Brian Frueh
Public Health Perspectives: Japan
Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project.
The STEP project I chose to do was a study abroad in Japan as apart of the Public Health Perspectives program. On this trip I traveled around Japan exploring many significant public health sites, hearing from various experts about the past and present state of the Japanese public health system. In addition, I went early to Japan before the program allowing myself plenty of free time to explore Japan semi-independently.
What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project?
I would say the first major change I underwent was a perspective change. This was the first country outside of the United States that I’d been to, and while I was expecting things to be different, it was almost like I expecting everything to be different. Once I was there it didn’t take long for this notion to be utterly destroyed. Japan has close to everything I could ever want or need from the states with the added benefit of having things that I wish did exist in the states. This combined with how the people acted really affected how I see the different peoples of the world. Nothing anyone did was ever too weird, and it made me realize that apart from some cultural and historical differences everyone is more or less on the same page. We work, buy things, have friends, have family, love, hate. I don’t know why it took a study abroad to have that click but I am happy I got the chance to experience it.
Before the trip if you were to ask me if I thought I could ever work in another country the answer to that would have been a flat out no. After the trip however, I’m not so sure that would be too bad of a thing. At first I thought the language barrier would have been too big of an obstacle to overcome, but Its not the deal breaker I once thought it was; at least for Japan anyway. I do think even learning a little of the language would make it a hundred times easier to navigate the country, but the point is you don’t have to be completely fluent to survive. So now I think it would be possible to work in another county for a time perhaps even permanently which before the trip would have been completely unthinkable.
What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you?
During my time in the program I’ve had many encounters which have affected me in some way. Some of the most important ones occurring during my initial week in Japan before the rest of the group arrived. My very first night in Japan I got in late from the airport, meeting up with my traveling companion nearly 2 hours after we intended. By the time we figured out how money transfers worked and how to get in to Tokyo using the trains, we were beat. Rightfully I wanted to go to bed immediately, but as my companion plainly put it: we were in Japan, and we’re not going to bed without some food. So after wandering around nightly Asakusa and befriending a traveling Chinese man (who we shared many adventures with in the future) we would find a restaurant, well more of a dinner and its where I ordered my first meal in Japan. Now what I’ve just described sounds like an ordeal, and at the time it very much was. Thinking back on it however everything went really smoothly. There was no getting lost, hard time getting wifi, inability to ask for directions or anything else that I worried about occurring. In fact I’d say 90% of my worrying can be directly attributed to it being my first time in another country. By the end of the trip however, I was comfortable in Japan; at least for a tourist anyway, which led me to dispel the notion that It was completely impossible to stay in Japan for an extended period. Japan and the United States when it comes down to it are fully modern countries with very similar societies structurally even if culturally they are very different. This made it easy to navigate around and solve problems as they came up. Now for other people I’m sure it wasn’t quite the same. I know many people who by the end of the trip couldn’t wait to get back to America because everything was so different. I can say firmly that I wasn’t one of them, and while I don’t know if it would be different should I go to a less developed country, the fact remains that I felt comfortable in Japan. This is something I didn’t quite expect but something I’m now glad that I know.
During my time in Japan I met a fellow from the UK. He worked as a bartender up until he left his job and started to travel. He traveled to 16 different countries over 12 months on whatever money he had. If he needed money he would find work in whatever country he was currently in. I was fortunate enough to find him on the last leg of his trip before he returned home. He shared much about his experiences with me, all of which were impressive. Tons of traveling and to different countries no less with no language experience was more than I could ever imaging doing. However, after my interaction with him I began to think more about how such an arrangement could work. My full time spent in Japan and my interactions with him as well as others made me believe that a person can live relatively anywhere in the world. Although how easily would certainly depend on the country itself and how crazy the person was. But I’m sure anyone can do it, especially if the conditions are right. After my trip and interactions even I who had never before seriously considered living outside the United States could see the possibility of life outside of the U.S.
Toward the end of my trip I realized just how much of a normal country Japan really was. It might seem weird to say this, but I used to think Japan was kinda like a future country; with everything being a step above everything else. While it’s true that Japan is a leader in many technological areas and innovations, it is still just a regular country. This was made clear when we traveled to an area devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. I expected a lot more to be rebuilt by time we got there, but there were still huge swaths of land just filled with plots where buildings used to be. As reminiscent of any large scale natural disaster I don’t know what I expected. It takes years just to plan the rebuilding let alone the actual buildings. Nothing made it clearer to me of the total devastation occurred in the area than the still visible scar seen on the nearby mountain. Every single building must have been under water. Even the hospital we visited on the top of a really large hill had its entire first floor flooded. It was a very sobering experience that made me seriously question the insanity of natural disasters and the incredible fortitude of anyone who could withstand to rebuild after such an event.
Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life?
This trip was probably the single most important trip of my life so far. It is guaranteed to remain in my memory indefinitely. That’s to say everything that went along with it. The excitement, the worry, the uplifting moments, the sobering moments, and of course the all the personal changes I’ve developed. The most important thing I’ve taken away form this trip that is currently affecting my life choices is my adjusted world outlook, as well as the ability to see myself living in Japan. I see the world now not as a distant uninvolved thing but something to be interacted with. This has led to my renewed commitment to my major, my language study, where I’m choosing to volunteer as well as my after college plans. For better or for worse this trip has helped spark a fire which I hope will carry me through to graduation and beyond.
This experience has helped me answer many questions I’ve had for myself and shed insight into the countless opportunities before me. However, with how helpful this trip has been at answering my questions it has been equally helpful in introducing more. Now that I’m back I’ll have to work harder to meet these new challenges, and figure out my life going forward. This trip has been such a magnificent journey that words alone cannot best describe it. I’ve learned much from my adventure and encourage anyone and everyone whether that be future STEP students or landed faculty with the means to go out and travel somewhere you’ve always wanted to go. Trust me the rewards are far beyond worth it.