Returnee Reflections
My Journey in
JAPAN By: Fui Ting
K
onnichiwa, I am Fui Ting and I joined AFS one-year exchange program to Japan three years ago. I can still recall how extremely nervous yet excited I was as I began a new chapter in my life. Being together with my host family was definitely one of my favorite moments in my exchange year. Even though everyone in the family was very busy, they would always spend some time with me. My host parents also treated me as their own child and gave me unconditional love. I am very grateful to be a part of the family. During my stay in Japan, public baths were also one of my favorites. Can you imagine taking a bath with people you don’t know at all? You may feel uncomfortable at first but you will definitely love it! Not to mention that Japanese cuisine is also the best! Everything was so delicious especially the Obento my host mum made for me every day and as a result, I gained so much weight in Japan. But seriously, it was worth it. Other than that, joining a Japanese Archery club was also something new and memorable for me. At first I could hardly balance the bow as it was about 50cm taller than me! After a few months of practice, I finally managed to play it better. I also liked the fact that we had to wear Hakama while playing Japanese Archery.
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Of course, there were also some bad times for me. For the first few months in Japan, my learning pace was so slow compared to my other friends who were also in Japan. In school, I could barely speak well in Japanese and that made me have some difficulties in making new friends in the beginning. My family, classmates and teachers, however, tried their best to teach me their language and after three months, I suddenly realized that I could almost understand all the things my friends were talking about in Japanese! I would say the last month of my exchange program was the hardest month for me. I couldn’t wait to meet everyone back home in Malaysia but at the same time it was really hard to say goodbye to everyone and everything in Japan. It was after three years of leaving my host country that I finally had the chance to meet my host family again – they came to visit me here! It was only a 5-day-4-night trip but I enjoyed spending time with them so much. The bond between us became stronger and it was really wonderful seeing the whole family again. I am not sure when we will meet again but yes, we will keep in touch and won’t break the bond. Thank you AFS for allowing me to meet these awesome people and making my life more colorful!
We wore Hakama during Japanese Arch
My beloved Japanese family
Oishii Obento made by my host mum