I am so glad I could go on this exchange

Johan from Norway is on high school exchange in Tokyo, Japan. Here’s his story.

I was not prepared to gain such a deep understanding

I left Norway with a vague idea about what I was going to learn and experience. I had heard stories from other exchange students that you grow and make a lot of friends, but I was not prepared to gain such a deep understanding of the Japanese culture, the people, and myself. I have grown, learned, and achieved more these past 6 months than I have in 3 years at home. Up until this part of my journey, I have shared tons of amazing, good, bad, and sad memories with people that I will always remember. I have made lifelong friends; people I can now call a part of my family.

The Japanese have truly changed my way of thinking

When I first came to Japan, I promised myself to try to do things outside my comfort zone. Every day I leave the house to visit a new and different restaurant or a famous building, meet someone, or work some small jobs like teaching English, working on a grape farm, or helping at a Japanese festival. The Japanese have truly changed my way of thinking in a lot of different areas. Their thoughts on happiness, school, freedom, how to act toward others, and much more, are extremely fascinating and have completely changed me. It is of course not always easy living alone in a foreign country and I have gone through many trials. But with patience and support, I have pushed through it and grown because of it.

People in other cultures often have a different way of thinking than you do. My advice to future exchange students is to learn to understand what that way of thinking is, learn about people, about humans, and you will grow a lot.

I am so glad I was able to go on this exchange

If I traveled back in time and told myself two years ago that today I would be on exchange in Japan, an adventure of a lifetime, being able to speak Japanese, having amazing friends, having a dream that I am doing my best to achieve while feeling a deep sense of gratefulness and love for my family and friends, I would not believe what just came out of my mouth. I am so glad I was able to go on this exchange. This fascinating place on earth, with a culture, a way of thinking, and a language that is completely different from mine, has changed my life for the better. Thank you so much.