Return to Global Tiger Tales Index List

Before I went to Tokyo, I didn’t know much about Japan. So, I read a few books about the culture and etiquette, took a survival Japanese course, and did some research on the Internet in an attempt to prepare myself for my upcoming study abroad experience. On arriving in Narita airport, I realized that nothing would truly have prepared me for the overwhelming confusion that I felt at that moment. I was completely exhausted after a 14-hour flight, and I had to buy a ticket to a train station an hour away, call the woman who was to meet me there (which required me to figure out the Japanese public phone system), and actually get on the train. I had to do all of this with two 60-pound suitcases and a backpack in tow, and in a place whose language and ways of doing things were completely unfamiliar to me. There were moments of stress and extreme frustration— like when I missed the first train, had to buy another ticket, and call back the woman I was supposed to meet—and moments of triumph and relief—when I finally reached my dorm three hours later. I was to experience highs and lows such as these throughout my time in Japan, and I don’t regret a second of them. All of the struggles and the successes made me a stronger, more confident person and broadened my perspective of the world.

After spending four months living and studying in Japan, I can’t say that I understand or know “what Japan is like.” Japan is for me a accumulation of memories—karaokeing with friends until three in the morning, riding on a train so crowded that I can barely breathe, carrying on a conversation in Japanese for the first time, visiting thousand-year-old temples. I don’t believe that any country or culture can be summed up in a simple description or label, because each person has to experience it for themselves.
My time in Japan was definitely one of the highlights of my college experience, and of my life. It cultivated in me a love for other cultures and confirmed my career choice as a teacher of English as a second language, and I formed friendships that will last forever. Now I am thinking about returning to Japan as a teacher after I graduate.