Behind the scenes of international dormitory life, the fun and challenges of cross-cultural exchange, and life lessons learned. Mr. K, a graduate of WID Waseda who also served as an RA, delves into the friendships, challenges, and growth of dormitory life.

I graduated in September of the year before last and have been working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kasumigaseki since April of last year.I grew up in Indonesia, so I'm interested in developing countries.I'm in a department that shares the Japanese government's work on Africa, but I was told to study French in training...Sometimes I get a call from France, but I don't understand it at all, so I get scolded every day (laughs).Now that I think about it, there were a lot of French exchange students at WID, so I should have spoken to them in French. I communicated with WID international students and returnees in basic English.

Living alone is lonely

I lived in Indonesia with my family until I graduated from high school, but in May 2017, I came to Japan and started living alone in an apartment in Higashimurayama.I understand the language, but everything about life in Japan is new...I don't know how to pay utility bills or how to take out the garbage.I asked around and asked for help.Living alone is so lonely.It's very quiet at night, becoming a scene.That's why I joined WID and became an RA (Resident Assistant) because I wanted to help people starting a new life, especially international students.

Isn't it just a Japanese menu?

Even though it's an international dormitory, does everyone interact actively?It's not like that.I'm quite the person to talk to people positively.At first, I didn't even know the name of the person who lived next door, so I said, "Let's write my name and profile on the door of my room!" ).But since we have daily conversations in the dining room and kitchen, we naturally became good friends.By the way, the cafeteria menu was only in Japanese at first, but some people have allergies, and some international students can't eat things for religious reasons, so I thought, "Isn't it just Japanese?" When I tried to negotiate with them, they also made an English menu.

What it means to meet someone who thinks differently

Through your RA experience, you learned about living in a Japanese community.It's like being caught in a dilemma, or encountering a situation where the top and bottom are saying different things...Well, maybe it's not just Japan.Sometimes I interact with the dormitory manager, and from my position, I have to warn the dormitory students.I really don't want to pay attention to it, because they will hate me.But after I've warned them, I can say things like, "I want you to be more careful from now on, but you don't have to be so depressed." (laughs)Two and a half years was a long time, but it was fun.Since we live in the same place, even people with whom we don't usually have a connection are connected in a sweet potato style.Meeting people who think differently than me is a learning experience, and I think that itself is a lot of fun.This is something I still cherish even after I graduated.

(Photograph: Satoshi Shirahama / Text: Yoko Oike / Interview: Yasuhiro Nishi)