mlo 5: Cultural internationalization and Language immersion
Outcomes:
5.1. Students demonstrate that they have actively immersed themselves in authentic Japanese cultural and linguistic environments and have internalized the language and cultural experience from which they have developed a personal understanding and new perspectives of the community.
Courses Taken:
Fall 2013:
Japanese 3
Study of Japan
People Crossing Borders and Japan
Politics and Economy in Southeast Asia
Introduction to Japanese Culture 1
Japanese and Nature
Spring 2014:
Japanese 4
Asia in the World Towards a Strategic Partner
Reading/Writing 2
Japanese Cuisine and Culture
Sports Practice A
Reflective Narrative:
My yearlong stay in Japan was simply amazing! It was the first time I had lived without my family and learned to become independent. There were some good times and some not so good times, but either way I was able to learn and grow from those experiences while in Japan. I do not feel like I would be as proficient in Japanese now if it had not been for my year living in Japan. Most of my language learning was done outside of class when I went traveling to all the corners of Japan. You need to actively immersed yourself in the Japanese culture in order for you to be able to appreciate your surroundings, and that is what I did when I went traveling. I mainly traveled alone which meant that if I got myself into some type of trouble, I had only myself to rely on to get out of said trouble. The most trouble I ever got into while traveling was getting lost, missing my train, getting on the wrong bus, and having a typhoon mess with my accommodations. Because of these accidents I had to actively put myself out there and asked strangers if they could help me out. I feel that these encounters specifically helped me feel more confident in my Japanese speaking ability. My growth really showed through during my last trip in Japan when I went to Hokkaido for two weeks. About halfway into my trip a major problem occurred in which for a short period of time I was homeless in the northernmost part of Hokkaido, Wakkanai. After my stay is Asahikawa I had taken a train up to Wakkanai, stayed one night there and was ready to take a ferry the next day to Rebun Island where I would spend the next four days. Because of strong typhoon winds all of the ferry crossings were canceled without further notice. I was quite surprised at myself for how calm I was after I heard the news and had no place to stay for the next 3 nights. After Rebun Island I was planing to go down to Sapporo for a few days but because of the typhoon I decided to risked going down there early to see if my hostel had any rooms available early. Luckily that night they had a room available but the other two nights they were fully booked. I consider myself a cautious person which means I don't like trying new things but in order to find a place to sleep for those last 2 nights I took myself out of my comfort zone and tried looking for Manga Cafe that let you sleep over for the night. I found one and that conclude my worries for my Hokkaido trip. From that trip alone I learned how flexible I am when it really comes down to it and although my Japanese was nowhere near perfect, it got the job done when something happened. Of course I did learn and become more proficient in Japanese from the classes I took at Okayama University but you cannot really compare that to using it practically in your daily life. I came to the understanding that it's not only the language that was important to understand but the cultural understanding behind what is being said. The friends I made while in Japan, Japanese and foreigners like me, also helped in my Japanese language development.
Over the course of my year in Japan I would say I took around 8,000-9,000 photos. I notice though time the type of photos I took from the first time I entered Japan to the photos I took half a year in were different. At first everything was new and interesting so I would take pictures of buildings or just random objects. Once I started to get used to the Japanese lifestyle I started to take picture of specific places, and cultural item. Through the Flicker Photo Project I was able to upload some of those photos and put some type of personal meaning behind them. If you would like to see some of those photos you can click on the link for "CSUMB Okayama" under Flicker Photo Project. Many of those thousands of photos also made their way onto a scrapbook I created to commemorate my yearlong adventures in Japan. You can also find a link for that down below in "Study Abroad 2013-2014". Lastly, I created a blog in which I wrote monthly on my experiences in Japan which can be accessed by clicking the link "Japan Monthly Blog" below. Going to Japan is an experience I will never forget and I would recommend everyone in college to try it out some time before they graduate.
