Sophomore Rei Hitachi is an exchange student here at FHC. He is from the beautiful country of Japan. He is enrolled in tenth grade English here, and he is further building on his knowledge in the United States. He is thrilled to have this experience of living in America.
“I am 17 years old, and I am a 12th grade student in Japan,” Rei said. “So far I feel that American high schools are similar to Japanese universities.”
Rei is specifically from the middle of Japan, in a state called Nagano. Rei travelled about six thousand miles to America for this experience. Being away from home and his family can be difficult at times for him.
Although he may be missing things at home, he still is loving his time in America. He is able to share with Americans his knowledge of Japan and the history of it.
“I am from Japan,” Rei said. “My prefecture (which is similar to a state in the U.S.) is Nagano, and it’s located in the middle of Japan. My city, Suwa, is the theme of the Japanese movie ‘Your Name’”.
Rei surprisingly does not find the switch from Japan to America to be incredibly difficult. He claims that the hardest thing to adjust to has been the language here, and how he has had to improve his English to have simple interactions.
Before experiencing it for himself, Rei thought life in America was different from what he has seen before. He mainly meant the food, as he and his friends back home assumed it to be gross. He also assumed streets would be unclean. Once he got here his assumptions quickly transitioned.
“I thought the food was not tasty, and the buildings and streets were dirty,” Rei said. “But that was not true at all. I love American food!”
Now that Rei is currently living in the U.S., he has noticed some good and bad things throughout his time. Some of the positive things he has seen is that there are all kinds of different people living together here in peace. He says it is cool to see people accepting everyone here, because in Japan, it can look a little different.
Rei enjoys America more than he thought he would. One of the only negative things he has noticed so far is within schools. He feels that sometimes there is too much freedom for him in class, but he also thinks it is great to learn and have fun at the same time. This created mixed feelings for him in the classroom.
“I thought it was wonderful that there were so many different kinds of people living together and accepting each other. In Japan, people seem to be somewhat introverted,” Rei said. “Sometimes I feel like I have too much freedom in class. Of course, I think it’s great to learn while having fun.”
Rei thinks America and Japan are very different. He thinks America has more of a “go, go, go” tempo versus Japan having a more laid-back, relaxed type of environment.
He likes the change in tone that he has gotten here. He feels there is a lot to do, considering he joined the varsity tennis team at FHC. Rei has found athletics and academics to be entertaining in the U.S.
“It was interesting to see the club activities change with the seasons,” Rei said. “In Japan, once you choose a club, you stay with it for three years. Japan is a place to relax. Every day is exciting and fun in America. I love both!”
As far as social life, Rei has found himself struggling a little bit here. Back in Japan, he had his friends and family to confide in. Now that he is in the U.S., he is on unfamiliar grounds with not many to lean on.
Luckily, now that Rei has been living here for a while, he has found that things are coming to him much easier than before. Overall, his experience in America has helped broaden all categories of his life.
“I had never thought about living in the U.S.A. before,” Rei said. “But now that I’ve been living here for a while, I’m having a lot of fun, so I do think about what life would be like here permanently sometimes.”
