The reason why I chose North East Normal University to study is that I want to learn not only Chinese, but also Chinese women's culture and history.
Since my father is a quarter Chinese and Japanese, I went to school for overseas Chinese children until I was in junior high school. That’s why, I don’t want to learn how to speak Chinese in China.
After entering university, I got interested in sociology especially the perspective of gender. I took some Chinese culture classes in university, and gradually, I got interested in gender studies in China, and I wanted to learn the history of women in China. That’s why, I decided my major in North East Normal University as Chinese history and culture.
Now, I am planning to go to graduate school to study Chinese gender studies. I believe what I study in China would help a lot to study in graduate school.

5 months had passed since I came to Changchun, and finally I finished my tests. I said ”finally”, but I felt the 5 months were really quick.
At first, it was very difficult to get used to the new environment, and I became sick. Now, I made some friends who are interested in Japan and me. I am really happy and satisfied with the life here.
The classes here were very different from what I studied in Japan. As my major is history, I learned the history which I could not learn in Japan, and I had a lot of opportunities to think more deeply about the history of Japan and China.
I was also taking the Japanese culture classes for graduate school students. Learning Japanese culture with Chinses people was very fun and interesting for me.
This semester, everything was new for me and sometimes I was spoiling myself because of this. That’s why, I will be more strict with me for the next semester and study more.

Studying in China, seemed to be really long, but it was actually very short. I had more opportunities to think about China, Japan, and many other related countries’ history and their relations in addition to study about gender which went beyond my expectations that I had before studying abroad. Also, I took many history classes such as “modern history” and “China-U.S. relationships history”, I felt that although the name of the lessons are different, I learned we cannot divide actual history. History is interconnected and we need to notice that it is lasting now and ongoing to the future too.
Furthermore, since I will go to graduate school, while I was in China, I kept thinking about what I should study and which graduate school to go to. Some professors gave me advice, and I decided to go back to North East Normal University for graduate school. One of the professors invited me to study with him. In order to be able to go back to North East Normal University, I need to keep studying.
For me, finishing study abroad is not the goal, and I promise that I will keep studying and will not forget what I learned in China.