[Report] Two TUFS students have started the exchange program at UNZA (Zambia)

Hikaru Miyagawa, a third-year student of French major, and Moto Kitano, a third-year student of Lao major, began their exchange program on July 10th, 2023 at University of Zambia. Hikaru will study at Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and Moto will study at Department of Geography and Environmental Studies for about a year.
We hope that their year will be fruitful through various encounters. Here are the messages from Hikaru and Moto.

 

Message from Hikaru

Hello everyone, my name is Hikaru Miyagawa and I am a third year French majoring student at the school of International and Social Studies.
I’m studying abroad at the University of Zambia for a semester from 9 July to the end of November.
Zambia is a very safe country in Africa, especially Lusaka, the capital city where the University of Zambia is located, is well developed and I enjoy living there.
At the University of Zambia, I am studying a course on Intangible Cultural Heritage where I am learning about how intangible cultural heritage is connected to us and what we should do to protect and develop it.
As football is a popular sport in Zambia, after school I enjoy playing football with students from the University of Zambia and Japanese people who have come to Zambia for work or other reasons. There are not many Japanese people living in Zambia, so I naturally get to know Japanese people and hear many interesting stories about their job, which is very stimulating. I decided to study in Zambia because just I wanted to visit Africa. When you hear the word ‘Africa’, you might think that it is a place where students with a clear motive or something they want to do will go, but I think it is good to just try a different place for the time being. Last but not least, I would like to thank all the people who supported me during my study abroad.

 

Message from Moto

Hello! My name is Moto Kitano, a 3rd-year student at the School of International and area studies.
Now, I am studying at the University of Zambia in the Republic of Zambia from July 2023 as an exchange student.
At the University of Zambia, I belong to the Department of Geography and environmental studies and I’ll study about economic activities from the perspective of geography and environmental management. The Republic of Zambia, which economically grows rapidly these days, has restrictions on economic development because of the geographic characteristic that this country is landlocked country.
At the same time, We have to think about the development that is kind to the environment that this country has as typified by Victoria Falls. I want to get a new perspective from the students of the University of Zambia who can share the issues above. And both inside and outside of school, I want to make opportunities as much as possible to share and show Japanese culture and tradition. I feel that there are a lot of Zambian people who are interested in Japan through Anime, manga, language, and so on.
That is why during study abroad, I’ll rethink the characteristic of Japanese culture and share them with the people of Zambia. Finally, I appreciate all who support me to travel Zambia. Thank you.