Yesterday, June 27, marks the first departure date of many IES students. Our IES Berlin program celebrated together on Thursday night, where we shared a nice meal at a Mediterranean restaurant, reminisced over the semester, and took one last group photo.
An empty field stands at the crossroads of two busy streets near the outskirts of Galway. Three cows graze inside it, and a lone tree stands near the perimeter. On every other corner is a gas station or an apartment complex, a development of some variety; but not this one. Despite its desirable location, despite the city being less than ten minutes away, it remains mostly untouched. There's no clear reason why, not unless you know your trees.
As this experience comes to a close, finals quickly approaching, friends buying their bus tickets home it becomes important for me to spend more time processing this past month. This month, having gone by in what seems like a week, has served as more than an intensive language course or an extended vacation but instead as a crash course to crucial life skills. The reason a student should go abroad isn’t simply to learn a language or meet new people but to have the opportunity to absorb a culture unlike anything they have experienced before.
As final exams are approaching I feel much calmer than I had previously anticipated. Even though my past associations with testing have revolved around fear and nervous anticipation my language professor has been reviewing daily with us, brushing up on our grammar as well as our vocabulary. This will actually be my first time taking an exam without extended time, which is a choice that I have made after attempting to step out of my own comfort zone.
Today is the 26th of June, and quite a bit has happened since my last post. We not only finished up our time in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but we also had a big week of classes.
Before I even came to Beijing, I was overwhelmed by the amount of negative press about the air quality. Both people from China and the US told me it was imperative that I have a very strong mask and be prepared for the worst, lest I return with lung problems. When I got here though, for the first week and a half the air and sky were both clear and wonderful. So far, there have only been 2 days out of the past 3 weeks where I have needed to wear a mask.
It’s hard to believe that today marks one week of being in South Africa. It feels like I've been here for a month. Honestly, I haven’t even processed this experience for myself yet. As I sit here on my bed while raindrops trickle down my bedroom window, I am scrambling for words.
We arrived as a group of 23 college students from all over the United States and Canada. We were once strangers now woven together by the tread of shared experience. It has been both a challenge and a source of self-discovery.
A big theme of my time abroad thus far has been perception versus reality: the way I view a destination or group of people in my head is always vastly different from what I experience. This past weekend three of my friends and I traveled to Rome for two days- a whirlwind trip we took with the intention of seeing as many places and absorbing as much history as possible. We decided on a Vespa tour, equipped with a expert tour guide to realize this goal. Aside: don’t worry! We rode on Vespas- we didn’t drive!
Being a foreigner in Japan means you will undoubtedly encounter challenges along the way, whether you are visiting or living there. But being someone who is of Asian descent in Japan, whether or not that includes being of Japanese descent, presents a whole unique set of challenges.
I have three different stories I would like to share of the experiences of people I know in Japan who have faced these challenges. (Disclaimer: All of these people have given consent for me to use their names and stories in this blog.)