Angeles Patoussias - Blog #5 (Second Blog) - Study Abroad

Prompt: Blog 5 (The Birth of Study Abroad): Where are you emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually at the start of this trip? What are your hopes, fears, or expectations? Who do you hope to become by the end of this journey?

My very first night of getting to Japan is a great example of how I felt the first few days of the trip. After riding the train for the first time and finally getting to the hotel after flying 12 hours, I was on the verge of tears. They weren't tears of joy, or of sadness, or excitement, but actually tears of anxiety and stress. I was beginning to regret my decision of traveling to a whole different country without my family there to be with me. Eventually I was able to calm down and take a moment to take in that I was in Japan! After that, I was in the best mental state that I've ever been in. Surprisingly, I was so excited to be experiencing so many new things, but felt so at peace at the same time. My emotions weren't overwhelming and even the simplest things like checking out my classmate's new hotel rooms made my entire day. Aside from my emotional state, I was learning a lot from both the new culture around me and our morning classes. At times, I did find myself getting a bit confused from the varying topics I was hearing about, but I felt that I was mostly intellectually growing, in regard to Japanese customs and religion. Still, there was much to learn and much to get accustomed to. What I was most concerned about at the start of the trip was my personal spirituality. My Christian faith isn't something that I talk about too often simply because it doesn't really come up naturally in a casual conversation, but I was nervous that I would drift away, even just a little. After some time, I did put a small pause on my morning devotionals, but kept practicing my faith just as I would back home. I prayed over my food, the hands that made it, the establishment, the drivers taking us from point a to b, and would start my mornings with the verse of the day. However, one of my biggest, more vulnerable concerns was about the religion class and the religion-oriented activities. I wanted to stay true to my faith and I was hesitant about participating in some activities such as the traditional prayers at the shrines. However, I soon realized that I wasn't practicing another religion, but rather respectfully participating in another culture. Soon enough, bowing at the torii gates, for example, was simply the right way to enter. From then on, I enjoyed our classes and enjoyed the content I was learning about. It was different from anything else I'd ever been taught. At this point of the trip, I had hoped to expand my knowledge on religion further from what I had only known up until then, at least further from my personal faith. Now, I feel that I have a double perspective and can understand those around me on a better level. I hope to continue to always learn about the different faiths around me.