After being home for a few days,
and catching up on some much-needed sleep, I can definitively say that I horribly
miss being in Japan. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it, and I’ve
already started planning on where I want to go the next time I visit (I’m
looking at you Tokyo!) This trip brought me so much joy, from all the sight
seeing to visiting KGU and all the stops in between, and I cannot thank either universities
enough! I had no clue what I was getting into before going on this trip, and
every single moment was better than I expected! Any pictures do not do it
justice. This is a country that must be experienced in person, and I have been
telling anyone who will listen that they NEED to go at some point in their lives.
Surprisingly, the best part for me
wasn’t the food (but the food was a close second!) It was meeting and
interacting with all the students -both the Japanese students from KGU and the students
I didn’t know before from the Phoenix campus- at the different sites we went
to. During our time together, I have made so many more memories with them. Even
though I didn’t know any of them beforehand, I feel like we really bonded at
every shrine and temple we visited. It’s the memories and fun times that I had with
all of those amazing people that made this trip so special.
In my first blog post, I said that I
was most afraid of the language barrier, but what shocked me the most was how
little of a barrier it actually was. This should not be something that stops people
from going to Japan! Most places have English translations of things, or
pictures if they do not. I mean, it didn’t hurt that we had people there to help
us translate, but even so, the people there usually know enough English to help
you out.
Overall, I will be back at the next
available opportunity. I loved the country, the culture, the people, and the
food so much. Thank you to the University of Arizona and Kobe Gakuin University
for giving me this opportunity that I will remember for the rest of my life! I wouldn’t
have changed a single thing about this trip!
--- Jenn Wrona
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