Prior to studying abroad, most of my experience with Japanese came from reading books, watching TV shows, and taking language classes, with relatively infrequent interaction with native speakers. After arriving in Japan, I quickly learned that being able to understand a lot of words or grammar points is much different than being able to have a conversation with someone in a language. It was a humbling experience to find out that I could not communicate in Japanese as well as I thought I could. Although it made speaking stressful at the start, this realization ultimately led to me becoming more confident in my abilities as the program went along, because I was able to see how much I had improved since the beginning of the program. The fact that in my language classes we spoke almost exclusively in Japanese really helped me to identify which areas I need to continue to work on, and to become more accepting of making mistakes and then recovering from them when speaking Japanese, which is a process that happens often when learning to speak a new language.
I heard from professors and exchange students that staying with a host family while studying abroad is the best way to get immersed in a country’s culture and language, so I decided before I left for Japan that I would do just that. Initially, I was definitely nervous about staying with another family. Part of this was due to the language barrier that would be present. The other reason was that I have always lived with my family at the house that I grew up in, so this would be my first time living elsewhere for an extended period of time, let alone in another country. However, I decided that I would likely have regrets if I didn’t take advantage of this opportunity. I’m very glad that I made this decision because I had a great time with my host family, and it gave me an opportunity to experience daily life in a different culture and improve my language skills in everyday scenarios. Additionally, my worries about living away from my family for the first time ended up not being an issue, because the family that I stayed with became like a second family to me. I would definitely recommend that anyone who is able to stay with a host family while studying abroad take advantage of the opportunity.
Studying in a community outside of your own is an extremely valuable experience, and an opportunity to make meaningful new connections and challenge yourself in a new environment. I would highly recommend it to everyone that is able to do so; it is truly an experience unlike any other.
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