Eichbauer interns in Japan
Advice and tips from a WSU student
Victoria Eichbauer, Asian Studies with a concentration in Japanese and political science
One thing I never left home without
Phone. Though this seems like a typical millennial response, it mainly was due to the train schedules. Unlike America's fast car culture, Japan has a heavily developed public transportation. Despite the trains always being almost impeccably on time, I found it always useful to keep my phone on me as I could access my favorite application, the Yahoo Japan Train Schedule. Though it might have been because of a compulsion on my part, I found myself often checking the train schedule whenever I went somewhere, especially my internships.
One piece of advice for studying abroad
Just do it. If anyone is looking to study abroad my advice is to just do it. Too often I have conversations with peers and graduated adults that tell me they would have studied abroad if it weren't for A, B, and C. It is those doubts that often hold people back and admittedly, myself as well. If it wasn't for my almost blind determination to get myself to Japan, I would have certainly over-thought going overseas and ultimately refrained from doing so. If financial reason are hold someone back, I would also point out that it is actually cheaper to study abroad, than to live abroad later in life.
How this experience has shaped my outlook or view
It gave me a greater perspective on different attitudes of other countries' citizens. Being fully entrenched in another culture made me look at America through the eyes of another country, such as watching its news, reading its magazines, and being fully immersed with the locals in global dialogue, which more often than not reminded me to always keep an open mind and that no one way of thinking is inherently wrong.
Hikon City, Shiga Perfercture: Japan close up
I lived in Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture in Japan for around nine months. I spent eight months studying at the Japanese Center for Michigan Universities (JCMU). While in Japan, I had two internships, one each semester.
Karaoke with Kuma Kuma bosses
My first internship was at a bookstore called Tenshindou. At the bookstore, I helped customers, sorted books, took stock, and packaged crates.
My second internship was for a local restaurant, called Gohanya Kuma Kuma. The restaurant had me wash dishes, clean tables, and converse with customers.
Himeji Castle with friends
While it is an embarrassing truth to admit, I found myself getting increasingly comfortable with uncomfortable situations at my internships. For example, not understanding my boss and having to use hand gestures to convey my thoughts.
However, despite these language barriers, I learned new words and in time, my language abilities steadily increased. Comfort, I think, is a very small, but important detail often overlooked and can hold us back from learning a second language.
