My first encounter with Japanese culture was through learning martial arts. I started quite early during middle school where I trained for a total of 4 years before going to Japan. I've always wanted to participate in a Karate Contest in Japan, since there were none in my home country. So immediately after arriving at Shizuoka University, I joined the karate club there and later on competed in two of local competitions.
After working as an interpreter at a Technical Trainee Center in Japan for a few months, I encounter the issue where one of the trainees went missing. Harsh working conditions and the legal violation from the Japanese employers seem to be the root cause as I investigated further regarding the issue to write a thesis report for a contest. This contest is also supported by the Japanese government and I placed 3rd in it, hoping to bring the issue to light to Japanese society with this report.
Applying to an internship maybe intimidating especially when you are still on your first year. However, despite feeling unqualified, I decided to gain experience by actually doing the internship. The topics covered during the internship was manageable, but it did not go well on my final presentation.
I had the desire to pursue better education after studying abroad in Japan for a year. And that is when I found out about the tuition-exempted study exchange between Canada and Japan. Even though I faced quite a few challenges in the initial stages of the exchange program, it was also an opportunity for me to improve myself as a scholar.