Flickr Photo Project:
CSUMB Okayama
Blog:
Japan Monthly Blog
Scrapbook:
Study Abroad 2013-2014
5.1. Students demonstrate that they have actively immersed themselves in authentic Japanese cultural and linguistic environments and have internalized the language and cultural experience from which they have developed a personal understanding and new perspectives of the community.
Courses Taken:
Fall 2013:
Japanese 3
Study of Japan
People Crossing Borders and Japan
Politics and Economy in Southeast Asia
Introduction to Japanese Culture 1
Japanese and Nature
Spring 2014:
Japanese 4
Asia in the World Towards a Strategic Partner
Reading/Writing 2
Japanese Cuisine and Culture
Sports Practice A
Reflective Narrative:
My yearlong stay in Japan was simply amazing! It was the first time I had lived without my family and learned to become independent. There were some good times and some not so good times, but either way I was able to learn and grow from those experiences while in Japan. I do not feel like I would be as proficient in Japanese now if it had not been for my year living in Japan. Most of my language learning was done outside of class when I went traveling to all the corners of Japan. You need to actively immersed yourself in the Japanese culture in order for you to be able to appreciate your surroundings, and that is what I did when I went traveling. I mainly traveled alone which meant that if I got myself into some type of trouble, I had only myself to rely on to get out of said trouble. The most trouble I ever got into while traveling was getting lost, missing my train, getting on the wrong bus, and having a typhoon mess with my accommodations. Because of these accidents I had to actively put myself out there and asked strangers if they could help me out. I feel that these encounters specifically helped me feel more confident in my Japanese speaking ability. My growth really showed through during my last trip in Japan when I went to Hokkaido for two weeks. About halfway into my trip a major problem occurred in which for a short period of time I was homeless in the northernmost part of Hokkaido, Wakkanai. After my stay is Asahikawa I had taken a train up to Wakkanai, stayed one night there and was ready to take a ferry the next day to Rebun Island where I would spend the next four days. Because of strong typhoon winds all of the ferry crossings were canceled without further notice. I was quite surprised at myself for how calm I was after I heard the news and had no place to stay for the next 3 nights. After Rebun Island I was planing to go down to Sapporo for a few days but because of the typhoon I decided to risked going down there early to see if my hostel had any rooms available early. Luckily that night they had a room available but the other two nights they were fully booked. I consider myself a cautious person which means I don't like trying new things but in order to find a place to sleep for those last 2 nights I took myself out of my comfort zone and tried looking for Manga Cafe that let you sleep over for the night. I found one and that conclude my worries for my Hokkaido trip. From that trip alone I learned how flexible I am when it really comes down to it and although my Japanese was nowhere near perfect, it got the job done when something happened. Of course I did learn and become more proficient in Japanese from the classes I took at Okayama University but you cannot really compare that to using it practically in your daily life. I came to the understanding that it's not only the language that was important to understand but the cultural understanding behind what is being said. The friends I made while in Japan, Japanese and foreigners like me, also helped in my Japanese language development.
Over the course of my year in Japan I would say I took around 8,000-9,000 photos. I notice though time the type of photos I took from the first time I entered Japan to the photos I took half a year in were different. At first everything was new and interesting so I would take pictures of buildings or just random objects. Once I started to get used to the Japanese lifestyle I started to take picture of specific places, and cultural item. Through the Flicker Photo Project I was able to upload some of those photos and put some type of personal meaning behind them. If you would like to see some of those photos you can click on the link for "CSUMB Okayama" under Flicker Photo Project. Many of those thousands of photos also made their way onto a scrapbook I created to commemorate my yearlong adventures in Japan. You can also find a link for that down below in "Study Abroad 2013-2014". Lastly, I created a blog in which I wrote monthly on my experiences in Japan which can be accessed by clicking the link "Japan Monthly Blog" below. Going to Japan is an experience I will never forget and I would recommend everyone in college to try it out some time before they graduate.
Flickr Photo Project:
CSUMB Okayama
Blog:
Japan Monthly Blog
Scrapbook:
Study Abroad 2013-2014