This week, I finally had my first face-to-face classes! Because of that, I headed to campus early to make sure I could find all my classrooms ahead of time. At Doshisha, the classroom names are abbreviated (like S34), and I’m really thankful that in an exchange student group chat someone shared a list of what the initials stand for—otherwise, I would’ve had no idea which building to go to.
Now that in-person classes have started, campus feels much livelier. There are students everywhere, and the energy is different from when I first saw campus. I also attend classes on two different campuses, so it’s been fun exploring both of them in during my free time.
I was also really nervous about meeting my classmates for the first time. I tend to struggle with socializing, and since most of my classes only meet once a week, it’s been a bit harder to connect with others. But I’m hoping I can slowly start to open up more as the semester goes on. I’ve noticed that I feel more comfortable talking to new people when I’m with friends, but I’ve also talked to people on my own, which I’m proud of. Hopefully, I’ll get to know my classmates better and maybe even hang out with some of them outside of class.
As for the classes themselves, this first week has been pretty simple. Out of the seven classes I’m taking, three are taught entirely in Japanese. Two of those are for learning the language, and one about Japanese society. I also haven’t had much homework, aside from the Japanese language courses that gave pages of homework. The few assignments I’ve gotten so far have been fairly simple—mostly readings, short essays, or comparisons.
Honestly, it feels a little strange that things seem so easy right now and because each class only meets once a week, I’m not used to having so much time between assignments, so I always feel like I’m forgetting something.
This week there was also a welcome party for the semester, which was a lot of fun. We were split into groups and made paper lanterns while getting to know each other. It was a fun talking to one another while also helping each other when someone got confused on how to make the paper lantern. We also played a few card games. My friends and I wanted to play a certain card game and because a few people didn’t know what it was it was interesting, and hard, trying to explain the rules.
This week has been a roller coaster of emotions and it’s still a bit overwhelming honestly, but I feel like I’m adjusting okay. I’m hoping that for this week I try to socialize more to slowly make new friends both in class and outside of it.
DU Abroad 