An Amazing Chance to Learn About Japan and Yourself

Hi! My name is Miriam, and I attended the Year in Japan Program (YiJ) for the 2016-2017 academic year. Overall, I can’t express enough how much it helped me towards my personal and academic goals. The combination of daily language classes and living with a host family boosted my confidence in speaking Japanese and navigating daily life abroad, and the location of Kōnan University puts exchange students at a wonderful advantage to travel to many different places, exploring the culture (and the food!) as they go. I arrived in Japan very nervous about making mistakes, and worried that I would miss out on many things because I didn’t know the language well enough. However, the practice YiJ provided helped me to break out of that shell and seek new experiences at school and beyond, and by the time I left Japan I felt I had truly settled into life there. I had small cafés to frequent and favorite spots that were “off the tourist trails”; I had funny language mishaps and great language achievements, and all of the classes I took supplemented my knowledge of the country as I went along. Beyond the classes, YiJ also offers a few class trips that help solidify everything you’re learning and provide fun breaks from school at the same time.

On a personal level, my time in the program threw all sorts of challenges my way—from culture shock to language barriers, and everything in between—but these roadblocks helped me to become a more confident, independent person, and steered me towards new future goals and job aspirations. Now, two years later, I am once again living in Japan, but without the YiJ Program I don’t think I would have sought this path. For any student considering study abroad in Japan, I would highly recommend YiJ. There will be many challenges, but if you allow yourself to be changed by your time there you will have a wonderful opportunity to experience another country to the fullest, all while growing as a person and building your academic résumé.