People who know I have been to Japan also know the reason why I was there. And since not so many people know of my little adventure, it is just proper that I start retelling my story with the how and the why I had the chance to go.
Silliman University, the school where I got my degree in Civil Engineering from, has close ties with other Christian Institutions around the globe. One of these is International Christian University (ICU) in Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan.
ICU is not the only school in Japan that Silliman has close relationships with though. Silliman also has good ties with Ferris University – a women’s university in Yokohama.
Our school has a Foreign Exchange Student Program with these two schools. Every year, Silliman sends four students, usually sophomores (incoming juniors), two apiece, to the schools in Japan. This privilege is given to above-average students with at least 3.0 Qualitative Point Average (QPA). The other requirements include an application letter and an endorsement from the college dean. There is a catch though. Going for the program may delay one’s studies for about a year.
In my class, there were two of us who were interested – Charlie and me. We were both qualified. It was just a matter of submitting the other requirements on time.
Unfortunately, there was an interview for all applicants which Charlie and I knew nothing of. Not that we are afraid of interviews. It’s just that we knew about it in the nick of time.
If my memory serves me right (I have a feeling that I will be using this phrase quite often in the Keiken Series… Hehehe…), the interview was on a Thursday afternoon in January 2002. It was scheduled at 1:00pm in the Cafeteria sky room. And I only learned about it on the same day, at about eleven in the morning. So I rushed to my dormitory, ate my lunch and prepared myself for the interview.
The cafeteria is only about 150 meters from my dormitory, so I arrived quite early. I called (both of us did not have mobile phones yet at that time) Charlie to ask if she was aware of the interview. It was then that I learned that she was in fact unaware of it. She said she won’t bother hurrying up to catch up with the interview and wished me good luck. I felt sorry for her. I knew she wanted to be in the program as much as I did. I also felt guilty. Why didn’t I call her earlier? (This question has bugged me for quite some time even when I was already in Japan)
I was the first applicant to arrive in the Cafeteria sky room. The interviewers told me to wait for a while. After some time, the other applicants came one by one (or in pairs perhaps but I paid them no mind).
I was interviewed first. I don’t remember much of it but there is one question I will never forget. Referring to my involvements in organizations and activities in the university, one of the interviewers (I think it was Ate Eli) asked me, “You seem to be enjoying your life here in Silliman, why do you want to leave?” I really can’t recall my answer but apparently, they were impressed.
A few days after the interview, I learned that my prayers and efforts paid off – I was one of two who will be sent to ICU. I was so happy back then. The idea of studying in a foreign country for free (I did not know about the 80,000 yen monthly stipend until some time later) was just too happy and exciting a thought for me.
By the way, my parents did not know any of this until they came to my university a couple of weeks later to attend my Honors Day (which was about the same time as my 18th birthday). They were supportive of me as ever, so it was all good.
As soon as the semester ended (in March of the same year), I started gathering documents for my passport and visa. When June came, I did not enroll in Silliman. My air ticket was dated September 2, 2002 – Cebu-Manila-Narita.