Hello all! My name is Rebecah Buck, and I am a senior student at Arkansas Tech University. I am double majoring in Creative Writing and English while also double minoring in Geology and Japanese. This semester I will be going to Nagoya University for Foreign Studies or NUFS for short. I chose Japan as my study abroad country because I have always been interested in Asian cultures. When I was in eighth grade and through to tenth grade, I had a half Korean teacher, Ms. Dempsey, she was the main driving force in why I got interested in Asian cultures and from there I got interested in anime and manga from Japan and their culture.
I am 29 years old and have lived away from home for years before, so I am not really worried about that part, but I am worried about the differences in culture and about being an American foreigner in a different culture. I know I will miss my family and my cat, Elsa. I think I will also miss food. I am a super picky eater and am worried I won’t like anything available.
I like to think that I am a very open-minded person, but I am also a very independent thinking person, and I don’t like just following along with something without knowing the how’s and why’s. I am going to have to learn to overcome my stubbornness and become more extroverted. I expect that Japan will be very conservative and to be more antagonistic towards me as a foreigner. I am worried that the classes will be very strict and hard. I hope to learn more about Japanese culture and about how schooling is done. I am thinking of teaching English as a second language in Japan, so I am hoping to learn how to navigate the schooling system.
I am looking forward the most to buying things! I have started to collect things from my favorite shows and books and have been told I can get things cheaper in Japan. Also, even though I am picky about what I eat I am looking forward to trying different foods. I am also looking forward to Mt. Fuji. I want to be able to hike up it. I am most nervous learning the language. I have ADHD and trying to learn a new language is very hard. So, I will have to work doubly hard at learning Japanese.
This morning as I was making my bed, so that when I get back, I have a nice clean bed to sleep in, Elsa new something was up and proceeded to try and hamper me from making the bed and crawled all under my sheets and blankets. I am going to miss her so much!
