By Evan S.

Published Sept. 2, 2024

August. The shortest, yet hardest month for me here. It’s Aug. 4, and I just boarded my plane home. I’ve been scrolling through my camera roll, looking for what to write about. So many funny stories, places I’ve gone to and memories. The number one thing that held constant in my photos, though, was that…

By Evan S.

Published Aug. 1, 2024

I don’t want to pick favorites, because each one has been so amazing, but all the time leading up to this has made this month the best yet. It all started with my favorite excursion; spoiler alert: not even in Japan. In April, some friends of mine who studied abroad at Mizzou the previous year…

By Evan S.

Published July 1, 2024

Hello again! This feels weird to say, but I finally feel like I’m “getting it.” I know my way around the trains, I can have basic conversations in Japanese and ask useful questions (though sometimes I don’t always understand the response), and I’m finally following a routine that makes me feel like this is home.…

By Evan S.

Published June 3, 2024

What a month. My first month here was wild, exciting and eye-opening, yet this one might have topped it. On Friday, May 3, I departed for Osaka and stayed in an Airbnb with seven other people, tatami mat style. The food there was some of the best I’ve ever eaten, especially from the street vendors.…

By Amy B.

Published May 29, 2024

It has almost been three weeks since I arrived in Japan, and so much has happened! This program has allowed me to meet amazing friends, explore incredible places and learn about the Japanese education system in the context of English classrooms. I was extremely nervous before leaving for this program, as I am the only…

By Evan S.

Published May 1, 2024

I can’t believe it’s been a month. Only 30 days in, and it feels like I’ve been living here for over a year, yet at the same time like I just moved in yesterday. Since then, a lot has happened, let me catch you up. The first day I arrived can only be described as…

By Bryce C.

Published Jan. 2, 2024

A lot has happened in the last month! I climbed a mountain with some friends from a student organization, which was a ton of fun. We also had a training camp for the same group, which was fun but uniquely challenging— the university itself has programs in English, but this camp was entirely in Japanese.…

By Bryce C.

Published Nov. 25, 2023

It has now been two months since I arrived in Japan, and compared to the first month things have become so much easier! That is not to say that I am not learning things every day that I am away from home. What I mean is that living here has become a new norm. Where…

By Christopher H.

Published Nov. 22, 2023

For a class project, my friend and I were tasked with creating a pamphlet showcasing unique aspects of a city of our choice. I had the idea of trying sweets shops, but wasn’t sure where to go. My friend chose Ikebukuro, a place known for its entertainment industry, and not so much for its sweets.…

By Bryce C.

Published Oct. 26, 2023

Japan is a fascinating place! You can be on a train platform with advertisements written in English at one moment and in front of a hundreds of years old shrine the next. The contrast between these ancient and modern elements of the culture are part of experiencing Japan you could never understand without being here.…