1. To improve Japanese skills
First of all, I want to not only strengthen my ability in listening, speaking, reading and writing which are the most important skills in Japanese, but also spend time on lunch and shopping with my Japanese friends after class. I think that talking with them in Japanese can improve my Japanese skills. Also, speaking Japanese is an important part of getting to know Japanese culture and customs more deeply.

2. To become familiar with Japan society
Secondary, I want to join a student club to learn further about different cultural backgrounds. Participating in a student club not only presents many opportunities to realize more about the goals and strengths, but also helps students broaden and improve “people skills” ? they’re the skills that allow people to effectively interact with others, like communication, attitude, and so on. Moreover, I think that it’ll be a great opportunity to become familiar with Japanese society while making new friends in a student club.

3. To study Japanese Law
Finally, I want to learn more about Japanese law. For instance, I will take the courses of Business Law and Civil Law in Kobe University. The reason is that the theory of Business Law and Civil Law have rapidly developed for many years and Japan is the lead in Asia. Even after the exchange program, I believe that I will continue learning Japanese. Since I have a passion or international business, I hope I will have a chance to become an international lawyer and study in Law School in Japan in the future.

I have come to Japan from Taiwan since last year September. Since I lived in Japan, I have learned a lot of Japanese from Kobe University as well as the culture differences between Japan and Taiwan.
For example, although Taiwan and Japan are both in Asia, there can still be observed some differences such as breakfast. There are many breakfast shops in Taiwan. Breakfast in Taiwan are sold in low price. Traditional Taiwanese Breakfast include Soybean Milk, Chinese Omelet, Meat Buns and so on. Sandwich are also sold. My favorite one is Chinese Omelet. Chinese Omelet is a thin crepe with an egg on top. There are multiple variations; my favorite is just to mix a little sesame oil and a lot of chopped scallions into the egg. I eat it when I was in Taiwan three times a week. However, there is no breakfast shop in Japan. Japanese usually eat rice and Miso Soup. Therefore, my breakfast in Japan is almost only toast and milk.
On the other hand, I selected intensive Japanese class and graduate course for law in Kobe University. First, I took the intensive Japanese class every morning from Monday to Friday. This class focuses on abilities of listening, speaking, reading and writing which are the most important skills in Japanese. I learned a lot from the class and enjoyed discussing the Japanese grammar with my teacher and classmates. Then, I also took graduate school of law class, such as Introduction of Japanese law and civil procedure law. We discussed the problem about abolition of the death penalty in Introduction of Japanese law class and made reports to introduce the Arguments For pros and cons. Class in Civil procedure law is about the right of injunction claims and so on. I hope that I will become a bridge between Taiwan and Japan in law in the future.

I participated in the “Kobe Salad 2018” class at Kobe University. This class was an annual Summer School about Asian law and dispute management. I studied with many students from Japan, Korea, China, Macau, Vietnam and Malaysia. All the lecturers were given by top academics and practitioners in law and business from various Asian jurisdictions. It gave me a lot of thought in Law.

After spending almost one year studying in Japan, I find it shocking to go back to Taiwan. I had heard from other students who had studied abroad that going back home is difficult and that many people go through another round of culture shock when they are back in the US. I was skeptical about this and thought exchange students were just being dramatic. I never thought the country I spent 27 years in could ever seem strange to me.

Of course, it is amazing for me to see my family and friends in Taiwan. Being able to play with my dog, and eat all the food I have been missing would be also great. However, there is a part of me that is yearning to go back to Japan that helped me expand my horizons beyond belief.

My friends always ask me what I loved so much about studying in Japan. I gush about the culture, food, landscapes in Kobe. I will miss all the friends I have made from all over the world, speaking Japanese, and my favorite coffee shop in Sannomiya. Before I stop myself, I would like to say I will never forget these small but perfect moments in Kobe. I think it is important to remember all the crazy things I went through in Japan. From the first day of struggling with the language, to the last day…still struggling with the language. Life is about living in the moment. We cannot constantly look towards the future because the future is not guaranteed. We have a choice in our own happiness and we must live it up every single day.