What inspired you to travel abroad?
I spoke to my academic adviser, and my majors at the time were Art and Art History. Because of this, she heavily encouraged me to study abroad. When I looked into studying abroad at my school, I found out that we offer an array of programs, and I ended up changing my direction a little. For an Art History degree, you're required to take two years of a foreign language, and I was doing French, so originally I intended to go to France. However, when I thought about where I really wanted to go, if I never got the chance to go anywhere else, it was Japan. And then I went!
Visiting Osaka during Golden Week.
Why did you choose University Studies Abroad Consortium?
USAC is the provider that my university (UNLV) is partnered with, and as such I was looking only at their programs. Doing a program not affiliated with my university just seemed like not a great idea, since I wouldn't be able to really know how good their programs were from firsthand accounts, and it's hard to tell how credible they may be. So when looking at USAC's Japan programs, they offered Nishinomiya, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki. Out of these I chose Nagasaki. It wasn't too rural, but not too big a city, and they offered a Traditional Japanese Arts class that uniquely suited my interests.
What was your favorite part about Nagasaki, Japan?
This is super hard to narrow down. The fantastic public transportation is definitely something that I will always miss about Japan. Effective trains and buses... it's really a dream come true. The convenience stores are also something I am missing hard since returning from Japan. Being able to get an actual meal at a convenience store? At a reasonable price? And they aren't even connected to gas stations? It's a dream! This isn't to speak of the dollar stores and secondhand stores that were available too.
What made your experience abroad extraordinary?
It probably is not out of the ordinary in terms of study abroad experiences, but what was an extraordinary experience for me as a person was both being able to see so many different things that I've seen only on TV, and being able to make so many new friends. In Japan, during a school break I was able to visit Osaka for about a half a week, and boy did I utilize that time. I went to Osaka castle, to their Ferris wheel, to museums, to a maid cafe... And then after the semester ended I went to Tokyo for about half a week. There, I was able to go to Shinjuku, Ueno park, Harajuku, Akihabara, more museums, more fun cafes... It was like. Magical. This is also not to say I didn't see so much in my host city, Nagasaki. There I also went to a bunch of museums, to Dejima, and to a penguin aquarium where I was able to pet a penguin... Even just the regular day-to-day and weekends were always exciting. And as for my friends, I probably made about at least 60 new friends just being a part of this program. Many of them other American students, some Japanese students, and even some French students. I can't expect to keep in regular contact with all of them, but I know that a special few will be lifelong friends of mine.
How did the local program staff support you throughout your program?
The international staff in Nagasaki was amazing. Always helpful, always caring about the international students. They always presented us with opportunities to interact with the community. For example, they gave us the opportunity to participate in a community cooking class. They also gave us the opportunity to see a Kabuki performance; gave us free tickets to it. Not only helping students have good opportunities, but also helping those who were struggling. A friend of mine had some troubles communicating with her host family, and the international staff was very helpful to her in resolving the situation. Another friend was not sure how to go about traveling by plane, and they helped her with any questions she had about that too. To the faces of the international support staff, Naoki and Tomoko, thank you!
What's one thing you wish you would have done differently during your time abroad?
Not during my time abroad, but before. If I could change one thing, I would have taken more Japanese language classes before embarking abroad. I feel like if I had been more proficient in Japanese while in Japan, I would have been better able to connect with Japanese students, as well as my Japanese professors. I managed, of course, but I think I could have taken everything to the next level if I was better equipped with the language. (FYI, at least at NUFS, the Japanese language classes are about the equivalent to two semesters at my home university. So I would advise taking two semesters of Japanese, not one. Or four, not three. That way you won't end up in a class where you know the first half of the material.)
Eating curry... a lot of curry.
Describe what a typical day in your life abroad looked like.
Wake up, get ready, go to the dorm cafeteria for breakfast, walk up the small mountain to the university (if I woke up earlier I could theoretically catch the bus to the top), go to my classes. Depending on the day it could be Japanese language, culture, arts, martial arts, history, or something else. After class, go to the school cafeteria and inevitably get curry for lunch since I love curry too much. Then, assuming no afternoon classes, I may return to the dorm, drop of my school stuff, and then go out on the town. Go to downtown Nagasaki and explore, walk around the area of the school, or some other area. Or, if it were a Friday I may go on a field trip. To a museum, to a historical landmark, to another, nearby city. Or maybe if it were the weekend, it would be a self proclaimed field trip where I may take myself somewhere in town and explore in my own time.
