On the 24th of August, 2018., I arrived to the lovely town of Akita, which lies in the north-western part of the country. Last semester I had the opportunity to apply for a foreign scholarship at my university (Pécsi Tudományegyetem, University of Pécs) which I have successfully won. After months of correspondence and a 24 hours long journey, I finally arrived to the International University of Akita. The first two weeks were mainly about orientation and team building, where all foreign and local students could meet and get to know each other. The campus consists of an amazing network of buildings, close to nature, near a forest. Not too far, to only about a twenty minute walk, Mitake shrine can be found. It’s an altar of Shinto, the native Japanese religion. The whole area is very calm and quiet.
With the beginning of classes, everything is becoming more exciting. I took up five courses this semester, which are Sociology, Sociology of Race, Anime and Contemporary Japanese Visual Culture, Russian Society Today and Basic Introduction to Japanese Communication. All of them are exciting and very challenging, especially since the education happens in English language.
The university organises a lot of activities and programmes. Last time, I had the opportunity to visit Kakunodate and Lake Tazawa. Kakunodate is famous of the preserved samurai houses, while Lake Tazawa is the deepest lake of Japan.
Being a student in an international university in Japan does not only mean that I can get to know the culture of the Japanese. It also means that I can get in touch with any part of the world through the international students. This is a unique opportunity which must be grabbed if one has it! I have managed to make friends from the US, Sweden, Finland, Thailand, Great Britain, Australia, Germany, France, and of course, Japan. As many as we are, from all different cultures, it all can get very interesting, we can learn a lot from and of each other. Studying abroad is exciting, sometimes frightening, but all in all it is a very positive experience from the point of view of building relationships, experiencing new things, learning a new language and getting to know your own self.
Of course, without the help of Csányi Foundation, I couldn’t be here today. I would like to say a special thank you for their help and persistent trust, that they considered me worthy of helping me achieve my biggest dream! When I was accepted to their Guidance Program 10 years ago, I did not dare think that they would be by my side on my journey for so long. Without all their support, without their help for learning languages and passing exams, this adventure would have stayed only a dream. I would also like to thank the Foundation for making me worthy of the individual support I recieved for this journey.
I can not wait to the challenges of this semester.
Stecina Kata, member of Group 3 in Nagybajom