Student Introductions

Ayaka Kato (18 years old)

I am a second year [high school] student. I skipped a whole year for the exchange. I was in North Carolina. I went on the Youth for Understanding (YFU) program. I had a J-1 visa. It was ten months, a whole school year. I had a home stay. There were no Japanese around me. We can’t really choose which school to go to in YFU. We go to public school. I had classes like Americans do and I got to choose my classes. My favorite class was dance because we don’t have dance class in Japan. It was a combination: ballet, jazz, hip hop …

Kinoto Saeki (24 years old)

I am looking for a job because I just graduated from Grand Valley State College in Michigan. When I was a high school student, I studied in Maryland for a year at a public school and then returned to Japan to graduate from a Japanese high school. I had an F-1 visa. It wasn’t just a regular high school thing. It was AFS, American Field Service. It started in WWI/WWII from ambulance drivers. They are doing a study abroad program because they think it is the base that makes world peace. I had a home stay.

Tuya Yokoyama (17 years old)

I’m in my first year of high school. I was in first year before I left, but I have to return to first year because last year didn’t count for my school. I studied in Colby, Kansas, through the American Field Service (AFS) program. It’s a one year program, so I had an F-1 visa. AFS helped us do everything. So, I just came to the Embassy and did an interview for the visa. I really, really liked my host family.

Preliminary Questions

1. How was your experience?

Kato:

It was great. I am planning to go back to America for college because I loved it. Not for all of college, but for one year on exchange.

Yokoyama:

It was just awesome! It was just the best year of my life. Here I have a thousand students in my high school. There they had only 320 students, so everyone in the school knew me, and almost everyone in the town knew me. I thought it was really cool because it was so different from where I used to live.

2. What was the best part?

Kato:

Having another family; having a real other family. My host family was more of a real family to me than my real family.

Saeki:

Since it was Maryland, it was a place I wasn’t expecting because my image of the U.S. is just that there are many kinds of people going to the same school together. So it was a really good experience because it’s about one hour from DC, one hour from Baltimore, and there are many Asians, African-Americans, white people, and… Because of that, no one tried to think that I’m Japanese. They just accepted me as a person.

Yokoyama:

Everything! I loved the food. I loved my school, I loved my friends, and I loved my family.

3. What was most difficult?

Kato:

English. For the first two months it was kind of hard to communicate. I was actually pretty good in daily conversation the first two months, but starting classes at school was really hard.

Saeki:

The language and some cultural things. It doesn’t matter if you ask about religious things in Japan, but it’s kind of taboo in the States.

4. How has your experience benefited you?

Yokoyama:

I wanted to go to college in the U.S. before I studied abroad, but now that I have family and friends there I want to go back to where they live and meet them again. I work really hard because I have goals. So after I graduate from high school, I’ll go there to study, hopefully.

5. Why did you study abroad?

Kato:

I used to live in Malaysia for five years because my father had to work there. I went to Japanese school there, so I didn’t really speak English every day. After I got back to Japan, all of my friends asked me to speak English, but I couldn’t. So I really regretted that I didn’t go to an international school in Malaysia.

Saeki:

I went to English conversation school when I was little, and I loved English at the time, but when I started studying it at school it was just grammar and reading. I hated English, so my grade for English was really bad. Since I had learned English when I was a kid and because my parents loved watching American movies on TV, however, I really wanted to go to the U.S. When I found the AFS program, I just tried taking the exam. I found a person who did the program, and he explained the program to me. I found more about it online.

Questions from “American View” Readers

1. A reader in Osaka: Did you already know what you wanted to study? How did you decide what you wanted to study and where best to go to study it?

Kato:

I didn’t really know [what I wanted to study]. I think I actually searched on the Internet. I asked a couple of programs to send me information and then decided to be in the YFU program.

Yokoyama:

My grandma went to the United States using the AFS. That was fifty years ago. So my grandma told me about AFS and there was a test for going to the United States. I had to take an English test and an interview. My grandma taught me everything …

2. A reader in Toyama: Did you get homesick? If you did, how did you deal with it?

Ayaka Kato with her host family

Kato:

I actually felt homesick for the first two days, only the first two days. The reason why I had homesickness for the first two days was because I had jetlag and so I couldn’t sleep. It was night and dark. I had no one with me, so I was concerned with how it was going to be for my exchange year. I was crying and my host sister realized that I was crying because we were sharing a room and we talked. Talking will help, but I do not recommend any students talk to other Japanese because it will make them more homesick.

