Andy Kim, staff writer
Vi Kim Pham, a senior at FVHS this year, journeyed to Japan this summer as a foreign exchange student through the program, YFU (Youth For Understanding). Pham was chosen to be the student who goes to Japan on May 3rd, when she received a confirmation letter from YFU.
“Opening that letter from YFU on a bright Saturday morning in May and seeing ‘Congratulations!’ definitely made my year.” said Pham.
On June 13th, she and over 30 different foreign exchange students left for an orientation at UC Berkeley. The students and Pham finally left for Japan on the 16th of July.
Pham stayed at Chiba, which is located in the north side of Tokyo with the Watanabe family. She spent the trip socializing, communicating, and bonding with the family she stayed with. Her stay with the family was like having a second family.
“Living with another family was definitely my favorite part about the trip,” said Pham, “In just six short weeks, I’d grown close enough to them to converse about more than just the weather and what I did at school that day.”
Pham had the opportunity to do participate in many activities with the family the Watanabes, such as biking or taking the train to Chosei High School, socializing with her new Japanese friends after school, learning more about Japanese culture, and create lasting memories with each family member.
Pham had the chance to learn about the similarities and differences between American and Japanese life while living with the Watanabe family. She discovered the common weather, the differences between an American and Japanese school, and especially what life was like for a Japanese student.
“Being immersed in Japanese culture for a month and half definitely taught me a lot of things,” said Pham, “most of them having to do with what I embody as someone growing up in America versus what my friends in Japan are like.”
Pham enjoyed her time spent in Japan with her host family immensely and felt right at home in the foreign environment.
“Japan felt more like a dream than something that actually happened to me.” said Pham, “It’s funny, but when I came back to America, I felt more homesick than I did leaving the US.”
For those who may want to know, I applied through YFU America and received the Kikkoman National Scholarship to go to Japan, so practically anyone can apply and potentially receive the full scholarship. Please talk to me if you would like to know more about the program because you can go to a wide variety of countries as a student ambassador like I did. Thanks!