Study Abroad

My study abroad journey would start in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, where I would attend Rikkyo University for the Fall semester. A bustling hub for tourism and shopping, Ikebukuro was where I would learn about the differences in the way of life in Japan. From there, I made my way to the southeast, where I spent my Spring semester at Chukyo University, an institution located some distance from the city center of Nagoya. It was here that I came to understand the societal aspects of relationship-building and the Japanese education system. My goal in studying abroad was to pass the highest level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, which is widely regarded as the pinnacle of achievements among learners and often takes many years to attain. However, during my year abroad, I found that lived experience taught me more than anything I could ever learn from studying grammar and vocabulary in a book.

At Rikkyo, one cultural difference I quickly came to understand is the stark contrast between the lifestyles of the average American in South Carolina and the average Japanese person in Tokyo. Coming from a spacious suburban neighborhood in upstate SC, I found the crowded Tokyo streets and uncomfortably small dorm to be among my first difficulties in adjusting to my new environment. One particular aspect that proved difficult was the concept of personal space, not only on a physical level but also on a psychological one. In the always-busy streets of Tokyo, it can sometimes feel impossible to get away from people, whether it be stuffing into a train and standing pressed up shoulder to shoulder with strangers, or navigating the bustling stations that never seem to let you catch a break. No matter where you go, it can feel like the crowds are inevitable. Ironically, it was during this time that I felt the most isolated. This was due to the psychological concept of personal space in Japanese culture. Instead of the American style of approaching a stranger and starting a conversation, Japanese people prefer to stay within their inner circle and rarely go out of their way to mingle with people outside that group. This proved especially hard as a foreigner; with no inner circle going in, I was forced to put in the work to create my own. Through the Japanese and English exchange events at school and frequenting local social spaces, I gradually worked my way into the inner circle of some of my now closest friends. Although this experience was not grounded in language ability, it proved to be an important learning experience that helped me adapt to the disparities between American and Japanese ways of life.

Another cultural difference that I came to understand more deeply during my time at Rikkyo is how language can communicate identity and social relationships. In Japanese, there are several ways to refer to oneself, each having its own social nuance. I had initially relied on 私 (watashi), which I had learned as a polite and gender-neutral form, but after spending more time with my Japanese friends at Rikkyo, I began using 俺 (ore), a much more casual and masculine form. I had unconsciously made its use a habit and had used it when speaking to one of my professors, and was corrected for being too informal. Although a small mistake, it made me realize that language learning and communication go far beyond grammar and vocabulary. What I choose to say and how I communicate influence the relationships I create and the way people perceive me. In a way, this experience opened my eyes to another layer of language I had not considered deeply before.

Another cultural and linguistic difference that became more apparent during my time in Nagoya is the role of indirectness in the language. In Japanese, a large amount of information is communicated strictly through context and mutual understanding, creating moments when it can be difficult for a language learner to understand what is being conveyed. The Japanese expression for this concept is “空気を読む”, directly translated as “reading the air/atmosphere”. My first run-in with this contextual style came in the way of asking a friend to go out for lunch one day, when he responded with “今日はちょっと….” Or “today is kind of…”. At first, I thought I didn’t hear what he said, but after some more back-and-forth, it became apparent that this was one aspect of the Japanese context and its indirectness. What my friend really meant by saying “today is kind of….” is that he isn’t able to go, and that another day would work better, but from a Japanese perspective, saying this directly can come off as harsh and inconsiderate to others. So instead, a polite phrase is used with the expectation that the other person will read the air. It was through this experience that I not only came to understand an aspect of Japanese culture in person-to-person interaction, but also a fundamental element of context and indirectness in the language.

Although I initially approached study abroad with the goal of passing an advanced Japanese language test, I found that my experiences helped me understand the language from a cultural and societal perspective I would never have gained through traditional study methods and test-taking. My time at both Rikkyo and Chukyo University helped me gain a better understanding of the Japanese lifestyle, linguistic and grammatical nuances, high-context communication skills, and so much more. Thanks to this experience, I reconsidered what it means to learn a language and the facets that make up the concept of language learning. Although I have so much more to learn, I will carry my study-abroad experience with me as a progress in my Japanese studies.