From Osaka with Love
International Studies: An Experience Across Hemispheres
Illustrations by Asahi Nagata
Photography by Matthew Gilson
For many Valparaiso University students, the opportunity to study abroad is a unique chance to immerse themselves in a different culture, gain new perspectives, and experience life as part of a global community. These experiences not only enhance their academic learning but also foster personal growth and broaden their understanding of the world. Whether through language acquisition or cultural exchange, studying abroad helps students develop skills and insights that are invaluable in today’s interconnected world.
“Through Study Abroad, our students immerse themselves in a different culture and take part in new learning opportunities, both inside and outside of the classroom,” says Allison Kroft, director of Study Abroad programs. “Our students learn a lot about themselves when going outside of their comfort zone. It allows students to gain independence and a greater sense of self. Study Abroad is another way that Valpo prepares students to be well rounded individuals ready for the challenges ahead.”
The University does not just send students around the world, however. Valpo also opens its doors to a variety of international students, allowing them to experience life in the United States and as part of the Northwest Indiana community.
“It amazes me the personal attention that our Valpo faculty and staff provide to our international students,” says Janice Lin, director of international students and scholars. “There are faculty and staff who opened up their homes for students to experience American meals or holidays in an American home. Our international students are able to make personal and meaningful connections with our faculty, staff, fellow students, and even international alumni; they guide our students to navigate their journey in a foreign country. Our international students, in turn, enrich the Valpo community with cultural perspectives and foster a diverse campus environment.”
Grace Jendreas ’25, a Valpo biology major, and Yui Shimizu ’24, a student from Kansai Gaidai University (KGU) in Osaka, Japan, with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and an MBA in business analytics, are two students who took the leap to experience one another’s cultures in a way that can only be possible through studying abroad.
Our students learn a lot about themselves when going outside of their comfort zone. It allows students to gain independence and a greater sense of self.
Preparing for a New Experience
Both Grace and Yui began their college careers knowing they wanted study abroad to be part of their higher education experience.
For Grace, a Whiting, Indiana, native, exploring the world outside of the United States has always played a major role in her plans for her Valpo journey, taking a minor in the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) program to pursue her dream of teaching around the world. The only question was where she wanted to go first.
“I had a couple of ideas, but as I went through my freshman year I was able to narrow it down,” Grace says. “Something that really narrowed it down was my interest in taking Japanese language courses in my freshman year.”
Eventually, Grace landed on Valparaiso University’s partnership program with KGU to start fulfilling her dreams of travel. KGU is a private, non-denominational Christian university in the major port city of Osaka.
Having decided on where she wanted to go, Grace was then faced with the task of making the journey a reality. It was a process that involved a considerable amount of paperwork and planning; including applying for a student visa, and applying to study at KGU. She also had to ensure that the program didn’t interfere with her degree track and find a semester where none of her critical classes were being offered on campus. The most difficult part, however, may have been working out her finances.
“You can’t work in Japan if you’re living there for less than a year, so being sure you had enough money for the plane and to live was challenging,” Grace says.
Once she had crossed all the T’s and dotted the I’s, all that was left was Christmas break with her family, then last-minute packing and getting on the plane.
“I was relieved, and it was a lot of stress taken off of me, but I don’t think it actually hit me that I was going until I was on the plane,” Grace says.
For Yui, coming to America felt similarly unreal.
“I don’t think I really realized that I was going to the U.S. until I was sitting on the plane for 12 hours,” she recalls. “But at the same time, I was excited to land in America.”
Having grown up in the Mie Prefecture near Osaka and studying at Kansai Gaidai University, Yui also knew pursuing her education in a foreign country would be a significant benefit to her professional goals.
“I was already interested in marketing, but in Japan, marketing is not a major thing,” Yui said. “Marketing was born in America.”
Even knowing which country she wanted to study in left Yui with a cornucopia of options: approximately 200 universities across the country could have been her academic home. Valparaiso University, however, offered her an experience unlike what she could have gotten elsewhere.
