Experiences in Asia
Michelle Kato
I studied at Kumamoto University for a full academic year, and it was the best experience I’ve had yet. I took a variety of classes on two of the three campuses; I played soccer for the university with their women’s football club; I traveled to six other prefectures as well as South Korea. All the different people I met, I still keep in close contact with today. They helped me feel so comfortable living and studying there, and this created so many new friendships for me, but it also helped confirm my career track in public relations. While I was there, I received a scholarship from the government for about three months. In addition to that, I worked part-time as a private English instructor for the last five months of my stay. The area was so historically rich, I truly enjoyed getting lost some of my days there. I stumbled into so many strange stores with such kind people working there, and found so many hidden temples. I also found some very nice restaurants where mothers or grandmothers were seemed to have opened the downstairs of their homes to the public. It was always nice to get to know the locals and interact with them. They always seemed sincerely interested in where I was from and why I was studying Japanese, especially in Kumamoto. My only regret is that I didn’t study there sooner. kato_bear@yahoo.com