COURTESY PHOTO: HANNAH FITZGERALD
Studying abroad is an opportunity available to every PSU student who wants to travel to new places. But that’s easier said than done. Not only are you most likely traveling abroad by yourself for the first time, but you have a mountain of paperwork and pre-departure things to accomplish before you can set out. However, sometimes the harder the work we put in the bigger the pay off. At least that’s what I learned from traveling to Japan.
Traveling to Japan was a journey in itself. Not only did I arrive at JFK airport about twelve hours before my plane was supposed to take off, I also had a six-hour layover in China before I got to step foot in Japan. All in all, the whole journey there took about two and a half days. Hungry, having eaten nothing but airplane food, and tired from sleeping upright, I set off on my first task in a new country, dragging four months’ worth of luggage to my hotel. CIS was gracious enough to put us all up in a hotel in Tokyo before we would officially settle into our homes in Kyoto. After throwing my luggage in my room and showering I was ready for bed, but my soon-to-be friends had other plans.
What started out as a plan to get dinner down the street and then clock out turned in to a thirty-minute train ride to the Tokyo ward of Shinjuku and several hours’ worth of eating, merriment and exploring. Even though I was exhausted by the time we managed to get home, after we got lost I might add, I had taken an important first step I hadn’t even realized I had taken. I had started the process of making some of the closest and best friends I will ever have.
Over the next four months, I got the experience of sightseeing and taking Japanese language lessons alongside these great people. I went to beautiful temples and shrines and hiked historic mountains like Fushimi-Inari and Arashiyama. I experienced new technology through VR game rooms and amusement parks like Universal Studios Japan and Disney Sea. CIS also sponsored two amazing trips. We got to travel to Nara and feed the local deer as well as get a private shrine tour and dinner. At the end of our trip, we were treated to a dinner with a Meiko, a Geisha in training.
I also got to eat some of the best food I’ve ever experienced. I ate sushi almost twice a week at our local conveyor sushi belt place, Kura Sushi and I got to try Yakiniku, a style of eating where you get cuts of meat to grill yourself in a restaurant. I even ate the coveted Kobe Beef which is about 150 USD just for 6 ounces!
Coming home at the end of my four months was bittersweet. I’m close to my family and had never been away from home that long, but I had also made a new family with the people I had met in Kyoto. I often miss waking up in the city every day to a new adventure.
Studying abroad isn’t for everyone but I do encourage everyone to at least look into it. I know I’m more than overjoyed that I did. If you’re interested, even if you don’t know where to travel, I encourage everyone reading this to go to our Global Engagement office and talk to someone there! You never know where in the world it might lead you.