I never really thought that this study abroad experience would influence my future academic direction. My major is Communication Sciences and Disorders with a minor in psychology. I took this course because it finishes my credits for my psychology minor, but it has actually given me so much more. This course has taught me how extremely important communication is. By being in Japan, it made me realize that communication is key and is always needed. This experience made me so much more excited to further my academic career in speech pathology. My major deals a lot with communicating in so many ways. Going to Japan for two weeks really helped me to realize just how important communication is and how much I am going to make a difference in my career. During class before we went to Japan, I was completely inverted and very quiet. I was always paying attention and listening in class. I am just very shy in class and do not take part in class discussions. I tend to talk in smaller discussions but big class discussions are not my thing. I did not think I would talk much or make any friends while in Japan since I did not know anyone. To my surprise, I immediately started to make friends and began to come out of my shell. Whitney especially helped me to do so and I am so grateful to her. I began to open up and talk to just about everyone in class, I even had some great talks with my professors. I am so happy that this experience really helped me to step out of my comfort zone and make friends that will last a long time. This experience also stretched me to be open to a completely new culture and learn so many new things. The amount of history we learned about is truly amazing and has really helped me to become a more educated well-rounded person. I think I acquired  the skill to communicate better with others. By really coming out and trying to talk to new people especially in Japan. I also developed a more meaningful and respectful way to appreciate new culture. Going from temples and shrines made me make a real connection with Japanese culture. I did not think I would make much of a connection with anything but the culture and religion really spoke to me. This experience really helped me to take a good look at myself and to what my priorities/goals in life are. I was going through a rough time before going to Japan. By being surrounded by such amazing things and people, it has helped me to realize what is truly important in my life. I was able to look at myself and to decide to make changes in my life that will benefit me. In Japan, everyone is so nice to one another and treats each person with respect. It made me realize how unkind most people are in America. From now on I want to try to be more kind to strangers and treat others the way I would want to be treated. It is hard to do this especially when people are so different from you and even treat you badly. I just think in the long run it is not worth it to be rude to them but to just be kind and respectful. I defiantly am not the same person I was before I went to Japan. Before I went to Japan, I kept to myself and did not want to get out of my comfort zone at all. I was comfortable with where I was at with myself and in life. Little did I know, that by going on this amazing experience it changed me for the better. I am more open to new things and learned so much about myself in such a short period. I think I have really transformed into a better person over the course of the trip and even now after being home for about a week. I am so grateful to have been able to get the opportunity to experience such an amazing trip and to be able to go to Japan. I will never forget this trip and all I got to experience while being in a Japan and just how much it changed me for the better. 

I have now been in Japan for about a week and half. I honestly think that each day gets better and better. Everyday I am here, I am making connections and becoming so close to my classmates. My perception of Japanese culture has changed every day when it comes to language, religion, history, etc. In class, we discussed value orientations, specifically Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s assumptions about values. People in all cultures face common human problems for which they must find solutions. A big problem that most cultures experience is trash around the area/cities. In America, we have trash cans everywhere in public and still have a polluted environment. In Japan, I can not find a trashcan anywhere. I have carried around my coffee cups for long periods of time because they are sparse. Even though this is very frustrating, their environment is so clean. There is no trash just thrown around, this was especially clear to me in Kyoto. Even in Tokyo the trash is minimal and the city is still very clean. I think this also shows the difference between collectivistic and individualistic societies. People in Japan don’t litter because they are aware that other people live in that space as well. People in the U.S. may not think about how littering would impact other people’s everyday life. In class, we also discussed the social relationship of humans to each other. In Japan, their society is collectivistic. For example, we use public transportation everyday. Whenever we are on a bus or train, no matter what the public allow as many people as possible on the train. They make sure that everyone can get on even though we are typically packed on there like sardines. Japanese people know that everyone has somewhere to go and need to be on time. They try to make sure that everyone can get on the train and that nobody is left behind. Americans on the other hand are the opposite. We are an individualistic society, which means we tend to only think about how our actions impact ourselves. For example, when using public transportation in America, we want our personal space and only care if we make it to work on time. In the same situation, we would not let people on because we do not want to be that close to other people. We typically don’t think about where others are trying to go and if they will be late or not. Even though being that close on the trains/buses is uncomfortable for me, I think it is amazing how much they care for other people. My ability to adapt to Japanese norms for verbal and non-verbal interaction is still pretty limited. I still have to point to what I want for food. In Tokyo, I also have to point to what I want in stores when I am shopping. I still only know a few words and am trying to learn more. An example would be when I was talking to a Japanese woman on the bus. She was really nice and spoke some English but was still hard to understand. She just wanted to know where I was from, and I could barely communicate with her. I really want to interact and communicate with the people here, but it is so hard to do so verbally. Ever since we arrived in Tokyo, I have been really overwhelmed with the amount of people here. The streets during the day are flooded with people, and I get very stressed out. I have become more comfortable recently when we use the public transportation. By doing so much traveling, I really think it has helped me to become a better people person. I am starting to get sad about the trip ending, but I am continuing to experience and learn so many amazing things about Japanese culture.

