Studying abroad was the right choice

A year ago, an invitation to study abroad came to me. I started to think about studying abroad after I visited Alaska for two weeks last summer. Then the unexpected opportunity came upon me. It was an invitation of a long-term study at Wasilla High School.

The first time I was invited, I didn’t think I could do it, so I refused. But my desire to study abroad had grown after I was recommended and encouraged many times, so I decided to try a year abroad. People around me were so surprised. Some of my friends really encouraged me, but some others cried and didn’t want to see me leave. With the support of my family and friends, I left for Alaska alone on Aug. 16.

I had different views of Alaska the second time; everything looked different than the first time to me. And life of Alaska is far removed from the image I guessed at when I was in Japan. It is filled with new discoveries and surprises each day. There is no time to rest my mind as the days pass at an alarming rate.

I knew it would be difficult, but the hardest thing for me is to have a conversation in English. Even if understand and have ideas in my mind, I can’t voice my thoughts. Even if ask myself and have an answer, I can’t react quickly, so the conversation is quickly lost. But no matter what, every day I learn English. I listen to the conversations around me and try to pick up new expressions. Then I try to use the expressions in my conversation. Of course, I don’t have a natural ability in English, therefore it is not easy to express or show my true self. I am, however, still clinging to English and dreaming of the day when I can truly express myself.

To tell you the truth, for me school life in Alaska is more comfortable than Japanese school life. The school rules are less strict and many friends and teachers are friendly. I knew this, but the big difference between Japanese students and American students is the large number of students who raise their hands in class at Wasilla High School and want to answer the teachers’ questions. Wasilla High students take the initiative to get involved in class discussions. This is an attitude I would like to see more in Japanese students. Here, students have their own opinions and intentions and they can show that to others. This is a difference from Japanese students.

Another surprise was school events. There are a lot of events at Wasilla High. Whether the event is large or small, there are numerous events per month and each event has its own purpose. For example, I see powder-puff football, regular football, hat day, Halloween parties, breast cancer (awareness) day, spirit week, etc. I enjoy and also learned a lot from these events. And students understand the purpose of each event. I think it fosters a great school culture and education for students.

“Make, enjoy and learn from your opportunities.” These words are important to me during this exchange. I believe these words and I want to make a meaningful life here in Alaska. In addition to learning English, living here gives me a lot of blessings. I believe coming back to Alaska was the right choice and it is also a turning point in my life. I want to prove it by continuing to grow while I am here.

Kaho Takamura is an exchange student from Japan enrolled in journalism at Wasilla High School.