top of page

Global Scholar Option

The Global Experience

Nagasaki, Japan
Anchor 1
Anchor 2

About Me

My name is Benjamin Alden and am set to graduate from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh at the end of the spring 2019 semester with a Bachelors of letters & Science and a double major in Japanese and Radio TV Film. Throughout my time at college I was able expand my cultural understanding by study abroad for two semesters, becoming a STEP Japanese translation internship, and eventually receive a certificate of Excellence in Japanese by the Foreign Language & Literature Department. These opportunities had increased my exposure to foreign cultures but helped me develop academically and personally.
​
Ever since middle school I knew that I wanted to experience living abroad. I had the opportunity my junior year to study at the University of Nagasaki Japan for 14 months. When I returned fall 2017 I continued learning about Japan's culture by taking all of the courses I could that related to Japan. This included Religious Studies 222: Buddhism and Japanese 360: Special topics in Japanese. I had learned about the Global Scholar Option and tried to but couldn’t fit the remaining classes into my schedule. My last semester I had an opening for Religious studies 354: Buddhist Myth and Ritual and decided to take it for fun. Through this class Professor Baltutis had mentioned the Global Scholar Option and the possibility of using my Japanese courses for the remaining 6 credits of Global Scholar courses. These classes were fortunately accepted and am able to complete the Global Scholar Option before I graduate.
​
I hope this ePresentation properly presents the importance of my “Global Experience” and how I grew from the experience. From here I will document how my study abroad was set up. I will then reflect on how these experiences have influenced my way of thinking and understanding of foreign cultures. At the end I will explain how I plan on using these experiences influence in my future.

Speech Contest

S_6496166808908.jpg

Section of Speech Contest

0001.jpg

Class Presentation Example:

Nagasaki, Japan

Summer 2016 - Fall 2017
​

Exploring local Shrine

2017_07_27_52.jpg
0001.jpg
In the summer of 2016 I left for Japan and wouldn’t return for 14 months. I was going to spend my junior year of college at the University of Nagasaki, Japan. This study abroad was not to only live in a foreign country or fulfill requirements of my Japanese major but to expand my confidence and language ability while learning about the culture of Japan. Before this study abroad I had visited Japan once before in a cultural exchange that was sponsored by my High School. Through this experience and the courses I took in Japanese at U.W. Oshkosh I was able to prepare to become fully immersed while I lived in Nagasaki. During my two semesters at University of Nagasaki I was able to take 14 different courses. Four classes were language classes intended for international students. The rest were classes intended for the Japanese students. The two classes that I learned a lot from was the class about the relationship between the US and Japan since World War II and the Orientalism in American and Japanese film course.
​
In addition to the school work I had spent every chance I could exploring the Nagasaki and going to cultural events. This would vary from day to day and which direction I decided to walk. Most of the time I had ended up in the back streets of the down town or on the outer parts of the city. During these walks I would come across various Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples, festivals, protests, or small shops. More times than not I would approach these places and had tried to learn something about the area i stumbled upon. I had meet a lot of very nice people and had learned a lot about the local traditions and different problems the local people were facing. During one of these talks I had learned about the Kappa, a creature in Japanese folklore that either drowns children or sumo wrestles wanderers. I was fascinated by this story and have continued to research about the kappa and other Japanese folklore stories for fun. Many of the people I met while studying abroad, I met by talking about the Kappa.
​
Every couple of weeks I would walk to the local museums and see the new exhibits. I tried to make it to every new exhibit that had come to the local museums. At these museums there were promotion for events happening in the area. The most important event I went to was a survivor of the Nuclear Bomb attack on Nagasaki recounting her experience and a discussion after words. The survivor explained not only the bombing but what World War II Japan was like. This event was covered by a local TV station and I had gotten interviewed.
Every chance I had I tried to experience something new. If I wasn’t in class or studying the language I was diving into the culture anyway I could. I had learned about the Japanese culture and language from my teachers but exploring the back streets and going to events had taught me how these cultures and language were interacting with the people.

Section from a paper written for class.

14567492_1820172544886807_84085318936889
2017_05_21_79.jpg

Start of semester for study abroad students ceremony.

Exploring the harbor.

