Now that I have returned and had some time to reflect on my study abroad experience, I am ready to share those feelings with the world. Leaving Tokyo was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. The last day was absolutely terrible and I mean that in the best way possible. Saying goodbye to my roommate, Adam, of whom I had shared some great times with hard as well. We actually stayed up all night together, we played monopoly and just talked. It is one of my fondest memories of Japan. I remember when the sun began to creep up and the color of the sky blended into a beautiful mix of orange and purple. Adam and I stood outside on our balcony for about 2 hours basking in the beauty of the sun and the ultimate sadness that was hanging over us. Adam left shortly after the sun rose and I was all alone in my room. At that point I broke down. It was like all of the pent up emotion about leaving had broken through my walls and I could not help but cry because this was the last time I would be in Japan for the foreseeable future. Of course, I still had my other friends who had not left yet, but somehow when my roommate left the dream that was Tokyo was slowly fading away and all that was left was a broken heart. The rest of the time I spent saying goodbye to all my other friends, one by one they all began to leave. I had scheduled a late flight so most people were leaving before me. The hardest goodbye was my two friends Alex and Claudia. We had done almost everything together, to name a few, we went to Kyoto together, Mt. Fuji, the beaches in Enoshima and Kamakura. We had the best time. Staying up late and talking or watching movies, hanging out in Akihabara together, strolling through Ueno Park at night. One of my favorite memories is when decided to explore the city of Tokyo late at night and it was me, Adam, Claudia, and Alex. We searched far and wide for a rooftop to sit atop. We stayed out the whole night and it was really nice. Thanks to Alex and Claudia who are photographers in their own rights, I bought my own camera with which I could capture many memories with. You can check my study abroad gallery to find those. My journey to the airport was very tough and I will not elaborate further but by the time I got to my terminal, I was ready to leave Japan. However, looking back on it, I wish that I was still in Japan. I do not regret having only spent one semester in Japan, it was the best time of my life. If I regret something, it is that I could not spend more time with the amazing people that I met there. I know one day we will meet again, and wherever that place is, I know that it will have been worth every second that I spent with them in Japan.
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Once July began, it really started to hit me that this was the last month I would be in Japan. It felt like time was too short. There were so many things that I wanted to do, and I knew that I did not have the funds or the time to accomplish that. However, it was one of my favorites. For my project work class, me and my classmate made a Pokemon movie and we filmed it in locations that had sentimental value to us and with friends who we will always remember. It was one of the highlights for me while I was in Japan. I feel like working on this project with the friends that I had made in Japan was creating a memory that would last forever and I will always have the video and remember it. The last scene we filmed was one where we went to the Arakawa river in Kita Senju, Tokyo and we waited until the sun began to set. Then we pulled out the fireworks we had purchased and we filmed the final scene of the movie. It was one of my favorite days while in Japan and I spent it with some of my closest friends. There was also a point in time where we went to karaoke and we spent the whole night in Shibuya, that was fun. But then I also remember how it felt to attend the farewell ceremony and being really really sad about leaving Japan. I never thought it would impact me so hard, but having to leave Japan was one of the hardest things and it took a lot for me to build up the courage to do it. Moving on, there is one final highlight of my time in Japan and that was my trip to Mt. Fuji which was absolutely 1000% terrible. However, the one good thing that came out of that experience was the fact that we spent the night in one of the towns located at the bottom of Fuji and I went to an Onsen for the first time, which was amazing. My whole body had been in so much pain and then getting into the steaming water of the onsen was such a relief. I recommend that everyone visit an onsen, its a little uncomfortable since everyone in the room is naked, but I can assure you that it is only as awkward as you make it.
After Golden Week, I started to realize that I was overspending a lot, so I had to make a hard decision to limit the amount of money that I would spend for the remainder of my time in Japan. While that did not impact me very much, I could immediately tell the difference in how I was choosing to spend my time. One of my favorite pastimes in Japan was arcades in Akihabara and Ueno. I absolutely loved to go there at least once a week and I would spend a lot of money while I was there. I have the Pokemon plushes to prove it. People actually started calling me the wizard because of how good I was at winning, however it was still a lot of money that I spent on UFO machines. So, while I did not spend as much money, I found other ways that I could entertain myself and I hung out with my friends and spent time with them when not busy with schoolwork. Had a couple of late nights that turned into more late nights, but it was completely worth it in my opinion, although I did miss class a couple of times because I slept in...which I do not recommend to anyone studying abroad, most teachers will not be as lenient as mine. Another thing that I really found a passion for in Japan was basketball. Every week, sometimes 4 or 5 days a week, I would go to Yoyogi park, the location of the Olympics in Tokyo in 1964. There was something so special about being in a place that had remnants of a time of peace and togetherness in the world which at that point was still recovering from the Second World War. My love of basketball translated to the court and I made many Japanese friends through that.
