Life at APU

In a few days my APU journey will come to an end. Yet despite it, the wonderful memories of this amazing journey will linger on for years to come. Thus through this short passage, I would like to share with you, dear reader, of how I shaped my world whilst at APU.

Before deciding to come to APU, my knowledge of Japan was limited to those universally known facts of sushi, pockemon, ninajas and kimonos. I, like many, made my decision based on the very much needed tuition reduction scholarship that APU had graciously offered me. So, not knowing the difference between ありがとうございます and おはいようございます I arrived at APU.

My first semester was pretty uneventful, and all I did was just go to my classes and do my best to get my basic Japanese in order (the only thing I managed to get into was TSS- more on this later). Looking back now, I do kind of regret not getting myself involved with various extracurricular activities earlier on. But going with the well know statement of "better late than never" I managed to be selected to become a member of FLAG (freshmen orientation group), which I ended up joining on a further three occasions. This indeed was an amazing experience, and made me realise that I have got the amazing opportunity of interacting with people of different nationalities, ethnicities and different perspectives. Furthermore the first few 'real' friends that I got was through FLAG. This brings me to my first tip, that is unless you go out and do some activity you will not make any friends. So in order to make lasting relationships you must join some kind of activity.

But the availability of so many activities and opportunities can be overwhelming and confuse you on what you should do. The second tip and the solution to that is to not be afraid to experiment with different activities, because eventually you will find what you like. In my case, I tried to continue my high school activities of playing badminton and being a part of the MUN (model united nations) club and the APU orchestra, all of which didn't give me the satisfaction I once had held for these activities. So, in my second semester I was put in charge of choreographing and heading a dance for Sri Lankan Week 2011. When I got involved with this I realised my new passion - dancing. So, I ended up dancing for Sri Lankan Week and Indonesian Week until my last semester, whilst also being a member of the Salsa club. (But I do sometimes feel that I missed a chance by not having danced in other multicultural weeks).

In other activities, I have been a part of the Technical Support Staff (which technically supports various performances such as multicultural weeks and the Entrance Ceremony). Through this I was also able to re-start my high school passion of organising events. As I progressed on to my my second year, I had the opportunity and the responsibility of becoming sub leader and thereafter leader of Sri Lankan Week in 2012 and 2013 respectively. Via this, I was able to develop my organisational and leadership skills. Also I was a TA for both 1st year workshop classes and English classes. In addition I was able to join KUMON English Immersion camp, which greatly helped me mature and thought me how to interact and educate children. Through these activities I  realised that I found joy in teaching, and would like to become an educator in my field in the future. 

Now you may wonder as to why I seem to have left out the academic side of my life. Well the reason behind is that, I personally believe that I got to learn more from the extracurricular activities. But as we are speaking of academics, I could say that my biggest academic achievements were writing my thesis on mixed ethnic identity development as well as managing to gain a substantial level of Japanese, Indonesian and Spanish language ability. Which brings to my third piece of advice, this university has given us the opportunity to shape our academic studies in anyway we like. Therefore, feel free to pick and choose subjects according to your interests, and do nothing t be afraid to challenge on a new language. 

Well, enough said about what I did at APU, rather I wish to move onto the bigger picture.

All in all this university has been an amazing experience, and no matter what anyone would say on any of the negative things about APU, I would not want to change this experience for the world. I will cherish for years to come the unforgettable memories with wonderful people that I have made over the last 4 years. I have been able to expand my perspectives and accept and in some cases live in the various cultures that exist in this amazing place. Thus, it is with a heavy hear that I am leaving this place atop the mountain, but the connections made with people from across the globe will remain- indeed this is not a 'good bye' but rather an 'until we meet again somewhere in this small world'. In conclusion, my お願い to you, current and future students is not not loose the opportunities provided through the dynamic environment of APU, and make as many lasting connections as you can because you will never know where life will take you, as you, like hundreds of other APU-ers, go out into society and 'shape your world'.