Alumni Voices: An unexpected journey – by Anna Matilda SJOEBERG, Linnaeus University, Sweden

What do you want to experience at AIU? Who do you want to become through study abroad?

In this series, we would like to introduce the articles written by former AIU exchange students to share their most memorable experiences, what they learned and how the AIU experience has helped them get to where they are now, and what they would like to tell international students who are thinking of studying at AIU.

The purposes and goals of studying abroad are different for everyone, but we hope that the stories of these alumni will encourage you to consider choosing AIU as your destination.

Here is a message from Anna Matilda SJOEBERG. She was an exchange student who studied at AIU in the Spring 2018 Semester.

“I am going on an adventure“! I shouted out into the dark Tokyo night quoting one of my absolute favorite works of fiction, J.R.R Tolkien’s “The Hobbit”. Little did I know that those words called into that warm spring night while on my way to experience my very first trip to a Japanese convenience store, would set the definition of my life for many years to come: to be brutally honest, I did not think that my exchange studies would bring me to the northern parts of rural Japan. In fact, when my school announced my placement, I was quite disappointed as I had been 99,9% sure I would be placed at my first school of choice in Osaka. So,? aside from focusing on packing, applying for a VISA, finding a good flight etc., my preparations also became a mental battle to reconstruct my mental image of “Japan”.

The next morning, although I thought I was somewhat prepared when my plane landed at Akita Airport, alas, I was not. My first mistake was to think that the weather in Akita would be similar to that in Osaka or Tokyo; I had left all my clothes for the cold weather back home. My second mistake was to underestimate how beautiful and exciting a rural place can be. In hindsight, I could not have wished for a better placement. I am to this day completely and utterly in love with rural Japan, and I am in fact currently working in the mountains of Fukushima, something that was greatly influenced by my time at AIU and my experience of the “other” side of Japan. The way I see it today? To really experience Japan, one must leave the beaten paths. Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka are all great cities, but in my opinion, there is nothing that beats the beauty and the feeling of “the real Japan” one can experience in the Japanese countryside.

After my exchange at AIU, I graduated university in 2019, with great plans. My first stop on the path to “the rest of my life” was moving to China for a year of work and then traveling around Asia. Unfortunately, soon after my graduation the COVID pandemic put the entire world at a standstill. All my plans got canceled and for the next two years I went back to teaching. But, despite being unable to do what I love the most, work and travel, I never became discouraged. I had learned from my semester at AIU that even though things do not turn out the way you have planned, you might still have a wonderful experience, although it might be quite different from the one you imagined.

In the end I never went to China. I do not think anyone expected the impact COVID would have on our lives and on a global scale, and the time spent waiting just dragged out too long to go back and start over with all that planning again. However, as they say; “When one door closes, another opens”. Instead, I got the opportunity to go back to Japan on a Working Holiday VISA and today I am working at the hotel reception at British Hills, an English immersion village in rural Fukushima, where I have been for almost 2 years now at the time of writing this article!

Scenes from my current workplace, British Hills Hotel in Fukushima

I have been asked many times, why Japan? It all began when I was 10 years old, at that time my mother, a middle school teacher, took part in an international educational exchange program. For a couple of months my family got to host Reiko, a lovely Japanese teacher from Fukuoka, in our home. Reiko brought with her candy, pictures, and stories of a country far beyond the imagination of a 10 year-old and thus the seed of my passion for Japan was planted. During the following years that passion grew, and in high school I found friends who shared my interest. We watched anime, studied Japanese and even went to conventions together. After high school, I knew that this interest was something that I wanted to pursue, so continued to study Japanese at university level, and later my choice of university was also partly influenced by the fact that it had exchange partnerships with schools in Japan! Finally, in my second year of university I was able to go abroad and, as you know, I ended up at AIU (Akita International University).