Having gotten comfortable in Japan, I realized quickly that life goes by so fast. It feels like yesterday, but around this time it was May and I had made the best friends in the world. I spent so much money in the first month in Japan, but it was so worth it and I would never regret it. Golden week was the best, me and my friends took the shinkansen (bullet train) in Japan to Osaka where we stayed for 4 days. It was expensive, but visiting Kyoto has been a dream of mine since I began taking Japanese as a language and it was everything that I had dreamed of. Although, I got severely homesick for a day, the experience is one that I will never forget. I remember going to Dontonburi, the electric city in Osaka and one of the most popular places in Japan, and there were hundreds, if not thousands of people who were lined up in all the stores and street vendors available. This particular experience was also great because this year during golden week a new emperor was crowned in Japan and signified the end of the Heisei era and the beginning of the Reiwa era. It felt very similar to New Year's Eve for me, there were lots of people who were out partying and celebrating that night. Kyoto was beautiful, traveling to Kinkakuji and Fushimi Inari Taisha, two of the most popular shrines in all of Japan, was amazing. What makes me happy is that I did not just accomplish my dream of seeing Kyoto, I was able to do it with friends of whom I am glad I was able to meet.
It has been about 1 month since I left what I knew as home to study in a different country far away from my family and friends and everything that I could associate as familiar. It is surprising, to say the least, that I do not miss home as much as I thought I would. This realization causes me to think that I actually would stay longer than I had planned if it was possible. However, that is based on theoretical situations. In the time that I have spent in Japan, I cannot imagine that my whole life would be so impacted. I remember the day that I arrived in the plane, seeing the ocean for the first time in a different country and seeing the sky that sits above Tokyo and taking in everything that was before my eyes. I was overwhelmed with happiness and awe, not culture shock as they would say. I felt so comfortable being in Japan like I had been living their for years. The worst part about it was the jet lag. I spent two whole days sleeping in my room trying to recuperate from the 11 hour flight. Then, I had the opportunity to visit Ueno Park, which was about a 10 minute train ride from where I am living. It was amazing. Nothing could have prepared me for what it would be like to really experience my first taste of Japanese culture in the shape of a beautiful lake surrounded by cherry blossom trees and an amazing shrine. It was amazing and surreal. I visited so many places, I even traveled to Kyoto for 5 days to see some of the best shrines that Japan has to offer. Overall, my experience so far has been a 10 out of 10 and I would recommend for anyone that is interested in studying abroad to go to Toyo University because the city and the sights are all magnificent!
I was raised in Salinas all my life. For 19 years, I never left the comfort of my home state. I had no idea what it would be like to go somewhere that I had no familiarity with. Last year in June, I had the opportunity to visit Nashville and Gatlinburg Tennessee. It was outside of my comfort zone. I hated the idea of flying (I still do), but I decided to step out of my circle of knowing everything that was around me and be in a place that I knew nothing about. It quickly became one of the best experiences in my life. Now, I leave on Sunday to go to place that is not only unfamiliar, but far from anything I could consider familiar. A completely different country with a completely different way of life from my own. There are two questions that I get asked the most:
1. Are you Nervous? 2. Are you Excited? In that moment, I have never been able to honestly answer the question with a yes or a no. There is a hesitation within me to say that I am excited but also I do not feel nervous. I do not know how to describe the feeling, but whenever I think about leaving, I mostly think about how I will miss my family and the people that I have formed relationships with over the years. Even though I have social media and multiple ways to keep in contact with them, it is hard to leave knowing I will not see them for a period of time that leaves me slightly uncomfortable. Who knows if this feeling will ever fade, I imagine that even when I am in Japan and having a good time, that in the back of my mind and in the pit of my stomach, I will miss the people that I am close to here in this place, in my home country. I knew that the day would come when I would have to leave, so I have been preparing myself for this moment. I am ready for this new experience and everything that I will be feeling. I hope to come back with a new perspective on life and a broader lens of the world around me. See ya on the flipside! P.S. I will be studying abroad at Toyo University in Japan, I forgot to mention the name of the school I will be attending. Lol Yours Truly, Isaiah Owens Dear Someone,
There is too much that I could do in Japan. I want to see everyone and hear everything. I know that sounds confusing, but this will be my first time leaving my country of origin and I know that I will experience a vast amount of culture shock. However, I look forward to it and so much more. The most important thing for me to do in Japan is to see as much as I can. I want to visit every store, every city, and every landmark that I can. Specifically, I want to visit the Ginza district in Tokyo, which is a famous shopping center, not necessarily to buy stuff, but just to experience it (although I probably will buy something). I want to visit a cat cafe, Tokyo Disney, a Pokemon Center, Nintendo headquarters, and a Ramen shop. Next to going places and seeing things, food is the best part about visiting a foreign country. I am a very picky eater so I know that it will be hard for me to try new foods, but I look forward to the challenge as well. One of my goals is to try different food and find a favorite restaurant. For many people this may not be a priority, but for me it is. As for how I will accomplish these things, I plan to follow this list of questions: 1. Do I regret not doing anything, and what was it? 2. How can I be more outgoing? 3. Where do I want to go? 4. Did I find anything that was worthwhile? 5. What was the best part of my trip? 6. Was it everything that I thought it would be? Lastly, I may not have been to Japan yet, but I encourage you to take the chance and visit a country with an excellent taste in culture. Life is full of choices we need to make, I hope that visiting Japan will be one that you make. Dear Someone,
I am currently studying Japanese Language and Culture in America. I am preparing to study abroad in Japan for 1 semester and I cannot wait to let you know about this experience. |
AuthorI am 21 years old. I live in Salinas, California and I play multiple instruments, although guitar is my favorite. I am an avid gamer and my favorite is Pokemon. Blogs
September 2019
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