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Christina ZAVIALOV
Student of Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Exchange to Meijo University, Japan
I have never thought in my entire life that I would ever do karaoke. Before my exchange I was quite shy, I was usually quiet among people I was not familiar with. I love singing actually, but not in front of other people. I was afraid that people might judge me that I was not good at it. However, I found my voice literally and figuratively in Japan. If it is one thing that Japanese people do well it is karaoke. It does not matter if you are bad, average, or sound like Whitney Houston. It just matters that you put yourself out there and you enjoy the experience.
Placing myself in a completely new environment with different custom and a completely different culture was very eye opening. People would always tell me that going on exchange changed their lives, and I would always nod along even if I did not quite believe them. Well, I should have. Now I can truly say that going to Japan and studying abroad has definitely changed me.
I met so many different people while I was there. They came from places such as France, Austria, Turkey, America and even Korea. I have a lot of friends in different places now, and being away from them made me feel how important they are to me. With them I got to experience the wonders of Japan: from New Year's shrine visits, red autumnal leaves sightseeing, hot springs, all the way to snowboarding, all you can drink izakaya's, and the famous 24-hour convenience stores. Nightlife is very common in Japan. Even in Nagoya, people stay out quite late, drink and socialise. There is the reason why those convenience stores are open at all hours.
Despite the big cultural difference, I did not have huge cultural shock, and this was contrary to my friends' expectation. Sure there were things that were different, but overall it was an easy adjustment. I loved my life there and I was very sad to leave it behind, but I am so grateful that I got the opportunity to experience Japan.
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