Japanese student adjusts to Davis life
By Dante Yasui,
Bluedevilhub.com Staff–
When she visited San Francisco’s Japantown, Rina Ichihashi was shocked to learn about the experiences of Japanese-Americans. Her host, Davis High counselor Anne Murao, related the story of Murao’s own father’s service in the 442nd infantry regiment during World War 2.
Ichihashi has been staying with Murao for the five months she has been studying at UC Davis, and learning about American history is just one of the adjustments she has made.
Ichihashi is a Japanese student currently a part of the foreign exchange program at UCD. According to UCD Services for International Students & Scholars Director Wesley Young, UCD has more than 3,200 total international students.
Ichihashi says that Davis has more ethnic diversity than she is used to. “In Japan there is not so many other country people, but if I study English, then I can talk to other people,” she said.
DHS Japanese teacher Naoko McHale helps coordinate Japanese student visits and believes that such programs are helpful to language learners.
“My students can actually use the expressions they’ve learned with a native speaker,” McHale said.
She also notes that most foreign students have higher skills in reading and writing than in speech; coming to a English-speaking school helps with that.
Ichihashi is majoring in English Literature and is taking four language classes at the university.
“My dream is to be a flight attendant in my country,” she said. “My friends also have the same dream.”
This career choice was inspired in part by a trip she made to Hawaii in fourth grade. She saw flight attendants on the flight that spoke English well.
Ichihashi says that becoming a flight attendant is a popular career. Many other careers in Japan require English abilities.
According to Young, one common problem for exchange students is finding community in Davis.
“It’s not always easy for many international students to find friends here, especially if they are coming from cultures that are significantly different from the U.S.,” Young said.
Ichihashi has combated this problem by joining a soccer league composed of Japanese-American students. She saw her first football game recently and said it was different because the main sports in Japan are soccer and baseball.
Murao finds it refreshing to have conversations with Ichihashi. “Culturally it’s fascinating because in so many ways she’s more sheltered,” Murao said.
Because Japanese have different dating standards, she says that Rina has to be more aware of interpreting interactions with college guys. Rina has a boyfriend in Japan and is cautioned by Murao to be aware of misinterpreting intentions.
