Nozomi Satoh is a third-year international student from Japan who is studying commerce at Carleton. She’s also the Carleton University Japanese Association’s treasurer.
The Charlatan’s Candice So spoke with her about finding her place in a new country and her advice for new international students.
The Charlatan (TC):What were you expecting when you first came here to Canada five years ago?
Nozomi Satoh (NS): To be honest, it wasn’t my decision to come here, so it was my parents’, actually. So I didn’t have a lot of expectation[s]. But before I came here, I went to one of the agencies that does the exchange program. And I heard these students talking in English, after a year of staying in Canada, and their English was pretty good. And by that time, I only knew “yes, no,” that kind of easy sentence. Well, not even a sentence, but just words, so I was really afraid to come here. But then I was hoping to improve my English and learn to speak as much as they do too, after a year. So yeah, I was hoping to study a lot.
TC: So your parents wanted you to come here?
NS: We first thought the U.S. could be better, but in terms of the English here, it’s more . . . I don’t know, our agency told us that the English here is more clear than the one in the U.S. But I find it’s the same thing here, plus the environment here, and there are no guns, and it’s safer here. So that’s kind of the reason I’m here.
TC:So how did you feel about coming to Carleton?
NS: Awesome. I really like Carleton. I like to study here, and I found Carleton is very welcoming to all international students and all people, so I really like Carleton.
TC:And you also joined the Carleton University Japanese Association. How did you get involved with that?
NS: When I first came to Carleton, there were like thousands of students here and I couldn’t find anyone. I had a couple of friends from high school, but most of my friends went to Toronto. But then I went to the atrium . . . and I found the Japanese association there. In the first year, I was there as just a regular member, but then in my second year, I decided to be one of the execs because I’m the one who can speak English, Japanese, both languages.
In our association, it’s different from other associations [because] we’re more open to everyone, pretty much, especially because Carleton has a Japanese exchange program. I found it was a good opportunity for me to be there and provide all the services to the other students, to get to know each other. So it’s pretty good.
TC: So how did you find your transition to Carleton from Japan?
NS: It’s really different, it’s hard to explain. First, I was really surprised that a lot of people actually pay attention to the professor in the class. It’s more like we’re forced to study [in Japan], but here it’s like what you want to study and you go to school for it.
So educational-wise, I find I like the education system here better than the one in Japan because in Japan, you have to study 15 to 20 different subjects in one year, through the whole year. And your purpose to study is to go to a good university.
But here, it’s more like you’re studying for your own future, like it’s not about going to university. It’s more like, here’s university . . . and everyone has a purpose to study . . . with future plans and everything. So it encourages me a lot, those people around me. And here at Carleton, I do talk about the future a lot with my friends because they just have things to do in their lives and they’re really focused on their futures, so that’s really different for me.
And people here are more active. I think it’s nature, because compared to Asian countries, we have a lot of small technology stuff going on. It’s like here . . . you go skiing or snowboarding during the winter, or ice skating. And those kinds of activities, I really enjoy because I’m more of an athletic person.
And when I first came here, I couldn’t speak English, almost at all. Like, I couldn’t speak at all. But for me, studying English here was not really studying. It was more like, how you communicate with someone else.
And my English has gotten better and better. So by talking to people, it helped me a lot to study because there’s more stuff [than] you can learn from the textbook. All I did was study from the textbook and prepare for the test, but coming here and actually talking to people really helps me a lot to improve my English, I guess.
TC: Would you ever consider living here after you graduate?
NS: Yeah, a lot of people ask me that question, especially in the third year. I consider to have a job here for a couple of years, and I’ll see if it’s more suitable for me to stay in Canada. Yeah, I would do that. Because I find that Canada is a really good country for international students and people from the other countries, because they’re more open, and they don’t have this social bubble to each other and to other cultures, because there’s tons of different cultures already. It’s not strange for me to be here, it’s really nice.
TC: Do you have any advice for international students who might want to come here to study?
NS: My advice, first of all is that you should [speak] out, either in class or in social life. You have to be the one who speaks a lot. When I first came here, it was hard for me to talk to people that I [didn’t] know or new friends because I’m a more shy person than [the] outgoing people here.
So it was hard, but it helps a lot when you start talking to people because they would understand your situation, that your English isn’t perfect. But then they would talk to you, they would still talk to you even though your English isn’t that perfect because they’ve been dealing with those people all the time in their lives, because of ESL programs in Canada, because there are a lot of immigrants here. So you have to be really encouraged to speak out. And if you have a question, you just ask right away. You shouldn’t hesitate to ask any question to people.
Also what I like about Canada is the multicultural thing. It’s not only about Canadian culture, but you also have to accept people from different countries, and that’s going to be fun if you think about Canada not as Canada but also as the whole world because you meet a lot of people here. So yeah, just be yourself, be who you are, but try to be outgoing, try to adapt to the culture and experience every single opportunity you have. That’s what I think I did, and I think I was successful.
