I chose to use my STEP project funds for my academic year study abroad program to the International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan. I spent the year studying the Japanese language and culture at the university while participating in cultural exchanges with native Japanese students and other international students. I also experienced traveling around Japan and visited different cultural heritage sites and other local specialties.

Spending this year in Japan was an extremely transformative process. My understanding of myself, my assumptions towards others, and my view of the world all changed.  As I had never been outside of the country or away from my family for this long before, I was extremely nervous before beginning my program. I was worried about things like not having the Japanese skill to successfully make my way from the airport to my Airbnb, and not being able to make Japanese friends. I lacked the confidence in myself to believe that I had the ability to make the most out of this program. I could not have been more wrong. Throughout this program, I learned more about myself then ever before. As my Japanese language skill grew, so did my confidence in using Japanese conversationally to learn more about the Japanese people around me. I pushed myself to join clubs and participate in activities that actively pushed the boundaries of what I assumed about the world. Coming into this program, I already had preconceived notions of what I thought Japanese culture would be like, which were all blown away by the end of the program. Japanese culture is so much more nuanced that what is seen from the outside, and I learned the dangers of assuming that you know something about that which you have never experienced. My world view expanded, and I realized that things I have experienced through my life are not necessarily shared experiences by everyone I meet.

My relationship with my Japanese roommates was one of the experiences that brought about the most change within myself. I lived in a unit with three other girls, all of which are native Japanese. As such, the primary language we used to communicate with each other is Japanese. Through numerous daily communications with them, my Japanese language ability grew exponentially as I had the opportunity to use it every day. It was also a way to become good friends with native Japanese people and learn their perspective on different levels. The four of us made a conscious effort to take one trip together every month. Together we ate delicious food, went to a trampoline park, and even went to Tokyo Disneyland. Making native Japanese friends can be hard for foreigners, but these trips allowed me an insight into what normal Japanese girls do for fun. My confidence in my Japanese grew alongside my ability to communicate with them, and my world view shifted as I came to understand their perspective on several different issues. I treasure the memories I made with them on this program and how they shaped me to become a better person.

The second experience that led to my transformation was my participation in the Japanese Traditional Dance Club. This club was overseen by two Japanese Traditional Dance masters, as they taught us several dances which members then got to perform at the end of term performance. I was invited to this club by my other exchange student friend, and I was initially hesitant. I am not the greatest dancer and thought I might have a hard time with it. After the first practice session, however, I was in love. The dance style we were taught is completely unlike any form of Western dance I have seen, as the motions are extremely controlled and delicate. The beauty in the dance comes from subtle movements that tell an overall story. Through this club I got to experience an art form that is uniquely Japanese, and got to experience wearing a kimono, traditional Japanese dress. I also had the opportunity to interact with Japanese dance masters. In Japanese culture, treating elders with respect is so important, that it is even built into the language. Different grammar forms and words are used with those above you, and so I got the ability to practice that with our elder teachers. Before I came to Japan, I thought interacting with elders might be difficult because of this, but the teachers were so welcoming and accommodating that my fears were blown away. I also was called upon to translate for the rest of the exchange students in the club, which also made my confidence within myself grow. Unfortunately, our later performances were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but I fell so in love with this dance form that if I return to Japan, I would love to start doing it again. I likely would never have known this dance existed if I had not come to Japan and because of it I learned so much.

The third event that led to the changes within myself was the amount of travel I did within Japan. I knew before coming that I wanted to try and see as much of Japan as possible. Over the course of this program, I went to the cities of Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Kobe, Niigata, Matsumoto, Sapporo, and many more. I also traveled extensively within the city of Tokyo and its surrounding suburbs. Throughout my travels I saw wonders that I could never have imagined. I visited multiple Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, saw natural wonders of Japan, and experienced many regional food delights. Although Japan may seem like a completely homogeneous country from the outside, I saw a lot of variation within all the places that I went.  My view of the world expanded each time I took in the culture of each city. Different cities practiced different cultural rules and took different approaches to food and hospitality. I was able to practice my Japanese in a variety of different situations, and when my family visited, tried my best to translate the menu of a 6 course meal at a Japanese traditional inn. The souvenirs and memories I collected throughout these travels will stay with me for the rest of my life. Moving forward, all these experiences have made me a completely different person then who I was before the trip, and I could not be more thankful for how it has improved my confidence and world view.

