The program at the Japan Center for Michigan Universities (JCMU) is one of the most transformative experiences that I have the pleasure of being a part of. From the full immersion classes to being able to live in Japan for a long period of time. Don’t get me wrong, this experience was difficult and there was a time when I was burnt out. Despite that, the experience that is gained more than makes up for the difficulties. Full immersion is something that allows your proficiency of the language to have noticeable milestones in your learning. For example, slowly being able to understand the announcements that were being made on trains, being able to listen to respectful language, humble language, and understanding nuance within conversations. I was so blown away from the opportunity to study abroad, that I am following up my academic year, with another academic year in Japan.

Personally, this program has realigned my goals for my intended career path. Before I had wanted to stay in America and loosely follow the same path that many in my major follow. However, now? I want to boost my speaking skills to an extent that I can work in Japan, and possibly even work within United States and Japanese relations. First, I do need to study more before I can even think about starting that dream.

Since I had spent so much time there, I was able to learn about, and pick up, some habits from Japan. One of the things that will most likely cause me some embarrassment in the U.S. will be bowing, and I may or may not be guilty of bowing subconsciously to some Americans.

But, on a more serious note, being able to see all the festivals that go on in Japan was a genuine blessing to view. One of my favorites was the culture festival that the local college was hosting. Seeing students perform live music, cooking food, and creating attractions for anyone to participate in was another incredible experience. That isn’t even to mention some of the smaller ones that you can just run into as you live there.

Overall, studying abroad is an invaluable experience that I think that anyone on the fence about should give a try. Even if you think that you cannot do it, or that it is too expensive, you should do it. By just applying you can find many scholarships and opportunities to make your time abroad affordable, and achievable.

Name: Alexander Ross
Status: Junior
Major: International Relations
Hometown: Petoskey, Michigan
Program: Japanese Language and Culture with JCMU