This summer, I had the opportunity to travel to Japan for  two and a half weeks to learn about a variety of public health topics and receive a first-hand experience on some of the sociological and cultural issues concerning the country. The first half of the program was spent listening to lectures from professors at two universities: Azabu University and the University of Tokyo. The second half of the program was spent traveling to six different cities to gain experiential learning on the topics we covered during lectures.

Traveling in and of itself is already a transformational experience, but being part of this study abroad program enhanced the experience for me because it had such an intensive educational component. I learned from professors from some of the top universities in Japan, listened to storytellers that lived through the harrowing experiences that textbooks could never begin to describe to the same accuracy, and embarked on field visits that supplemented the learning we had done in the classroom. Thanks to the program, I gained a new perspective from a different country, embraced a new culture, and ultimately became a changed person with a deeper appreciation for the diversity the world has to offer. I also learned how to interact in a group setting and become a team-player.

From this trip, I have gained invaluable knowledge that no textbook in a classroom setting can teach, and an overall new perspective for how I look at the world. When I wrote my background research report before the trip started, I thought I had a solid grasp on the topics we would address throughout the program. However, I soon realized that while the information I learned from my own research was not necessarily wrong, hearing it from people who have actually experienced it added on a whole new perspective. The storytellers for itai-itai and Minamata disease so vividly pulled me into the suffering they had felt. There is nothing I read online from my own research that comes close to the visceral reaction I had from their brutally honest recounts of the terrible diseases. I knew about the hill behind the Okawa Elementary school, but seeing firsthand how painfully close the children and teachers were to salvation was unimaginable. In school, I had learned about the bombing on Hiroshima, but I never truly realized how biased the subject was taught in the U.S. education system. Being able to look around the Peace Memorial Museum and reading survivor stories taught me that there are always two sides to a story.

In Azabu University, Dr. Nihei talked about the aftermath of the 2011 tsunami. Through her lecture, I learned about how various aspects of public health come together to manage a natural disaster such as pest control, irrigation, and infrastructure. Dr. Ooi taught me to always keep an open mind because closing it means not being receptive to learning and growing as an individual. As a result of this program, I will go into my future studies with a renewed hunger for learning and never assume that I know the full extent of any topic because there are always untold narratives being missed from the overall picture.

One of my favorite parts of the trip were the relationships I formed with my classmates from OSU. Much laughter and memories were formed, and I am glad that I will be able to see them back on campus this coming school year. Even though not everyone majored in public health, we were able to put our collective experiences as OSU students together and apply it towards a common learning goal. Through The University of Tokyo students, I was able to gain a new insight on student life in Japan. Though we all came from different parts of the world, we were still able to find that we shared many commonalities as university students. We grabbed dinner with the students on multiple occasions where we were able to learn more of the nuanced differences of the Japanese culture.

Before I started this program, I had hoped that it would change me for the better, and I am glad it did. I have always believed that experiencing things firsthand is the most effective method of learning. Traveling does exactly that, and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to do so in an environment that is academically stimulating but also with people that made the experience enjoyable. I have gained friends from this program that I would not have otherwise met since they are in different majors. Being able to take part in lectures from professors at renowned universities in Japan challenged me to think about topics that I never learned back at OSU. Not only that, I embraced and was able to appreciate a whole new culture. Whenever I travel, I adapt bits and pieces of the places I have been to, with the ultimate goal of becoming a well-rounded individual able to handle the complexities of life. The places I have traveled to thus far, now including Japan, will shape me to become a better individual and contributing member of society. As a result, I am more motivated than ever to work hard academically to achieve my career goals moving forward.

Our last group dinner in Tokyo with some of the students from The University of Tokyo

Thanks for an unforgettable and transformational experience, Japan!