Theresa's Blog #4 - Last Blog (Reflective Essay)


So, I’m finally writing my final blog post. This month has gone by in a flash and I’m truly missing Japan so much already. To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first decided to take this program, but I am so glad I did. I was able to gain so much confidence in not only my Japanese, but in hesitation to try new things. I met so many people along the way and learned a lot about Japanese culture by living alongside Japanese students and seeing Japanese people in their everyday life. Although because this program was a lot of studying and classes, I didn’t explore as much as Tokyo as I would’ve liked to, I still experienced so much in this short period and met so many amazing people. It was only a month, but Japan had started to feel like another home for me. Even during my homestay, I felt part of the family because Japanese people know how to make you feel at home even when you’re so far away from it. Since my research topic was Japanese pop culture and I already had such a great interest in it, I was happy to learn and see the different influences it has on Japan today.

I believe this experience was very good for my Japanese speaking skills. The place I lacked and had the least confidence in was speaking Japanese. However, when you are forced into an environment where you literally have no choice to speak a foreign language to communicate, it really helps. I didn’t realize how much Japanese I would be hearing and speaking so I’m so happy I could experience this and realize that living in Japan is probably one of the best ways to improve my Japanese. Not only that, the food was amazing, and the quality is out of this world. Japan puts so much thought and care into their product and it really shows. But I think the truly memorable experiences for me was not only the food and abundance of places to see, but the people. There were a lot of students at the iHouse that I got to meet and every single one of them were very kind and accommodating to those of us who may or may not have been to Japan before. In a mere month, I made some precious friends that I hope to visit again someday when I come back to Japan.

So in conclusion, this trip was a unforgettable experience and I am so happy I decided to go through with it.  I hope in the future to take an even longer program or to just visit Japan again leisurely, so I can explore many more places in Japan such as Kyoto or Osaka. Japan has a beautiful culture that I would be so happy to immerse myself in again. I will not forget this experience nor the people I met along the way. I also want to give a personal thanks to Sharp-sensei, who took over this trip for Kodama-sensei. You made this trip possible, so thank you so much. I honestly did not want to leave Japan but I can assure you I will be back someday! For now, I will continue studying Japanese and improve my skills.

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