Saeki:

No, because I was like a sponge. Everything was new. I just didn’t compare and think Japan is like this, or the U.S. is like this. I think it’s when you compare that you get homesick.

3. A student in Tokyo: Did you get culture shock? What was it like? Did it go away?

Saeki:

Kind of. Like the easiest one is that there were no uniforms at my high school. Also, there are some religious schools, and there are no vending machines for cigarettes and stuff.

Yokoyama:

It’s too different from where I used to live. [In Japan,] I can walk to the station. It takes about three minutes. I can go to the grocery store in like a minute or something. There, I had to take cars everywhere, and I couldn’t drive at all, so I had to ask my mom or dad. [When I got back to Japan,] it was kind of weird because in Kansas there are no mountains. It’s really flat with corn fields or wheat fields. So, I thought, “Wow! There are so many trees in Japan!” I hadn’t seen so many trees in Kansas.

4. A reader in Kyoto: Did you run into an emergency such as an injury or illness? If yes, what happened? What did you do?

Kato:

I was sick. I went to the doctor, but it wasn’t an emergency. I had insurance. I was surprised because in Japan, the doctor usually gives us several [types of] medicine, but they didn’t. I just had counseling and no medicine. After I went back home, I just had some ibuprofen.

5. A student in Tokyo: Did you encounter prejudice/stereotypes/discrimination? If so, how did you deal with it?

Kato:

Yeah. They all thought Japanese do this thing. [Clap their hands together in front of them, bow, and say “Konnichiwa.”] But, we don’t do that! So yeah, they had some wrong stereotypes.

Saeki:

Well, yeah. When I first went to the States I was getting information from U.S. movies. That was my stereotype. I thought Americans all live in huge houses, hang out after school… But, the truth was not [like this]. Actually, my host family lived in a small house and after school if I didn’t take the school bus I couldn’t go home, so I didn’t have time to hang out with friends.

Yokoyama:

Most of them are white people, so there are few black people or Asian people. Other than me, there were only two Asians at my school. I was called Chinese often, but other than that… I mean, they’re not meaning to be mean to you. They say you’re Chinese because they’re not used to Asian people, or Japanese people, so just don’t be really shocked or sad. I was in a really, really small town and there wasn’t any discrimination.

6. A student in Saitama: Did you feel safe when studying in the U.S.? Was there anything you did as a precaution?

Kato:

I didn’t really bring a lot of money to school because my host family told me not to.

Yokoyama:

I had to ask my dad before I could go out with my friends, but that’s it. [I had a curfew], but I think it was 10:30 p.m. for the school days and 11:00 p.m. for the weekends. I never broke it; or I called my dad when I had to break my curfew. I bought my own cell phone. It’s prepaid. It’s really good for foreign exchange students, I think. [My host family] said I had to tell them before I went out or did something out of the house, but it was fine. They let me do pretty much whatever I wanted. It was a really, really small town, so I had to be careful for coyote or bears.

7. A student in Tokyo: Was it hard making friends? What do you think is the best way to meet more people?

Kato:

For me it really wasn’t, because I just like being with people. Attending the clubs [at school is the best way to make friends].

Saeki:

It was hard [to make friends]. In high school, when I went to Maryland, it was August. The first couple of months I had no friends. I ate lunch by myself. I didn’t know where to eat lunch and even when I found someone who was nice to me during class in the States it’s not like in Japanese schools where one class is one class. The students change classrooms, so when it was lunch I didn’t know where my friends went. Get into groups like for sports, where there’s only one set of rules, so if you know the rules, even though you don’t speak the same language, you can play it. That helped me make friends and because of those friends, I made other friends quickly.

Yokoyama:

Yes, I’m not a very outgoing person, so I didn’t have any real friends until about Christmas. So, it kind of took a long time, but I was really happy even though I didn’t have any friends. I was playing with my puppy or reading books or being really happy. Then, I was girls’ basketball manager and in the international club. It helped a lot because I was a manager with two other girls and they became my really, really good friends, and I made friends in the basketball team.

8. A reader in Kanagawa: Were you a member of any clubs or student organizations? What types of activities and events did you participate in? What do you recommend doing?

Kato:

I was in dance team, drill team, and cheerleading. Drill team is the dancers that back the bands when they march. Also, we had homecoming. It was on Halloween day, and we had this Halloween homecoming football game at my school. So we watched it. I think it was special.