Anchor 3
Anchor 4

Influence of the Experience

Local Aquarium

My 14 months in Japan was the most important educational and personal development period of my life. A Story that represents the largest sudden shift in how I understand global relations is when I stumbled upon a protest. I was shopping in Fukuoka, Japan with some friends one day. We came out of a mall and noticed a group of protest. My friends wanted continue shopping but I was curious about what was going on. After a few minutes my friends left too the next shop but I wanted to stay for a few more minutes. Eventually an old Japanese man came up to me and asked if I knew what was going on. I replied "no" and the man explained that it was a group of extreme nationalists that were protesting against the Chinese and Koreans. The man didn't go in depth of why these people hated the Chinese and Koreans, I don't think he knew either. I can still remember him reading the signs “Kill the Chinese! Kill the Koreans!” The old man continued by saying that these protesters were a tiny section of the Japanese population and not a good representation of the culture. I remember leaving the protest confused as what to think. I knew these people were not representative to the majority of Japanese opinions but couldn’t ignore the racism I had just seen. Eventually I realized that I had been ignoring parts of Japan that I was afraid to know. From that point I changed my way of learning about Japan and other cultures. I needed to look at the positives and the negatives of a culture and I shouldn't impose my ideals onto the culture. Throughout the Study abroad there were other conflicts in culture that came up, like US military presence in Japan and patriarchy that other study abroad students wanted to give there personal opinions about the issue. I had my personal opinion but I learned to ask questions more than make statements about what should or should not happen.
​
When I returned to America I had a new appreciation for not only Japanese culture but how other cultures interact with each other. I continued my Japanese culture studies in Japanese 360: Special topics in Japanese and had used what I learned during my Global Experience in this class. One of the last topics of the class we had examined Okinawa and its importance in World War II Japan. Many students either felt uncomfortable and didn't talk much or maintained the pro-America depiction taught in middle school history courses. I had maintain what I learned during my study abroad and didnt impose my opinions during this discussion. I instead had nice conversations with my Professor about how the Japanese public remember the war and events like the anti-Korean and Chinese protest I saw fit into the modern culture.
​
The lessons I learned in Japan have not only been applicable when looking at Japan. In Religious Studies 222: Buddhism I was able to keep my opinions separate from the cultures I was learning. A few times throughout the class we were asked to give our opinions and I can remember feeling odd for doing so. Throughout the class I had recognized concepts that I learned while in Japan being applied to other countries in different ways. I was initially confused about how Buddhist cultures could be vastly different while remaining under the same name of Buddhism. It wasn't until Religious Studies 354: Buddhist Myth and Ritual that I was taught and realized about how cultures can change dramatically over time and space. I realized how the Buddhism I learned about during the Global Experience was connected to the Buddhism in other areas. How these Buddhist cultures were the same, while different. The Japanese traditions I learned about in Nagasaki were different than those of the next town but were both still Japanese traditions.
​
My Global experience had taught me to accept cultures for what they are. Accepting the good and the bad. Not trying to push my personal opinions into the discussion of other cultures. My Global Scholar courses had taught me that the cultures can change and are not set in stone. Even within a singular country the culture can differ radically.
2017_07_27_61.jpg

Exploring the harbor.

2017_05_21_77.jpg

Admiring the view from a private elementary school.

2017_07_27_3.jpg

Looking to the Future

​
I have always wanted to use my Japanese to help bridge America and Japan closer by the understanding of each others culture. During the 2018-19 winter break I had reflected on my global experiences and had realized that I want to bridge the cultures academically. After a conversation with my Japanese Professor I had realized that I wanted to go to graduate school to continue studying the Japanese language and culture. I have an idea of which programs I want to apply to but I will not happen for a few years. This is because in April 2019 I was offered a job in Chiba Prefecture, Japan to be a assistant English teacher in a middle or high school. During this time I will help the students develop their English language ability but I hope that I will be able to convey culture as well. If I am able to teach culture as well, it will be a quick start for my goal of bridging the two cultures together. Even if I am only needed to help teach English I will make it a point to convey the cultural diversity and importance that I had learned from my global experience and global scholar courses. I
Anchor 5
bottom of page