Kathleen Lamont

I have always wanted to study abroad, especially after my sister talked to me about how fun her study abroad program was; it was more of just a matter of finding the actual time to do it since I was always very indecisive about my major(s) and thus was more crunched for time (in terms of having to take certain classes) than a lot of other students may have been. I chose to study in Japan partly as I have always been interested in Japanese culture; one of my favorite books since high school is 1Q84 which I read one sitting and also because I had started studying Japanese due to the stark difference between Japanese and English grammar, my favorite aspect of linguistics. Thus, my program choice followed easily as it was a summer program (the only term I could do) in Japan where I got to refine my language skills.

The most interesting cultural experience I had abroad was staying at a ryokan (旅館). On a three day weekend we had toward the beginning of the program, six of us went to Hakone (a 2-3 hour journey from the campus) and stayed at a ryokan with private onsens. The location was in a decently rural area of Hakone, only one restaurant was actually open when we arrived. I got to experience a standard tradition in Japan, wearing a yukata and entering the onsen. Moreover, it was a large juxtaposition from the part of Japan that the program takes place in as well as America, both in terms of the traditional aspect of it and the beautiful landscapes. In Hakone, we always went to jinjas and wished/bought prayers/luck charms.

My biggest concern about studying abroad was being in a country where I only had an elementary proficiency in the language. The first day, I got completely lost on the way from the airport to the school, taking a solid 5 hours instead of the suspected 2 hours, by getting on the wrong bus line as I couldn't read the signs, which only frightened me more about the experience. To respond to this, I forced myself out of my comfort zone, by trying to ask for help as much as I needed and also making friends with people in the program who had more language experience than I did with Japanese to aide me in navigating the country.

A typical weekday abroad consisted of waking up around 7:30, going to the cafeteria to get some bread for breakfast with my friends and then heading to class from 8:50-12:50. After class, the majority of students would eat lunch in the cafeteria that was pretty good (and only ~3 dollars !!) and then once a week, we met with our teachers one on one for fifteen minutes for individual questions/practice in whichever format we really wanted. After class, we probably had 3-4 hours of HW a day since it was a pretty intensive course and at night, depending on the day, we would go out to surrounding cities for dinner, hang out in the dorms or do some shopping. Weekends were usually spent going further out to other cities than just the neighboring ones like Harajuku, Shibuya, Tokyo, etc. We even went to Hakone on the three day weekend.

I took a Japanese language class abroad that translated to 8 units here, so it was pretty intensive. I would say it was slightly harder than a class in Berkeley, but that is primarily just because of the time constraints of only having 6 weeks to get through an entire quarter of language class.

The most meaningful aspect was the language immersion. Learning Japanese in Berkeley, although there are a lot of people in Berkeley that speak Japanese, still seemed like an abstract concept and even though I love languages, I was more going through the motions in language class instead of learning it by my second semester. Being in Japan allowed me to hear the language constantly and see the culture that helped shape it. One of the most memorable aspects was going to the fireworks festival in Adachi Fireworks Festival at the beachside and eating takoyaki!

I think studying abroad allowed me to push past the limits of my comfort zone and become more independent than I ever really thought, especially given the language barrier. Moreover, it pushed me to continue learning Japanese due to complete language and cultural immersion, even though prior to the trip, I was planning on not continuing when I got back to Berkeley.

I would recommend to go somewhere you've never been, maybe even a place you don't speak the language, to make the most out of your program and don't let yourself get sucked into a void of constant studying. I over-worried/over-stressed during my program and definitely didn't get to see as much as Tokyo and Japan as I wanted to. Research your program before so you're aware of what it offers and how much work it is as I was not aware of the intensity of mine, which had its pros and cons. For my particular program, make sure you take advantage of cultural events!!! This was how I was able to go to the Ghibli Museum despite tickets being sold out.