I am really looking forward to going to Japan on my scholarship this year, and I believe with the help of the HUMAP scholarship I will be able to achieve my potential and strive to learn as much Japanese as I can within the short period.

I have spent a year in Japan before at the age of fifteen, so I am aware of what it takes ¬to submerge myself into the culture in order to get the best outcomes. I also believe this makes me well equipped and prepared to spend another year away from my family and friends to study and to create new connections in Japan.

I plan on taking the JLPT N3 in July and the N2 in December, for this I am going to study as hard as I can to improve my Japanese and become fluent. My expectation is that when I come back from Japan I can converse easily with Japanese-Australian people and be more involved with the Japanese community in Perth. I also hope to combine my Japanese with my soon to be finished tourism and events management studies and create events in cooperation with Japan or Japanese people or a tourism consultant in partnership with Japan. I am also anticipating my return to Japan, to the Kansai prefecture, in 2021 for the masters games to help some softball teams from Perth to play and navigate their way around Japan.

I believe that the HUMAP scholarship will help me with my studies and cover my day-to-day study life. Covering the cost of my dormitory fees, meals, transport to the university and all of my study materials, giving me a huge helping hand to complete my scholarship to the best of my ability. I am immensely grateful and have the upmost respect for the Hyogo Government for allowing me this opportunity.

I arrived in Japan on the first of April, with the other exchange students. Most things went smoothly when preparing to come on exchange for a year in Japan. Applying for a student visa went without a hitch, was very easy and quick. The last few weeks were very busy with packing, resigning from work and saying goodbye to friends and family.
I remember the first day being the hardest. The realisation that I would be in another country for the next year, away from friends and family and studying hit me. This paired with not getting a lot of sleep for the previous two days due to traveling was taking its toll on me. We also had a very busy first day, unpacking into our rooms, touring the university, orientation, setting up our bank accounts and a tour and orientation of dormitory lifestyle. So this did take quite a large emotional and mental toll on myself, however once I replenished my sleep and settled in a little more I was ok.
My university has a fully equipped gym that is free to use and is open almost all hours, which I find amazing. The university is quiet large so getting used to where my classes were took some time, but the university has everything you require as an exchange student. The university is very close to a train station making it very easy for you to go out to dinner, shopping or to USJ after your classes have finished for the day. There is also a shopping complex very close if you want to go window shopping or grab a coffee.
Out of the many voluntary activities that I have participated in this semester, I think the most memorable one was the Kimono show. All the exchange students participated in this activity, it consisted of a lot of dress rehearsals as well as stage choreography lessons. The exchange students with a few Japanese girls were dressed in kimonos and had our hair done professionally, we also did our own makeup. We then went on stage did our choreography and then had a short interview by the coordinators of the show for the audience. It was a very fun experience.
As I mentioned before I hadn’t planned on coming home during the summer vacation, but ended up returning to Australia for three weeks after traveling with my parents around Japan for ten days. We travelled around Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto and Tokyo. Went to Disneyland and Universal Studios Japan, stayed at a traditional ryokan and went hiking. We also caught up with one of my families from my exchange 6 years ago. We went out to dinner and caught up with them in Kobe, I played interpreter for the night helping both my families communicate. After dinner we went on the ferries wheel and watched the light illumination show at Kobe port. It was a really good night. Whilst in Australia for 3 weeks I was very busy catching up with friends and family and participating in many activities. I believe it was a really good recharge for myself mentally and emotionally, and feel it has made the beginning of the second semester very easy.

Looking back on the last year that I have spent at Mukogawa Women's University I am very grateful for all the experiences that I have created and will carry with me for the rest of my life. I am no stranger to the exchange program, and know how stressful and complicated it can be however this exchange was so rewarding and such a fruitful experience that passed with ease. This is in part by those that I was surrounded by.

The international centre staffs at this university are the life line and best friends to exchange students. Their willingness to help in any situation and reassurance every step of the way was a relief during the exchange. If ever there was an issue, a question, even just a question about grammar or something else trivial the international centre staff were the first to enthusiastically put up their hand and help you to the best of their ability. It was impossible to leave the international centre without a smile on your face.

Other people that I credit my improvement to are all the girls and the dormitory my dorm mothers and my teachers that worked tirelessly to help me improve my Japanese skills overall. Living with a group of Japanese students and other exchange students has been so rewarding. Whilst I learnt formally in class, I learnt relaxed whilst at the dorm! I learnt plain Japanese kansai-ben and slang. Having other exchange students in the dormitory as well as provided me a window into other cultures and customs/which 1 did not expect to learn about whilst being in Japan and think of this to be and invaluable experience for me. This has also helped me grow on a personal level and for that I will be forever grateful. I have also made so many new friends who I hope to always stay in contact with and meet again in the future.

This has been a once in a lifetime experience that I have enjoyed so much and will be forever grateful and thankful for all those that have helped me get to the point that I am at today.