Discovering Myself M.Y. Female, high school student (tenth grade) in Kyoto

After spending thirteen years of my life in Japan ever since I was born, adapting to a totally new life in America was certainly not an easy task. But while going through many obstacles, I learned a lot about being international and thinking internationally. Of all the things I learned and became aware of as a result of living in America, the most important gain was acceptance and respect for my own culture, Japanese culture. My experience of living in a foreign country has made me become aware of the uniqueness of Japan, the similarities between Japan and other countries, and also has made me respect and appreciate Japanese culture.

While living in America, I became aware of the cultural differences between Japanese and Americans that I had never thought of before. When I lived in Japan, in addition to my young age, very limited chances to meet foreigners in my life kept my mind closed to international awareness. Therefore, there were many surprises I encountered in American society. For example, at school, I learned what American values are, and how they differ from ours.

One of the most important American values is the independence of individuals. One day, students in art class were assigned to draw a tree outside, I walked straight up to my friend and said, "Let's go together," knowing that she would not desert a girl who could only understand a little English. But to my surprise, after we went out together, she said, " We should draw from a different angle. I felt insecure, afraid of making mistakes all by myself, and certainly betrayed by my companion. I had always been taught, and believed that good companionship, and cooperation were the biggest factors of success no matter what the situation. But my friend, who respected individuality, had a different priority. Now that I understand about their cultures better, I see the incident differently from the way I did at that time. If we had done it together, there would have been no difference, no individuality between us, and nothing to learn from each other. It was the American culture that first taught me to take a risk and act on my own. But it is also true that working with American people has made think how cooperative Japanese people were, although I had always thought of it as normal. Experiencing both American and Japanese cultures has made me see the uniqueness of Japan.

Although there were many surprises I experienced in America, I still found some similarities between Japan and America, which gave me a better sense of unity of the world.

On the first Thanksgiving Day I experienced in America, our family was invited to our next-door neighbor's party. At first, we were nervous for we did not know anything about this event that seemed to mean a lot to Americans. But after we went in the house and were introduced to their relatives, we started to feel more and more comfortable as if we were part of their family. Now I realize it was similar to Japanese New Year's day where we Japanese get together with our families, and have a nice and relaxing time. I have learned that the love for one's family is universal. I have also learned that tradition is seen as important both in Japan and America. For example, many women use the recipes given by their mothers both in Japan and America. There are many other cultures such as food, lifestyles, architecture etc. that still live in the society today.

After I learned more about Japanese culture, I began to appreciate and respect my cultures more. When I lived in America, I missed many aspects of Japanese cultures, which had never really meant anything to me, when I was in Japan. For example, I missed all the Japanese traditional events such as New Year's day, summer festivals, Girl's and Boy's day, etc. I am unable to explain it well, but those things I experienced during my young childhood cannot be replaced by American cultures. I have also begun to think that Americans should have a little more modesty like Japanese. When I lived in America, I often thought that Americans have the tendency to be arrogant because they are so confident of themselves, and that caused disputes between people. I had a hard time trying to convince my American friends to sometimes give up their ideas and go along with others. Living in a foreign country not only increased my awareness and stimulated reconsidering of my own culture; it also made me realize the merits of Japanese culture. I began to appreciate my own identity, and achieved a new goal in my life, which is to tell and educate others about Japan. My desire for learning other cultures has also grown bigger as much as for learning about my own.

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