RADIO BERRY FM Tochigi On the radio program “IZ*ONE Honda Hitomi and World Get You” (last Thursday 21:30-21:45) broadcast on 6/25/2020 (Thu).
The story of Hikari Shio, a fourth-year university student who studied abroad in Cebu, Philippines for two weeks, was introduced.
Honda Hitomi: This time, I would like to hear about Hikari Shio’s study abroad experience.
Cebu has an image of being a great “resort destination.”
I also want to go there once…
The official languages of the Philippines are Filipino and English, but the English pronunciation is very beautiful, so it is a popular study abroad destination for language learners.
Wow, that’s really great. It’s a resort destination, and you can learn the language and various cultures. It’s a great place to learn beautiful pronunciation. Wow…I would really like to go.
Now, let me introduce Hikari Shio’s profile.
Hikari Ushio, from Gunma Prefecture, is currently a fourth-year student at Hakuoh University. She has studied abroad in Canada, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines. In the Philippines, she volunteered as a teacher at a local elementary school.
In the future, Ushio wants to become an elementary school teacher who can accept diversity.
This time, we will hear about her experience studying abroad in the Philippines.
…So that’s it. Wow, that’s amazing.
I’m sure there aren’t many people who have studied abroad in one, two, three, four countries.
First of all, the initiative to study abroad four times. Wow, that’s pretty amazing.
What impressed you about studying abroad
Hikari Ushio: What surprised me was how often they used “Instagram” and “Facebook” as social media. There were a lot of people who posted selfies of themselves, or about what they were doing at the time, or about who they were.
In that respect, I really felt that the national character of the Philippines was to promote themselves more simply and casually than Japanese people.
Honda Hitomi: I can certainly relate to that. I think Japanese people are not good at self-promotion, and maybe that’s because I’m Japanese.
But I learned something when I came to Korea, and I realized that it’s really important to promote yourself.
There are 12 members in IZ*ONE. You might think that 12 people is not a lot, but it’s actually a lot of people among Korean idols. So if you don’t take the initiative to promote yourself, it won’t be conveyed, and it’s a waste to have something that you can promote.
So I think that since coming to Korea, I’ve acquired a “spirit of promotion” to promote myself so that everyone knows me better.
Changes before and after studying abroad
Shio Hikari: What has changed since I was in Japan and after studying abroad? I think I have acquired a lot of “positivity” and “a mind that is not afraid of failure.” I also feel that I have acquired the courage to express my intention by saying “I don’t understand” when I don’t understand something.
Honda Hitomi: Changes from studying abroad. I gained “proactiveness” and “a mindset that is not afraid of failure”. Wow, that’s amazing. I really feel that I still have a long way to go when it comes to “proactiveness” and “a mindset that is not afraid of failure”.
And one more thing, I gained “the courage to say that I don’t understand something”.
Wow. I still have a long way to go (laughs).
For example…I don’t have that much now, do I? I don’t have it now, but when I first came to Korea, it was the language. I came here with absolutely zero knowledge, so when someone explained to me that I was “fluent”, I would pretend to understand and reply “Ah, I understand” quite often (laughs).
But at those times, it was really difficult because I didn’t understand anything in the end, but recently I’ve become able to ask questions without pretending to know. But I really do understand the feeling of pretending to know something. I have a certain pride in myself that it would be uncool to say “I don’t understand”. Also, I feel embarrassed. But now that I think about it, listening to Ushio-san’s story, I think “not knowing something” isn’t something to be ashamed of.
After studying abroad, about your dreams for the future
Ushio Hikari-san: In Japanese culture, I think it’s “good” to belittle yourself when it comes to what you’re good at, and I feel like we don’t really express ourselves or evaluate ourselves that much, but I think it would be nice to be able to really feel “Japan is wonderful” or “Japan is amazing” and live with pride in my country and region.
Honda Hitomi-san: Hmm, I see. It’s true… Even if Japanese people are praised, for example, when they’re told “you’re cute,” they tend to be humble and say “no, that’s not true” or “no, not at all.” I’m the same way.
When I came to Korea, I realized that the Korean members really tell me what they think very clearly. If I’m really cute, he’ll say “You’re cute,” and if my face is really puffy, he’ll be very honest and say “You look really puffy today,” so I’m really happy when I get compliments. So, in those situations, I try not to say “That’s not true,” but to say “Thank you.” Because, if someone compliments me and I deny it by saying “That’s not true,” I think they’ll be a bit confused, and I feel like I’ll gain more confidence if I accept it rather than just denying it by saying “That’s not true.”
If you’re listening to the radio right now, and you can relate to any of this, why not try to accept compliments instead of denying them by saying “That’s not true”?
…And in the future, Ushio wants to be an elementary school teacher. To that end, Ushio volunteered as a member of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, and wants to learn about the educational environment in foreign countries.
Ushio has studied abroad in four countries… I think she’ll be a great elementary school teacher. I also learned a lot from Ushio this time.
Thank you so much. Please continue to work hard towards your dreams.
I’ll be with you, Ushio. I’ll continue to work hard.