Hey! My name is Jordan Cottrell. I am a senior in the
Walton College and a member of the
Walton Honors Program. I am studying
International Business with a concentration in Economics. I have been studying
Japanese language for three years now. This summer
I went to Japan with Dr. Stapp! It was so much fun! This was my first time flying on a plane, let alone flying to another country or going on a
study abroad. I was really nervous about everything at first, but after that initial flight most of my worries washed away! As a result of the research paper that Dr. Stapp has us do I did feel reasonably prepared, but there were still many surprising things, most memorable for me being the almost complete lack of trash cans. In Japan most trash is kept on person and then disposed of at home. I fully expected trash to be separated between burnable and non-burnable waste, but I didn’t realize how scarce trash cans were. The train stations felt like a safe haven because they were the only consistent place to have trash cans. I didn’t find out until we visited the U.S. Embassy that that became more commonplace as a result of some terrorist attacks that released some kind of gas bombs throughout in different trash cans. I loved the homestays. My first homestay spoke very little English, but with my broken Japanese we managed. The kids really made the program! The cultural sites were a good break from businesses, giving a little time to relax. Between Todaiji and all the deer in Nara to watching the Yosakoi Soran in Sapporo, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It definitely wouldn’t have been the same without Dr. Stapp as he has so much prior knowledge of what to do and when to do it that it made the whole program run smoothly.
There was so much good food! Fresh sushi was amazing and authentic ramen was to die for. Shabu-Shabu is thinly sliced meat that you briefly dip in boiling water and it is delicious! The all-you-can-eat lamb in Hokkaido is somewhere between delicious and daunting. At the lamb place, between Sadie, Kate, and myself we ate eight full plates of lamb, which ended up being eight servings a piece! My favorite foods, from best to just good, were sushi, ramen, lamb, shabu-shabu, pork cutlet, karage, fried rice, curry rice, gyoza, and takoyaki.
My favorite parts of the program, ranked as best as possible since they were all so great, were the homestays, the Japanese Diet, the U.S. Embassy, Toyota, Walmart Japan (Seiyu), Sharp, Todaiji/Nara (there were so many deer! They were a little aggressive when it came to food), Akihabara in Tokyo, Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto, and Sapporo (the energy from the performers in the Yosakoi Soran was unparalleled). I would say top of my list for things I wasn’t expecting to happen would be the earthquake that hit the day that we were going to leave. Knowing about the geography of Japan, I fully expected there to be earthquakes of some sort, but not necessarily one that completely halted us. With all the trains closed from the earthquake being so large and the chance of large aftershocks, we had to find a new way to the airport. It turned a little stressful really quick, but we all tried to lighten the mood by just dancing in the street. We made it to the airport in plenty of time, and I was honestly sad to go home. I missed my family and I missed my wife, but this was such a wonderful experience! With the friendships I have gained and the real-world experience in the realm of Japanese Economics, I could not be happier. I am so glad that I was able to go through this program, and it is something that I would suggest to anyone, so long as they are dedicated and looking to get the most out of the program. We’re here to experience Japan!
