My name is Marissa Harper, and I am a junior majoring in Management Information Systems and International Business. I am half-Japanese, which influenced my decision to minor in Japanese and study abroad in Japan for my Beyond the Classroom experience. As the largest city in the world, I thought there would be no better place in the country to study my global theme, Technology and Society, than Tokyo. I have visited Japan many times to visit my relatives growing up, but it was my first time visiting Tokyo and living in a big city. Never could I imagine a place that combines traditional culture with modern technology as this city does, and I am truly grateful for the invaluable opportunity I was given to experience this for the past 6 months.

My first couple of months here was overwhelming to say the least. The metro system may have been the most difficult thing for me to grasp, and almost 6 months later, I still find myself getting on the wrong train! I felt underprepared and lost, and I found myself too scared to speak with others in fear of messing up my Japanese. Fortunately, I was able to meet people in my dorm soon after moving in, and I made some lifelong friends who helped me overcome my worries and made this place feel like home. We took lots of photos in photobooths (photobooths called Purikuras are very popular, even though they look kind of scary!), ate at lots of cute cafes and restaurants, visited shrines and temples across Tokyo, made sure to get our years worth of shopping done, and even went to a few concerts (the last one I went to was Bruno Mars).

Despite the whole country being the size of Montana, Tokyo alone has enough to see and do to last a person for years. Of course, that is not to say that I did not travel outside of Tokyo during my exchange. I visited Kyoto and Osaka with my friends during the fall break, where we rented kimonos for a day and explored areas like Gion (the Geisha district) and Arashiyama. A couple of us went to visit Hokkaido for a weekend in December. My friends went to the hot springs for the first time, and one of them saw snow for the first time as well! Finally, I went down to Nagasaki and Fukuoka in Kyushu, which is where my relatives live, to celebrate the New Year. It was my first time spending the New Year in Japan, and it was just as big of a holiday as Christmas is in the US.

Though there was no doubt that the food and sights in Japan were amazing, what really made this experience memorable were the people I met along the way. I got to see my family who I had not seen in years, made many new friends that I will cherish, and even met countless kind locals who have made me feel welcome. People in Tokyo seemed quite used to foreigners, especially compared to those I met in Nagasaki and Fukuoka, and they made sure to be very patient with me when I struggled to say something, which helped me overcome my fear of talking and open up.

Japan was both a familiar and new environment, and not only did I learn more about the country, but I also learned a lot about myself and identity. I am so grateful for the people and experiences I encountered, and though I almost wish I could have stayed longer, I will go home satisfied, knowing I got to thoroughly enjoy my time in Japan. Japan is a collectivist society, and what I learned from that is that people look out for each other. The technology, from translated self kiosks to something as common as the train or bus, are designed by people, for people. I want to embody this value of collectivism within technology in my capstone project, because it is amazing to see what people and technology are capable of doing when they work together.

Hello! My name is Emma Hasquet and I spent my Beyond the Classroom Experience studying abroad this past 2023 fall at Aberystywth University in Wales. I studied wildlife conservation as I am studying wildlife biology at UM, and focused on marine biology to help tackle the challenge of looking into local ways to combat climate change. My university was in a coastal town, so it was the first time I was able to experience living by an ocean for an extensive amount of time. The courses taken at the university were also fairly different than the ones taken at UM, with assignments being far fewer, yet more extensive in nature, so that took some getting used to. However, the professors and courses taken were very interesting. For instance, I took a GIS class that involved us mapping Ouzel populations on a mountain called Cadair Idris, that I was able to climb by taking a bus just an hour north.

While abroad in the UK, I focused heavily on traveling and managed to explore many parts of Wales, Scotland, and England. At first, I was unsure about choosing which term to complete my semester abroad, but studying in the fall was actually a great choice as the fall colors were very vibrant, and the cozy, yet moody weather autumn tends to bring was perfect to experience the quaint and historic villages found throughout the UK.

One thing I did a lot of while abroad was solo traveling. It was the first time I had been to a new country without my family or friends and was in turn responsible for every aspect of a journey — transportation, finding accommodation, food, and overall planning. However, I met so many people at hostels, restaurants, and even on mountains that I never felt truly alone. Going to the UK also made for a fairly easy transition culturally as most people speak English, and are similar to Americans. The UK also had quite the array of landscapes to explore. Even cities, such as Scotland’s capital: Edinburgh, has a hill to climb in its center. National parks there are stunning, and Wales is home to Snowdonia National Park, which covers about a third of the entire country. My favorite sites though have to be given to Scotland. I was able to visit there a couple of times, and made it to the Isle of Skye which is home to the Cuillin Range, and the Quiraing–both showstopping mountain ranges. Also, the amount of sheep I saw was absolutely brilliant, and they triple the population of humans in Wales alone.

Throughout my time abroad, I grew as an individual because I became more self-reliant and sensible. I was capable of doing so much more than I thought, even without a car, and I became more familiar with other cultures by meeting people from all around the world. I had roommates from France, Germany, and Spain, and a girl on the field hockey team I practiced with was from South Africa. It was always fascinating to hear about everyone’s upbringing, and it is heartwarming to know I have connections throughout other parts of the world I would have not established without this experience. If I could do it again, I would, but I would definitely try and study for an entire year. I felt welcome most everywhere I went, and while there were some steep learning curves to find my bearings at the start, pushing myself out of my comfort zone ultimately paid off and I made memories that will last forever.

My name is Luca Welle, and I spent a semester in Costa Rica studying sustainable development with the International Center for Development Studies. The program mainly consisted of taking classes four days a week in the capital city of San José at the Universidad Latina de Costa Rica. One of our classes was focused on community engagement, and was coupled with service at a community organization. Two mornings per week, I and two other students worked at Parque Ecologico Itarar planting, clearing brush, crafting mosaics, and more. On some afternoons and weekends, ICDS would plan activities from learning about cacao production to staying overnight at a voluntourism/organic coffee farm in the mountains. On many weekends, other students and I would plan trips to places like the cloud forests of Monteverde to zipline or one of the numerous beaches to snorkel and see bioluminescent algae. We also went to the museums downtown to learn more about Costa Rica’s culture and past. Despite these and other amazing experiences that I had while abroad, I did not enjoy living in a city as large as San José. There was far more concrete and steel than greenspace, and without a car getting out of the city could be logistically challenging and expensive. I oftentimes missed the familiarity I had with my home in Montana, where I am extremely grateful for the access to the outdoors that we have. When all is said and done, my Beyond the Classroom experience was worthwhile; I learned a lot about sustainability, community, the world we are apart of, and most importantly–myself.