Hello. My name is Sayo Murakami and I am a student of the Resource Policy and Management Course of the Faculty of International Resource Sciences. From August to December, I was enrolled in a university called Lapland University of Applied Sciences in Rovaniemi, Finland. It is a place famous for its aurora borealis and Santa Claus, and it is -20 degrees Celsius in winter. Here, I belonged to the Faculty of Tourism. I learned about tourism and about reindeer and land use in Lapland.
 
I was a bit confused by the different style of the classes, but it was also a lot of fun. In the class where we planned a sightseeing tour as a group and actually carried out the tour by ourselves, we were able to gain practical experience of how our ideas can take shape in relation to society. Also, in the class on reindeer, we went to a farm to experience reindeer herding and learned how people do it using their eyes and bodies.
 
It was also a great experience to interact with other exchange students. In the dormitory, five of us shared a flat, and we all came from different countries, spoke different languages, and were studying different subjects. When each of us was on the phone, we had no idea who was talking and what they were saying, but when we spoke in English, everyone could understand one another, which brought home to me the importance of English and the fascination of language. When I went on a trip with my friends, we sometimes quarreled and argued due to cultural differences and exhaustion, which is also now a good memory.
 
Before I went to Finland, I had wondered why Finland was called the land of happiness, but during my study abroad, I discovered that one of the answers was because of the nature around us. When I looked out of the window, I saw beautiful trees, and when I walked outside a little bit, I saw the endless sky and nature, and all the sadness and depression in my heart just vanished. In the autumn, I was healed by the beauty of the trees and the warmth of the sun, and in the winter, I was cheered up by the glittering snow and the orange hues of the setting sun. I will never forget the time when I forgot the cold and watched the lake gradually freeze over as the temperature dropped little by little in the evening.

Click here for the study abroad experience reports of the Akita University ‘Miraisozo Fund’ overseas student study support program.