Saeki:

I supported the Japanese teacher in high school. The Japanese teacher asked me to take Japanese class, but I didn’t take exams or stuff and I would get an A grade. I just sat there and demonstrated how to pronounce and how to write kanji in stroke order.

Tuya Yokoyama at prom with her friend, Brittany

Yokoyama:

I went to the prom, and I went through the graduation thing. My family had a party for me and the prom was really, really fun. We went to Arizona for spring vacation, and I got my dress and shoes and everything there. It was awesome! My friend did my nails and I had a hair appointment. It was at a hotel near our school, so it was like a really formal thing. We had a formal dinner and a dance party.

9. A reader in Kanagawa: Were there any English conversation support groups or interest groups outside of your schools? If yes, how did you find them and what did you do?

Kato:

There was ESL class. I took it, but I don’t really recommend any students take one because it was too boring. For the first two or three weeks it might help, but after that it’s boring.

Yokoyama:

I used a radio English program thing for five years. I think it really helped me a lot. [When I first got to the U.S.,] I could say what I wanted to say, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying. When they were speaking to me I could understand them, but when they were talking to each other, it was too fast. [I improved, though] and I couldn’t speak Japanese at all when I got back. I spoke English to my mom, and my mom can’t speak English at all.

10. A student in Ibaraki: Did you receive financial aid or some sort such as a scholarship, grant, or fellowship? If so, which and what did it entail? How did you find it?

Kato:

I had a kind of scholarship. I applied to the National Study Abroad Scholarship, but I was rejected. But, YFU gave me JPY 100,000. I didn’t apply for it. They just gave me it, but I had to write reports afterwards when I got back to Japan.

Yokoyama:

Well usually you have to pay 20,000 U.S. dollars or something like that [for my program], but I got a scholarship from the American Embassy, so I didn’t have to pay anything. Well, I had to pay for my shots and for buying suitcases, but it helped us a lot. I think it’s just called the [Toshiyuki Tanaka] American Embassy Scholarship. I have to do an interview for that scholarship tomorrow [because we have to report to them when we come back.]

11. A reader in Toyama: Do you recommend bringing anything from Japan when you go to the U.S. to study abroad?

Kato:

Bring “gojuon-hyo,” Japanese alphabet. All of my friends asked me to teach Japanese to them, so I started from pronunciation, but it was hard to just tell them. I had to write it down. You don’t have to bring one. You can make one. I recommend “gojuon-hyo,” maybe yukata, and Japanese traditional snacks.

Saeki:

I recommend “Cook Do” a small sauce pack. It’s just sauce in there. You can cook meat and veggies and add the sauce and it tastes the same [as the food you get in Japan].

Yokoyama:

Just lots of clothes. It’s kind of weird that they don’t do laundry very often. In Japan we do laundry every day, but there they do it once a week. You can’t go to malls to buy clothes very much when you are in the countryside. You can ask your parents to send you winter clothes after you get there. Also, I made an album with my pictures. My [host] family and my friends really liked it, so I think it’s a good idea.

Other Comments

Kato:

Study English before you leave. At least know some words and have a good attitude. If you look like you want to say something and you can’t, it’s okay, but if you are really shy and believe you can’t, it’s bad. I wasn’t a fluent English speaker, but I can use simple vocabulary, simple sentences. Also, take math class even if you are really bad at it in Japan, because I had a really bad grade in math in Japan. When I was in America, I got awards from the state because I had the best score they have ever had. I had 156% score on my report card. I didn’t really make any mistakes. I got an award certificate.

Saeki:

Be a sponge. Don’t compare anything, but take everything in. You should be like a baby. If you have Japanese in your brain, you’re going to translate in your brain, but if you do that, it’s too late.

Yokoyama:

You shouldn’t have expectations, like I’ll go to New York or I want to go to Los Angeles. I didn’t go anywhere, but it’s really fun wherever you are. And you shouldn’t be too sad when you don’t have any friends or if you can’t speak English well. It’ll get better soon. I think it’s a good idea to keep a diary or journal in English, so at the end of the stay you can read the journal from August. It’s really fun. Let it be and have fun! You don’t have to work really hard to have fun.

1 Comment

  1. rochelle says:

    well i want to study aboard and learn new stuff and things like that i really don’t have finances to cover whatever is to cover but i will try my best i am 16