Mika Post

I had always wanted to study abroad, since I felt like it was a good way to round out my college experience. I studied Japanese throughout middle school and high school, and I wanted to study abroad in Japan to build on that experience, as well as to get closer to my Japanese heritage. I chose Doshisha because I wanted to be in Kyoto, not Tokyo, and the language and culture program seemed like a good fit.

After classes were over, my Japanese friend and I traveled to Hokkaido, in the north of Japan. We stayed at ryokan, traditional Japanese inns, and I was able to spend a lot of time in the onsen (public baths/hot springs), and in the Japanese countryside. It was interesting to me because I was isolated from a lot of the tourists and foreigners I had become used to in Kyoto, and at this point I was pretty good at passing as Japanese. So it was in Hokkaido that I really began to feel like part of the society, which was surreal. The countryside was also very beautiful and I saw amazing scenery and some really cool, rare animals.

Time management was definitely a struggle for me. It had been my lifelong dream to study abroad in Japan, and there I was! I wanted to excel in my classes, make lots of friends, become great at Japanese, and see everything I had ever wanted to see. I wanted to travel every weekend. Unfortunately, I got burned out. I couldn't go to class and travel all the time and do fun stuff every night. It was just too much, and I found myself unable to keep up with it all, and upset with myself for not making the most of my time. However, I was able to make a schedule I was happy with, and I committed time to hanging out with my friends, and I tried to go do something fun every weekend. When I planned out my time, it was easier to feel like I was making the most of things. Now that I'm back, I don't regret much. I think the day to day experience, even if it wasn't nonstop sightseeing and adventuring, was extremely valuable, and I don't feel I wasted the opportunities I had.

I would wake up at around 8, then walk about half a mile to the train station. I took the subway to Doshisha, then I had class from 9 am until noon. I would eat in the cafeteria, which I found cheap and delicious, and I'd either stay for my afternoon classes if I had them that day, or I would go home. After a few hours doing homework and readings, I'd hang out with friends in the evenings, getting dinner and checking things out downtown. Many nights my other international friends and I would hang out late into the night in someone's dorm room.

I took 10 units of Japanese language and one class about Japanese culture taught in Japanese. I also took two classes in English -- Japanese society in a global context, and Asian civilizations. The classes were definitely easier than Berkeley classes, but that is not to say they were not a lot of work. To get the most out of Japanese immersion, I found myself doing hours of Japanese practice a day. I also had a lot of (way too much) reading for my Asian civilizations course, as well as having to research and write a group Wikipedia article. That was very difficult, since I found it hard to find time to do research when I just wanted to explore.

I am very grateful for all the friends I have made. Of course, I have Japanese friends who I still talk to regularly, but I also made friends from all over the world. I met people from Bulgaria, Vietnam, and Israel, just to name a few. We bonded over our common struggles and tried new food and visited new places together. I value these friendships and am excited to be able to visit my friends in their countries, or back in Japan, in the future.

I learned to appreciate small things more, such as using my weekends for fun and getting more out of my daily life. Everything was fun and exciting in Japan, but that doesn't mean it can't be that way in America too. I have more of an urge to explore now -- around the Bay Area, back in Japan, and all around the world. My partial assimilation into Japanese culture has also left me with a slightly more empathetic, group-oriented perspective, I believe, which is a good change.

I would say to definitely do it! Whatever reservations you may have, it will be worth going. Make a list of things you really want to see and try to carve out time to see them on specific weekends, or else it may not end up happening. Also, don't bring too much stuff, because you'll probably be buying stuff, and you don't want to have to pay a lot of money to get everything back to the U.S.