The Study Abroad Hero's Journey

Call to Adventure:
An opportunity to go abroad and experience a new way of living in a new world. Most of these heroes are eager to go abroad.

In the Belly of the Whale: (Entering Into an Unknown Culture)

“It is like crossing a threshold from one’s past life into a totally different life. Guards that make crossing the threshold difficult:

• culturally inappropriate constraints
• deep distrust of hero as a stranger
• lack of language ability
• community of other heroes (expatriates) that severely restricts interaction with members of host community (i.e. golden ghetto)

“If the [hero] is not careful or is willing to succumb to these guardians, she or he will not be able to finish the hero’s journey.” Just because you’re a hero, doesn’t mean everything will be smooth or that you’ll be a good hero.

The Magical Friend:
The hero finds a magical friend (or cultural mentor).

• often member of new culture or a seasoned hero
• serves as initial guide (helps language concerns living accommodations, social contacts, advice for greater work effectiveness)

Hero should never complain about other culture.

“Complaints have a way of slowing down the process of finding these magical friends, especially among members of the new culture itself.”

Road of Trials: (Paradoxes)
The hero must eventually embark on a journey of his own. He will face many trials in the form of paradoxes.

“Paradoxes are seemingly contradictory but equally true ideas that emerge as one tries to mediate between two cultures.”

1. “Seeing as valid the general stereotype about the local culture, but also realizing that many host-country nationals do not fit that stereotype.” The hero is forced to be aware of individuals, instead of just cultural membership.
2. “Feeling at ease anywhere, but belonging nowhere.” The hero may begin to feel at home in many places and situations, but may still not fit in. “A certain feeling marginality often exists even upon returning home, as the hero and his community have both change during the journey.”
3. “Feeling caught between the contradictory demands of headquarters on one hand and the demands of the host-country nationals and the local situations on the other.” The hero becomes a translator for both groups, “trying to convey the point of view of the home office to those in the new culture without losing their trust and explaining what can effectively be done in the new culture to the home office without being accused of ‘going native.’”
4. The hero giving up some of his “home community cultural ideas and behaviors in order to be accepted and successful in the other culture while at the same time finding some of [his] core home values becoming even stronger as a result of exposure to another culture.” These changes are necessary for the hero to be effective and avoid standing out in negative ways.
5. “Becoming more and more ‘world-minded’ as a result of exposure to different values and conflicting loyalties, but becoming more idiosyncratic in putting together the hero’s own value system and views of life… A hero tends to recreate her or his identity in unique ways even as she or he is more aware and accepting of many different identities.”

Ultimate Boom and Return:
The hero has learned to sacrifice for the good of others, yet has developed a self-sufficiency and inner power that allows for the accomplishment of seemingly impossible tasks. He has grown, matured, a broader perspective of the world, a greater appreciation of differences, has better work skills, can better lead others in accomplishing important goals, has a wider base of knowledge and understanding, and has developed closer richer personal and family relationships.

“On the hero’s return he or she often finds that things have changed.”

Source: 1995. Osland, J.S. The Adventure of Working Abroad. Jossy Bass: San Francisco. pp190.

My Favorite Things

After about a week of brooding about how much I dislike Japan, I realized it might be a better idea to just, indulge, and not in a eat everything that’s terrible for you sense, but indulge in the everything that brings joy sense.

First, quirky inventions that are so convenient or useful but when we use them or tell someone about your having used them, they look at you funny. Example: Sauna pants


Second, Celebrity Ads. Perhaps Japanese talent agents just work five times harder than their American counterparts, but if you have a favorite celebrity (Japanese or not) or simply can recognize one (or maybe you’re a Japanophile and know two), then you will see their face(s) smashed onto a dog’s body or holding a bucket of chicken. This will happen to you at the very least, once a week.

For me, it’s daily. And if you get easily excited and yelp when you see a person you recognize (celebrity or not), then your reactions will be considered “extreme” by everyone within a kilometer radius of your noisy mouth, like me. In Kobe, we were walking down the shopping lane of the train station, “eki,” and I saw Oguri Shun in the window of a drug store, immediately pointed like a blood hound and shouted “OGURI SHUN! Look!” Everyone, as instructed, looked, and then frowned, “Kim, calm down.” It’s worth noting that as my arm shot out in a 90° angle accurately pointed at the shampoo bottle he was holding, I almost punched a passing Japanese young woman with my forefinger. The friend that noticed frowned at me. Lesson learned: control [involuntary] reactions.


Third, if you’re in Japan, or have the opportunity to watch direct-from-Japan ads, do so, jump at the chance, youtube something if you must, just do it. Japanese TV commercials, CM as their called, are the funniest of their genre I have scene, on par with the best Super-Bowl commercials you still remember and talk about (still very upset I couldn’t watch any this year—Japanese don’t like [American] Football). You shouldn’t watch while eating/drinking any hot liquids, we have the TV on during dinner and its very difficult not to snort my Miso soup during commercial breaks. Disclaimer: don’t get your hopes up. I have a strange sense of humor.

Fourth, Uniforms. For service industry jobs, as almost any job in Japan except university student (is that a job at all?) there is a uniform to be worn daily. One must, MUST wear it exactly, EXACTLY as expected and instructed. Take this Oriental Hotel bellman pictured here. Note the type of hat he is wearing. (If you know the name, tell me. now please.) Also notice how the hat blends with his uniform over all, its very nice isn’t it? ‘makes him feel like he’s from some early period piece, and by that I mean a movie that was based in the late 1900s Britain. He doesn’t seem to fit though, maybe thats cuz hes asian…


Lastly, western people mix so awkwardly with Asians 90% of the time. This is partial due to with the nature of both parties simply being terribly different and usually fairly ignorant about one another. But mostly this is because the western standard of awkward and the Japanese standard of awkward is the same, but neither partly knows how to prevent nor remove the awkward turtle once he has shown his scaly, wrinkly face. Even I, an extremely awkward person who has successfully managed to control the level of awkwardness in most situations, am hopelessly lost in the ways of the Western-Japanese Awkward Turtle…

In Japan, even Starbucks counts down until the sakura flowers bloom.

The Land of Convinience

Japan is truly the land of convenience. First, it was the free push-carts at the airport, then it was the reversible seats in the train (which were heated!), later on I realized paying as you exit the bus is far more convenient and makes more sense if you’re entering from the back of the bus moving forward to your destination…

Now I’ve discovered the glory of Japanese heated toilet seats!… Who would want to leave the stall EVER if your tush (urban dictionary spell check!) is reheated and recharged for facing the harsh Osaka winter under draft coming up from the bottom of your trench coat? No wonder there is always a line coming out of the women’s bathroom… Men don’t have time or the need to discover this awesome Japanese tool…

The Japanese also have these weird contraptions in each bathroom stall that’ll play the sound of flushing if your embarrassed from requiring more “time” than usual… It also has a bidet (spraying water up to your tush to clean up afterwards) and a fragrance release button to cover up your extra “time.”

Now that I think this over (and wikipedia’d “bidet”), it has occurred to me that this is not necessarily a Japanese invention, but something you can find in other countries, like France. BUT! But, this is the first I’ve encountered such a useful contraption. ‘Haven’t utilized all its features, but I’m satisfied just knowing they’re there…

That’s all I think is awesome in Japan to date.