I have been in Japan for about five days now and am absolutely loving every minute of it. Everyday we have been up at around 8ish and have been on our feet till about 5pm. I knew that we would be doing a ton of walking every day but did not expect how much my feet would hurt. As the days go on more I get more and more used to constantly being on my feet. I think my education at BW has defiantly positively impacted my ability to navigate my experience in Japan. Baldwin Wallace provides students with a liberal arts education which I think helps to make students a more well rounded person. The university also requires us to have a experiential credit in order to graduate and that is very important. Most schools do not do this and anyone I have talked to who has not studied abroad regrets it and wishes they did it. I am grateful to BW for making this a requirement for all students and helping me to get out of my comfort zone. By taking classes like ethics, world history, sign language, and international studies it has greatly helped me to navigate in Japan. These classes have opened my mind to how other cultures are and that there is so much more out there. I really did not know what to expect about Japanese culture before coming. Everyone kept telling me that it was going to be a big culture shock which made me nervous. After arriving here I was surprised to realize that it really was not that much of a culture shock. Kyoto reminds me a lot of New York with the busy hours and the amount of people on the street. I expected there to be a lot of McDonald’s but not as many Starbucks and Wendy’s. I was also was really nervous about the language barrier but was shocked to see how many spoke English or at least somewhat some English. Jessica and I went to a sushi place for the first time and could not figure out how to order. It was super small and cute but the server spoke no English. We tried to look up words to say but failed. Then, we asked another server and she spoke some English, she helped us right away. The history absolutely amazes me every chance it gets. No matter where we are or what we are doing I am so interested to know what the history is/background information. Especially after doing the presentations on each of the places we went/are going to. Discovering and learning about the history makes the places so much more meaningful. My ability to adapt to Japanese norms for verbal and non-verbal interaction has been a struggle. The only words I know are thank you and hello which is the bear minimum. I also need to work on not eating or drinking when I walk which is difficult for me to remember. I intend to as I am going forward to improve on both non-verbal and verbal interaction.

I decided last year after attending an early Japan meeting. As soon as I heard about the program, I became instantly interested. The reason I initially wanted to be apart of the program was because it is a psychology credit. Once I complete this course, I will be done with my psychology minor. Therefore, this program benefits me professionally. As the class became closer and closer, I began attending the information meetings about the program. I discovered just how exciting and special this experience is going to be. I have always wanted to travel out of the country. I have been to Italy twice but both times I was too young to remember. I have also been to Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Canada on vacations with my family. I have never been to East Asia and am really excited to be going there. Another reason I wanted to participate in this program was because my grandpa was a navigator in a B52 bomber in WWII. He was flying over Hiroshima when the bomb was dropped. This was really one of my main reasons that I wanted to go to Japan. My grandpa passed a few years ago, I think it will be a truly amazing experience. I think my biggest fear/anticipation is the actual transportation to Japan. I have never been on a plane ride longer than four hours, that I remember. I think I am really going to struggle with the sixteen hour flight. I do not like flying that much but I can handle it. It definitely freaked me out when during the pre-departure presentation, she told us she passed out during the flight from not staying hydrated. When I am on a plane I do not really think to drink water so I am nervous that is going to happen to me. I am also worried about the time difference and adjusting correctly. I know we will adjust pretty quickly when we get to Japan. I am more worried about when we come back and being able to get back to a normal schedule. Overall, I am mainly just excited for the trip and ready to learn/experience their culture. I think I will do good with the amount of traveling we are doing because I am used to it from previous vacations. I am just so excited to see everything and experience new things that being up and on my feet everyday will not even bother me.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton