Ever since I was little, everything about Asian culture has excited me. For example, I’ve visited Hibachi every year for my birthday and big occasions. It’s become a tradition I look forward to every year, so I was excited to see where this type of restaurant and food originated. Thus, when I heard about this study abroad that went to both Japan and South Korea, I knew I had to go. I thought it was a really cool business program that would allow me to expand my horizons and experience things I loved. Once signed up for the trip, I had a while until we actually left for it though.
That was until, finally we flew into Tokyo, Japan around 3:35 pm on Thursday (May 8th) after a 14-hour flight from Houston, Texas. The flight was long but the idea of being in a new city across the world kept me going. Once, we landed, I was immediately impressed and surprised by the many differences between the United States and Japan. For one, everything is super clean here in Japan. You can walk for miles on the street without seeing a single piece of trash, which is pretty uncommon in the U.S. They even have a very specific custom in Japan where you take off your shoes before entering the house and only step inside with clean socks, meaning you can’t let your socks touch the outside. In addition, a lot of the buildings here are not skyscrapers so you actually see a lot of sky and greenery around the city, which I’ve really enjoyed.
Another difference I noticed is that everything is quieter here. For example, In the United States, a lot of us Americans tend to have loud conversations, and we talk a lot. However, here you can often hear a pen drop, so we sometimes had to make sure we were quieting down. Despite these differences, a lot of the infrastructure has reminded me of New York City in a way, specifically Shibuya Crossing. Thus, it’s safe to say my initial impressions have definitely exceeded my expectations, and I hope to expand my horizons on this trip. This is my first study abroad, so I know it will challenge me to try new things and help me grow my global perspective, which is essential in the workforce.