This program fulfilled a personal goal that I have had since I was a child. I have always wanted to live in Japan, and this program gave me the opportunity to be able to learn what that would be like so I can apply it to other academic, professional, and future goals. One academic goal I had coming into this program was to improve my Japanese in speaking, writing, and reading. I believe that total immersion in the country of your target language is the best way to improve, and that belief turned out to be true. Japanese uses Chinese characters in its writing and reading system, and right from the start I was surrounded by them. This did wonders for my reading ability, as I picked up several characters a day. My speaking and conversational ability also vastly improved. I interacted with native Japanese speakers in my dorm daily, and my Japanese language classes were conducted entirely in Japanese. I presented projects and wrote formal reports in Japanese. As such, my Japanese language ability rapidly improved. The Japanese program at the International Christian University has great teachers, who also teach about Japanese culture alongside the language. The program prepared me so well I am currently studying for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, which will aid me in my goals to use Japanese in my professional life.

Besides just improving my language ability, this program also prepared me for fulfilling my future professional goals. It made me come to the realization that I want to use Japanese in my professional career, and that I want to focus on translating. It also exposed me to industries that have a need for Japanese translation that I had not known of before. Video games, movies, and professional industries like shipping and manufacturing all need Japanese translators. Many of those at my dorm were seniors, and through them I came to understand what job hunting in Japan looks like, and what was expected of applicants throughout that process. This gave me a clear idea of what I need to do during my senior year at OSU to accomplish working as a translator. As I mentioned before, this includes taking the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, but I also now know of job fairs that are specifically geared towards those wanting to work in Japan that I am interested in attending. As I move forward into accomplishing my professional goals, my study abroad year in Japan will prove invaluable in the connections and experience that it brought me.

1. Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project. Write two or three sentences describing the main activities your STEP Signature Project entailed.

My STEP Signature Project was an Education Abroad experience to Seville, Spain through OSU and Connecting Worlds Abroad. I was there from January until March, however the program was shortened due to COVID-19. I was there to study Spanish exclusively with native Spanish speakers in my home and in the classroom., and I also participated in a program-led weekend excursion to Madrid and Toledo to explore the country better.

2. What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project? Write one or two paragraphs to describe the change or transformation that took place.

While completing my STEP Signature Project, my assumptions about the country of Spain itself changed because I was able to witness the culture on a first-hand basis. My idea about religion in the country changed the most because most people from the United States imagine Spaniards to be very religious, when in fact only about 10-20% of the country are practicing Catholics. Citizens see Catholicism more as part of their culture and not a religion to be practiced like it was in the past.

I also got to see the lifestyle of Spaniards, which was similar, but definitely not what I thought it would be. I knew they were a little more relaxed in their day-to-day lives than citizens from the United States, but it was more than I thought I had more time on my hands even as my class-load increased, which is not something I am used to. I am used to always having something on my list of things to do throughout my day. I was never bored as I found new ways to occupy my time, but it definitely took some getting used to. Now that I am back, I realize I miss that kind of lifestyle, because it fit my personality better than I thought it would. This aspect of the project has definitely changed my understanding of myself and who I am.

3. 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? Write three or four paragraphs describing the key aspects of your experiences completing your STEP Signature Project that led to this change/transformation.

My relationship with my host mom Lucia gave me the best indication of the lifestyle of citizens who live in Seville specifically. She was an older woman who had a very spunky personality and loved to cook. My roommate and I took a little time getting used to the later eating schedule, but we loved our host mom’s cooking. It was with her that we also got the best use of our Spanish. Lucia was the bridge between the lifestyle and culture of the United States and Spain, and her relationship with us was crucial to the adjustment period. She told us places to explore in the city, and was genuinely interested in what we were up to while we were exploring with our friends, If I had been able to stay the full five months, I can’t even imagine how much better our relationship would have been with each other. When I told her that I had to leave so suddenly due to the global situation, her face fell and it was then that I realized how much I cared for her and how much living with her had helped me adjust and fall in love with the culture.

In every new culture and every study abroad program, you forge new and strong relationships with people you know are going through similar things to you. That happened with my closest friends and I after we took a random trip to Portugal. Neither of us knew each other very well, but after that weekend we were all inseparable. We saw each other outside of class almost every day after that trip, and we went through so much together. Although they may not have known if I was struggling to adjust or vice versa, they made it easier to get through the hard days because I knew they were there for me, and in a similar position. We also had plans for the remainder of the program we did not get to experience, but when we all had to come home, we still called each other often and continue to talk almost every day. It may not have turned out the way any of us wanted, but our friendships helped us adjust to the new culture and to the old one when we got home.

With the program itself we took a weekend trip to Toledo and Madrid. There we saw museums, cathedrals, and Carnival While in Toledo, I visited one of the oldest synagogues in Spain and got to show that side of me to my friends. Seeing the synagogue was also important as it demonstrated the presence of other religions. I knew they were present in Spain; however, everyone thinks of Catholicism when they think of Western Europe. Seeing other places of worship outside of Sevilla (where Islam is a great influence on architecture) helped shape my idea about religion in Spain. We also went to a free carnival concert which was one of the highlights of the trip as a whole. This is because we got to experience how they celebrate important holidays. They were all so energetic that we got just as excited even though we had never heard some of the music.

