A Girl Who Dreams

Interview- Japan

Here we have Kaija from culture shock. She is a returning exchanger, that has hd multiple exchanges Enjoy!

1. Single most memorable moment while on exchange?

When I think of my exchange, my mind instantly jumps to hanging out with my host sister's friends in her university parking garage, lighting fireworks after we'd just had a meal of curry. Best night ever!

2. What is the three things an outbound can not live without on exchange?

A good pair of jeans
A camera
A dictionary

3. In the country you were in, were people generally warm toward outsiders or cold?

Japan tends to have a sort of idol worship attitude towards foreigners, particularly whites. Some people will gawk and stare, but a lot of people would simply be excited to talk to anyone who is obviously a foreigner.

4. Do you think you have changed from exchanging? How?

Definitely. When I first went, I was treated like so much more of an adult than I was at home. I had just graduated from high school, but not that much had changed in the month since high school had ended. In Japan, all of my host sisters were adults, and the youngest was in university. Because I was 18, my host parents decided it was OK to spend part of my time in her apartment in another prefecture. As a result, I gained a lot of independence, and coming home to more rules was very hard at first. I also feel like I gained a lot of insight as to who I was, and had even gained a second identity. There are still things about me that are my "Japanese self", or things I do that are so obviously Japanese influenced.
My second exchange changed me in a lot of negative ways because I was treated very badly, and spent a lot of time alone... both things I was not at all used to. I feel this is worth mentioning because exchange always has the possibility to be good or bad, and having experienced both, I think it's so important for people to be prepared for the bad and know that it might not be easy finding yourself again, but also to remember that it can be very good, and that you DESERVE for it to be good... even then, it won't be easy to come home, because you will be so used to life there that re adjusting to your past will be strange. Even for short term exchange.

5. Do you think exchanging at a different age would have changed things for you? (such as college)

I did go again after having started college (though I did not attend college in Japan), and it was much different. I think, had I been placed in a better host family, it would have been another positive experience, but still much different. As a college age exchanger, I was expected to be a lot more financially independent, to take care of my own meals, to find my own ways to entertain myself, to learn the city on my own a lot more, and though I had program support, they left decisions to me a lot more than the high school aged program did.

6. Are you more aware now of issues around the world?

I've come to realize how much I'm used to in America that simply ISN'T in the rest of the world. I experienced a lot of things like blatant racism (not necessarily against me, but against friends... for instance, Japanese people have a tendency to make racist jokes about Filipinos, and my best friends is Filipino... that was awkward in many ways), people turning a blind eye to things that Americans would've dealt with, and the horrible attitude people have towards differences in other parts of the world. I remember being sickened when I heard a news story about a child who was found strangled in a public bathroom. The story later came out that his mother strangled him because he was mentally retarded, and she was tired of taking care of him. My host mother then told me that there was a growing problem of mothers killing their disabled children because they're seen as a "burden". It left me with an awful feeling, because I know that even though these women were getting put in jail in Japan, that it still seemed like it was too normal there.

7. Will you ever exchange again? If so, where?

I doubt it. I'd love to, but I need to focus on work, and I'd hate to leave my boyfriend for an extended period of time. Things are much different as an adult.

8. What was the top three people you will never forget from exchange?

Emi, my wonderful host sister who I have been lucky enough to stay friends with.
Carroll, AKA Kaoru, who though she wasn't actually my host mother, often treated me like she was.
And Namiraa, from my second exchange, who was the only person I could go to when I really needed help. She was a Mongolian girl attending college in Japan, and we met at our Japanese class.

9. What program did you use?

LABO. (My second exchange was done through CHI)

10. Do you see yourself pursuing a career in the future that is related to international things?

I could see it going either way. I'd really love to work in travel, maybe as a travel agent, maybe as a journalist or a travel channel correspondent. Sometimes I've thought of doing interpreter work, but I don't have the money to pursue a college degree right now.

11. Top music played in your country?
J-Pop. Some western music too. When I was there, one of the biggest western artists was Mika, a British pop star who I happen to be a huge fan of.

12. Were your parents for exchange, or against it? If they were against it, what made them give in?
They were definitely for it. They thought it would be a great experience for me, and would never have tried to convince me to stay home

13. If you could describe your country in one word, what would it be?

Insane

14. When did you start fully understanding the language?

As it was a short term exchange, I don't think I ever FULLY understood the language. Right now, I consider myself conversational, but a lot of that clicked at home. Both exchanges definitely helped with that, but I've always been persistent in studying Japanese, so it wasn't just about mastering it on exchange... I'd studied beforehand, and I continued after.

15. Would you go back? If you are, when?
I intend to go back to visit my first (and REAL) host family next summer.