Experiencing Beautiful “Nothing”: Kwanchanok Chaiyapruek, Kasetsart University, Thailand

Kwanchanok (front, third from left) with the Yatose Club

Becoming an AIU student was the best decision of my life.

I challenged myself to have my first opportunity to study aboard and I chose Japan. When I first came to Japan in 2015, I fell in love with the Japanese people and its cultures. I wanted to know more about the deep side of Japan, especially in the everyday rural life. That’s why I chose AIU. Since I had never studied aboard before, I was really nervous and worried about what I had to do.

However, from the first step in AIU, I was surprised at how welcoming and helpful the people in AIU were, which made me feel more relaxed.

Being energetic in the Yatose club

Yatose club usually performs a Japanese folk dance that mixes Western and Eastern culture. All you have to do to become a Yatose team member is to be energetic and cheerful. That’s it!

As a Yatose member, I could learn more about Japanese culture through the traditional Japanese songs. And also, I could learn more about others’ culture, since a lot of Yatose members are from different places around the world. I now have a lot of friends from Japan, Taiwan, United States, Italy, Germany and Sweden which I’d never expected to have before. I am confident that the Yatose club is one of the most international clubs in AIU!

Active classes in AIU

There are many classes you can choose from in AIU either in the field of Global Studies or Global Business. I take one Japanese language class and three business classes.

My favorite class is JPL101 Elementary Japanese, in which I can learn Japanese from the basics. The Sensei (Teacher) has been very effective and helpful. I didn’t expect that I could learn a lot of Japanese since AIU is an International University and we normally talk in English. However, surprisingly, the teacher has a lot of tactics and productive ways which makes us learn more Japanese through active classes, not by passive lecturing.

Now, Japanese is no longer hard for me and I can also try to use Japanese with my Japanese roommate which can make my Japanese skills better.

“Nothing” is Beautiful in Akita

Skiing at Appi Kogen

Since Akita is surrounded by nature, there are a lot of attractions that we can explore.

Before I came here I did some research about what to do in Akita prefecture. At first, It looks like there is nothing much to do. I was afraid that I might get bored staying here for 4 months. Astonishingly, since the first month of coming here, I have had a lot of field trips with my friends. We went to Kakunodate, Lake Tazawa, Senshu Park, Oyasukyo Daifunto and also ski trip at Appi Kogen ski resort which was very amazing.

Now I know that “nothing” is beautiful in Akita and there are still lots of places that I haven’t got to explore yet!