Japan: Learning from a dynamic culture
Sunday, 5 October 2008
Habib Mohammad Ali
AS a student of Bangladesh, I have nurtured since my childhood the desire to go to different destinations to learn something different. This stimulated me to learn English at first and communicate with people from anywhere in the world. In my childhood, when I saw any aeroplane flying over our house, I always thought some day I would run away from home. This dream became true when I got the acceptance letter from a Japanese University for studying at Masters level with a scholarship. I could not speak for a moment in my office at that moment. My uncle living in Australia always gave me inspiration in this way that if I have any dream, I must achieve it within a course of time. I always keep this message in mind, and when I was taking off from Zia International Airport, I carried this important advice along with other memoirs of my life.
Life is just like a package of some events a human being faces. After coming here, I have got in touch with the Japanese, and the more days are going, the more I am learning from them. This implies I have come here not only for education or certificate, but also for interacting with a culture that is very dynamic. When I was flying in the sky of Pacific Ocean and approaching the sky of Japan, I tried to look at the ground and saw the organised Tokyo City, lands of paddy and fruits and the Fujiama Mountain. It seems to me: this is not a country; this is just like a garden I see from the sky.
Landing in Japan was very exciting for me. The transportation system, daily life style, medical system and other facilities are seemingly more up-to-date than any part in the world. The traffic system is operating very systematically, so, the question of accident is very rare. I live in a small town named Miwa, just 10 minutes driving from the Mito city, the main city of Ibaraki prefecture. This town has all the modern facilities. This is really a world of science and technology where human beings have automatized their life styles in a disciplined way.
The education system in Japan is also most up-to-date and expensive. A student from a developing nation can take admission here through paying tuition fees and scholarships. Scholarships are mainly available for technical persons at research level like Ph.D. The Japanese government asks application through advertisements in the major daily newspapers at the early part of a calendar year. Also some universities offer individual scholarships and those can be managed by communicating properly with Japanese professor. For this kind of scholarship, a student must show his area of interest where he/she wants to work. If the professor thinks that his or her proposal is suitable in that he/she can contribute in his/her research field, then the process of admission and scholarship begins. However, it is very competitive and it depends on the process of different offices from the University to Ministry of Education.
Some students also come here on exchange basis from the USA, China, Korea and from some other parts of Europe. This creates a very good opportunity for cross-cultural interaction under the umbrella of an educational institution. I have had such a chance here to meet with a number of students from different nations. They always asked me about my nation and about what I used to do. When I told them that I used to serve in a private university in Bangladesh, and I also took classes on Public Relations, then they again asked my country's name. I mean when I relate myself with my job, then a different identity creates in their mind. In a word, the meaning of life always differs from man to man and from culture to culture. … I experienced it by interacting with various types of people.
Japan is really a different world in terms of the friendly attitude of the people. They have not learned to say "No". They never bother others, never tease others, and never criticize others. They always think about their own life and career. And I always find them willing to help others. Discipline, etiquette-manner and trust are the main keys of their behavior. I found those principles in my roommate Yamoto also. I can't explain in my own word how much he cares for me. After three days of my arrival, he invited me to his house for lunch. His father took me to different parts of the city by driving his car. I saw Pacific Ocean and the Shen Bau lake of the city. I was astonished seeing the reception they offered me, although they lead a very simple life in Japan.
The Japanese, as I have found, are willing to interact and give friendly reception to the people from other lands. I just always try to understand the people here: I have only found that they never speak their desire and emotions before any stranger. If I have the capacity, I have to understand them and find the meaning of their emotions, although they are mostly driven by rationality rather than emotions. It is just like a blend with nature, life and reality towards a homogenous goal. The meaning of my life, in some part… I think, is to get some taste of life, nature and reality of the Japanese. And I have got….they are our real friends, and this is just like in my hometown Chapai Nababganj in Bangladesh where there is no environment pollution , where we know each other , where we think for others and where we walk and run freely. Now, time is coming to express gratefulness to them, my German professor and above all, to the Almighty.
