Study Abroad

Mami Li

I spent one year studying at the University of Tübingen. In my interaction with other foreign exchange students, my agricultural volunteer work, and other activities, I struggled with my own lack of language skills, but I used that frustration as motivation and consistently worked hard to prepare for and review my classes every day. Through those steady efforts, my German greatly improved. In the end, I was able to take the same tests that the German students were taking and pass, which gave me a major boost to my self-confidence. The reason that I was able to make that kind of leap was that before I went abroad, I had mastered the basics of German. I am extremely grateful to my teachers in the German Department for their enthusiastic guidance. Through my year abroad, not only did my German language skills improve, but I also developed a new perspective on society. By meeting people from various countries and being exposed to diverse values, the events occurring in the world are no longer just someone else’s concern, and at the same time I gained a strong awareness of my own Japanese identity. I hope that I can give back to society what I gained through my year abroad. In the future, I would like to find work that will let me, as a Japanese person, contribute to the people of the world.