Ayusa Study Abroad student reflects on her time in Japan

Elizabeth Solley will return to Piedmont High School definitely altered by her summer experiences, having spent four weeks in a student exchange program in Japan. There Lizzy, as she prefers to be called, immersed herself in intensive language classes and sampled Japanese culture at the behest of Ayusa Global Youth Exchange.

Solley’s group of about 20 Americans spent three weeks in Tokyo and one in Kyoto. From their lodgings at the National Olympic Youth Memorial Center, they explored modern Japan with visits to the fashion district of Harajuku and the Ghibli Museum of anime and manga. In Kyoto, Solley relished her stay in a traditional hotel with tatami mats and visits to Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines and described a shabu shabu dinner as “unbelievably great.”

The Ayusa program (an acronym referring to students visiting here for Academic Year in the U.S.A) describes its participants as cultural ambassadors, a title Solley doesn’t wholly accept. But in listening to her impressions and connection to the people, she comes off as a poster-teen for why travel can be such an altering experience and the benefits that can result.

“I recommend for everyone to go somewhere different, to push yourself out of your comfort zone and see what the world is like. People are ready to welcome you and appreciate the smallest effort you make,” she said. “Think of yourself as a representative of America’s willingness to understand and accept other cultures. If you travel with a positive and open attitude people are going to walk away having that be their example.”

Read the full article at the Contra Costa Times, here.