After travelling a great distance across the globe to reach Tokyo, it did not cross my mind that I would leave Japan to study abroad! In addition to Waseda\u2019s nearly innumerable opportunities for student life and academic support on campus, the University invites students to broaden their perspectives and deepen their research by travelling to other lands. I hadn\u2019t planned to come to study in Tokyo, to then research in another country \u2013 but this is what I ended up doing, and it was a magnificent experience that I highly recommend.<\/p>\n
One day I am walking to campus, passing convenience stores and the bright orange arch of the Shinto temple across the street. Later in the week I find myself in a jungle, surrounded by a plethora of verdancy. Sprawling banyans, cashew-fruit and sandalwood trees majestically stretch their leafy branches in the hot, wet air. The locals say that the peacocks slumber atop the coconut palms at night. Vibrantly colored birds chirp and flit above the foliage that hides the snakes and the snake temples in this place of \u201cGod\u2019s Own Country.\u201d This is the state of Kerala, hugging the southwestern coastline of the Indian subcontinent.<\/p>\n\n\t\t