(email: ali.habib@asia.com)
AS a student of Bangladesh, I have nurtured since my childhood the desire to go to different destinations to learn something different. This stimulated me to learn English at first and communicate with people from anywhere in the world. In my childhood, when I saw any aeroplane flying over our house, I always thought some day I would run away from home. This dream became true when I got the acceptance letter from a Japanese University for studying at Masters level with a scholarship. I could not speak for a moment in my office at that moment. My uncle living in Australia always gave me inspiration in this way that if I have any dream, I must achieve it within a course of time. I always keep this message in mind, and when I was taking off from Zia International Airport, I carried this important advice along with other memoirs of my life.
Life is just like a package of some events a human being faces. After coming here, I have got in touch with the Japanese, and the more days are going, the more I am learning from them. This implies I have come here not only for education or certificate, but also for interacting with a culture that is very dynamic. When I was flying in the sky of Pacific Ocean and approaching the sky of Japan, I tried to look at the ground and saw the organised Tokyo City, lands of paddy and fruits and the Fujiama Mountain. It seems to me: this is not a country; this is just like a garden I see from the sky.
Landing in Japan was very exciting for me. The transportation system, daily life style, medical system and other facilities are seemingly more up-to-date than any part in the world. The traffic system is operating very systematically, so, the question of accident is very rare. I live in a small town named Miwa, just 10 minutes driving from the Mito city, the main city of Ibaraki prefecture. This town has all the modern facilities. This is really a world of science and technology where human beings have automatized their life styles in a disciplined way.
The education system in Japan is also most up-to-date and expensive. A student from a developing nation can take admission here through paying tuition fees and scholarships. Scholarships are mainly available for technical persons at research level like Ph.D. The Japanese government asks application through advertisements in the major daily newspapers at the early part of a calendar year. Also some universities offer individual scholarships and those can be managed by communicating properly with Japanese professor. For this kind of scholarship, a student must show his area of interest where he/she wants to work. If the professor thinks that his or her proposal is suitable in that he/she can contribute in his/her research field, then the process of admission and scholarship begins. However, it is very competitive and it depends on the process of different offices from the University to Ministry of Education.
Some students also come here on exchange basis from the USA, China, Korea and from some other parts of Europe. This creates a very good opportunity for cross-cultural interaction under the umbrella of an educational institution. I have had such a chance here to meet with a number of students from different nations. They always asked me about my nation and about what I used to do. When I told them that I used to serve in a private university in Bangladesh, and I also took classes on Public Relations, then they again asked my country's name. I mean when I relate myself with my job, then a different identity creates in their mind. In a word, the meaning of life always differs from man to man and from culture to culture. … I experienced it by interacting with various types of people.
Japan is really a different world in terms of the friendly attitude of the people. They have not learned to say "No". They never bother others, never tease others, and never criticize others. They always think about their own life and career. And I always find them willing to help others. Discipline, etiquette-manner and trust are the main keys of their behavior. I found those principles in my roommate Yamoto also. I can't explain in my own word how much he cares for me. After three days of my arrival, he invited me to his house for lunch. His father took me to different parts of the city by driving his car. I saw Pacific Ocean and the Shen Bau lake of the city. I was astonished seeing the reception they offered me, although they lead a very simple life in Japan.
The Japanese, as I have found, are willing to interact and give friendly reception to the people from other lands. I just always try to understand the people here: I have only found that they never speak their desire and emotions before any stranger. If I have the capacity, I have to understand them and find the meaning of their emotions, although they are mostly driven by rationality rather than emotions. It is just like a blend with nature, life and reality towards a homogenous goal. The meaning of my life, in some part… I think, is to get some taste of life, nature and reality of the Japanese. And I have got….they are our real friends, and this is just like in my hometown Chapai Nababganj in Bangladesh where there is no environment pollution , where we know each other , where we think for others and where we walk and run freely. Now, time is coming to express gratefulness to them, my German professor and above all, to the Almighty.
(email: ali.habib@asia.com)