There are four reasons why I want to study abroad.
Firstly, the fact that I’ve liked western music since I was a kid is one of the reasons why I have aimed to study abroad for a long time. At first, I was not interested in the meaning of the lyrics but as time goes on, I gradually become interested in it. Translating English lyrics into Japanese through website, I was surprised by the expressions that we usually don’t use in Japanese. Since then, I have wondered how I would feel if I can understand the meaning of lyrics without help of translation. And through these experiences, I started to be interested in overseas. This was the initial motivation for me to have interests in studying abroad.
Secondly, I would like to study abroad to learn what I can’t learn in Japan. “Studying business and management in foreign languages” is the biggest purpose of studying abroad program in school of business administration at Kobe University. I was impressed with this statement when I heard it for the first time. Since then, I have wanted to study abroad not only for improving my language skills, but also enhancing communication skills and understanding foreign cultures. In addition to that, especially in the field of business administration, there are some specific things that I can’t learn in Japan. So I’m going to study abroad to learn such specialties and apply it to the future. And I believe that these things will be of great help to my future.
Thirdly, I would like to develop both personally and mentally. Being a tutor of some exchange students from overseas, I found their culture and values are really different from ours and it was genuinely impressive to me. I think there are a lot of things I can learn from them. These are priceless insights that I can’t get without those interactions. I’m sure that if I study abroad, I can get more precious experiences. However, I also know that studying abroad can be a difficult time at the beginning. The environment surrounding me would be totally different from what it is in Japan and to live in such an environment is challenging. But at the end of the day, these experiences, especially hard ones, will make me grow a lot as a person.
Finally, I want to realize my goal. My goal is to get engaged into international business and the experience of studying abroad will help me a lot to achieve it. Studying abroad is a great opportunity to get in touch with various nationalities. And it will also extend my network all over the world. I want to make a lot of friends and learn a lot from them through the interactions. I’m sure these are the necessary elements that I need to improve both my communication and understanding skill. During the exchange program, I want to build a foundation for my dream.
It has been almost four months since I started studying abroad in Germany. I have had a lot of experiences, both fun and difficult ones. However, on the whole, I think I am spending quality time.
I usually take master-level courses in English. The content is more advanced than the bachelor- level courses that I took at my home university in Japan. Actually, I often find it difficult because there are many high level students around me. However, it is very stimulating to be able to experience things that are not possible in Japan, such as going on company tours in a class, having an opportunity to hear actual business managers speak on a stage, and conducting the class through group discussions. Many of the students are from Europe and they have different nationalities, ages, backgrounds, and native languages. It is very refreshing and interesting to discuss a certain topic in English with those students. The first semester examination period is coming soon, but there is an atmosphere among students to help each other out and work hard together. I am a bit anxious about my first examination, but I will prepare well for it.
I often travel on holidays. Because of Schengen Agreement, I can travel not only within Germany but also to other European countries freely. It is interesting just to walk around the streets of Europe, where many historical towns and buildings still remain. I always meet new people on my travels. I had experiences of making friends with people who happened to sit next to me at the train stations or restaurants. I think these are experiences that are difficult to have in Japan. In Europe, people are more open-minded than in Japan and it is a really interesting experience to get to know a variety of people and learn their ways of thinking and values. During my travels, I sometimes have unreasonable experiences that I would never have had in Japan, but I try to think of them positively as a good experience.
By living in Germany and spending my days with people from various backgrounds, I feel that my view of life has been changing. Recently I have wanted to live life in the way I want more freely and greedily. My friends in Germany have variety of dreams, and I feel excited just listening to them. They are honest about what they want to do, think about what they need to do to achieve it, and take action. I am currently in the process of job hunting, so I want to use the inspiration I gained here for my own career choices.
I am not still used to living abroad, but with the support of my friends in Germany, I think I am managing to do well. I feel that I have been trained mentally as well as in language skills and knowledge of business administration during these 4 months. I would like to spend the rest of my time without any regrets.
I was able to achieve most of the purposes of this study abroad that I had set before departure. I could learn more about a particular field because many of the classes in Germany provided deeper knowledge. And I think I could update my values by interacting with diverse students from diverse backgrounds. In addition to that, the thing I felt most strongly was that "people can understand each other".
During this study abroad, I have interacted with a lot of people. Among them, I have made friends that I would like to stay in touch with for my entire life. Although most of my daily conversations with them are in English, neither they nor I are native English speakers. It is difficult to convey 100% correctly what I want to say, and sometimes it takes time to understand what my friends want to say. Nevertheless, it is possible to build a relationship of trust with someone whom you would like to stay in touch with for your entire life.
What is important for this is "to believe that we can understand each other". If we share our differences, enjoy them, and talk about them a lot, it does not matter if our nationality or the environment that we are in is different. I have learned that if we do not give up trying to understand each other, even if there are differences in appearance, environment that we are in, language, or customs, we can overcome them and build a relationship of trust.
In addition, I could reconfirm the beauty of Japan through my study abroad. Just as Germany and all the other countries I visited during my study abroad were wonderful places, Japan is an extremely attractive country. Looking at Japan from the outside, I could see things that I could not see when I lived in Japan. I was reminded that Japan is truly blessed with the systems, climate, food, and other aspects of the country.
Among other things, the character of Japanese people is unique and interesting. The tendency to be passive and overly respectful of others is sometimes criticized, but it is one of the beauties of Japan. Of course, there are many challenges, but now I can be proud of being Japanese.
After returning to Japan, I will continue learning English and German and actively meet with international students. Although my study in Germany will be over, there is no end to my learning through my study abroad experience. Through these experiences, I would like to become a person who is needed by society. I believe the various experiences I gained during my study abroad will support me in this process. In the end, I would like to thank all the people who supported me to study abroad. Thank you.
