Anna KOMOTO

Student of Curtin University, Australia
Exchange to Wakayama University, Japan

My exchange experience is one that I will remember for the rest of my life. I had the opportunity to travel to Wakayama, Japan on an exchange programme from September 2017 to February 2018. This exchange programme was mainly for learning Japanese at university, it turned out to be a valuable and life changing journey for me. I stayed in an international house with other international students from China, America, France, Vietnam and the UK. As I was the only one who went to Wakayama from Australia, I was worried that I would not be able to make any friends or have a sense of belonging. However, everyone I met along the way was lovely and welcoming and I have formed friendships that will last forever.

Not only did I meet a bunch of amazing people, I also got the chance to immerse myself in the culture of Japan and live the way like Japanese. This was a fascinating experience for me, though it did take quite a while to get used to the living style in Japan. One thing is certain that I do not regret going there.

I am grateful that I had the opportunity to participate in many activities such as the tea ceremony, trying out kyudo (Japanese archery), learning how to put a kimono on myself, flower arrangements, Japanese food cooking and many more!

I would like to thank everyone I met on my exchange for making it the most wonderful experience and I will cherish these memories forever. I would also like to give thanks to CK Infrastructure and the Australian Government for awarding me with the Endeavour Scholarship. With the aid of this scholarship, I was able to spend a period of my life in Japan without any financial worries.

I look forward to going back to Japan in the near future.

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