Studying abroad this past year has been one of the best experiences of my life. Arriving in Japan last September, I was both excited and sort of nervous about being in the country, and I was pretty uncertain of how I would adapt to the country, its people, and the language. After being in this country for a year, I can confidently say that I have definitely changed and grown as a person, and the changes that I have gone through will stay with me forever.
One of the most challenging aspects of studying abroad this past year, I would say, is the language barrier. Especially since before coming to Japan, I had studied zero Japanese, so using it in a daily and academic setting without knowing anything was extremely difficult for me at first. But as time went on, I got better at communicating, and now, towards my final days in this country, I can now hold conversations in Japanese, and I am very proud of that fact.
While in Japan, what surprised me the most was how quickly I felt at home here in Japan, going out shopping, hanging out with friends during my free time, they became very familiar to me and became a comfort while abroad. And on the topic of friends, while abroad, I have made lifelong friends and relationships that I will not forget and will cherish when I go back home.
One moment that I won’t forget is when I went to Yamanashi prefecture with my friends to go to FujiQ Highland, the amusement park, and at the place we were staying in we had a barbecue and did a fire pit, one of the best trips I had while in Japan.
Academically, my courses at Keio were greatly different from my courses at UC Merced. At UC Merced, my courses are about 50 minutes long, but at Keio, they are 1 hour and 30 minutes long. The biggest difference, though, was the content and the way the professors went about teaching the courses in Keio. I had more group work while at Keio than when I’m at UC Merced, so I’ve become more able to efficiently work with others and get things done quicker, and because I had to work in groups so often, I met many new people from different countries and also got to know about their cultures.
This year abroad has really opened up my eyes to the world and has taught me a lot about myself. I discovered that I am more independent than I realized, capable of handling most of the challenges I faced throughout the year, and I learned to embrace them as a part of my growth, and they will now serve as lessons that I will take throughout my life.
Living abroad has allowed me to see my home country from a new perspective. And I can say I am proud to come from where I come from, but I now better appreciate the cultural differences that shape countries and their people. This experience abroad has strengthened my desire to learn about new cultures and languages.
I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who can to study abroad for a year. A single semester is a nice experience, but I believe that a year is life-changing because you truly get to immerse yourself with the people around you in the country and build lifelong connections. This year has changed me in so many ways that I didn’t expect, and so I am deeply grateful to the Chris Borton Memorial Scholarship Foundation for making it possible.
Thank you for supporting students like me and allowing us to experience the world.