It’s that point in time where our shared journey is ending. Japan has been an incredible experience for me and I am so glad that I got to share a piece of it with you. Many people will say that studying abroad was the best time of their life and I agree. I have had a lot of difficulties: moving to another country, finding where everything is and how to go about daily life, as well as understanding classes taught in a completely different language, to name a few. However, I still believe that this is an experience that will shape the way I see life from now on.
I have learned a lot since coming to Japan. Not just about the culture and language of the land, but also the people and the way they communicate and care about each other. A big part of what I have learned is actually about myself as a person. This is the first time that I have been completely, 100% independent from my family. I worked very hard in the year leading up to my study abroad to apply for as many scholarships as possible, and I was able to pay for my entire year abroad myself. I was in control of every aspect of my life. I had to pay my own bills and keep track of how much money I had left. This was all very new to me, but it was very enlightening. I now know so much more about budgeting, saving and spending than I did before.
