I should start at the beginning to say why I chose Japan.
When I was little I had no idea that I would be interested in Japan. My first year of college while dual enrolling (doing senior year of high school at a college getting credit for both) I was the stereotypical American. I thought foreign food was just weird or gross, and that it didn't make sense to speak any other language. Really the whole world should speak English, right?
But, one day I was driving towards Clayton state university, and listening to talk radio to stay awake. Because it was so early in the morning, the radio hosts hadn't started talking yet, and the weather, traffic, and news casters were on. Right after they had their traffic update, the newscaster came on and I heard something like this, "So, for all you moms out there, the Japanese government is offering full ride scholarships to study in Japan, before you start packing your bags though, there are some requirements, but it's worth checking out. The weather for today is brought...."
I don't know why, and I still don't know why, but I stopped and this is what went through my head: "I could do that, I'll check it out."
I ended up not getting that scholarship, but God used that moment to forever change me into who I am now. It was then I starting learning language. As soon as I realized I would have to go abroad, I began making myself eat anything. When we went any foreign food place, if it was something I wasn't sure what it was, I ordered it. I've gone from PB&J only to having tried chicken feet and tripe (cow stomach).
But, the interesting thing was, when I went to the Japanese Embassy of Atlanta, I was interviewed as part of the scholarship process. When they asked how I got interested, I told them what I had heard on the radio. Their response was this, "That's interesting... We're good friends with those guys and I know we never asked them to play that on the radio. I'll have to ask them about that."
So back to the question, why Japan? In the simplest form, I feel it's what God has been leading me to do. What that's looked like? Well, I'll cover that in another post.
When I was little I had no idea that I would be interested in Japan. My first year of college while dual enrolling (doing senior year of high school at a college getting credit for both) I was the stereotypical American. I thought foreign food was just weird or gross, and that it didn't make sense to speak any other language. Really the whole world should speak English, right?
But, one day I was driving towards Clayton state university, and listening to talk radio to stay awake. Because it was so early in the morning, the radio hosts hadn't started talking yet, and the weather, traffic, and news casters were on. Right after they had their traffic update, the newscaster came on and I heard something like this, "So, for all you moms out there, the Japanese government is offering full ride scholarships to study in Japan, before you start packing your bags though, there are some requirements, but it's worth checking out. The weather for today is brought...."
I don't know why, and I still don't know why, but I stopped and this is what went through my head: "I could do that, I'll check it out."
I ended up not getting that scholarship, but God used that moment to forever change me into who I am now. It was then I starting learning language. As soon as I realized I would have to go abroad, I began making myself eat anything. When we went any foreign food place, if it was something I wasn't sure what it was, I ordered it. I've gone from PB&J only to having tried chicken feet and tripe (cow stomach).
But, the interesting thing was, when I went to the Japanese Embassy of Atlanta, I was interviewed as part of the scholarship process. When they asked how I got interested, I told them what I had heard on the radio. Their response was this, "That's interesting... We're good friends with those guys and I know we never asked them to play that on the radio. I'll have to ask them about that."
So back to the question, why Japan? In the simplest form, I feel it's what God has been leading me to do. What that's looked like? Well, I'll cover that in another post.
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