QUESTIONS:
1. Why are you interested in this program?
This program offers a unique opportunity in which I could get my first glimpse of Japan in order to utilize both my skills in English to help others there while being exposed to Japanese culture personally through the home stay. The duration is short enough that this would not interfere with my graduation dateline. Also, this program offers me the opportunity to interact in English with Japanese students because I am taking an Elementary Japanese course right now and certainly would not be able to survive in Japan well if I had enrolled in any other programs.
Most of all, this program enables me to actually be in Japan in other circumstances besides being a tourist. I would get to actually talk and interact personally with Japanese people and a Japanese family and would be able to learn first hand authentically of the Japanese culture without any filters or distortions.
2. Why do you think you would be a good counselor at USA Spring Camp?
Since the camp is also primarily an English language camp, I feel that I would be a good counselor for the camp since I come from Malaysia, whereby although English is not my first language, it is the primary language in which I speak in. In addition, throughout the course of my life, I have taken many other English courses both in school and outside of school. Therefore I feel that I have been exposed to English through both worlds: as a native speaker and as an ESL student. Therefore, I would be able to relate to non-native speakers more and hopefully be able to guide them better.
Also, I come from another Asian country and have been exposed to the American culture first hand. I am very much interested in intercultural relations and I was hoping that I could communicate to the Japanese students whom I would meet how it is like to be in America as a foreign student. From the experiences I have, I hope also to compare to them Asian culture with American culture and American culture with both Asian culture and Japanese culture.
3. How would this program help you?
It would help me understand more thoroughly the struggles that non-native speakers of English face, and I hope to learn from this experience on how to teach English to non-native speakers, such as myself even. Also, I really wish to be able to go to Japan one day for other opportunities to teach at language schools. I think that an experience like this one will most certainly help me in my application in the future, considering that most language schools often look for native speakers of English. So, I hope that proving that I had qualify for a short program like this one, I might also qualify for a longer program in the future.
Besides that, this program allows me to get a short exposure to the Japanese culture and to Japan. I think I�d be able to learn so much by simply being there and trying my best to help others and to absorb the whole new experience that I am going to have there. For me, every time I have gone to somewhere new, like when I first went to Europe for a short holiday when I was 14 and again to America last year -- these experiences have totally changed my life. As short as the trip to Europe was, it made me realize that life is more than what we see each day and there is so much more out there to be lived and experienced. In the same manner, I think if I have an opportunity to see Japan, not as a tourist especially, the experience will enrich my life even more to see what it�s like in a highly developed Asian country. Ever since I was a child, Malaysians have always been exposed to Japanese media without knowing that it is Japanese. Japan has always been that elusive country that is either �expensive� or �very advanced� and �westernized� yet still very much Asian like us. So being there, I might actually learn more about Japan and well, form my own opinions about it.
4. What are your hobbies and interests?
My hobbies include writing short prose, web page designing and editing music videos. I think they are fun to do especially web page designing and editing music videos. I don�t think I am esthetically gifted but I am a visual person and so I enjoy putting together nice looking pictures and video sequence to make a story out of it. Also, I enjoy listening to music a lot as well as going for concerts. The one thing that music does to me is that it makes me passionate about life. It gives me ideas and spurs me to want to promote and market these bands I love. So, that makes me very interested in the music industry both here in America, back home in Malaysia as well as in Japan. It�s very frustrating sometimes though, especially when I can�t do anything about my passion. I wish one day I could start an event management company that would arrange concerts for Japanese bands to play in Malaysia and America and vice versa� But that�s really just a dream.
5. Are you applying for Plan A or Plan B?
Plan A, please.
6. Any further comments to support your application?
I hope this program will enable me to actually see Japan as Japan is. Reading about Japanese culture and Japanese cities and places can only get me that close, or well, that far, to Japan. I believe that one cannot truly come to experience a culture without actually being exposed to it. I think I love Japan with an admiration of a foreigner who doesn�t really know Japan like the Japanese people do. While I don�t think a week in Japan can ever make me truly understand Japan, I think this first step is a good experience for me to begin to learn about this country that I truly admire for all its beauty.
On that note, I do admit that the aspects about Japan that I love are often the more �traditional� and �historical� aspects. Sometimes I wonder if it�s just a blind beauty that I am in love with. So I think that if I had an opportunity like this, I could see it for myself if Japan really is what I want to believe that it is like.
Monday, October 18, 2004
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