After standing still for a while, my life started moving again with my mind and body. I had finally fulfilled my long-held dream.

Hello, my name is Hanon Kobayashi. In Japanese, this name means “sound of leaf,” the soft rustling noise that the wind makes when it blows through the branches of a tree. It’s a little difficult for me to say my name, so I’d prefer if you called me Hannah. I lived in Fujiyoshida, Japan, and could see Mount Fuji towering over my family’s Hotou restaurant at the mountain’s base.  Hotou is a noodle dish that is famous in this region of Japan. My family has lived in Fujiyoshida for generations as long as anyone can remember, over 500+ years.  Since I was little, I started studying English because I was interested in broadening my understanding of other cultures. 

Going to college in the U.S. will make me the first in my family to attend college overseas. My dream of studying abroad was also to fulfill my grandmother’s wish on my behalf. My grandmother was a designer and dreamed of studying in Paris, the city of fashion, but this dream was never realized due to financial issues. 

I also needed to take a break from my education to help my family. Since most of our customers were tourists from overseas who had come to visit Mount Fuji, as well as tourists from all over Japan, so the spread of COVID-19 was a major blow to us. This also led to an accelerating depreciation of the yen, and many other difficulties for me. However, I didn’t want to give up on my dream because of money, so I decided to go to Texas. The tuition fees for international students were cheaper than other states, and the opportunities available to international students were very appealing. 

Because I did all the procedures myself, things didn’t go well, and because I love Japan, the country where I was born and raised, and I love my family, there were times when I thought that maybe my life was fine the way it was. But one day, I realized that I was blaming them for not trying. Then I remembered. I wanted to live my own life, not anyone else’s. Since I was little, I wanted to walk a different path and be someone who the people I know can be proud of. I wondered if that was the kind of person I was now, but I realized that wasn’t the case. Thankfully, I had a family that always supported me in whatever I wanted to do, so I was able to redouble my efforts and continue preparing.

Finally the day of departure arrived. Being a procrastinator, I embarrassingly stayed up all night packing, saying goodbye to my dog ​​who knows nothing, left the house in a hurry. (I think I could write a book about my failures in preparing to study abroad to serve as a negative example to readers haha.) My whole family came to the airport to see me off, and it was clear to me how much they loved and expected of me, so I swore I wouldn’t disappoint them. 

First, I took a 10-hour flight to San Jose, then a connecting flight to Dallas. Strangely enough, I realized in the bathroom at the San Jose airport that I really wanted to come to the U.S. Public bathrooms in Japan have no gaps above or below the door, which is different from the bathrooms here, but I didn’t mind it at all. After that, I saw how the people there treated customers and other people in a way that was different from Japan, and it all made me realize that I was in the U.S. 

Travel day was like something out of science fiction. The view from the window was completely different from that in Japan, and I was overwhelmed by the grandeur of the scenery and the difference in the landscape. The long day, which took place in a time difference, made me feel like a time traveler. The next day I arrived in Tyler and was very excited to finally start my life here. 

Since then I am still slowly getting used to this environment, but every day is full of discovery and joy. A lot of things have happened since I started living here, and I’ve only been here for about a week but it feels like I’ve been here a long time. First of all, I discovered something interesting: the air conditioner temperature setting is lower than in Japan. I’m sensitive to the cold, so I should have brought more long sleeves. Also, I wonder why so many people carry water bottles compared to Japan. I’m sorry if this is a rude thing to say, but I’ve heard that American workers are less polite than Japanese workers, but it’s just that the things we value and the culture are different and I’ve never thought of them as unkind. 

The thing that shocked me the most was that wherever I went, I was just me. In fact, I thought in the back of my mind that I would get more attention and be treated differently because I was an international student, but in reality, I realized that no one would be interested in me unless I took action myself. I have a complex about being shy, so I try to talk to people as much as possible in order to change myself. 

In Japan, there is a culture of reading between the lines, and being able to do so is considered a virtue, and we have been brought up to do so, but when you do this here, it means you can’t get into a conversation or take part in classes at all, and I am trying my best to adapt. I am always impressed by how expressive the people here are. Until now, I have been bad at expressing my opinions as a yes man, but I strongly feel that I will not be able to survive here if I continue like this, so I would like to change that little by little.

Anyways there are many cultural differences between us, but it’s fun to learn all about them. Furthermore, I believe that these cultural differences help me grow every day.

My intuition that I would accomplish nothing if I stayed in Japan was correct. Every day is fresh and exciting, and I feel alive here. There are no set tracks in front of me. All I know is that we are heading toward the future.

I initially said I had made a long-held dream come true, but I would like to correct that. I have finally taken the first step toward my dream. I believe the more effort you put in, the more powerful you will become. I took a lot of detours, and there were times when I wanted to give up, but now I’m glad I didn’t. I hope this article catches the eye of someone who, like me, is a little overwhelmed by the new environment but is trying to keep up.