Surreal

Being part of this program is surreal, I never thought I would have the opportunity to represent my school as an exchange student. However, this is not my first time going to Japan. When I was there I was appalled by how the Japanese society functioned as a whole. I wanted to dig deeper into the factors behind this tremendous progress that is the lifeblood of a developed country. With this in mind, I expect that my second trip will now have a purpose of understanding and exploring because I now have an idea of what I want to seek. I truly feel excited for the days to come, I enjoy establishing relationships with other people, moreover with the Japanese.

Being a Humanities student, I have many questions and I expect most of these won’t be answered due to the language barrier which is one the greatest hurdles for an exchange student. In my experiences of immersion, I would always go the extra mile to gain the answer I want to hear which may send the wrong message or perceived as a rude motive. I worry that my curious nature will get the best of my sensitivity and communication. All in all, I have mixed feeling, but I know that I will maximize what this program has to offer and I will cherish this experience. Come to think of it, this is a story I could tell over dinner or a conversation starter because how many people in Philippines are able to say that they went to Japan as an exchange student? It still blows my mind, I’ll be the first exchange in my family.