In Brazil, English is a secondary language. In most schools, there may not be much of an emphasis on learning English, so language classes are usually held only once a week. From the day I started learning English, I loved learning the language. Seeing the passion that I had for the language, my parents started sending me to an English language school where I went twice a week, for 3-4 years. It got to the point where I started attending summer and winter intensive programs (1 semester in 1 month). When I was eight, I read a book by the Founder of Soka University, Daisaku Ikeda, where he encouraged the youth to “become global citizens”. Through this encouragement, I thought one of the ways I could become a global citizen was to learn English.

In Brazil, when you greet people, even for the first time, we hug and kiss on the cheek. On the other hand, in Japan, people greet from a distance and usually bow. So this is a cross-cultural challenge that most Brazilians face when we first come to Japan. In this way, taking the cross-cultural understandings class in FILA and getting to learn about different cultures helped both international and domestic students to adapt and respect cultural differences. By experiencing different cultures in an internationalized setting, I was able to open myself to learn Japanese culture as well as share my Brazilian culture.

From September 2015 to May 2016, I went to study abroad in London. Studying there was fun, yet challenging because I had the chance to be more independent in regards of my daily routine and finances. Also, the British accent was difficult for me to understand at first; even inside the UK, there were different kinds of accents, however, eventually I got used to it. When I was there, I saw that London preserves history in the architecture and museums, while incorporating the modern world through skyscrapers along the Thames River. There is also great cultural diversity in London, so I learned a lot about other cultures as most of my friends had different ethnic backgrounds. Moreover, I was provided with exciting opportunities such as becoming Student Ambassador of the University of my study abroad site. Through those opportunities, I was able to meet different people, while sharing Soka education values.

During the preparations for the Soka University Festival the main language used was Japanese because most of the international students come here to learn Japanese. All the meetings and discussions were held in Japanese. During the meetings and discussion, the friends of the committee would share what was going on, and I would learn Japanese on the fly.

After I graduate from Soka University, I want to go to graduate school and Ph.D. so I can deepen my research on how to improve learning experience to promote youth development. My long-term dream is that I want to repay what I have learned in Brazilian society. When I see myself enjoying all the opportunities that I have been having abroad, I look back at home and my friends, and I always wonder how can I help Brazilian society to overcome their situation. I sincerely want to bring back what I am experiencing now to the people of Brazil. Currently, my main research focus is on enhancing the educational experience to empower youth to change their communities.

People may think it’s funny, “why are you studying an English-medium undergraduate course in Japan?” Even though a new environment with a totally different culture might be a little intimidating, Soka University and Japanese culture itself are very welcoming. You feel the openness to learn and grow from each other, which is essential for a quality learning experience.