course, by design to keep fans thinking about enjoying themselves and spending money and not thinking about the major target this event is for groups of people trying to garner publicity for their message. Homegrown and international terrorist groups look for high profile public events they can disrupt to gain attention for their cause. They need not cause mass casualties to be effective; simply scaring the public is likely enough.

If Indy hosts the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400 with larger crowds every year, why is the Super Bowl a big deal? The fan base for Indy car racing is dominated by middle class working families with some amount of disposable income and time to travel to Indy, camp for a weekend, and purchase food and beverages to enjoy the race. While this may mirror the broad fan base for the NFL, access to the Super Bowl comes at a high price. Tickets start in the thousands and closer to the game and nearer the field, tickets can cost $10,000. This draws a different crowd than does Indy car racing. Super Bowl visitors are upper class with connections. They utilize the Super Bowl as an opportunity to make professional connections, facilitate business deals, and increase their social capital. These fans are accustomed to a certain level of service and traveling to a major event doesn’t change these expectations. I suspect this classism is the reason why the Super Bowl is designated a National Special Security Event with the 200,000 fans while the Indy car races with two to three times the visitors garners almost no federal intervention for safety and response.

The early part in the week in downtown Indy has been dominated by locals and families. Parents with strollers and folks wearing Colts gear are everywhere. The weather has been unseasonably warm making this already walkable city a dream combination for the temporary attractions and businesses downtown. As the week progresses more and more visitors, including celebrities like Katy Perry and Ryan Gosling, can be spotted downtown. By Friday and Saturday I suspect the crowds will shift from locals and families looking for photo ops and group corn-hole games to out-of-towners looking for high end shopping and dining and exclusive parties. 

I am sitting in the Emergency Operations Center in Indianapolis. I am surrounded by more screens than I can count with all the emergency response plans and real-time updates at the fingertips of the people at each screen. This is the place where all the appropriate agencies can respond to anything from a cluster of illness to a car accident to a major disaster. This is designed to be the command center of a city to direct resources to respond to needs. Every city of substantial size, including Lexington, has a similar room. This is where the response efforts are coordinated. Obviously, access to this area is restricted. The information available is restricted and the response efforts need to be protected from outside influences.