渡邊 岳裕さん（2019年3月卒業）
University of Hawaii at Manoa
My name is Takahiro Watanabe. I am a student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM) pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Arts (BA degree). I am majoring in Communication, and my educational goal is to get a Master’s degree in communication from University of Hawaii at Manoa graduate programs. I moved to Oahu island in Hawaii in May, 2019. I had studied at Kapiolani Community College (KCC) for two years and graduated from KCC last year with an Associate degree in Arts (AA degree). I am completing my education at UHM next semester and transferring to graduate school with merit scholarships. I will share my experiences in Hawaii and thoughts about studying outside of Japan in this paper.
There are, of course, pros and cons of studying abroad. Some of the positive aspects of going overseas are that we can not only acquire language skills but we also experience cultures, we can interact with people from different backgrounds, and we have priceless experiences. We are able to learn English and communicate with people in English while we are in Japan; however, we cannot get skills to get over culture shock in Japan. Facing and handling culture shock makes us stronger. There are a lot of students from different countries on campus. We can see many different perspectives and expand our own. There is a famous phrase “You only live once”, and we cannot buy experiences. Studying abroad allows us to spend a couple years living a life which not a lot of people cannot do. In addition to these, there are some advantages in choosing Hawaii; we are less likely to face discrimination, we experience great nature, and there are many Japanese communities. The reason of less chance of discrimination is because there are many ethnicities on the islands, and Asian is a major group. I have only faced a discrimination once in my time in Hawaii. Hawaii is one of the safest states in the United States. I was not interested in nature when I was in Japan, but I am now a huge fan of it, especially views. There are a number of beautiful and attractive spots to visit on Oahu. There are also many Japanese communities in Hawaii so that we can find housing, jobs, cars, and activities through these communities. This is very helpful for those who have never experienced life abroad. On the other hand, relying Japanese communities can be a negative aspect of studying in Hawaii. Sharing information and conversing in Japanese is easy and quick, but it will not not improve your language skills. Also, living in Hawaii costs a lot of money since restaurants, tuition, cost of living, and service fees are more expensive than in Japan. What we can do to avoid or reduce the negative effects is to try to cook meals instead of buying food imported from Japan. There is a huge cost difference between people going out for dinner and lunch every day and people cooking themselves. Moreover, we can reduce the cost of tuition by getting a good GPA to be qualified for merit scholarships. There are many Japanese students on campus, and it is pretty common to have Japanese students in your group or community. My advice is to have at least one student or friend who does not speak Japanese in your group to easily make an environment where you need to use English. These behaviors allow you to reduce the negative impacts of studying in Hawaii.
Next, I, personally, changed a lot through life in Hawaii. I was just going back and forth to school when I was in Japan. My parents did the essentials, such as earning money, and doing chores while I studied. In Hawaii, I learned how busy my parents were after living by myself. Thus, I am very grateful to people who support me like my parents, friends, and teachers in KGM. Plus, I grown into a man since I study hard during semesters, keep motivating myself, and plan ahead to handle my tasks. Managing what I had to do was extremely hard, and things never went as planned at first. Yet, I got used to it, and it is my standard now. Thus, I was changed in a positive way through life in Hawaii.
Ultimately, what I want to tell you the most is that you should try to find what you really want to do and work hard to reach the goals you have established. Even though getting advice from others is crucial, you are the only one who makes your decision right or wrong. Some people told me that going abroad to study English at eighteen was late. They said that studying in Hawaii is less effective as well. Furthermore, they say that we can learn English while we are in Japan. I do want them to check my academic status. I get a higher GPA than local students and native speakers, I belong to an honor society (Phi Theta Kappa, also known as PTK), and I even have a high possibility of studying at a graduate school with a scholarship. Any small interests, such as cultures, sports, language, food, and music can be a trigger to study abroad. Therefore, I highly recommend you to consider being a global person.
