I have always loved literature, writing, and languages in general. I have wanted to become bilingual since I was a little kid. My family hosted foreign exchange students from Holland, Japan, China, and Korea throughout my childhood, and they taught me a few little phrases from each language that I proudly used whenever possible. I grew up eating Japanese curry over sticky rice and Korean kimchi. Bulgogi and tonkotsu are still two of my absolute favorite foods.
Throughout middle and high school I tried learning Spanish, Dutch, Greek, and French. However, I always hit a wall as I had no native speakers to practice with. I thought that bilingualism was a dream I would never be able to achieve without moving to another country.
However, when I started college, I was told that I needed to take at least two quarters of a foreign language. My options were ASL and」apanese. I thought that ASL might be more useful, but I ended up choosing Japanese on a whim because one of my friends enjoyed anime.
From that first quarter, I fell in love with the language. Previously, I tried to learn languages that were similar to English, thinking they'd be easier. Now, I believe that might have been part of the reason I got bored of them.
Japanese is so incredibly different from English, from the sentence structure to the use of particles to the various conjugations. Even after studying it for over a year, I feel like I know almost nothing. While at first this lack of knowledge and experience seemed impossibly daunting, now I see it as a challenge. I know that I have so much left to learn before I am even close to fluent, and that's not even considering my accent.
While my Japanese classes here at EWU have been wonderful, there is only so much you can learn from a book. I know that in order to take the next step in my language learning, I need to immerse myself in the culture. So, in addition to trying new things and meeting new friends, I hope that studying abroad in Japan will help me on my journey to become fluent in my second language.

3 years ago I never would have thought that I’d be studying in Japan. My family hosted Japanese exchange students when I was a child, but I knew next to nothing about the language or culture. When I started my first Japanese language class in college it was just to fulfill a required credit. However, almost exactly 2 years later I boarded a plane to start my 11 months of living and studying at Mukogawa Women’s University in Hyogo prefecture. For the first few days it felt surreal. While moving into the dormitory, touring campus, and meeting my language partners I still felt as if I would be returning to America at any moment to resume my regular life.

I met my teachers and fellow international classmates, and as soon as classes began it was a whirlwind of learning, studying, stumbling through conversations in Japanese with friendly students, going out for yakiniku, learning about Japan’s history, going to danjiri matsuri, visiting shrines, exploring castles, and going to bed exhausted every night. The first few months of adjusting to this new life were as difficult as they were fun. Acclimating to the food and culture was a much bigger challenge than I thought it would be. When I was in the library studying, I worried that I was missing out on new experiences. However, I also worried that I was neglecting my learning by traveling on the weekends. I caught influenza and had to miss classes for a week. I felt as though I was falling behind my peers.

As I got adjusted to this new life, I slowly figured out how to balance school and travel, while still making time for my friends and family back home. I learned how to cook for myself, plan group outings, Facetime my parents every week, and still stay caught up in class.

This is not only my first time living abroad; it is my first time living outside of the small city I was raised in. Japan is the first place I have ever lived alone. My first few months of true adulthood have consisted of learning how to make udon, traveling to Tokyo alone, and having my first drink at an izakaya. Living in Japan, I have learned more than just the language. I’ve gained a new love of Japanese cooking, especially onigiri, udon, and oden. By visiting castles such as Osaka-jō, Matsuyama-jō, and Himeji-jō, I have developed an interest in Japanese history, especially the Edo period. I have only been here for 5 months and I am lucky enough to have approximately 6 months left. I look forward to all the new things I will be able to discover in this time.

In summary, I know that when I look back on my time here, I will not only remember the friends I made, the food I ate, and the places I went. I will undoubtedly remember how Japan shaped me as a young adult, and how I will carry what I have learned here into the future.