Liceu in Japonia - Angela Pugna

Colegiul National Mihai Eminescu Oradea

"Viata mea aici e in continuare super palpitanta si ircat!!! Pe langa ca am in fiecare zi scoala si apoi clubul de tenis si ajung la 8 seara acasa, acum mai am si intalniri pentru concursul de engleza care va fi peste o saptamana. Trebuie sa ma apuc serios sa ma pregatesc de discursuri si de examene. Cu japoneza ma descurc din ce in ce mai bine, pe zi ce trece e tot mai bine. Asta e logic si nu are rost sa dau mai multe detalii. Formidabil e ca si cu engleza si germana e mai bine. Adica avand profi nativi la ambele, era si cazul.
Englezoaica, adica profa de engleza nu m-a crezut cand i-am zis ca limba mea oficiala nu e tot engleza !! looiii!!!
Saptamana trecuta a fost festivalul Universitatii Yokohama, unde e si sora mea gazda si prietena mea japoneza care a fost nascuta in Romania . Asa ca bineinteles m-am dus. Imi zicea Nagisa (host sis) inainte ca universitatea ei e foarte mica. Banuiesc ca stiti ce urmeaza. Universitatea ei foarte mica, se intinde pe nush cati zeci de kilometrii si are numa vreo 20 de cladiri :))) si mai e si veche de nush cate sute de ani. Festivalul in sine a fost de asemenea extraordinar. Nagisa a participat la ceva dans hip hop si chestii de genu. Ma gandeam ca o sa ma plictisesc de mor avand in vedere ca acest gen nu se incadreaza in gusturile mele. Dar spre marea mea surprindere, cand i-am vaut cat de fain au dansat si cat de buni erau toti, chiar mi-a placut la nebunie. Apoi si restul activitatilor au fost extraordinare dar nu am acum timp sa le descriu pe toate. Pe zi ce trece ma indragostesc tot mai tare de Japonia, dar asta nu inseamna ca nu mi-e dor de acasa.

Fain ca aveti greva desi eu cred ca nu stiu ce as face sa nu fie aici scoala..., aici nu exista greva sau proteste, numa chinezii mai protesteaza o data la 10 ani ca nush ce japonez a facut nush ce, da nu e nimic serios. De exemplu, acum au protestat ca prim ministrul japonez s-a dus sa se roage intr-un templu chinezesc..., nimicuri si au si uitat a doua zi de eveniment, dar sa faca greva la scoala..., ar fi ceva imposibil."

"My name is Angela Pugna, I am from Romania and I have participated in the high-school one year program in Japan. At the age of 15, I decided that I needed a change in my life-style, as only staying in my hometown and going to high-school seemed not to be motivating me enough to reach my potential. I never thought seriously of moving to another country before, especially not at such a young age. Being the only child of my parents, made the thought of going abroad even more difficult in the beginning. I was aware of the fact that just staying there will make no difference in my future. At 15, I still didn't know too much about the world, but I must confess I was quite wise actually because I never tried to pretend I knew anything. I admitted that there are millions of things I should learn about the world so I accepted the challenge. Soon after this, I ended up preparing to go to live for one year in a completely different culture, with different language and habits, different religion and views about life. I was feeling extremely scared, but also so much excited at the same time. I had a huge will to learn about other countries, I wanted to see how people in other parts of the world are. I heard a lot and read a lot about Japanese people before going. I did my “homework” and tried to learn the language a bit before my departure. It definitely helped, but the amount of knowledge I started to accumulate after arriving there is incomparable. Learning the language from scratch in Japan made me feel like I was born again. I had the chance to learn again not only a new language, but new feelings, new emotions. I have to say it was confusing, feeling scared and excited from the first step I made in the airport. If I think back of it now, I am probably glad for every single emotion I went through. There were times when I was missing my family, my friends, when I was not feeling integrated at all in the new community, when the language was too much for me and I thought no one could understand me. I many times wanted to give up, but it would have been the biggest mistake of my life. Especially the hard moments, made me a strong and mature young lady who was ready to build up her own future. I decided that I have to stay for another year in order to fully accomplish my goals there. Was more like an experience of learning about people and understanding myself in a different environment. My host family helped me a lot in this process. After going over a few cultural shocks and misunderstandings, soon my host mother became my best friend, the person who would not only teach me about Japan, but about life as well. Still very young and having many dreams, my host mother represented my source of motivation for my future. In all this time, all the support I got from my home country was indispensable. Knowing that my program coordinator was there to help me anytime I needed (though he was in Romania) gave me the confidence of expressing my feelings.

Probably the hardest job was the one my parents did. I now understand that actually it was a huge sacrifice for them to let me go away, and I admire and respect them more and more since then. In spite of having to face the distance, our relationship became stronger than ever before and every second of my time spent in Japan I knew there was someone on the other side of the world thinking of me and strongly supporting me.

Sometimes I am still wondering if it was the right thing to do, but there was no moment I felt any regret about going. Giving it a second thought, I realize it broadens up my horizons. It was not only a real eye-opener, but the experience of living in Japan gave me the strength to undertake further challenges and set higher and higher limits for my dreams.

Because of the time spent in Japan, I have now the chance to live in England, where I am doing my university studies and here I am, preparing again to go to Japan in a few months, this time encountering a harder challenge: to integrate myself as a young professional in the Japanese business environment. The thought that I did it once, gives me the strength to believe there is no reason I wouldn't be able to do it again. And that's how the experience of living in Japan helps me believe in myself, again and again."

Angi Pugna in Japonia, cu profesoara de Japoneza si cu un alt exchange student din Germania

Angi a studiat la un liceu in Japonia, Kanagawa Prefetural Sogo High School in Yokohama.