Hello everyone! My name is Maggie Nash. I am a senior Anthropology student here at Arkansas Tech. I am bound for Nagoya University of Foreign Studies in Nagoya, Japan this semester!
I chose Japan as my host country for two main reasons. One (and arguably the most important one) is that I am interested in Japanese culture, both their traditional culture and their contemporary culture. Being able to experience this first hand is incredibly important to me especially as an anthropology student. The second reason is Japan on my travel bucket list, and now I have the chance to actually go!
The hardest part about all this for me is the fact that I am leaving my home. Saying goodbye to my family, friends, and my boyfriend has given me a sense of melancholy that I hope I lose when I land. The worst of it is saying goodbye to my cat. Her name is French Toast. I am so worried about her for the four months I will be gone.
Probably the ideology that will cause me to struggle the most is the individualistic societal structure the U.S has that I am used to.
I expect my academic program to be incredibly hard. Part of me worries that the grading will be harder there and that this trip will tank my GPA. I hope to learn about Japanese culture in a hands-on, in-depth way. I also do want to learn Japanese and grow my skills in the language, however this is not my main goal.
With Japan, most of the information I have is from the internet so whether anything I know is correct or not is up for debate. However, I do know that politeness is incredibly important to them and I one of my biggest worries is that I will mess up and accidentally ruin a new friendship.
I am most looking forward to the sites. To me, Japan is one of those places I never thought I would actually get to go to. The places I will have a chance to see are things I only ever thought I would see in pictures.
What I am most nervous about actually is flying. I am not well traveled, having only flown for one trip seven years ago. Because of this, most of my anxiety surrounding my trip is actually just the airplane and airport.
I am so sorry about all of this,
Andie Nash
