I am probably a bit late in writing this post as the preferred time would have been whilst I was still in Australia. Unfortunately I have a propensity to overstress when it comes to major changes in my life, so I’ve found the best way to combat this is to keep myself distracted by other events and such. However, it seems this has been successful as I have been overseas travelling for a week already and am starting my university duties at Chuo University tomorrow and have only now remembered to write my blog post.

However, I have found that this week of travel has greatly helped me in starting at the new University. As much as I have loved this week incredibly, I have also worn myself out to the point of looking forward to any degree of normalcy, no matter how different this brand of normalcy may be to what I am used to.

The greatest shock so far for me would not be the culture, or the language, but instead the weather. As much as it is ironic for an Australian to complain about the heat – it is quite startling to go from dry winter weather to the humid end of summer heat in Japan. It has also been a slightly worrying week in Japan, as not only was there Typhoon Jebi that swept a path of disaster through Japan the day before I landed but there was also the Earthquake in Hokkaido the day after. Here’s hoping they will be the only two during my stay in Japan.

Despite all this I am looking forward to starting my studies at Chuo University soon, as not only has it been tedious not having any classes for a few months but I am also excited to learn more about the language and culture at the university so as to be able to connect better with this beautiful country. I am hoping that by the end of my exchange in Japan that I will have had a rewarding experience evidenced by my connections developed whilst I’m here: to people, the culture, the language, and the country.

Samuel Fairlie, (Bachelor of International Studies) student commenced his exchange to Chuo University, Japan in S2,2018.