Finding Courage: Mary Ruane’s Semester in Japan

Mary Ruane, now a senior majoring in biochemistry at TLU, didn't know a lot of Japanese when she first arrived in Tokyo to study abroad last spring. But as it happened, that not knowing turned out to be a blessing of sorts.

"I think the most important thing I learned in Japan was that I had to trust myself more than I had been, and that people are often kinder than I expect," she says. "I thought I was going to be utterly lost and confused the entire time, never having taken a train and knowing only the most basic conversational Japanese, but I actually adapted almost instantly. If I had never had the courage to go, or to walk up to someone and accept that I may sound a little silly while speaking in Japanese, I would not have made nearly so many friends or fond memories."

Ruane was in Tokyo from late March to the start of August, and during that time took a class in Japanese language plus four seminar courses: Visual Culture, Ethics, Art History in Premodern Japan, and Art History of Modern Japan.

Well before embarking on the journey, she knew it made sense to venture out into the world during her undergrad years-but wasn't sure where she wanted to go, and actually considered other countries before settling on Japan. "I knew that study abroad was likely the cheapest way I could travel, and I knew that I wanted to go to a beautiful place that has interesting research and excellent urban design," she explains. She narrowed it down to Dublin, Ireland, and Tokyo, and ended up choosing Japan both because it was more economical and because she knew she'd be less likely to make a return visit there on her own in the future.

That decision turned out to be a solid one, because from the very beginning, Ruane loved her adventure in the Far East. "I think my favorite experience in Japan was my first weekend exploring by myself," she recalls. "I was nervous to go at first, but I visited a cafe and an aquarium and made an excellent friend before I returned home. I had been very scared up until that point about whether I would be able to function well in Tokyo, but that one day settled all my nerves and was the blueprint for a wonderful semester."

Now, Ruane confidently recommends studying abroad to others. She suggests that those who are undecided as to whether or not to take advantage of the opportunities TLU offers should consider whether they'll be likely to have the freedom to travel in the future. For those whose careers will require them to stay in one place, it makes good sense to get out and see more of the world before graduation.

One of the gifts of living in another culture for Ruane was coming home with a broadened perspective. "I think I was semi-blind to alternate ways of living, but being in such a collective society made me reconsider some of the individualist thought patterns I had absorbed living in Texas," she says. "A lot of the signage in Japan phrases things not as a command for the reader, but as a cheerful 'Let's do X together!' and the mindset of doing what you can to improve the community and the lives of others is more pervasive there than I have noticed in the US. It has made me more conscientious of the small things that I can do to make life a little better for the people around me, like how Japanese people will pick up a stranger's litter or will make an effort to take up minimal space on the train."

Ruane says she'd love to return to Japan one day-and she's even looking at jobs where she can work with Japanese researchers in the future. "They have excellent biomedical technology researchers and are working on some very interesting projects that I may one day be able to be part of through international and interdisciplinary research cooperation. Of course, that may not be where I end up, but I would be happy to visit again."

To learn more about study abroad opportunities at TLU, click here: https://www.tlu.edu/academics/study-abroad.