A Girl Who Dreams

Interview- University/Japan

Here we have a Japan exchange student, who actually is attending University there.

My name is Carola, I'm 20 years old and I'm from the Netherlands. Right now I'm studying at the University of Nagasaki in Japan for one year. I've been here since October last year. My major in the Netherlands is Japanese Language & Culture, which is the reason I'm in Japan now.

1. Did you travel with your college, or a program? If a program, which?

I came to Japan through my own university. My university back home and the one here in Japan have a close relationship, so every year the Japanese university makes 10 spots available for Dutch students to take Japanese language courses.

2. Do you ever regret not having a high school exchange?

During high school, I went to Japan for 5 weeks with YFU during the summer of 2005. It was short, but it made my love for Japan stronger. To be honest, at that time I was first supposed to go to Japan for one year but then I decided to change it to a summer exchange. I do sort of regret that now, but on the other hand my life has been fine the way it is now.

3. Did you stay with a host family? Or with other students?

I am living in a building especially for exchange students. I'm sharing my room with two other Dutch girls who already happened to be my friends back home, so it's a lot of fun! We have our own rooms but share the bathroom, living room and kitchen. And I've also made a lot of friends from other countries (and of course from Japan too), most are living in the same building!

5. Describe your exchange in one word.

AMAZING.

6. Five things a exchanger can't live without.

A camera and an open mind, and for Japan specifically: an electronic dictionary, a cellphone and clothes that fit if you're tall (or if your feet are bigger than 24cm)!

7. Do you consider yourself fluent since exchanging?

Not at all. I've been studying Japanese for 2 years at my Dutch university before I came to Japan, and although I can now carry most conversations and say almost everything I want, the topics on politics and the likes are still difficult. I feel my vocabulary is still lacking. I do feel confident enough to finally call Japanese my fourth language (my other ones being Dutch, English and German).

8. Is your major towards something international?

Yes, Japanese Language & Culture. I have no clue what I would want to do with this though... Although I love my major, the longer I study it, the less certain I become about my future. On top of that, during my year here in Japan I've started realising even more that I need to make sure I have more skills than just knowing another country's language and its culture.

9. When do you plan to visit your country again?

Right now I'm still in Japan but I return to the Netherlands in August. I hope to come back to Japan for a shorter period in 2011, and after that for a year again in 2012 for my master's course.

10. What was your favorite memory?

I have a lot of favourite memories, it's hard to name one. It's mostly the one day trips that I made with friends that have been amazing, but also the festivals at school, the meetings with my club, strolling around the city...

11. Popular music in the host country?

Lady Gaga seems to be the hot thing this year. Besides that, a lot of Japanese artists are popular too, mostly Johnny's (a company that creates boybands) and a group called Ikimonogakari (amongst many others, of course).

12. Average cost for a college exchange?

Thankfully for me it was quite cheap. Because the universities have a bond, I pay the school fees to my university back home (€1600) instead of here in Japan. Besides that, I obviously pay for everything else, but luckily the rent of the building I live in is incredibly cheap (including gas and water about €100, this is extremely rare!).

13. Have you changed since exchanging?

Yes, I've changed a lot. While I was very good at procrastinating, and sometimes even quite lazy before I went on exchange, I've started to work hard. Because of some things that happened, I now try my best at everything I do and give it my all. I want to work hard on everything I do from now on and I want to be involved in everything I do as much as possible. I realised being busy with things I like doing or things I consider important gives me a lot of energy!

14. What were your three most memorable people you met on exchange?

There have been so many! It's absolutely impossible to name just one...