Winner Experiences

1. What did you enjoy the most? The most enjoyable part of my trip was my interactions with the local children at the local school. Whenever we went to visit the school, the Nepalese children always came running up to us with sparkling eyes. In class, they constantly asked questions and listened to us with full focus and sincerity. We taught three classes a day on a variety of themes, such as instructions on hygiene practices, environmental issues, crafts, origami, the Japanese language, English, dance, and songs. The day before, we had to prepare until the next day, which was a lot of work, but we were happy to respond to the children's overflowing enthusiasm and curiosity, and it was very fulfilling indeed. On the last day, we had a farewell party. Here, we danced the traditional dances from each of our own countries. The Nepalese children did a cute dance, and when it was our turn, we danced Soran Bushi, which everyone then imitated. It was an unforgettable memory to be able to connect with everyone despite our different nationalities. 2. What did you learn? I learned the importance of listening directly to the voices of the locals. As I want to support education in developing countries in the future, I applied for this study abroad program because I wanted to take a step closer to that dream. And before studying abroad, I only focused on what I thought was the main issue of the lack of educational opportunities, and thought about building a school or creating a new educational system in the future. However, when I actually went to Nepal and experienced first-hand the educational challenges in Nepal directly, I learned that it was only in some rural areas that there are children who want to go to school but are unable to, and I realized that I had assumed that these few areas represented the entirety of this developing country. I learned that in most of Nepal, the problem is not the lack of educational opportunities, but the low quality of the current education, and I felt the need for a more mature education in order to promote understanding of the learning material as well as having a more in-depth English education to improve teachers' language skills. As I look back to before I went to study abroad, I felt uncomfortable with myself for inadvertently looking down on developing countries and saying that I wanted to "help" and "give a hand" to children in developing countries. I realized that this discomfort was because I was thinking about what I thought I could do without even knowing the needs of the local people themselves. I also learned important lessons from the inconveniences. Staying in Nepal presented inconveniences that one would never experience if they were to only live in Japan, such as hot water in the showers not being available, undrinkable tap water, non-flush toilets, and frequent power outages. We also faced shortages in power and studying materials at school, as the lights in the classrooms would flicker out and textbooks or stationery were not available to every child. However, it was these inconveniences and shortages that led to natural communication between people, and we saw many children compromise share what they have and work together. Also, rather than complaining about the inconvenience, we saw the children racking their brains together to make up solutions for the shortages, even if it achieved in a roundabout way. From these children, we learned that support is not just about filling in the gaps, and that it is shortages that give rise to innovation. 3. What was your favorite food during your exchange? I loved the french fries mixed with Nepalese spices and the thin, crispy chips called papad, which are used to dip curry into other dishes. 4. What were your impressions when you spoke English? I feel that the main focus of this study abroad experience was not only to learn English, but to use English as a means to work in harmony within a team also. At first, I was worried about whether I would be able to speak English, but having been inspired by being able to connect with people of various nationalities and native languages, such as France, the UK, the US, Germany, and Guatemala, who participated in the same program, I was reminded of the wonderfulness potential of the English language. I personally feel that English makes it easier to close the gap with people more than when I speak in Japanese. Of course, there are vocabulary and grammatical challenges, but I feel that English makes it easier to express my feelings and personality, and I like myself better when I speak English. 5. Would you recommend studying abroad to other students? I definitely recommend having a studying abroad experience. Studying abroad is not just about traveling. You can have your own goals and gain experiences that are closer to that of the local people, through which you can get a sense that your way of thinking and values ​​are expanding. Realizing the narrow values ​​you were stuck with will broaden your future, hobbies, and above all, your possibilities, and you will be able to see yourself and the world from a bird's-eye view. You may be able to be grateful for having such an experience as it influences the way you live your life and develop a new awareness of issues you haven’t noticed before. 6. What advice would you give other students that want to study abroad? If you are unsure about whether to study abroad, just try and take the first step forward. If you don't have the courage to take the first step, try writing down your concerns. Even if something seems like a huge problem when you think about it, it often turns out to not be a big deal when you write it down and think about the solution. I have studied abroad twice so far, and I had endless worries such as regarding my future career path post-studying abroad, my English ability, whether I could make friends at the place I go to, whether I would get along with my host family, etc. At the time, I could easily imagine myself regretting more for not going rather than taking the leap of faith, so I decided to go for the time being. Of course, there were times when I did have to face the concerns I had imagined, such as not being able to speak English at all and having difficulty making friends, but whenever I was in a situation where I had to do something, it always presented an opportunity for me to grow, and I was able to manage most of the problems. Try to be confident and challenge yourself, knowing that there is nothing you can't do. Finally, if I could give you one piece of advice to make your study abroad experience a good one, instead of complaining about the unfamiliar environment or values ​​that doesn’t fit with your ideals, try to see it as a good experience that you can only have now. This includes both the good and the bad. For example, during my time in Nepal, I experienced inconveniences such as power outages almost every day and having had to take cold showers. In response to these, you may think, "This is the worst. I want to go back to Japan." Or, "I wish I hadn't come to Nepal to have this experience. I'm glad I was able to realize how grateful I am for all things Japanese." I think the study abroad experience for each person will be greatly different depending on how they take each and every experience. In the end, it's up to you. When you face difficulties, try to change your perspective so that you can feel that it was a good experience having studied abroad.