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He Pursued His Dreams All the Way to Japan - A testimony from a study abroad student
When Warren Small, an international studies major at Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Va., decided to spend a year studying language and culture in Japan, his decision was based upon a long-standing interest in that country.
"Japan had fascinated me since I was a child," he says. "I grew up watching Japanese animation and I also loved Japanese comic books. Later, when I was a teenager, I really got into Japanese popular music and martial arts. I also liked the way the language sounded and had begun studying it informally on my own."
The Brethren Colleges Abroad (BCA) program in Sapporo, Japan, presented a perfect opportunity for him to find out more about the country that had held his attention for so long. He was able to study Japanese language at the BCA study center at Hokusei Gakuen University in western Hakkaido, as well as take courses in Japanese politics and culture. He found the university - and the Sapporo community - warm and welcoming.
"People were wonderful. I had the greatest time you can imagine," he says. "Japanese people go out of their way to help foreigners, and many of them - especially young people - are very interested in the U.S."
Small lived with a family who also took good care of him. "My host family couldn't speak English, but it was a blessing in disguise. It forced me to learn Japanese more quickly, plus they were very supportive."
He found wide acceptance in Japan, especially among young people.
"I socialized a lot," he recalls. "There's a lot to do in Sapporo, a lot of nightlife, and I tried to do it all! I also traveled around the country and saw wonderful things and met wonderful people."
His year in Japan has really shaped his life, Small notes. "I plan to go back after I graduate. I want to improve my Japanese, especially my reading. I've applied for the JET Program, a program sponsored by the Japanese government that brings foreigners to study Japanese and also to teach language and Western culture."
Eventually, Small plans to go to graduate school, and already has identified a dissertation topic. "It will be an extension of my senior project at Bridgewater - research on ethnic minorities in Japan and their place in Japanese society," he explains. "Most people think Japan is homogenous, but it's not. I learned a lot about minorities while I was there, including Ainu (an aboriginal people), Koreans, Filipinos, Okinawans, Chinese and Nikkeijin - Japanese who immigrated and then came back generations later."
Small's Japanese sojourn also affected his personal life, too. "I have a fiancé now from Japan. We're looking forward to a happy life together enjoying the best that the East and West have to offer."
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