“I chose Valpo because I liked the location,” Yui says. “It’s close to Chicago, so I get to experience the countryside and the big city. I also heard that Valpo is a safe city. A lot of areas can be dangerous — I have a friend who experienced a high-crime area — so I chose here.”
Trying to get the most out of her time in the United States, including earning a B.A. in business analytics and a master of business administration (MBA), meant a significant amount of paperwork.
“First there was a J-1 visa, which is a student visa, but not the normal one that international students get,” Yui says. “After that, I decided to seek the MBA, so I had to change my visa to F-1, which is a general visa. That was a long process for me.”
For Grace and Yui, the relief of being done with their paperwork would quickly give way to new challenges and experiences as soon as they stepped off the plane.
The First Hurdles
Grace’s flight was planned in three stages: first, she and her fellow travelers would go to Canada, then take the long journey across hemispheres to Tokyo, then, finally, a quick hop to Osaka. It was a lengthy trip made even longer by severe delays on their flight from Canada. Their plane ended up taking off so late that they missed their flight to Osaka.
“We were kind of stranded in Tokyo for the night, which was interesting,” Grace says. “We were stressed, but there ended up being a lot of KGU students on that flight, so we got to meet each other and figure it out together.”
The large group of international KGU students ended up being placed in the same hotel awaiting a new, early-morning flight to Osaka. The chance to work through the problem together, as a group, before even making it to their new school turned what would have usually been a major headache into a bonding experience.
“It was actually pretty nice,” Grace recalls. “It was a pretty big group, about 20 of us that missed the connection, so we all got to hang out and make friends before we even got to the university.”
Having overcome the first and probably biggest challenge of her trip, Grace focused on adjusting to her new surroundings and improving her proficiency in the Japanese language — which she described as “very low” — up to snuff in a challenging environment.
“Osaka is really known for their dialect,” Grace says. “The Kansai dialect. It’s extremely different from the textbook language.”
Yui, meanwhile, received training in English from her university and had enough confidence in her skills to get through an interview at the embassy before being awarded her visa. For her and the two fellow Japanese students landing in Chicago, however, it became quickly apparent that practicing a new language at home and being in a country where everyone is speaking that language were two very different things.
“When we arrived, we were trying to get an Uber to Valpo, and we finally realized that ‘okay, everybody is really speaking English’,” Yui says.
Securing a ride and making the trip from Chicago to Valparaiso University was not the only challenge Yui and her classmates faced on their arrival, but she recalls the early hurdles fondly.
“When we arrived in Valpo, we got lost on campus, we didn’t know what to do,” she remembers. “It was actually a great experience.”
It’s life changing. it’s something that you’ll remember for the rest of your life, and something you’ll tell everyone about. It’s become a big part of who I am today.
It was a pretty big group, about 20 of us that missed the connection, so we all got to hang out and make friends before we even got to the university.
A New Place to Be
One of the biggest changes to day-to-day life for Grace at KGU was the dormitory situation. International students shared a facility, but no roommates, and while a good number of her fellow international students were also American, the global population of the building made for unexpected international relationships.
“Some of my best friends were from Sweden,” Grace says.
For a biology major with an interest in marine life, Grace was accustomed to challenging herself in science-based courses. At KGU, her focus was forced to shift to the humanities as she studied Japanese language, arts, media and Asian culture as a whole.
“In Japan, the language courses were the most difficult and took up most of my time,” Grace says.
Of course, one does not study abroad to learn about a culture in a classroom. Fortunately for Grace, her program gave her plenty of opportunities to experience Japan and other parts of Asia. She visited numerous parts of the island nation itself, including cultural sites like shrines and temples, immersing herself in the rich history of the area.
“I got to wear a traditional kimono and visit some Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines,” Grace says. “It was interesting to go through the process of what it’s like to put on a kimono, because it’s a lot of layers. Being able to walk through the process and learn more about the traditions was great.”
Whether traveling or staying near KGU, Grace found that day-to-day interactions were different from what she was used to, and in more than one way.
