The Exchange Student

I don’t remember a specific, climatic moment when I leaped up, pointed my finger toward the sky and shouted, “I want to be an exchange student!”. In fact, I don’t distinctly remember deciding this at all, it just sort of…happened. Throughout my life, I always had a sense of adventure, a pull to the unknown. I’m not sure where it comes from, but I think every small child has it innately. For some reason, we tend to lose this as we grow older. We become accustomed and content with the safety and comfort of every day life. Fortunately, I never lost this. And ever since last October, a great adventure is becoming less of a day-dream, and more of a reality.

I never planned on going to Japan either. To make a long story short, I went into the first orientation wanting to go to Italy and came out wanting to go to Japan. How did this happen? Quickly. Like I said, I never imagined myself going to Japan, but when I visited the Japan table during the country fair, I just sort of knew, this is it. I know this will sound like an order of stupid with extra corn and cheese and a side of ridiculous (I’m still in pizza mode from work), but after visiting the Japan table and learning more about it, I just felt very excited and full of wonder and far away and peaceful and purely happy. People often ask me, “why did you choose Japan?”. Well, firstly, I didn’t technically choose Japan, I only suggested it initially. Then I was torn between Thailand and Japan. Extremely and excruciatingly torn. As I explained my confusion, one country officer remarked, “I’m sure you’ll make the right choice”, which is ironic because the choice I made when it came down to the final ten minutes before deadline, wasn’t the result I was given. So perhaps I didn’t make the right choice, but the right choice was made for me.

What it comes down to is this: it doesn’t matter where you are sent (or what resources or circumstances you are given for that matter), only what you accomplish in the time, (and when you consider a year from a broader perspective, it’s a preciously small amount of time), you have there.

In two months, I’m going to Japan, the last country I ever thought I would spend a year in.

I don’t think I could be happier.