Daily life

My daily life consisted of going to class, eating at different restaurants, and hanging out with friends. When I wasn't doing any of those things, I was either working, volunteering, or doing my duties as my dorm building's leader. I was able to volunteer within the school's international office and got to see how they managed international students as well as relationships with partner institutions.

Pier view of a lake with palm trees in the distance.

This photo was taken on my way to do volunteer work on a nearby island. This was my very first time on a boat.

Circular grill in the middle of a table surrounded by various plates of seasoned pork belly and sausage links.

An All-You-Can-Eat Korean BBQ restaurant I went to with friends. I personally don't like places like these since the amount of food I can eat in one sitting is very limited. A lot of the time I feel like I'm wasting food and tend to avoid going if I am able to.

Ancient samurai armor on mannequins placed on a display table.

During orientation week, the school took us to Nagoya Castle. We got to see ancient artifacts and learn about the war that took hundreds of years prior.

Large house that is freshly painted with people in the foreground taking photos.

Every year, people come out to volunteer at a nearby island to help to the almost completely elderly and child population. My group was tasked with repainting a house.

Hand outstretched and open for a deer to investigate.

This was a trip I took to Nara deer park with is completely filled with deer walking around and interacting with people.

Stone statue of a man sitting on a stone slab with his closed fist under his chin in a contemplative pose. The statue is placed in front of stone steps and a large building in the background.

This statue was at the Kyoto Museum of Art. I was a little sad that photos couldn't be taken inside, but the art pieces inside were beautiful.

My schedule was about 4 or 5 classes Monday through Thursday. There were no classes on Friday and usually I would either be going on excursions hosted by the school or spending my free time in my dorm or out with friends. I would also visit the language lounge once a week to speak with Japanese students or locals in English. I had been learning Japanese since about 4th grade so I was fine interacting with locals and not having to worry too much about a language barrier. It also helped that I had Japanese students as friends to continue speaking Japanese with.

Once a week I would walk to a nearby elementary school and help teachers with a classroom of kids ranging from 1st to 6th grade during afterschool hours. I greatly enjoyed working and volunteering. I walked to class and anywhere that was nearby.

I kept my diet pretty clean as well and made sure to keep my doctor updated if anything weird happened with my body. It was amazing being able to do so much on my own that I thought I couldn't years prior. I was managing my health pretty well from August of 2019 to January of 2020. After this point however, my health took a turn for the worst once Covid-19 became a more serious issue and the stress subsequently took a pretty serious toll on my body.

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