Alumni Interview with Maria Phasoulidou

What inspired you to travel abroad?

I always wanted to go abroad and Japan has been my top destination since my middle school years. I became immersed in Japanese culture when I came across anime in my early years in middle school. It was a whole different world. This helped me familiarize myself with the language, customs, and I really wanted to visit the country that inspired the panels in the anime. My curiosity to visit Japan increased more when I became a Business Management undergraduate student at university. In more than one course, we did case studies about the Japanese way of business, Japan’s economy, technology, companies and so much more. I then realised that I didn’t want to just visit Japan as a tourist. I wanted to experience the local way of life, as only then I would be able to experience the things I read in those articles.

Why did you choose Meiji Internships?

After realising that I wanted to visit Japan for a longer period of time than just as a tourist, I became interested in completing a year abroad in Japan. After looking into the options offered by my university, I realised that that was an empty dream. I didn’t know the language and my university didn’t offer any programs in Japan. I stopped looking for study abroad programs and started researching internship in Japan options. Again, since my university didn’t offer programs in Japan, I decided to research on my own. I still remember the international office’s officer words ‘Why don’t you intern in Italy or Spain? We have plenty of internship programs there.’ After hearing those words I became determined to find the ideal internship program for me and continued my research online. For this reason, I chose Meiji Internship as it provided me with the opportunity to find an internship according to my personal goals and career interests in Tokyo as it was hard to find an internship in Japan on my own.

What was your favorite part about Tokyo, Japan?

It really is hard to pinpoint only one thing about Japan. There’s the food, culture, transportation; all of these were exceptional. However, I think that there’s a word that can describe all of these. If someone asked me to describe Japan in just one word, it would be ‘convenient.’ My favourite part about Tokyo and Japan in general is how convenient everything is. Everything is efficient and you can really see Japan’s useful innovation when you are walking down the street, visiting a convenience store or commuting to work. Moreover, there’s always something to do in Japan. I remember visiting Odaiba in Tokyo and noticing the limitless things to do there. I thought that those places are not only great for foreigners who want to experience Japan’s culture but there’s an abundance of experiences for locals as well. Tokyo is just huge with unique entertainment options like karaoke, arcades, animal cafes and the more geeky stuff like Maid cafes which is definitely something worth experiencing.

What made your experience abroad extraordinary?

Again, it is hard to talk about one thing because I feel like everything was extraordinary for me while in Japan, since I was experiencing everything for the first time. However, when thinking about the people I met in this short amount of time I can’t help but feel lucky. Before going to Tokyo for my one-month internship I was in Fukuoka for a two-week short language course, as this was necessary according to Meiji Internships. Although I am not sure how useful the language course was for my internship, I am very thankful for the people I met in Fukuoka. It was only for two weeks, and some people I met just one week before leaving for Tokyo but I can call them friends! We still chat and some even came to Tokyo some weeks after and I remember that my time with them in Tokyo was the most memorable.

How did the local program staff support you throughout your program?

The local staff’s support in Fukuoka was tremendous. I loved the weekend trips to explore Fukuoka. Our trip to a Japanese onsen is one of the highlights from my trip! Those trips helped us explore Fukuoka and at the same time strengthen the relationship between the students. My teachers in Fukuoka were also very kind, supportive and friendly! Johanna and Yushi were also very friendly and happy to help always. Friendliness goes a long way.

What's one thing you wish you would have done differently during your time abroad?

I was mostly exploring Tokyo alone. This sometimes made me feel scared to explore some places on my own. It’s not that I didn’t explore places alone in Tokyo; this is far from the truth. I went to so many places and I became much more independent. However I am still sad that I didn’t dare to visit Mount Fuji on my own.

Describe what a typical day in your life abroad looked like.

