It’s been two weeks since the Pitt in Japan program has started, and I already know I’m going to miss everything so much when the program ends. I’ve made so many friends — Pitt students and Konan University students — and have already made so many good memories.
We live in single-gender student apartments/dormitories that are both about a 30 minute commute from campus. I’ve come to love the morning routine of having breakfast with the other students in my dorm, walking to the train station, and riding the train to school. Our breakfast always comes with corn soup, and I thought it would get old after a while, but every time I have it, I love it more. We don’t get provided meals on the weekends, and I always miss the dorm food on the weekends. After class, we either study a bit, hang out, or explore.
One obstacle that I knew I would face was the language barrier. I find that because of my physical appearance, it’s even harder since most people assume I can speak Japanese. From being here for just a couple weeks though, I’ve learned and picked up quite a bit! We learn useful phrases and words in class, and I get to practice a bit with other students or when I’m out and around Japan.
The biggest reason why I wanted to study abroad was for the experience of living in another country with a daily routine. One big difference that I’ve noticed here is that long commutes are much more normal than they are back at Pitt. At Pitt, most students live around campus and personally, I lived a less than 15 minute walk or a 5 minute bus ride from campus. Here, our commute takes around 30 minutes, and I have met many local students who commute for an hour or more everyday. Being constantly surrounded by other Pitt students though has helped a lot in the adjustment of navigating daily routines.
My favorite experience so far has just been doing fun things with my fellow Pitt in Japan students as well as the Konan University students. Whether it’s simply eating ice cream outside of a convenience store after dinner, telling stories at a bar, or singing at karaoke for 7 hours straight, it’s always a good time. We’re all so different, and I didn’t expect to get along so well with everyone. I can already tell that the remaining three weeks of the program are going to fly by, and I’ll be sad to say goodbye to the friends and lifestyle here.