明日㸠– “Ashita e” (Towards Tomorrow)

By:

Hector Santiago

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Hey everyone. I hope you enjoyed the pictures and videos I’ve posted over the course of my stay here in Japan. The memories I’ve made here have been magical. I’ve made friends from all over the world, adapted and strived in a new culture, learned a new language, and have grown mentally and emotionally, since I’ve been here. These memories will stay with me forever and I will do my best to share them with others and encourage future generations of students to pursure their own dreams and make memories and grow as I have.

My last day at KCP was bittersweet. After our final exam, the students that were concluding their time at KCP participated in a closing cemremony that was filled with emotion. We all gave small speeches in Japanese after receiving our certificates of completion and emotion took over most of us in some way. My friend Mike started to cry while giving his speech. It made me tear up a bit myself to be honest. It hurt us all to say goodbye to each other, but I reminded them that we remain only a phone call or an email away and we welcomed each other for visits if ever possible. The walk home that night was a very long and lonely. Just knowing that my time in Japan is about to expire really hit me hard. Of course, I excited to see my family and friends that are awaiting my return in the states, but at the same time, I feel like I’m leaving home again. I’ve become so comfortable in Japan that, even for a short while, I felt comfortable enought to call it home…

But now I am preparing to return to my real home, where responsibility is sitting at the dinning room table, waiting for me to get home from work. I know that I will be sad when I get home. I might even cry… I know that the reentry shock is going to hit me really hard. But when it’s all over, I will remain happy about my experience, I will work hard to reach my next goals, and I will spend every day helping others to benefit from my experience, have their own experiences, and build a better place to live at home.

For now, I will just spend my remaining time here in Japan reflecting and appreciating how fortunate I am and have been, as I head towards tomorrow…

Hector Santiago

Hector was an FEA Scholar in the fall of 2012. He studied abroad in Japan, going back to Japan to take part on the JET program after graduating from Brookdale Community College, and later going on to earn his MA in International Education at SIT. He currently works as a study abroad advisor at Brookdale Community College in New Jersey and runs his own business. *** (From 2012) Hello. こんにちは。My name is Hector Santiago. 僕の　名前は、ヘクター　サンティアーゴです。I am a 23 years old and am a student at Brookdale Community College and Kean University. I come from a low-income family and have yet to experience life outside of New Jersey. I have travelled to Florida before because my best friend lives there, but otherwise have not been out of New Jersey much. It would be a great experience to go to Japan and study a culture that interests me so much. No one in my family has ever travelled outside of the country either so it would be a chance to help move my family forward. I will be studying in Tokyo, Japan at KCP International Japanese Language School from October until December. During my time in Japan, I will be studying Japanese language and culture as outline in the course description of KCP’s program. I have heard that KCP has a community service club that I would like to be involved with. In addition, I will be video recording my experience and making a video to show other students upon my return from Japan. I’m looking forward to every aspect of this trip. It is all new to me and I am very anxious to go. When I wrote my first letter to FEA for this scholarship, I was still having trouble deciding my major and how this study abroad would be relevant to it. However, over the last few weeks, I’ve decided, with great excitement, that I will pursue my B.A. degree in Asian Studies. What better way to study Asian history and culture than to be there? With the experience I get from this program, I would like to, if at all possible, start a Japanese program at Kean University when I graduate because there is none as of yet. This is why I am studying abroad through Brookdale Community College. My other interests include music, racquetball, and Goju Karate.