My morning started around 8:30am. I had a hard time waking up and I think it was because of jet lag. After waking up I would shower, get dressed and at 9am I would head to the nearest train station. Although the commute was long (45 minutes) I really enjoyed commuting, changing lines and observing other people because it made me feel like a local. After arriving to the nearest station to my work, I would always visit the Starbucks across the street for my daily dose of caffeine. After getting at work at 10am I would check my unfinished tasks and make a to-do list for the day. This made me feel accomplished and organised. While working on my tasks I would ask for the help of my colleagues if I had any trouble completing something. They were always more than happy to help me and answer my curious questions. Sometimes around 11am I would get hungry and visit the nearest 7-eleven convenience store for a late breakfast. Around 1pm or 2pm it was time for lunch. Most of the times I would bring lunch from 7-eleven at work and have my lunch break at my desk. Some other times we would all go for a lunch break to one of the numerous restaurants in the area. Those lunch breaks were my favourites. After lunch break it’s time for more work. At around 4pm I would visit a nearby coffee shop for my second dose of caffeine for the day. I really liked visiting different specialty coffee shops in the area. After getting my coffee I continued working on my tasks. Sometimes I would have a meeting about a project with a colleague and I would share my suggestions, comments or questions. I also made three presentations in my four-week internship program, so working on my presentation was something I would usually do. At 7pm it was my time to leave office. However, I rarely left the office on time, but it was my own choice. Since I loved my internship, I was passionate to finish my tasks on schedule or chat with colleagues to understand more about Japan’s culture and Japan’s way of business. I would usually get home around 10pm. After getting off the nearest station I would visit the 7-eleven across the street from my house and buy dinner. After getting home, I ate and chatted with family and friends from back home until late at night.

What did you enjoy doing in your free time abroad?

On weekdays, I enjoyed visiting coffee shops or a restaurant in Shibuya. On weekends, I explored Tokyo as a tourist.

What type of accommodation did you have? What did you like best about it?

In Tokyo, I had a sharehouse accommodation. The sharehouse was beyond my expectations. I had my private bedroom and we shared the bathroom, kitchen and common area. My favourite thing about it was the common area which was very modern, spacious, and comfortable.

What is one thing every future participant should know about your program before their program begins?

It is hard at first. I believe it is the same for everyone, especially since I talked about this with other people that also visited Japan. When you first arrive in Japan and go home, you will feel alone, sad, and scared. This is normal, since you are visiting a new country with a very different culture alone! It will get better after getting to know some people. I arrived on a Thursday and I remember crying every night until my language course started the following Monday. I met so many people that Monday and my crying nights were over because I stopped feeling alone and scared. Well, I did cry my last night in Japan because I didn’t want to leave, haha! My tip for this is to expect that this is going to happen and embrace it. When the day you meet people come, be open to making new friendships and visiting new places!

Would you recommend Meiji Internships to others? Why?

Yes! I was very scared and not sure about my internship company match when Meiji first matched me with my internship company. I wasn’t sure if the company was right for me but I was so wrong. As soon as I met everyone on my first day at work I was impressed and very inspired by their collective sense of ownership. I consider myself very lucky to have interned for their company, even for this short amount of time. This wouldn’t have been possible without Meiji Internships!

What do you feel is the biggest benefit of traveling abroad?

The biggest benefit of travelling abroad is discovering your personal and national identity. I was very surprised to experience this, because I didn’t expect it to happen. However, while visiting Japan I came across with what it means to be a Greek Cypriot, what differentiates me with other people and I came to appreciate and love my culture more. All of this happened when I had to introduce my country to other people. I had to think about the best things about Cyprus, culture, foods, and traditions. While recalling those things that I already knew and were familiar with, I came to admire and love everything more.

Now that you're home, how has your time abroad impacted your life?

I realised that I became much more independent. I learned, sometimes the hard way, while in Japan that it’s not wise to rely on others when you want to do or experience others. Of course, hanging out with friends and visiting new places together is amazing, but since each of us is their own person, with different busy schedules and preferences, it’s sometimes hard for everyone to be onboard to do the same thing. This made me understand the beauty of travelling and exploring new places alone, being alone with your thoughts and asking strangers to take your picture. All in all, I wouldn’t have met people on this journey if it weren’t for me travelling alone. If you get out of your comfort zone, you develop as a person. This trip was definitely out of my comfort zone and for this reason I feel like I discovered strengths inside of me that I didn’t know existed.

What does meaningful travel mean to you?

Meaningful travel is not just visiting the most popular tourist spots of a country. For me, meaningful travel is when you really immerse yourself with the culture of the country visiting, talk with locals, exchange ideas, have fun with people with completely different backgrounds that you wouldn’t meet otherwise and respecting and observe the culture around you. For example, when I visited a local coffee shop that had only five available seats, I really understood the meaning of travelling. I felt very special being in that small but full of passion coffee shop. I even chatted with the owner in English, shared my story and listened to his story. The next time I visited he recognized me. It’s these small things that make a travel meaningful.