Ever since I was in first grade it has been my dream to travel to Japan. It all started when I became friends with my neighbor Saori, her family had a great impact on me when I was younger. Everyday, Saori and I would get together after school and play dolls at each others house. When I would go to her house I would call her mom お母さん(oka-san), which is mother in Japanese and I would greet her with ただいま(tadaima) which is I'm home. Since we spent so much time together, Saori would teach me little things to say in Japanese and ever since those days one of my goals in life has been to become fluent in Japanese.
Now that I am preparing to study abroad I am realizing that my life abroad will be far different, because I will be learning about Japan in the country rather than twenty feet from my house. I will be able to put myself in Saori's shoes and walk around. When I travel to Japan, my speaking skills will be the first item I hope to improve, because since Saori went back to Japan I have not had anyone at home to practice speaking with. I can listen to T.V. shows and practice my understanding or even read and write the characters and kanji, but speaking is the most difficult for me.
When I travel abroad I want to make as many native friends as possible. This will not only help me with speaking in Japanese, but it can also help me when I have to adapt to culture shock. If I can become friends with many of the native students I have a better chance of experiencing different aspects of the culture. The more time I spend with the people native to the culture the more I can learn from all of them. I already have many friends from Japan, but I want to make new ones so even when I return to the U.S. I can keep in touch with my new friends. If I get the chance to go back to Japan I would want to meet up with the people I met during my study abroad session.
The most important aspects I would like to learn when I am in Japan is the ones that a person can only learn from a native of the culture. While spending time with the people I will meet in Japan, I hope to learn slang or sayings in Japanese, that one could only learn from a native speaker. I would also like to be able to learn to cook home made native meals while I am there, so I can come back and show my parents all that I got to experience while I was away.
These have been my goals for many years and I have always hoped to go abroad. Now the opportunity is being presented to me and I will work hard to achieve my dream. I know it will not be easy, but nothing in life that one wants will be easy. My next stop is Japan!!!