In Madrid we took a tour of the city and got to see the royal palace, giving us a close-up of the governmental structure of Spain. This trip showed me a different part of Spain that I may not have otherwise seen, helping me adjust to the culture even more and showing me how much I truly loved it. Getting to see the lifestyles of Spaniards in other parts of the country exposed me to the culture that the country of Spain holds. Each autonomous community is different, but that does not stop each citizen from embracing their culture as Spaniards. Having the opportunity to travel outside of Andalucía and Seville itself showed me that although lifestyles may be different in other parts of Spain, the culture as a whole is not.

4. Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life? Write one or two paragraphs discussing why this change or development matters and/or relates to your academic, personal, and/or professional goals and future plans

This transformation is very valuable to my life because I gained irreplaceable memories that shape who I am now. My Spanish-speaking skills may not be where they could have been had the program continued as normal, but I am significantly better than I was prior to living in Spain. I feel more confident and know that I could continue my skills in the right environment at school and in a career post-graduation. Taking a European Union class in a member nation has also increased my global awareness. I know how the EU works better and I wouldn’t have been able to do that as successfully had I learned about it in the United States. This class has helped me figure out geographical areas I would like to work with in a future career in international affairs. I have always been interested in European global affairs but knowing more about how those affairs are handled have helped me see I want to be a part of that process in any way I can. My knowledge of the EU ad Spanish will greatly increase my chances of doing something like that in a professional capacity.

For my project I was supposed to complete a 6 month long be a study abroad in Sevilla, Spain through the program Connecting Worlds Abroad. Due to the current COVID crisis I was forced to return home early in early March. The program I was in is  program has a home-stay component that provided the opportunity to consistently speak and interact with people in Spanish. Through the program I enrolled in 15 credit hours of classes, some will be taught through the COWA program teachers, and one at Universidad de Sevilla where wet I was still in country I was in class with native Spanish speakers. This program also included several excursions to nearby cities, such as Madrid, and to near by historic sites, including Álcazares and Roman ruins. Unfortunately, many of these trip were canceled do to inclement weather then due to COVID. The initial draw of the program was its location in Spain, and the accessibility of the high speed rail, that would have provided the opportunity for me to travel around to different parts of the country, to different countries in Europe, and possibly even to northern Africa. Due to my early departure most of my travel secondary to the program was canceled.

I am unable to say that this was a transformational experience for me because just as I was starting to get used to being in country I was forced to leave. The majority of what I experienced and learned those first few moth was introductory or information that was already familiar with. The only truly transformational thing that I experienced was the noted difference in university culture. College student there are treated as adult who are able to time manage for themselves. There are no daily assignments and attendance is not taken in class, meaning each student is responsible for themselves and does not have to fret over time wasting assignments, which I have found to be common in my classes at OSU.

This allowed my to more clearly acknowledge that the culture of the united sates and the way we educate only ensures that students with develop anxiety, stress, and depression related issues. In Spain the education system encourages life outside of the class room and involvement in the community. In the US we claim to promote such things but in reality students are expected to complete many tedious assignments that the average student barley has time outside of their class work to appreciate their time in college.

Additionally I found my teachers in Spain to be far more invested in the success of there their students, and more actively support students acting proactively to help student that feel are falling behind, instead of leaving them behind.

My realizations about the US education system and culture came as I was trying to get course approved for tanner credit for a class I wanted to register for at the Universidad de Sevilla. In my communication with OSU I was told I needed to translate all of the syllabi for the different classes I was interested in. In the end I had to translate a total of 10 syllabi to email back to OSU. A bit later I received a response telling me that none of the classes would be accepted, in this response in which clear that they had not actually read the syllabi I had just spent 5 hour translating for them or they would have seen that each class was applicable to the literature credit I was trying to fill even though some of them were taught by the history department. On the other end of they process my teacher in Spain were very supportive and helpful when I came to this precess and see equally frustrated with the response from OSU.

I appreciate greatly the people I met while there, my teachers, friends, and host family were a major light from this abbreviated study abroad experience. I hope to be to maintain these friendships and relationships for a lifetime. I was fortunate enough to be assigned a great host family, Monica and Jose, to whom I am grateful for their hospitality and love. I hope to be able to go back and visit them when I have to opportunity. I was also able to get to know people form all over Europe including Portugal, England, Ireland, France and many other places.

The city of Sevilla will forever hold a specially place in my heart because I feel like it was finely in this city that I felt at home; in that place, among its people, and in myself. I felt like I had finally figured out who I am and how to express myself fully. The person who I was before I want o Spain and after my return are the same, but I fell more at home with myself.  This was inspired by the people I met and by the culture of the Sevilla. I will take this comfort in my self forward with my in my professional, educational, and personal life.

 (great time getting to know the different parts of the city)