IES Abroad Tokyo – Language & Culture

I've wanted to go abroad to Japan since I began studying the language in high school. I thought of it as the goal I was working toward, an adventure to have after all the time I had spent working hard as I learned to speak Japanese. I studied Japanese for five years before going abroad, and nearly decided not to go for the full semester, since I loved my home university so much. However, after a conversation with my friend from home, I remembered how long I'd wanted to have an adventure like this, and decided to dive in headfirst.

I had grown up in a small town and attended college where I grew up, so I knew that I wanted to do something out of my comfort zone and go somewhere very different from home. Going into college, I didn't know much about study abroad, but once I learned it was possible, I knew it was something I had to do. I knew that it would educate me about a culture beside my own, which was really the goal.

I applied to an international program in order to use and develop my knowledge of Japanese language and culture, experience a place and people outside my own, and open my mind to new and different ideas, behaviors, lifestyles. Also, to get a taste of living overseas and to see if I could possibly work there (or abroad anywhere) in the future.