Hyogo University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific

2017『Dispatched』

  • Name:S.O [ 日本 ]

  • Acceptance period:Oct. 16, 2017 ~ Jun. 23, 2018
  • Acceptance university:マードック大学
  • University enrolled:甲南大学


Opportunity of the studying abroad, purpose

I'm going to study at Murdoch University in Australia. I have two reasons to study abroad.
First, this is because I would like to exploit future careers. When I was a junior high school student, I had chance to talk with business man in training company, then I had interest in working for training company. I thought English is very important in order to achieve my goal. Therefore, I decided to study abroad. I would like to improve my English skills through studying abroad, then I want to take the first step .
Second , this is because I would like to improve myself. My character is shy and I could not act positively. I want to overcome this character. I try to talk with cross cultural people. Also I would like to understand different cultures and to develop practical knowledge. I think that these lead to improve myself. I'm going to play field hockey in Australia. There are a lot of good players because Australia is center of field hockey. I would like to improve myself by putting myself in severe environment.

Experience while studying abroad

Currently, I am studying at Murdoch University in Australia. Although I struggled to understand English spoken by native speakers at the start of studying abroad, I realized that I am getting better day by day at understanding the content of classes in English. I strive to study more than ever before because I would like to improve my English skills. Moreover I have become greatly interested in new subjects such as the history and culture of western countries, through my interactions with various foreign students. In university, I am taking an ideas and identity (where I learn about the relationships between individuals and society from views of sociology and philosophy), Indonesian language, and the foundation of business management. Especially, because an idea and identities is a subject with a small class and my English abilities and knowledge are tested. Therefore I always prepare for the class for 7 hours in order to participate in more discussions.

I decided to join the local field hockey team because I would like to network not only at university but also in other places. I belong to one of the best team in Western Australia which has produced many national team players. I am so happy to play field hockey in such a nice environment. My goal is to play my position, Defender, in a real game. To be honest, it is difficult to compete with other players in physical strength. The coach has instructed to enhance judgment of a pass because it is an essential skill to be able to play on the starting lineup. I always communicate with my teammates in practice, which in turn, develops my ability to use English in intense situations, helping me became increasingly fluent. Someday, I would like to get in the top team. I would like to interact with foreign students as much as possible and understand so many cultures in order to become successful in dealing with foreign relations in a trading company.

Results of study abroad, future goals

I had studied at Murdoch University in Australia for 8 months. Through this studying abroad, I was able to have many experiences which I could never do in Japan. I had never talked with African and Indonesian people. When I look back on this studying abroad, I realize that I interacted with people from all over the world and I learned about various cultures. I decided to study abroad because I would like to take classes with local students. Every class was really eye-opening because I learned about many new things, so I listened keenly not only content but also positive questions from students. To be honest, I almost gave up because discussion in class were hard to follow and numerous amount of homework. However, I am sure that I will use take this experience when I face difficulties later in life.
I decided to join the local field hockey team because I wanted to network in places outside of university. I was able to watch the national team play every week. Speed and technique in Australia are extremely different from those thought in Japan. These differences act as an encouragement to me as it made me want to become a skilled player. Moreover, my teammates are really kind and I could understand the national character of Australia clearly.
During the study break, I joined “Northwest trip” which travel across Western Australia with other exchange students. This trip was the hardest trip in my life and changed my life. Participants were Wester Europeans and American except me. There were already social groups, so it was hard to integrate myself in these groups in the beginning. Through this trip, I realized that social skills are more important things than English skills. I frequently cleaned the table and I helped the people who were in trouble as well as greeting everyone with a smile anytime. Moreover, participation is very important. For example, even when I could not join a conversation because my English skills were not sufficient, I still tried to listen to their conversations. While I sometimes felt disappointed in this trip because I could not convey what I felt and thought, this trip let me to develop confidence and courage. I think that this trip had a significant influence on my life. In the future, I am going to make use of this experience. I continue to strive in order to be a world-class gentleman.