Vanessa Chan
School of International Liberal Studies
Before leaving Singapore for Tokyo, I asked many people, “What was the most difficult challenge of moving overseas?” Unexpectedly, every one of them had the same answer: Loneliness.
So, in my first few weeks, equipped with only what I like to call ‘survival Japanese’ (konnichiwa, sumimasen, onegaishimasu, and daijoubudesu), I jumped at any opportunity to meet new people I could converse with. The ICC Welcome Café, held across multiple sessions before the start of the semester, was perfect for this.
Although I had arrived slightly late, I was ushered in by the friendly student staff members, who gave me a cup and asked which drink I wanted. Armed thus with (free!) tea, I was randomly put into a group of graduate students from China, and then a mixed group of exchange and degree students from around the world.
Two people I met had actually studied in my home country! Chatting with everyone about their motivations for coming to Japan and similar language anxieties brought me immense comfort.
Uprooting your life, whether for six months or four years, plunges you into unfamiliarity. The strangeness of the new can be exciting, but it’s the being unknown, the facelessness, that is hard to bear.
Being able to recognise and be recognised by each other as we moved about campus has been a lasting joy, which I am grateful to the ICC team for.