What did you enjoy doing in your free time abroad?
In my free time, I would often just go out into the town. There were a lot of field trips which would get me out and about, and I would go on pretty much all the optional ones too. On top of this, I went out of the city when I had the opportunity, too. The greatest example of this, I think, is when Golden Week happened. In most years, Golden Week may be three days or four days of a break, but the year I was abroad the Reiwa era was beginning, and the timing came out for Golden Week to be 10 days straight! How perfect of timing, right? So during this free time, six other friends and I took a trip to Osaka for about a week. I really think getting to go out and see Japan, in tourist spots as well as places where locals frequent was really the most enjoyable part of being in Japan.
What type of accommodation did you have? What did you like best about it?
There was a homestay option, individual dorm rooms, and two-person dorm rooms available. I opted for the two-person dorm, as I did not feel quite confident enough in myself to live in a homestay, plus it was a little bit more expensive, plus it would mean a longer trek to campus for classes every day. And I opted for a roommate over living alone as I was again not confident before going abroad in my ability to make friends, so I wanted to be sure I had a built-in friend. While sometimes the food at the dorm was somewhat questionable, overall I enjoyed it. In addition, I loved the communal hangout area on the first floor of the dorm. We would often sit around downstairs and play jenga, or uno, or some other game that just gave us the opportunity to socialize and become better friends.
What is one thing every future participant should know about your program before their program begins?
Be aware that the Nagasaki University of Foreign Studies is a Christian university. I'm sure if I had better reading comprehension, or inference skills, I would have realized this by looking at their website. But I don't, so I didn't. And it wasn't a downside to the program or anything, it had virtually no impact on me at all. But it was still a shock to get to the school, and go to the welcoming ceremony, only to hear them say "alright kids let's do a quick little prayer, shall we?" (Not in those words, haha, they were much classier.) Beyond this, again, virtually no impact on my experience there. But I wish I knew. So now you know, too!
Would you recommend USAC to others? Why?
I would absolutely recommend this program to others. I think Nagasaki is a great city to study abroad, and I think the amount of support you receive from the international support staff is just the right amount. The dorm you may stay at has a great environment to socialize and make friends, and there are ample opportunities to get immersed in the culture outside of the classroom as well. The people there are all amazingly kind and helpful, and I hope more people get to meet them.
Hiking field trips are fun, but you still get tired.
What do you feel is the biggest benefit of traveling abroad?
I think the best part of going abroad is being able to broaden your horizons, and really be able to see the world for how big it really is. (Sorry for being cheesy.) You think you know what's out there in the world, you think you can imagine what it is like to be somewhere else, but if you ask me, it really takes being there to know what it's like. You can try to envision it, but firsthand experience is the next level. The range of human experience is so vast, and you can't hope to even start grasping it unless you get out there and try.
Now that you're home, how has your time abroad impacted your life?
After studying abroad, I feel like I am a more independent person than I was before. I feel like I can be more outgoing than I was before. I feel like I can say I'm a more knowledgeable person than I was before. I was never a particularly dependent, timid, or unknowledgeable person, but now I really feel like I've changed, and it has been for the better. Seeing another way of living has also changed the way I perceive our own American society. This is to say I have now seen first hand incredibly effective public transportation and healthcare... which, of course, makes me compare our society to Japan's. Maybe this is to say that being abroad has simply impacted my perspective? (Or my critical thinking skills? Haha)
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
Meaningful travel, to me, is traveling to somewhere new with regards for the people who live there. I think you can be a tourist, someone who is just stopping by in a city or country for a few days, and still be considerate and have a meaningful travel experience. I think you can also stay somewhere for a long time and have a relatively meaningless travel experience. I think the part of travel that is important is that you take into consideration the people who live where you are visiting. Be aware that this is their lives, and is not just a spectacle for you who has no stake in it. I've known people who were respectful tourists, and I also knew people in my program who were most certainly not respectful. I think as long as you are considerate, thoughtful, and courteous to the people who live wherever you are visiting, you can have a meaningful travel experience.
