From Dream to Reality: My Journey in Japan
Hello everyone, my name is Sagymbek Aben. On the 5th semester I was lucky to visit Japan on the program of academic mobility. Since childhood I dreamed to visit Japan. And on the first day I was jumping with happiness like a little child. Everything in this country seemed so unusual and beautiful. And I experienced a powerful culture shock, but it was positive.
My academic journey took place in Tokyo, at Sophia University, one of the top private institutions in Japan. The program was conducted in both Japanese and English. I explored not only the language, but also topics such as diplomacy, politics, and religion. Throughout my time there, I engaged actively with both Japanese and international students, which greatly enhanced my communication skills and broadened my perspective.
As a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan, I felt it was my duty to introduce our culture to people abroad. At university festivals, both at my own university and at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS), I performed in a national costume while playing the dombyra, which even earned me a feature on the Facebook page of our embassy. I participated in the national referendum together with my friends. I also treated my dorm mates to traditional Kazakh food. Alongside my international friends, we cheered for Shavkat Rakhmonov. Overall, I tried my best to represent Kazakhstan in the most positive way possible.
Besides studying, I also traveled extensively. I visited many places of interest in Tokyo, such as Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Sky Tree, Team Lab and many others. I went to the southernmost prefecture-Okinawa and swam in the sea, rode the LRT and enjoyed the tropical atmosphere.
To summarize, I would like to emphasize that this internship had a huge impact on me. I can confidently say that I have grown in every sense of the word. I am incredibly grateful to our country and university for this opportunity. I caught the strongest motivation to develop our country so that in the future people from all over the world would dream of coming to Kazakhstan.
