3 Life Lessons From Living In Tokyo, Japan

Nine months ago, I packed my bags full of my favorite curl-friendly hair products and moved to Japan for a four month semester. I didn't expect it then, but this trip would soon blossom into one of my greatest life experiences and teach me some invaluable lessons along the way.

1. Mistakes are inevitable.

I can't even begin to list the amount of mistakes I made. I got on the wrong bus, I took the wrong train, and I often ordered the wrong food on a menu (...this picture is from the time I thought I was ordering a side dish of edamame!). On some days I felt like I couldn't do anything right, and when I accidentally said "bumblebee" during a final Japanese presentation instead of "analysis", I thought I was a complete failure. My constant confrontation with mistakes has made me comfortable with them to the point where they stopped discouraging me and began to teach me all the right lessons moving forward. Staying positive and always asking "what can be learned from this?" has been essential to my growth.

2. Every conversation has value.

When I was living in Tokyo, I could learn a week’s worth of cultural lessons from a five minute conversation with a stranger. In fact, when a friend and I decided to visit a small mountainous town known as Okutama, we ended up getting lost on a hiking trail. Luckily, we came across a solo elderly female hiker, who offered to guide us back to town. On the way, she shared with us that Okutama is well-known for its wasabi... so later that day, I had my first and only experience with trying wasabi ice cream! I quickly realized that every hand is worth shaking, every opportunity is worth seizing, and there is something to learn from every person you meet.

3. Standing out is a blessing.

As a biracial black woman walking through the suburbs of Japan, I caught a fair amount of stares. When I started speaking in Japanese, I saw jaws nearly hit the floor. Rather than shy away from the attention, I knew it was my chance to break barriers and show what I, and others like me, are capable of. I became more comfortable with sharing aspects of my culture and identity, which in turn made others more open to sharing their thoughts with me. A lot of people assumed I couldn't understand Japanese, didn't think I "looked American", and found my studies in computer science unusual. I felt grateful for the opportunity to productively stomp out a few stereotypes, and hopefully leave the attitudes of locals more comfortable interacting with future tourists like me.