“As a foreigner, people would come up to you and try to speak English to you. They really wanted to get to know you,” she says. “Outside of that context though, everyone kind of minds their own business. Walking down the street or in the convenience store, it’s very to-the-point. In America when you see someone you may smile or say hi, but there you just move along.”
Food culture was another significant difference between America and Japan. Not only did Grace have to adjust to a major increase in her fish and rice consumption, but also with a significantly reduced standard portion size.
“That was an adjustment at first,” Grace says. “But then transitioning back to America, our portion sizes seemed huge.”
For Yui, the biggest adjustment coming to a university in the United States was the amount of work a student is expected to complete outside of the classroom.
“In Japan, I don’t think there is a lot of homework that you have to do, or assignments or projects, but here, that’s a normal thing,” Yui says. “Here, you get a lot of homework, and there are a lot of projects going on at the same time.”
While coming to grips with balancing the new workload with extracurriculars, travel, and the usual challenges of adjusting to a new home has taken some effort. Overall, Yui had a very positive academic experience at Valpo, and much of that positivity has come from relationships with her professors.
“I like how friendly the professors are, especially in the College of Business,” Yui says. “A lot of professors are international, and I like how they understand international students.”
Yui has also had plenty of opportunities to travel the country and have some distinctly American experiences. Most breaks during the academic year have found her crossing the state border to spend time in Chicago, and longer periods away from the classroom have given Yui the chance to go from coast to coast. She visited both Disneyland in California and Disney World in Florida (her favorite being the four-park Disney World), and several places in-between.
“I personally loved Zion National Park in Utah,” Yui says. “The activities there were really fun, and I think that’s something I wouldn’t have been able to experience in Japan.”
During her travels Yui gained an American experience that many natives still struggle to navigate: figuring out how much to tip in any given situation.
“At first I got confused,” Yui says. “I wasn’t sure how much to tip for what people did, and I had to study on it.”
One of her biggest struggles in adjusting to American life was finding food that fit her tastes. After trying to acclimate to cafeteria food for a few weeks, Yui started searching the international sections of grocery stores around town for options more to her palette.
“I’ve come to realize that food is the most important aspect,” she says. “If the food is not good, you’re going to be dissatisfied with your life.”
Changing Through Experience
The Study Abroad experience isn’t just about seeing new sites and new cultures; it’s also about changing as a person, becoming more well-rounded, and finding out more about oneself.
“Everybody can go to a different country, but it’s important, when you’re there, to try to change,” Yui says. “Studying abroad is a great way to do that.”
For Grace, her time in Japan reaffirmed her desire to take advantage of her TESOL minor and teach internationally, solidifying her goals for after graduation.
“It’s given me a new perspective on things,” Grace says. “It’s made me more aware of how I want to proceed with college. It has put into perspective what I prioritize in terms of what I want to be involved in and who I want to be within this community.”
Yui’s time in America, meanwhile, has done a great deal to change the way she expresses her ideas and goals.
“I got out of my comfort zone and, in general, I feel more confident about myself,” she says. “I feel like everyone here is confident about themselves and their opinions. It’s something you don’t really see in Japan, where people are more hesitant about talking and trying to create harmony. Here, people know what they know and know what they want.”
Both Grace and Yui wholeheartedly recommend studying abroad to any domestic or international student seeking to maximize their college experience.
“Totally do it. Even if it’s something you’re just thinking about, do it, 100%,” Grace says. “It’s life changing. It’s something that you’ll remember for the rest of your life, and something you’ll tell everyone about. It’s become a big part of who I am today.”
“Valpo is a great place, especially if you’re worried about crime rates and safety,” Yui says. “I think Valpo has a great community for international students to get engaged in, and there’s no discrimination, you get accepted by the community as soon as you get here.”
Grace returned to Japan in summer 2024 to reconnect with friends she made during her trip, and intends to teach there after graduation. Yui graduated with her MBA in May 2024 and plans to spend three more years in the United States getting professional marketing experience.
Everybody can go to a different country, but it’s important, when you’re there, to try to change. Studying abroad is a great way to do that.
