Hi! My name is Tara, I’m currently in my second year of a bachelor in business, majoring in International Business & minoring in Japanese. Tomorrow I will land in Tokyo, Japan & will soon begin my exchange at Rikkyo University. As someone who has dreamt of going on exchange to Japan since the 6th grade (I wanted high school exchange at the time but same thing), I can’t believe that tomorrow my studying abroad will begin.
As my first blog post for this journey, I really don’t know where to begin.
I guess I’ll start with the packing aspect of this pre-departure. Preparing myself for a year overseas has proven to be much more of a greater task than I originally anticipated…in terms of a year’s worth of luggage, I’m constantly remembering things I have to buy. Being the paranoid person I am I have been searching “things to take on exchange” to get an idea of what to pack. Video after video, my list gets longer & the slight panic that I may be forgetting something increases. Currently I have two couches and a coffee table piled with ‘necessities’ (necessities plus the many things my mum believes I can’t live without). I’ve got things ranging from vitamins, my favourite snacks & foods (Iranian tea is essential), a mini sowing kid (mum’s doing), clothes, shoes, posters (I don’t think I’ll be allowed to put them up in my dorm but you never know) and printed out photos of my family & friends.
In terms of mentally preparing for this exchange, preparing myself for not seeing my close friends and family for such a long period has been quite alarming. Meeting up with friends has been a high priority the last month or so. The sorrowful tears that were shed as my two best friends and I said our final goodbyes was something I didn’t think would happen, we have gone months without seeing each other but I guess the fact that we won’t be able to meet up whenever we want is an odd feeling.
Despite this, I am so excited for what is to come. I can’t wait to get settled in my dorm, make friends, finish all my orientation sessions and finally start classes. I look forward to walking on campus and embracing it all. By following my host university on social media I have seen some sneak peaks of what my life will be like for the next year. Watching posts from Rikkyo University of their campus has really hyped me up for what is to come.
The thought of living in a completely different country for the span of a year is somewhat frightening. Although a month ago I confidently said I’m not worried at all, slowly I’m coming to realise that this is a much bigger deal than I originally thought. But truth be told, my sheer excitement by far beats any worries I hold.
Studying a language is one thing but immersing oneself in the culture is an entire experience of its own. I am incredibly excited to see what experiences I will have, what kind of friends I make, how my Japanese (hopefully) improves and the thing I’m most curious about is, what kind of person I will become by the end of this journey.
Hopefully, in my next blog I will be settled down in my dorm & have gotten into a routine with my classes, so until next time..
