Written by Samara Mroczkowski (Washington State University), Student Correspondent for CET Japan, Fall 2024
Where Did The Time Go?
As of writing this, I have been in Japan for 88 days, and in 31 days I will be on a plane back home, and this life I have been living in Osaka will come to an end. Where did the time go dude? I wanted to use this final blog post to talk about the things I’ve done, feelings I’ve felt, personal victories I’ve had, and other various things. So to any future CET Japan students, I hope this can offer you a good inside look at to what the program could entail. And to any family reading, I apologize for the lack of text messages and calls, but this is what I’ve been up to.
The School Part
I’ll start by talking about school and classes, because despite all of the fun things I have been doing, I am a student, and going to classes takes up the majority of my week, and I have yet to talk about it.
My school week starts on Mondays (unless there is a holiday) and ends on Thursdays. Yes that’s right, only a 4 day school week (for the most part). The language classes start in the morning at 9 and go until 12:20, and if you have elective courses, those take place later in the afternoon. I am in the character design course that CET offers which is more of an evening course that takes place about 45 minutes away from campus. I’m not going to lie, getting used to the class was a pain. However, It has been such a fun experience learning about traditional Japanese clothing like Kimonos and Yukatas, along with traditional houses, and getting to incorporate what we learn onto works of our own.
The class sizes are pretty small, and because of this, for both my elective and language class, It’s very easy to form a comfortable relationship with the Senseis. It’s very clear that they want you to succeed, and are always willing to accommodate and offer guidance if you ask for it.
For me I find that my class is a significant challenge compared to the Japanese classes I took at my home university, being taught Japanese in Japanese was a new thing for me. I found it to be very challenging at times. With that being said, if the class was easy I wouldn’t feel like I would be learning anything, and I can confidently say that from being a part of this program my Japanese has improved so much.
Some days are harder than others, but being able to see your own personal progressions feels so good. For me it’s in understanding anime without subtitles, singing karaoke songs in Japanese, and being able to share my personality with Japanese friends I’ve made.
Spontaneous Freedom
Prior to coming to Japan, I made myself a little mental list of things I wanted to do while being in this country, a bucket list if you will. Some of the things I included on the list were pretty common, like “Go to Tokyo” and “Try an onsen,” with other items being a little less common like “Buy a really good knife” and “Attend a volleyball game.”
And I am happy to say that I have done all of the things I wanted to do while being here! Thanks to friends I’ve made and sharing my interest in volleyball I was able to attend a Pro match, and then later in the day play volleyball with a group of people in a high school gym. That was definitely a highlight of my time here (my favorite anime is Hikyuu so this felt extra cool). I also really like the anime Jujutsu Kaisen and so riding a train into Shibuya station felt super eerie and cool (if you know, you know).
While I did plan a few of the trips I went on, some of the best memories I have come from the spontaneous outings that begin by someone asking “Hey you wanna go to this?” Or more often it’s myself asking “Hey can I come too?”
You never really know where you’ll end up on the weekend, you could be watching shows in your room, and then 30 minutes later you’re in a karaoke room singing One Direction songs with your friends. Or one moment you’re hanging out at a social gathering with people in the program, and the next moment you’re on your way to the club to dance until you see the sun.
My advice to anyone wanting to study abroad is to just throw yourself into situations you may not see yourself doing back home, especially on the weekends. It is true that I am a part of this program to learn and grow my language skills, but I am also in my twenties with no responsibilities outside of school, so why not have some fun you know?
Farewell
Thinking back on my time in Japan, there isn’t anything I regret, well maybe studying a bit harder for exams, but a passing grade is all I need, and that’s what I’ve got so I’m happy. My goal for this program was to improve my Japanese, and do as much as I could on the weekends, in terms of program related trips, and personal outings. So I’m very satisfied with how I’ve spent my time here, and while I’m nowhere close to fluent, there are many moments where I find myself smiling because I can understand, and I can communicate, and it’s such an amazing feeling.
And while there were some pretty difficult days dealing with emotional things, I never felt alone, and I was able to talk to people and get the support I needed which I am very grateful for. I will always be able to look back on my time in Osaka fondly, and I am excited to return again, but when exactly, I’m not sure.
I hope these posts have served as a good insight to my time here, and if you are reading this and considering studying in Japan, my advice is to take the leap and do it! It’s such a unique experience and you will grow in so many ways!
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