How was your week off for Thanksgiving? I hope you all had a good chance to visit with friends and family and also eat your fill of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and of course, pie. Being here in Japan, I’ve obviously been unable to celebrate in the traditional way. However, throughout the month of November I’ve been keeping myself busy in a few other ways.

Let me tell you all something. I’ve been here in Japan for a little over two months now. During this time I have seen some amazing things, made some great friends, and had some incredible experiences. But do you know what has really gotten me excited during my time in this wondrous land? If you haven’t been able to guess by the title, it’s the food…the absolutely wonderful food.

Before I came to Japan, friends and family would always ask me fairly common questions. Because I am missing out on a few holidays back home this year, I usually get this one: “Do they celebrate Halloween in Japan.” Although Halloween is more typically a Western celebrated holiday, the answer is yes.

As anyone who has visited a foreign country can tell you, they have usually seen a different way of doing things that make them wonder, ‘Why don’t they do that where I’m from?” Therefore, today I thought it would be fun to look back at the things I’ve noticed here in Japan and list some of the smaller things I think would be great to introduce into American society.

Well, classes officially started last week and my schedule is significantly busier! Today I thought I would tell you a little bit about how classes work here at Nagasaki University of Foreign Studies and some of the things I have been up to with some of my new friends.

Come celebrate with us as Ms. Sawako Kojima, of the Japan Information Center and Consulate-General of Japan in Chicago, presents the Japan Foundation Institutional Project Support Program in Japanese Studies to the University of Iowa.

First, a question for my fellow study abroad students (or potential ones). Is there such thing as the perfect host family? Well, I think so, and they go by the names, Harumichi and Machico. However, they have requested I call them ‘Otousan’ and ‘Okaasan,’ or ‘Father’ and ‘Mother.’ To my fellow Americans back home who are unaware of Japanese culture, this may seem slightly odd. However, in Japan, this is actually seen as quite normal and also, to a degree, respectful. They are an elderly couple who have a few children of their own (who now live elsewhere) and have done everything they can to make me feel like part of the family.

My name is Luke Bader. I’m a senior at the University of Iowa working towards a major in International Studies, a Writing certificate, and a Japanese minor. This semester (Fall 2015) I thought I’d team up with the study abroad department at the university to give you my experience while studying in Nagasaki, Japan. This will be my second time in Japan and I am so excited to be back! This time I am going through the ‘University Studies Abroad Consortium’ (USAC) and through Nagasaki University’s ‘Japan Studies in Nagasaki’ (JASIN) program.

In an increasingly global society, biracial marriages are, for the most part, accepted. Because of the diversity within the United States, most Americans are accustomed to not only seeing, but interacting with biracial individuals. In my case, I traveled to a country where there are strict laws that hinder immigration and an overarching notion that the gene pool is pure and must not be diluted.

Soon, high-school students from Iowa might be able to trade places with those in Japan. Kim Heidemann, the executive director of Iowa Sister States, is in Yamanashi, Japan, to discuss the possibility of a high-school student exchange program beginning in the spring of 2016. Iowa Sister States is a nonprofit organization that promotes programs between Iowa and various “sister states” to foster positive international relationships. These sister states include Yamanashi, Kosovo, and Hebei, China, among many others, and programs range from economic trade to education. “These relationships help give students and professors new opportunities to meet people from another culture and exchange ideas,” said Kassi Wheeler, the international-program manager for Iowa Sister States.

With rising interest in Chinese and South Korean studies, many universities across the U.S. fear waning enrollment in Japanese studies. The UI, however, has managed to buck the trend, with Japanese studies enrollment numbers on the rise the past 3 years.

A new grant for the third-largest language program at the University of Iowa will mean expanded Japanese programs around campus. A more than $300,000 Institutional Project Support grant from the Japan Foundation will bring new faculty, facilities, and opportunities for more students to learn Japanese at the UI.