By Heath Bunch,

Exchange Student, Ball State University

In Indiana, you can drive for hours without seeing anything but cornfields or farms. In fact, there are only two major cities in Indiana: Fort Wayne and Indianapolis. When I first started studying Japanese about three or four years ago, I never even dreamed that I would be able to come to Japan this soon, but since I've been here, Iﾕve come to realize it's the only good way to learn the language and culture. And by culture, I mean food! I, like the average American, used to think of Japanese food as just sushi and teriyaki, but I've experienced so many fantastic foods here that I will be sad when I return to America and can no longer eat them. My two favorite foods since I've come to Japan are kitsune udon and curry rice. Both of these foods have captured my heart and my stomach! I especially love going with my friends to the chain curry restaurant Little Spoon.

I will certainly miss the food when I leave Japan, but I will also miss all of the new friends I have made, and the wonderful learning experience it has been. Sure, they teach Japanese back in American universities, but how much can you remember if you don't use it every day? I will also miss Japanese music even though I have bought many CDs. I have come to like such artists as Moriyama Naotaro, The Blue Hearts, Elle Garden, and The Beat Crusaders. I love Japanese karaoke, and I will definitely be sad when I am no longer able to go and sing songs like "Linda, Linda," "Sakura," and "Ue wo Muite, Arukou."

Another thing I will miss is my English chatting room. It was only one period, once a week, but it was always fun to help eager students wanting to learn English. Trying to think of something to speak about every week was always a challenge, and when someone didn't understand my English, it always felt good to be able to explain what I meant in Japanese.

When I first came to Japan, another thing I was surprised to learn is that Japan is not made up of only huge cities. Since I've been in Hokkaido (and a small trip through Aomori) I've seen quite a bit of natural landscape that I never knew existed in Japan. This past summer, I went on a trip by myself through Honshu. I visited famous cities like Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. In Tokyo I visited the Emperor's Palace and Akihabara. Akihabara is full of very interesting things and people!

After Tokyo, I took the Shinkansen to Osaka where I was able to experience a lot of culture that's different than outside of Kansai. The dialect is confusing, but you get used to it after a while. In Osaka, I visited Osaka Castle and ate at a really good restaurant called Zuboraya. In Kyoto I visited many temples and shrines, like Gion and Nijo Jo, but my favorite part of Kyoto was the Monkey Park that I went to where you can feed the monkeys.

After Kyoto, it was time to go back to Hokkaido on the ferry, but I missed the ferry and ended up riding the train all the way back to Sapporo! But, I did visit an interesting town during that trip called Tsuruga.

I love all the experiences I've had in Japan, and I will miss it an awful lot when I have to leave, but I want to say thank you to everyone here that has helped me or showed me a good time. I want to say thank you to the great teachers who helped me every week with improving my Japanese. Kuwana sensei's and Matsui sensei's class was always very interesting and fun, and Miyazaki sensei helped correct a lot of my grammar mistakes that I constantly made during class. I would especially like to thank Kuwana sensei for taking us to see sakura at Maruyama Park, and Matsui sensei for always treating us to lunch!

I know my Japanese has improved very much since I have come here, but I will be graduating soon, and I still don't think it's quite good enough yet to get a job. I plan on working for an English teaching company like JET after I graduate, so that I can come back to Japan and continue studying Japanese while helping Japanese people learn English. I am not sure yet what I want to do with my future, but I think all the great experiences Iﾕve had here will change my life for the better, and I know whatever happens I'll always love Japan.