I had an opportunity to participate in this program in Turkey that has given me all sorts of memorable and precious things. In my life, I had never been to Turkey before. Moreover, Turkey has a negative reputation in Japan, because of the explosion in an airport and bombing. So it is easy to imagine that my parents and friends thought my joining this program as unpleasant things. Those things considered, however, are completely not real at all. Turkey is no doubt one of the best countries worth visiting in your life. The cuisine here is amazing, people here are so kind that they help us and treat us as special guests. The atmosphere is solemn in the historical buildings. Hence, the experience I have had is irreplaceable.
In this report, thus I will write on five topics so that you could understand what I have experienced throughout this program.
First, I would like to write about my experience of universities that we visited. The universities have their own buildings to welcome their guests. The accommodation where we were staying amazed us. It was wonderful, fancy buildings. The rooms we were given are kept clean and the universities provided us with towels which enabled us to shower more comfortably. In the room, we could use air conditioner so we could stay comfortable here. Compared to that of Fukushima University you could see the huge gaps. I hope I can go abroad for studying as an exchange student as soon as possible. The circumstance of studying set our quality if our life is higher level.
The atmosphere on campus or inside the buildings also inspired me. If I were here as a student or researcher, I would feel happy and be proud of being a member of those universities. Everyone I met here likes working with pride and pleasure. Through this program, I had the opportunity to get in a laboratory whose collection of plants are huge and has history. And he, the professor explained what he and another colleague have done.
Secondly, I have learned the importance of English. Even in turkey, we could not live without the knowledge of English if you would live in Turkey as an exchange student or researcher. Using English like a native speaker widens your world. This is definitely true. A business person who works for ITOUHU and is Turkish speaks English perfectly it seems. Moreover the professor who arranges this programme uses English. Some students from Japan seemed to hesitate to speak with him in English, which seems to prevent them from communicating with him and could show that they did not want to do so. I personally felt confident when speaking English with people. Thanks to the sort of opportunities I have had, my English skills have become more and more sharper than ever before. So the worker and I discussed the nuclear power plant which is under construction there. He is on the side which is willing to using the energy even though he knows the accident that happened in Fukushima. Anyway during this program, every lecture was done in English. Every speaker can understand English with no hesitation. It is surprising to me to see this situation.
Thirdly I shall talk about the cuisine we have eaten throughout this program. I usually do not like having food abroad. Mainly because unfortunately to me the local food is not sometimes suitable for me. So the first time when we went to have lunch, the lunch made me happy because the meal was amazingly good. This was the first time that I had tried Turkish food. If the food didn't suit me abroad, my life there would be tough for me. Fortunately, they become my favorite food. In Ege University, we visited a restaurant whose food, which is vegetable, meat and milk was made in campus.
Fourthly I would mention the visit to JICA, which is one of the most interesting one to me. Because the topics they gave us are similar to the field I have tackled. We visited a building where the offices are in. Two workers gave a lecture on what they have done in Turkey. It was quite interesting. I asked some questions. I did not understand why Turkey have accepted such amount of refugees to their county and the reasons why the JICA have done their activity here.
And at the last, I have found something to mention that would be helpful for those who would have the privilege to participate in next program. A) The support for understanding lectures given through this program in advance would help students who join next program to figure them out. I am studying economics, especially social policy. So the lectures we have had during this program were a bit difficult for me because the topic laid at agriculture. Hence, the support would help make students understand. B) Enough preparation for presentation that students would do when they visit before leaving Japan would be necessary for students. It does not mean that we did not prepare for the presentation. However the quality of presentation which we would have been expected did not seem enough to the audience where we did the presentation. One of the main reasons would be ambiguity of the theme. Thus I think it would be essential for participants to have time to gather and to do presentation in Japan so that we could find something to improve in their presentation.
I am happy to get this chance joining this program. I met four students who accompanied me through this program. They are kind and good friend to discuss with when we faced problems. And we also met students in Turkey who took us to a nice restaurant and shops so that we could buy souvenirs for my family and friends. Now that I have a second home town where my friends live in, I shall return to visit them.
福島大学への留学案内・年間スケジュール
