So why would someone want to do this? Get out of their comfort zone, go to a completely foreign land where they don’t know anyone, and then stay there for several months? Well, there are a couple of reasons. I guess I should go back to high school to really start this off.
When I was a high school student, I found that I took a liking for foreign language. At the time, I was taking Spanish and I did pretty well. I was fortunate to have a dad who just happened to be fluent in it. I would be lying if he wasn’t one of the primary reasons why I settled on Spanish. It was partially because of him too that I did well. But I found that I enjoyed learning a language, feeling the ebb and flow of the new sounds, discovering the grammatical structure. I know, it all sounds very nerdy. But I really do enjoy it now studying Japanese just as much as when I first started to learn Spanish.
It was also around this time in high school when my family took a trip we had been planning for a while: a trip to Europe, visiting the countries of France and England. Even though it was tiring and exasperating at times, I found myself enjoying the different culture immensely. We stayed in Paris, walked the streets, visited all the touristy spots. We also went up to Normandy to see where the D-Day landings took place. That was an amazing experience as well, because as an avid video gamer I had seen this patch of ground several times, but to see it in person was fantastic. You really feel more of a connection to something like that after having seen it for yourself. England was great too, and not just because they spoke English. :P London was a great city where we spent most of our time. Later in the week we went up to Stonehenge, which was cool to see as well, but I do remember it being a bit underwhelming. It really is just as the pictures show it to be.
Anyway, the result of this trip was a new found interest in travel and foreign cultures. As such, I began thinking about studying abroad in college, but I just couldn’t see myself going to Spain for an extended time. I didn’t feel myself having a connection there - it was more of my “father’s” country. I really wanted to visit somewhere I could relate to on some level personally. It just so happens that around this time, my friends introduced me to animation from Japan, a.k.a. anime. I was instantly hooked. I always had an affinity for the fantastic, which anime had plenty of. But more than that, I was able to hear the language of Japanese for the first time. This too, I became hooked to. As time went on and the more I watched, I started picking out bits and phrases.
Like I said earlier, I am also an avid video gamer. It was also in this way that I exposed to another facet of Japanese popular culture. I played some of the Final Fantasies, Resident Evils, Metal Gear Solids, and several of the happy, bouncy Nintendo games. I really loved the style of these games and their difference from their Western counterparts. I knew it now. I knew what country was “mine.”
Towards the end of high school and beginning of college, I began studying Japanese on my own. At first, I found that learning the basic character sets was the best starting point. After some time, I had the “kana” under my belt. Come my Sophomore year, I discovered the Critical Languages department here at the University of Maine. I immediately began taking Japanese classes. Which brings us to the modern day. I am up to Japanese III and still loving it. I just wrapped up my applications to study abroad and am now waiting for March to roll around so I start my travels. :)
A final thing I want to say about my decision to travel: the quote at the top of the blog. I really feel that traveling is one of the greatest experiences a person can have - I had a taste of that on my family’s trip to Europe. The thought of staying in one place all my life with the big, wide world out there is a frightening thought to me. So more than my love of Japan and the Japanese language, I desire to see the world while I still can, at a time in history when it is more important than ever to be understanding foreign people and cultures.
Well, now that we have gotten to know each other, I suppose I’ll wrap this up. I’ll go into greater detail what the University of Maine had me go through in the application process, so that those contemplating a study abroad program can get an idea about what to expect. Later!
