As I stepped off the plane, my world would shift upside down. What was there to expect from a region on the opposite side of the world? Growing up beside the Mexican border, my culture was the antithesis of Asian customs. I felt the hot heavy air hold down my body as I started my Japanese life in Tokyo.
Although breaking the language barrier was difficult, assimilating to the culture was quite feasible. The Mexican-American way of life, I thought, was correct in all senses. This naïveté, however, allowed me to assimilate at a faster pace as the feeling of incomplete knowledge compelled me to absorb every little detail included in Japanese culture. I had to know everything!
The Japanese pride themselves on respect. I admire their quaint humble personality, so a result, I tried to improve my ways. For example, I felt that I had not been doing enough to help my community because I was so busy with my studies, so I decided to help out people who had been victim to the Tsunami in 2011. One characteristic that I found fascinating about the Japanese people was their willingness to put someone else before themselves.
Compared to Japan, my hometown is dangerous. Since the rise of drug trafficking has risen, the rise of danger has directly correlated along with it, leaving the citizens of my community in constant fear. Japan, with its low crime rate, is a safe haven. The people make any individual feel like family, mutual respect is attainable, and virtually no danger exists! I felt I had been living a lie, but I was experiencing something new.
Besides Japanese customs, I was fortunate enough to assimilate to a plethora of cultures from other exchange students. Most differed from Mexican culture in the way that they treat their respective people with less respect than the Japanese. All of the ethnicities from over thirty countries and I unanimously agreed that we should mold our ways similar to those of the Japanese by treating everyone and ourselves fairly, respectfully, and with dignity. Our respective schools called for demanding grades, so we all studied very hard for numerous exams, which ultimately increased our study habits tenfold. With competition, we made each other better students and learned to work individually and cooperatively efficiently.
With time, I began to act exactly like what I had been experiencing. The culture and customs were now embedded in my genetic code. I was motivated to use the proper etiquette which I learned through my yearlong exchange. People’s wants now came before my own, and love and compassion now meant something completely different to me. The end of my stay in Japan was equivalent to a blindfold coming off. Exposing myself to every single culture I crossed, my new eyes saw the world as it was, with light glistening like the dancing rays of the rising sun.
