Shukrona Nazirmadova: “I want to be Tajikistan’s ambassador to Japan”

May 6, 2016

#ICP

Shukrona Nazirmadova, a sophomore majoring in International and Comparative Politics at AUCA, is currently spending her semester abroad at the Kansai University in Osaka, Japan. Shukrona is the first student from AUCA to go to Kansai University. Below, she shares with us her impressions on school and life in Osaka.

“First of all, I’d like to give a huge “thank you” to our president, Dr. Andrew Wachtel, for providing us with these wonderful exchange opportunities and for visiting me in Japan. Another “thank you” has to go to SILC, especially our professor Görkem Atsungur, for their support. Of course, I also want to thank all the other AUCA professors who helped me through the process.

In the future, I want to be Tajikistan’s ambassador to Japan. I have always been interested in the nature, traditions, system of education, economic systems, and political life of Japan. It is difficult to understand the culture of a country and its people without being immersed in it, which is why I decided to take part in the exchange with Japan. Many exchange students do not know about Central Asia and about its countries, so I wanted to represent Central Asian countries and share my experiences of Central Asian traditions, cultures, languages, and peoples. But most of all, I wanted to know my Japanese peers that Central Asia is a nice place to have political and economic relationships with.

On my first day in Japan, I experienced cultural shock on my first day in Japan--that was how complicated their transportation system was. Their punctuality made me think they have a sense of responsibility, not only towards themselves and to their country, but towards others--including myself. The Japanese people are so helpful and kind, they are always eager to help foreigners, especially elders.

Studying abroad makes me feel more mature, respectful and strong. I never cooked food for myself before, but here I have started cooking. To be honest, my cooking is not tasty, but I will try to improve my cooking skills in the future. I thought I was independent because I studied in Kyrgyzstan, a country away from home, but now I realize I was not as independent and strong as I thought I was.

Studying at Kansai University hasn’t been difficult for me. Most of my classes are in English, like my ASEAN studies (Associations of South- East Asian countries), my Areas studies (Europe economic system), and my Critical Thinking on Global issues courses.  I have a lot of free time here, and I am working as a teaching assistant for an American professor, Dr. Mark Ombrello. Not only that, I also hold free conversations sessions and attend a beginner’s Russian course for the Japanese students at Kansai University.

My advice to AUCA students who want to apply to this exchange program is that you cannot avoid the experiences and cultural shock you’ll get in Japan because their culture is so unique. Japan is such an interesting and strange country that will change a person whether they realize it or not.”

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