I joined J-PAC Program, a program that let foreign students to study and deepen their Japanese skills for one year at Chiba University, Japan. I received monthly stipend from Heiwa Nakajima Foundation. I got the scholarship via Japanese Department recommendation for having the best score in Japanese language subject among 2013 Japanese Literature students.
I was really grateful to be chosen as the first one to go to Japan before my friends, and at once felt anxious because it was my first time to go abroad and to live on my own in a foreign country. But I did and I am glad I did it. It was an amazing experience, the best moment of my life, and I learned many things there. My program has Japanese language subject and many subjects designed for foreign students, among them I took Japanese Culture, Globalizing Japan, Japanese Education, Society, and Inequality, Japanese Pop Culture, and Japan’s Image (the last one is the only course taught in Japanese that I took, and it was really tough).
I made many friends from many countries, such as Thailand, Vietnam, India, China, German, Finland, and America. It was really challenging to communicate and built a good relationship with foreigners, because not only we have different culture, but also we have to talk in Japanese mostly. Although there were only three students from Indonesia included me, it really helped me to have Indonesian friends there.
While I studied in Chiba-U, I had a Japanese tutor who always helped me whenever I need help. The club activity that supports foreign students at Chiba-U held some events that involved Chiba-U students and foreign students to have cultural exchange, like Welcome Party, Barbecue Party, some trips to Tokyo, and of course Farewell Party. In these events, we talked to everyone about our countries or our experiences in Japan. This kind of conversation definitely have broaden my perspective about the world. Living in a different environment from our country sure make us more aware of our own culture, see it from different perspective to distinguish what is good and what is nod good to introspect ourselves.
Living far from family and friends is though, but it made us stronger. I too did feel homesick several times, but have a short trip or hang out with friends helped me to went through the homesickness. I also was feeling blessed because there were many Indonesian students in Chiba-U, make it felt more like home than it supposed to. The scholarship was pretty much that I could save money to travel around Tokyo. I went to Tochigi, Kanagawa, Izu, and Saitama Prefecture. In winter, I went ski to Nagano with my tutor and some other friends, and in summer, I planned four day trips to Kansai (Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara) plus Hiroshima. I really enjoyed those times, and of course, those uncountable trips to Tokyo.
One year live in Japan, I went through so many hardships, but I also had so much happiness. All those every little things only become good memories for me. As I returned to Indonesia, I hope I could make the best use of what I had gained in Japan.
Dika Nurul Hikmah (Sastra Jepang 2013)