I met my second family and they were a big support system for me!

I spent a semester in Tokyo, Japan in Fall 2019. I was the only one from my college and state going on this IES Abroad program. I wasn't sure if my Japanese was sufficient to navigate around in the city or to ask for specific help whenever I needed it. It was the first time I would be away from home for so long. So I was excited to see how it would turn out, and I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to adjust to life in Japan because Japan and Georgia, USA are entirely different. However, IES Abroad allowed me to make a Japanese friend through email (e-pal) and meet my future classmates through Facebook so I would have someone I know meet me at the airport. There were 40 international students and 20 E-pals that would grow to be some lifelong friends. All of us were so unique and came from different backgrounds, majors, and language levels. The staff that worked at the IES Center were like family to a lot of us. They really looked out for us and helped us learn how to adjust and cope with occasional homesickness. The program had trips to Nikko and Hokkaido that allowed us to explore the differences that exist in various prefectures of Japan.
I lived with a host family, and they helped me adjust to the lifestyle and practice my Japanese. Every morning my host mom would say, "what is today? What is the date? What will you do today?" in Japanese, and I would have to respond in Japanese. In the evening times, my host parents would ask me: "how was my day? What did I eat for lunch? What did I learn?" and so on. It was great and not at all as overwhelming as one may think. They were patient with me and waited for me to think out my response and would gently correct me when my grammar was wrong. I am vegan, which means that I do not eat meat, dairy, fish, eggs, or any animal byproducts. So my options were a little bit restricted, but my host mom had vegan cookbooks and researched my dietary needs. So she would make new dishes or modify well-known dishes so that I could eat with the family. So this is something I am extremely grateful for because not many people are willing to do this or occasionally adjust their meals to accommodate someone for four months. I truly felt like I had a new family and hope to keep in contact with them now that I have returned to America. I made many lifelong friends while I was in Japan, and this experience helped me grow as a person. I hope in the future I can come back to work and live in Japan.