Dream Becomes Reality in Japan

It has been a dream of mine since I was a young child to be able to study abroad in Japan

But it wasn’t until I got to WSU that my dream actually had a chance of becoming a reality.

After extensive research, I decided upon the WSU exchange program with Kansai Gaidai University in the city of Osaka. This program was an affordable option for me considering WSU’s Exchange programs allow you to pay WSU tuition.

After a long flight and much anticipation I finally found myself in Japan and I couldn’t have been more excited.  Despite my lack of sleep, I spent the next few hours in awe of absolutely everything I saw! It wasn’t just the moon, it was the Japanese moon. It wasn’t just a bus, it was a Japanese bus.  And it wasn’t just a customs agent fingerprinting me; it was a Japanese customs agent fingerprinting me! It was all becoming real. No doubt those individuals unlucky enough to sit next to me on the two hour bus ride from the airport to the school were sick of my wonder in a few minutes; if their tired and annoyed expressions were anything to go by…but I couldn’t be bothered with that. I was finally in Japan!

My first week was spent in a variety of orientation meetings and campus tours (after I eventually found the campus which was a 20 minute walk from the dorm I was temporarily staying in), placement tests, and class registration. As with many travel experiences, not everything will go as planned; I was unlucky enough to get a later registration slot and therefore unable to get the majority of my pre-agreed classes. However, my advisor was very helpful and my Japanese History, Globalization and Popular Culture, and Media classes were all able to count as upper division classes for my minor in Asia Studies.

On the last day of orientation I got to meet the people that I would be spending the next four months with, The Shimizu family. All the concerns I had imagined over the past month prior to leaving for Japan hit me full force the second I set foot into the classroom reserved for home stay students and their host family’s first meeting. I was so nervous about committing some huge social faux pas or upsetting my host family, that I spent most of the hour-long meeting of rules and regulations as a complete mute! I was sure I had made my host family even more nervous that I couldn’t speak a word of Japanese.

When we finally reached the house in a fairly rural area, I was in for another surprise. Inside the house, waiting to see the new foreigner that my host mother, Okaasan, and my host sister, Misa, were bringing home was my host father, Otousan, my older host sister, Maki, her husband, Take, and their four-month-old son Kanta.  The small and overly cluttered living room had a person in every chair except for a Victorian style green and yellow armchair set somewhat in the middle of the room. It went unsaid that I was to sit there and answer any questions they may have for me. I shocked them all with the information that, yes, I knew who Ichiro was; no, I didn’t own a gun; and of course I could use chopsticks.

As much as I loved spending time with my host family, I also really enjoyed being able to just hop on a train and after a short twenty minute ride, arrive at a famous historical or cultural spot. Every chance I got I grabbed a friend or two and hopped on a train – sometimes even on the midnight buses to get to some of the more distant cities. One of my favorite trips was actually a class field trip.  I went with my Japanese history class to Mt. Hiei, a culturally and historically important site. We hiked up the mountain along an ancient imperial messenger’s trail. It was a tough trail to climb but totally worth it…at the top were some of the most breathtaking views I experienced while in Japan. Not only were the views amazing, but they were historically significant. My teacher told us stories, and re-enacted some the famous battles at the actual battle sites. We visited temples and talked to the monks living in them about the people who built the temples, the artwork, and the history deeply engrained in every inch of the extremely remote shrines.

There are so many stories and wonderful memories I have from my experience in Japan, and it still was not enough time for me. I would love to return to Japan – and I do plan to return one day. I hope that everyone gets the chance to have an experience like mine…to visit a country so different from their own that it forces them to see the world in a new light. Studying abroad has changed my life, and I encourage everyone to get out there and experience the world!

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Lauren McLaughlin is a senior pursuing a major in Communications and a minor in Asian Studies. Contact Lauren, an Education Abroad Ambassador, for more information about her experience.