Reverse Culture Shock

By Sayaka

After returning to Japan, I felt some reverse culture shocks.

There are three things. First, I felt Japanese food is little taste because I ate strong taste food everyday when I was in America, for example, hamburger and pizza. I got used to strong taste of American food, and I like it, so I feel it is missing something for Japanese food. Second, I felt culture shocks to take a bath between America and Japan. When I was in America, I couldn’t soak in the bathtub, because there is no culture of soaking in the bathtub in America, and  I heard that it is normal for American people just take a shower. Also, Japanese usually soak in the bathtub, because Japan is the country with very rich water resources. I took a bath in fifteen minutes everyday when I was in America, but after returning to Japan, I have a good long soak in the bath everyday. Third, I felt my lifestyle in Japan little changed by American life. Before I go to study abroad, I got up at eight every day, but I was in America, I got up at six everyday, because the time class start was earlier than Japan. I got used to get up early in America, so I still get up early in Japan . For these things, I found some reverse culture shocks after returning to Japan, and I felt my lifestyle little changed by the American life.

When Life Gives You Lemons

By Sayaka

I experienced some problems in my life. There are two problems. The first is college exams. When I was a high school student, I studied hard everyday because I wanted to pass the entrance examination of the school of my first choice, so I was attending cram school everyday. I tried to study hard, but I was not admitted to the school of my first choice, so I was depressed and totally lost my confidence. When I was depressed, I was encouraged by my family and they said “ Never give up, you can do it.”  I was helped many times by this word, so I am very grateful to my family. The second is my personality. I was shy until I entered junior high school, so I was not good at speaking in front of people. When I was junior high school student, I went to China. It was the first time for me to go travel abroad, and I was very excited. I trie to speak to people many times, and then my personality changed little by little and I became able to speak in front of people. Now, I can think positively about anything. In conclusion, I think it is important to listen to good advices from others and to try something new.

Why I Need Other Languages

by Sayaka 

There are three reasons.  Why it is necessary for me to study other languages, in particular, English and Chinese. First, English and Chinese are the most global languages. It is because there are approximately 1.5 billion people who speak English, including second-language speakers. Also, approximately 1.3 billion people speak Chinese as an official language. 

                 

Textbooks for people studying Chinese and English 

Second, it is necessary for me to speak English for my job in the future, so I need to improve my English language skills. Now, I’m studying English and Chinese. When I was a junior high school student, I started to study English, but I’m not good at English yet, so I’m studying hard to become fluent. Also, I want to speak Chinese fluently because speaking Chinese is an advantage when finding a job, but it is a little difficult for me to study Chinese pronunciation. Third, I want to go to more countries. For example, I would like to travel to Europe because I have never been there. Also, I want to communicate with people from other countries smoothly. When I was a high school student, I went to Singapore on a school trip. When I was in Singapore, I was surprised that Singaporeans speak a lot of languages. For example, they speak English, Chinese, Malay, and Tamil. I wanted to speak their languages. For these reasons, I think I need to study other languages in order to communicate and connect with a lot of people around the world.

I love Candice!

by Sayaka 

My RA is Candice and she is 29 years old. And she is kind and powerful woman. 

She likes listening to music well and especially likes R&B and ballad, so she recommended to me  “ Lizzo” ; she is a great singer-song writer.

When I played the music, she looked really happy. Also, she likes talking a lot with me and my dorm-mates.

We can have a great time because she always thinking about our group work time, and also she often helps me if I couldn’t solve questions in my homework. I'm really grateful to her because she makes it easy for me to understand.

There are 12 people in my group and they are very powerful. After school, we always do homework in living room. After we finished it, we go to commons to eat dinner together and we always play card game until midnight. Sometimes, I feel sleepy, but it is very fun.

I miss my family, but I don't think it than before. I would like to have a good time for the rest of the days.

My First Week

By Sayaka

My first week was very fun for me. On the first day, we flew for about 11 hours on the plane, so I felt very tired, but l also felt really excited because I had never been to the US before; this is my first experience abroad. After arrived in Spokane, I felt so sleepy because I had jet lag since there is a 17 hour time difference between Spokane and Japan. 

On the second day, I ate breakfast at Commons. I was surprised by American food because it was very bigger and saltier than I expected. I like American food because I like salty food. I was also surprised to see a lot of snow because I had never seen snow in Japan. I was excited to see it! 

On the third day, I played for a little bit of time with some preschoolers on the Mukogawa campus. The American children were so cute!! Some of the children ran and hugged me. I had a great time! I’m also excited because classes have started. I have made many friends in class. I like writing class and conversation class because I can talk a lot to my classmates and my teachers.

My dormitory is Whitman Hall. My dorm-mate's birthday was February 11, so we prepared a birthday party with our RA. we ordered pizza delivered. I was surprised at the size of the pizza because it was very big. I talked a lot to my dorm-mates and my RA, so I could had a great time.

About me!

By Sayaka  
My name is Sayaka. I am 19 years old right now. I was born in Hyogo, Japan. I have 4 people in my family. I have only 7 cousins. I wanted to have more cousins. But, recently 2 children of my cousin was born. I’m very happy because I love children. 

I like to watch movie, to listen to music and travel abroad. I like watching action and fantasy movies. My best movie is “Harry Potter”. The first time I watched the movie with my sister, I was very excited. I watched all series of the movie.I also like to travel abroad. I have been to China,Taiwan,Korea and Singapore. I went to Singapore on my school trip when I was high school student. I saw a Merlion and took a cruise around Marina Bay Sands. It was great trip ! Now I want to trip Europe and visit art museums.

 I am studying English and Chinese in MWU. My father is Chinese. I am mixed. I am half Japan and China. So, I have studied Chinese since I was a child. I want to use English and Chinese at working place in the future. I have a sister. My sister is 21 years old. Now, she go to University and she is nursing student. She want to be nurse in the future.  I was really looking forward to going to the US. So, now I am very excited. I don’t feel homesick. I want to go downtown in Seattle early. Next Tuesday we will go to there. I’m looking forward to go there very much. So, now I want to prove writing and speaking skills. I should study English hard and I want to talk a lot to teacher and RA .I'm going to do my best !