Learning is never halted to just what is taught in the classroom. Nothing could have made this experience clearer than my one month stay in Japan late into the semester. A time that truly tested the boundaries of time management, cultural learning, and barriers of varying types. 

My trip to Japan was something I did to accomplish a small dream, visit family, and experience life outside of the United States for the first time. As exhilarating as this all was, it brought its own challenges. How would I manage coursework with a significant time difference? Could I stay on top of my responsibilities while soaking in an entirely new culture? It would be difficult to be certain.

Before leaving, I put in hours of preparation, submitting assignments ahead of schedule and planning my workload. Professors adjusted deadlines, offered flexibility, and maintained open lines of communication, making this experience far less daunting than it would have originally appeared. While sacrifices were necessary, such as much of my free time going solely to work on projects and course work, or mostly destroying my sleep schedule, it was all worth it.

During my time in Japan, I stayed with my grandmother, Yoshiko Ida, and a missionary family that my church supports, the Yaney’s, who both welcomed me with open arms. They helped me adjust to the cultural differences, my speaking and reading, and they provided me with a wonderful experience of exploring the various areas of Japan.

I started the trip with the Yaney family who live in Aichi Prefecture, known for being the home of Toyota and Nagoya Castle. Their home lies more in the countryside of Japan, giving me a view that not everyone gets to see upon a first visit. Seeing the beautiful rice fields stretching on and looking around the less tourist-filled areas was a real look into the actual daily life, and sights of Aichi. Beyond just exploring the landscapes though, getting to know the family was a large honor in it of itself. WIth them being so kind as to take me in, I made sure to participate and help in any way I could. Ever so generously, this earned me the compliment from Mike Yaney saying “Ronnie, I don’t know what we are gonna do when you leave…You bring a different energy in our home.” This compliment made me realize what an opportunity this trip was, beyond just exploring. This was a time of making lasting connections with people, who in any other situation, I wouldn’t get to meet.

I began to use this realization in any way I could with whomever I met. In my time with the Yaneys, I got to see the small but very present Christian Church culture. In one of the churches I visited, I had the opportunity to participate in the College Youth groups they hosted. It was there that I made friends with quite a few people, and among them Miwako, and Kento have become some of my closest new friends. I hadn’t expected it, but in just a month I made relationships with people who took time to get to know me and shared interests with me. Both had shared my ambition to study abroad themselves, and because of that, we held some shared perspectives. In our time, Miwako shared with me that “I appreciate you coming here, because it is kind of scary when you don’t have any friends and you’re by yourself.” Until that point, I hadn’t actually even thought about how big of a step I had taken in my life. 

Getting the chance to reconnect with my grandmother was also an obvious emotional highlight of this trip, as it let me reintroduce myself to family I had not been connected to since I was 8. The moments we got to share are something I won’t take for granted, and the stories she shared gave me such a good look into my family’s history. I got the chance to learn about a Grandpa that I unfortunately never got to know very well before his passing. This was a very eye opening period and one that really made me grateful that Eureka was so willing to help me make this trip happen. 

For others considering a similar journey, don’t do it the way I did, but if you have to, by building a network of support with professors, peers, and staying disciplined, it’s possible to grow academically and personally, even when you’re a world away. As Miwako put it “I think students should try to make a trip like yours, because everyone can study but few will come out enjoying it like you.” Eureka College’s willingness to adapt and accommodate proves that even small schools can foster big opportunities. My trip to Japan wasn’t just a journey across the globe, it was a lesson in resilience, adaptability, and the importance of human connections, whether through professors who go the extra mile or family and friends who share in your discovery.