Millie Takayama (Photo by Daniel Shrives)
Millie Takayama, Bromfield’s newest foreign exchange student, has noticed some differences between Harvard and her home 6,500 miles away.
“There are a lot of trees in Harvard,” she said. “I lived in a city that is famous for good bus networks. Because we have many kinds of public transportation, we don’t have to drive anywhere like I have to in Harvard.”
Takayama, from Fukuoka, Japan, plans to stay until June 24. She first arrived in Harvard at the beginning of the school year as a participant in an intercultural exchange program organized by AFS, a nonprofit international organization that has given more than 400,000 students the opportunity to travel abroad.
As one of these participants, Takayama had to go through an extensive process to ease her integration into the Harvard community. In April of 2011, she took exams and had an interview for the program. In July, she participated in the AFS student orientation camp. In September, she wrote a self-promotion for finding a host family. In January of 2012, she received a full scholarship from the embassy of the United States and then went through a series of orientation camps in both Japan and the United States.
Takayama has studied English language in her school in Japan.
“I have been studying English for four years, only at school English classes,” said Takayama. “I watched American shows to learn ordinary conversation too.”
Besides the trees and the transportation, another significant difference between Japanese and American culture is food, Takayama observed.
“In America, people are more likely to have high-carbohydrate meals,” she said. “We have a phrase in Japan, ‘One soup and three sides,’ which means that a soup, rice, and three side dishes make an ideal meal with well-balanced nutrients.”
Regardless of this tremendous gap between cuisine types, Takayama is adapting well.
“I came to love pizza since I have been here,” she said.
At the Bromfield School, Takayama notices many differences between the way the teachers act in comparison with the more strict style exhibited by her teachers back home. As a student in a private Christian girls’ school, Takayama said, “It is so different. Especially for teachers—they don’t dress casually or sit on the table. And students have to be very polite.”
Takayama also notices a disparity in social standards.
“In America,” she said, “getting a tan is a good thing. But in Japan, it’s a beauty symbol to have very fair skin, so I’ve never tried to get a tan before. I tried to get it this summer, and I failed… That was painful.”
In the face of these many difficult and surprising changes, Takayama still enjoys many aspects of American culture.
Her favorite experience so far was Halloween, a celebration that is largely unpracticed in Japan. “For my first Halloween, I went out trick-or-treating with my friends and got a lot of candies,” said Takayama. “Walking in the dark with my costume on was very exciting… I helped out with the haunted house at the church and scared people. I was poor at scaring people but it was still fun.”
Takayama has also participated in field hockey.
“Japanese sports teams are strict about distinctions between senior (senpai) and junior (kohai),” Takayama said. “In America, without that complicated thought, I just had fun. I love my teammates. They are so nice to me.”
Bromfield sophomore and junior varsity field hockey team captain Emma Keaney said, “Millie was really shy at first and seemed sort of afraid to be aggressive in a game, which is understandable considering she had never heard of field hockey before… She soon became such a great field hockey player… She would always participate in team spirits, pasta parties, and everything. We loved having her on the team, and I’m so glad she got to play with us. She is a natural born Japanese field hockey player!”
When asked whether or not she misses her home, Takayama promptly responded, “Although I love my country, my family, and my friends, I love to be in Harvard, too.”
