E is for Exchange…
In an effort to improve on my writing I have decided to sign up for Encyclopedia of me which started over at Bella Dia (and which I found out about by reading Laura`s blog here...)C is for… will not be posted for a couple of weeks although it has already been written…
This is technically my fifth post…(Although I just realized this is also my 250th post on Cherry Blossom Adventures)
*********************************************************************************
Have you ever had a year where you could consider it the best one of your life? March 2004-Feb 2005 was like that for me. I have no way of knowing if it will be the best year of my life for the rest of my life but for now it is definitely number one.
I came to Japan for the first time ever in March 2004…I had studied Japanese in my first year of university….but my Japanese was considered basic at the most….I had applied to go on exchange and was accepted based on my grades…I turned 19 just before I arrived in Japan. The first few months my Japanese didn`t improve at all and I struggled but once I got into the swing of things I never wanted to leave… (For those of you who every wondered…I only studied Japanese 8 months before coming here and could barely say my name and where I was from when I first arrived here…so when I say basic I mean BASIC)
It was my first time living away from my family and I consider it to be the year I grew up a lot also… I have so many wonderful memories of that year…It truly was the best year ever. We all wish (meaning those of us that were on exchange together) that we could go back to living in the Seikei University Kaikan (International dorm)…there was always something happening, always people around and so many life long memories formed!
I had so many great experiences and formed many great, lasting friendships…(and relationships…Shun!).
Seeing my first cherry blossoms, trips to Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima and beyond, izakaya experiences, summer fireworks and yukata, my first view of snow, my first attempts at snowboarding, reggae bands and clubs, Fuji Kyu Highland and Disneyland, meeting Shumpei at a house party and then having to say goodbye a month later…
I made a slideshow of photos, which describes my year a lot better than I can put into words!(You will need Macromedia Flash Player to view it…oh and the photos do have some weird names like tobesorted 472…because I am lazy and have never gone through and named them all)
I had to go through over 5000 photos last night to choose some to put in the slide…I hadn`t seen some of those photos in over a year and it was a good chance to look through them and reminisce about that year. Anyone that gets a chance to go overseas, and experience another culture and step out of their usual surroundings should jump at the chance…If you could go for more than a holiday, even better! If it is something you have thought about doing and put on the back burner for now well pull the idea out and play with it a little bit….what have you got to lose?
Going on exchange changed my life…If you had asked me 5 years ago when I had finished highschool if I had thought this is where I would be today I would have answered with a `No way`…It is funny what can happen in a short amount of time…I never thought I would be living in Japan at 22, or planning to get married to a Japanese boy and live in Japan…I never even thought that I would be a kindergarten teacher. Coming to Japan on exchange in 2004, changed the path of my life that I thought I would follow.
Do I have any regrets? No, now, I couldn`t imagine my life any other way!
Popularity: 16% [?]
Similar Posts:
Yay, exchange!
I’d say most of the early years I spent at uni would come under the ‘best ever’ banner. I lived in college accomodation, so it was very much how you described- always something going on, always someone around, so many memories. It was the same in both Perth and Bristol.
Exchange was awesome… and you know, I’m going back indefinitely, so I guess my exchange had a similar effect on me as your’s did on you!
Amanda:Your return to England is getting closer and closer! The way you describe your experience on exchange is similar to how mine was…
Some advice from someone that returned to a country after spending a year on exchange. It will never be the same as before, but once you get past that, it can be just as good or better!!!
Reading this post was a walk back down memory lane for me too!
I also did an exchange at Obirin University in Tokyo from Sept 2003 – July 2004 and I feel like it probably shaped my path as well.
I think that my days at the Japanese University were some of the best that I’ve ever had.. of course I didn’ meet Ryohei until I came back to Japan a second time as an ALT and then I changed my job to a coordinator for int’l relations but I think the fun I had in that exchange and all the Japanese I learned helped. When I went back home things were still great and I enjoyed the rest of my University but part of me always wanted to come back.
Its so funny think back to how you had pictured your life in high school right! I know mine is way different too! But I am glad you came on your exchange because I never would have gotten to know you through your lovely journal