Words of advice from the visiting students of Ryukoku University

For the past month, there have been seven foreign exchange students from Ryukoku University in Japan attending MHCC.

In their time here they have sampled several activities in the area, exploring downtown Portland as well as trying the powdery snow on Mt. Hood. And I had the opportunity to speak with these students during their class this week.

From this small group, the main enjoyment came from their trip to go snowboarding. One student said she has gone snowboarding several times in Japan and thoroughly enjoyed the experience here. Several others said it was their very first time, and they had a good time.

Among other outings by the group was visiting the beach in Newport as well as going to the planetarium and the rock wall here on the MHCC campus. The shopping experience was also a form of fun, as well as going to get the occasional coffee.

During their stay here each student lived with a host family. The program is self-supporting. A majority of the students said the greatest experiences they had were interacting with their Oregon peers while learning more about the English language. Several found Americans to be very friendly and pointed out the open-mindedness of Americans.

The culture here is different from to Japan, such as the size of food in the supermarket and types of food available here.

Saki Tomari explained, “The size of food in the supermarkets (is) big, and American candy is too sweet for me.”

Rika Nishimoto noted, “In Japan, we have to take off our shoes before we enter a house, but in America we don’t have to do that. There are also lots of guns in American supermarkets, which was the most surprising for me.”

Another interesting thing I wouldn’t have realized was the fact the visiting students got to see movies being released here in the U.S. before their friends and families in Japan! Two of the students said they highly enjoyed watching “Moana” and “Split.”

Notes of advice from the group for any other, future exchange students include:

“Try many things.” – Aoi Mizuno

“I think that studying abroad is the biggest chance to change (yourself). So don’t be afraid of making a mistake.” – Rika Nishimoto

“Don’t be shy. You should try anything that you want to do. And you should also bring a credit card.” – Sayuri

“Aggressiveness and positive thinking are very important.” – Akito Kiyokane

“I think the best way to improve your (language) skills is to talk and listen a lot.” – Minami Hori

The Japanese exchange students won’t be here for much longer. They depart for home on Sunday. There will be a farewell party in the Town & Gown Room at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.