Greetings everyone from Japan!!
I’m Logan Yokum and a sophomore studying Computer Science and Japanese at Notre Dame. Currently, I am participating in my second summer study abroad experience in Japan at Nanzan University in Nagoya, Japan. Last summer, I participated in a language and cultural study program in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan, through the Hokkaido International Foundation. While I very much enjoyed my time in Hakodate last summer, I have found my experience at Nanzan this year to be even better than I could have ever expected.
From my time in Japan last summer, I have discovered that the most enjoyable aspect of language study for me has been the friendships that I have made with native speakers. Last summer, during a trip to Sapporo, Japan, I had an opportunity to talk with local university students at Hokusei University about my experiences during my study abroad program. Although my Japanese was rather poor during that time, the students nevertheless listened intently to what I had to say and worked around the deficiencies in my study. Even after returning to America, I have kept in touch with many of the students I met; and we practice both Japanese and English together every now and then over Skype. Thanks to their great kindness, I was able to improve my conversational Japanese to the point where I can talk with natives about pop culture and my interests (although I still struggle with topics such as politics and science due to my limited vocabulary).
Thanks to the SLA grant, I have been able to be converse with local university students everyday after class in the Japan Plaza and Stella multicultural lounge in Nanzan University. By discussing ideas and opinions with these students, I have been able to forge countless friendships and connections across cultures. Since I plan to work in Japan as a programmer after graduation, I think that these relationships will be invaluable in order to acclimate to the cultural differences between Japan and America. Additionally, through the help of my many friends, I have been able to study colloquial Japanese that is not often used within the classroom environment.
Going forward, I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences with all of you through this blog about my time here!
よろしくお願いいたします、
Logan Yokum