Kyra Jeffers, Reflections

So many of my most valuable memories from studying at Ohio University are related to the friends I made through the Chubu-Ohio program. I started helping with the program as a part of the Ohio Honors’ Global Buddy Program during the spring semester of 2022. Through this, I was attending the conversation hour, I had a conversation partner, and I was helping with the weekly study sessions. Not only did this program help me to make friends with the Chubu students, but it also helped me make lasting friends from OU who are still my closest friends on campus to this day.  

I started college in 2020, so my entire first year was online. When the first group of Chubu students came back after COVID, I got to really explore campus for the first time with them. Thanks to this, I have so many fun and valuable memories tied to almost every place on campus. From drawing with my friends over coffee at Donkey, to trying almost every restaurant on Court Street, to somewhat conquering my fear of open water when we all went to Strouds Run together on an OPIE picnic. 

Though I was sad when this group had to leave, and I was sad when I went to these places and knew I couldn’t invite them along, it was also so nice to make new friends with students in the coming semesters. I loved all three of my Chubu conversation partners the following fall semester and spent as much time with them as I could. I was also able to do so many fun things with these friends, taking them shopping in Columbus, having picnics at dusk, dancing, watching movies, and going to the Columbus Zoo.  

I also found myself easily getting close to the new group that came in the spring. I made close friends that would always go to the movie theater with me. We often played games and went ice skating every week we could. I also have such fond memories from viewing the cherry blossoms in bloom at night, going to a concert with one of my Chubu friends in Columbus, giving some of the Chubu boys makeovers, and going hiking. I felt so close to the friends I made, and I am still sad that they are gone. 

Being a part of this program even just at OU really helped me break out of my shell and get more involved on campus. It also helped me foster a love of learning more about different cultures and making global connections. 

I feel I was very fortunate during my time at Ohio University with the Chubu students. I still stay in contact with so many of my Chubu friends and I had a fantastic opportunity to see many of them again recently. 

This last summer (2023) I had the opportunity to travel abroad to finally visit my friends in Japan. I spent one week in Nagoya and one week in Tokyo. I have never been busier in my life than I was when I was in Nagoya. 

I spent so much time meeting with so many of the Chubu friends I made at Ohio University. Now, I was not the one doing the driving. My friends drove me to their  favorite places and activities. I went bowling, visited the Nagoya aquarium, tried so much Japanese food for the first time, visited castles, went to the movies, played arcade games, went hiking and more. While all of the activities were fun, I was mostly happy to see my friends again and grateful that I was able to visit them in Japan.   

When I visited my friend in Okazaki, she and her family took me to many fun places. We went to a famous kakigori restaurant, visited a miso museum, and explored Okazaki castle. My friend also took me to her favorite restaurant in her hometown where I tried what is still my favorite food I had in Japan: mazesoba.  

When I visited my friend in Anjo, her mother was very kind to me. She welcomed me with a cake and a delicious home-cooked meal. This friend also drove me three hours to the place I wanted to visit the most in Japan: Shiraito no Taki (or Shiraito Falls). It was also her favorite hiking spot, so she showed me all the best, “off-the-beaten track” places there, and this was hands down my favorite experience in Japan. The weather was slightly rainy, so there were few people around and the temperature was perfect, and the views were so beautiful! 

On my final day in Tokyo, two of my close friends whom I met at OU during the Spring 2023 semester traveled to Tokyo to meet me right after they returned to Japan. I was very happy and excited, and so touched that they traveled so far to see me before I had to leave to return to the U.S. We went to Sanrio Puroland together and I tried Japanese sushi for the first time. They made me laugh and made my final day so fantastic, which only makes me miss them so much more.  

Thanks to the Chubu-OU relationship, I was able to make global friends that could teach me more about their culture and country not only at OU, but also when I visited Japan for myself. I started studying Japanese so that I could learn to better communicate with them, and I feel that I have been able to learn so much through making friends with them.  

No matter what, I will continue to stay in touch with my friends from Chubu University, though it will likely have to stay long distance in the near future. I am so grateful to have met them all and I hope to see them in person again as soon as possible!