校友与职业

日语课程在你的买球平台经历中扮演了什么角色?

I first learned about the 日本 program at Bowdoin when I visited for prospective student weekend during my senior year of high school. I talked to Professor Aridome during the academic fair and to my surprise he still remembered me six months later when I arrived at Bowdoin. 这给我留下了深刻的印象——这表明阿里多姆教授和这个项目是多么关心他们的学生. 日语项目对我来说就像一个家庭，是我买球平台经历的重要组成部分.

我一年级开始学日语只是因为我想学第三语言，而且我喜欢日本动漫. 虽然头两年日本人一大早就见面了, 我总是对上课感到兴奋，因为Aridome教授和Selinger教授都让课堂变得非常有趣. 多亏了他们，课堂变得生动而充满活力. 作为一个科学和数学专业的学生, I would say that taking a language is like taking a break from the sciences and enjoying another aspect of the liberal arts environment at Bowdoin. 日语项目还提供历史、文学和宗教等其他课程. 大三的时候，我选修了一门叫做武士史的课程, 文学, 电影让我大开眼界，让我对日本社会有了更深入的了解.

日本项目还提供了许多活动来帮助学生们彼此建立联系. The most important one was the language table which was a great opportunity to practice 日本 language with friends and professors. 全年还有其他有趣的活动，比如卡拉ok派对, 茶道示范, 还有寿司派对. 即使我不在日本，我也能体验到日本文化的各个方面. They were also great opportunities for me to develop relationships with my classmates who later became some of my closest friends.

日语课程在你的买球平台经历中扮演了什么角色?

尽管我的祖母是日本人, 刚到买球平台时，我从未想过要学习日语或日本文化. 大一的第一个学期, 然而, 我还有一个空缺，所以我选了一门日本历史课. 我无法解释第一门亚洲研究课程给我的生活带来了多大的改变，我为此感到多么高兴! That 日本 history course introduced me to the wonderful Asian studies department and led me to my first 日本 language class. 从我第一天学日语到毕业, 日语项目的教授和成员就像我在买球平台的家人一样. 这个项目给了我参加日语表的机会, 参加娱乐部门的活动, 教当地学童日语, 并与校园里一些最鼓舞人心、最热情的教授一起工作.

My time at Bowdoin was mainly devoted towards completing my two majors (chemistry and Asian studies) and competing as a member of the swim team. As a double major and an athlete I was touched by how much the 日本 language professors took an active interest in my life outside of the Asian studies department. 他们参加了家庭游泳比赛, 在日本项目的脸谱网页面上发布了我们的冠军结果, 经常被问到我的化学研究. My senior year I also was able to carry out research for an advanced independent study with Professor Christmas thanks to the unique and incredible opportunity to access a Japan Times database of digitized newspapers dating back hundreds of years. 有了这些第一手资料和克里斯莫斯教授的指导, my research culminated in an environmental history paper investigating the tuna fishing industry as a tool for pre- and post-World War II 日本 expansionism.

My 日本 professors gave me crucial support and advice when I applied to the JET program and helped me develop the language skills to explore the country and make lasting friendships during my time in Japan. In college they welcomed me into a community that felt like family and after graduating they gave me the chance to see the world. I am filled with gratitude and happiness every time I reflect on that moment freshman year when I fell in love with Asian studies at Bowdoin.

你为什么决定在买球平台学习日语?

I started taking 日本 in my junior year because I wanted to do something new and different and it developed into something that changed my life. 学了一年日语之后, 我得到了一个与日本教授和其他学生一起去东京旅行的机会. 虽然这只是一个为期两周的旅行，但它充满了智力刺激和乐趣. 没有什么能与与该领域的专家一起去博物馆的经历相比!

通过这次旅行，我认识了 kanpō这是一种中药. I plan on incorporating what I have learned as I pursue a degree in pharmacy and will hopefully revisit Japan after studying more.

你从学习日语中学到的最重要的东西是什么?

刚到买球平台时，我不知道自己想学什么. 一切似乎都很有趣，我发现很难做出决定. 然而, after an auspicious encounter at a college house sushi event where I was struck by Professor Hiroo Aridome’s kind and encouraging disposition, 我决定试一试日语. 尽管很早, each day of 日本 class was fascinating and I formed lasting friendships with my classmates in the incredibly energizing and collaborative environment.

很快，我被鼓励去做志愿者 Oshietai这是一个由学生组成的团队，他们在当地一所小学每周教授一次日语课. 在国外学习后，我大三的春天在帝根, 有机会重新回到我的家庭根源, 我对亚洲研究的兴趣越来越浓厚，原本想辅修的科目变成了双学位. That summer I traveled to Hiroshima and used my newly acquired language skills to research a post-WWII children's art exchange between Hiroshima and Santa Fe, 新墨西哥. My research consisted of tracking down and interviewing individuals (in 日本) who participated in the exchange as schoolchildren and I also had the opportunity to speak with several atomic bomb survivors. 在我大四回到买球平台的时候, I applied the knowledge and stories gained through these interactions as co-curator of an exhibition at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art entitled “Perspectives from Postwar Hiroshima: Chuzo Tamotzu, 孩子们的画, 和决心的艺术,，并在《买球平台》上做了简短的报道.

在获得神经科学和亚洲研究双学位后, I have returned to Hiroshima as a Fulbright fellow in order to conduct genetics research at the Radiation Effects Research Foundation, 研究日本原子弹爆炸对幸存者及其后代健康影响的组织. It feels incredible to have an opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills that I gained at Bowdoin towards a personally meaningful and intellectually challenging cause and I am deeply grateful for the selfless dedication of my Asian studies and neuroscience professors for making it possible.

尽管花了两个暑假做实验，还完成了一个神经科学的荣誉项目, 我从来没有感到在双学位课程中做出选择的压力. 正相反, Jayanthi Selinger教授, Hiroo Aridome, and Sakura Christmas demonstrated flexibility and understanding as they selflessly encouraged my pursuit of neuroscience, 同时培养了我强烈的好奇心，使我能够将我的多种兴趣联系起来.