Exchange semester starts at AIU (Anna Matilda SJOBERG is second from right)

At AIU I took classes related to Japanese language, history, religion and society. I also joined two extracurricular clubs; Kendo and the hiking club “Wandervogel”. Kendo was something that I had always wanted to try out and the club consisted of both Japanese senpais and other exchange students. Joining “Wandervogel” was, despite me being horrendously out of shape and feeling like I might keel over on multiple occasions, by far the best decision I made at AIU! It allowed me to travel to and hike in some of the most gorgeous places in Akita, including locations I would most likely not have had the opportunity or means to visit by myself.

AIU also offered many opportunities to immerse ourselves in Japanese culture; the student affairs office arranged multiple trips to beautiful places in both Akita and in neighboring prefectures and some of my classes offered field trips. I tried to take part in as many trips as I could.

This is something I cannot stress enough. To all future attendees of AIU: please join clubs and go on as many field trips and events as you possibly can. Dare to explore and try to look at everything with curiosity! Maybe you, just like me, are expecting your exchange year to take place in a major city. For those of you who have already been selected to study at AIU, maybe right at this moment you are experiencing a little bit of confusion and disappointment as well. However, I do promise you this: everything will be alright. I’m not saying you necessarily have to sink a boat into hip-deep mud (in front of a crowd of 200 cheering, very amused locals no less) at the Junsai-picking world championship in Mitane like I did… But when all is said and done, all the field trips, club activities and community living on the AIU campus were experiences I would not want to trade for anything in the world.

Me picking up Junsai (traditional water plant vegetable)

Of course, we cannot finish this little story without talking a little bit about Akita and the things you can see or experience only in Akita. As a person that loves photography, Akita was the perfect match. Thanks to all my extracurricular activities and classes that included field trips I got to see many stunning places. My favorite place by far is Shirakami Sanchi, one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Japan. This vast 130.000-hectare forest/mountain region covers areas in both Akita and Aomori prefectures. The scenery is said to have greatly inspired the art in the studio Ghibli movie Princess Mononoke, it was not hard to see why. The famous blue pond was especially a wonder to both behold with my own eyes and capture in photos.

Scenic spots from Shirakami Sanchi, a World Heritage Site

The most unique place was Kawarage Jigoku. The mountain and the surrounding areas are said to be one of three most sacred places in Japan. The mountain has turned white due to the volcanic activity beneath, and some areas were closed of due to toxic fumes. When we hiked down to the bottom of the mountain, the path was extremely steep and in sunlit areas temperatures rose to around 40 degrees celsius. This was one of those earlier mentioned occasions where I thought I would not make it out alive, however at the bottom of the mountain we were awarded with a natural onsen, easily the best bath I have ever had in my life!

And finally, the most photogenic place (apart from Shirakami Sanchi) was the Dakigaeri Valley. It looked like something taken out of a movie with its famous red bridge and bright blue waters running through the lush valley!

For someone like me, a person who lives through the lense of my camera, it is easy to forget that a prefecture is not only about beauty! Akita is also rich in history and culture. Only in Akita can you experience the Namahage, deities unique to the region; Kakunodate, an old Samurai stronghold; Lake Tazawa, the deepest lake in Japan; as well as Kanto, the lantern festival where people pray for bountiful harvest by balancing 15 meters poles covered in lanterns on their palms, hips, and foreheads.

My semester went by way too fast and before I knew it final exams were taking place and my final papers were due. After my last day of school, I stayed for an extra week at the residence on campus, (courtesy of AIU) while traveling around in Akita and of course I went with my friends to the Kanto festival. Then I left Akita to travel around Japan (the less rural parts) for a month before returning to Sweden. I went to Okinawa, Kyoto, Tokyo and finished my adventure in Nagoya staying with the family of a Japanese student I befriended at AIU. They took me to local festivals, we had a barbeque by the river close to their home, and they showed me around the city.

After my semester in Japan, I decided that after graduation I would love to work in promoting tourism between Sweden and Japan or return and spend more time in the country. And at this moment I am making that dream come true!

Thank you for reading my contribution, and I hope this has inspired you to dare to explore more of the unbeaten path of Japan. It will be worth it, and it might become one of the best decisions of your life!

Matilda