When I first arrived in Fukushima, I was very nervous about so many things. Meeting new people, the possible language barrier, having to adjust to a different country and culture, and so on. I was scared that these worries or insecurities might stand in my way, but everyone here has been extremely welcoming ane helpful, which made my anxiety fade away quickly and in almost no time, Fukushima had already become a place that I have no trouble calling "home".
The initial overwhelming amount of documents and paperwork we received at university was tackled without issues, because I was helped quite a lot by my buddy, who I am incredibly grateful for! Without their help I would have felt at loss for what to do more than once. The japanese students I have met so far are not only helpers, but have also become my friends and grabbing lunch together with them has been such a great opportunity to work on my Japanese too.
The university offers a lot of great things, like the school festival, circles, clubs and events to name a few. It was my first time seeing a festival that big on a campus and I was surprised by how much love and work the students put into it, from food stalls to breakdance performances, I was positively shocked the whole day. One of the reasons why I decided on coming to the University of Fukushima was the amount of circles and clubs you can join. After a few weeks of steeling my nerves to meet so many new people, I wrote to the Etica
Dance Cover Circle and joined! It has been really fun so far and I was welcomed with open arms there too.
Before coming to Japan I was worried that I would turn out to be too busy with university and studying that I'd end up having no time for new exciting experiences. However, that has not been the case at all! It has only been a bit over 3 months, but there have been plenty of chances to create precious memories already. A lot of them have been with fellow exchange students, who I have grown close to already. I know I will definitely miss them once we all return to our home countries.
Although Fukushima may seem like a reserved and quiet city at first, there are events basically every weekend, so there is no way one could get bored here - not when there is so much to discover and explore. Talking about exploring, something I have really found myself enjoying is to simply walk around and take in the unknown sights. Through that pastime activity I have stumbled upon many interesting places that I will surely never forget.
I have experienced so many things in such a short time frame already, with some of them being a little bit crazy (like getting interviewed and seeing yourself on televesion or taking a picture with the mayor of Fukushima City), so I am excited for the remaining time and whatever fun surprises await me.
The exchange year is sometimes forcing me to get out of my comfort zone, but I couldn't be more grateful for that, because you just need a little push from time to time.
福島大学への留学案内・年間スケジュール
