When I go to another country to live and work, my first experiences here are the greetings this place gives me. For nearly a month, Japan has sent these greetings to me through many forms such as the scorching sun when I left the airport, the sounds at the train station,the taste of the first meal, and indispensable as well as the most cherished for me: the meetings.
I was extremely lucky that within just 1 month of arriving in Japan, I
was able to meet and talk to not only with old friends I had known
before but also with new friends.
The experience of meeting old acquaintances again, seeing everyone still healthy and laughing happily, after a long time, and in another country, is truly a very interesting experience. These meetings help me feel safe and grateful that old relationships are still preserved and continued in the new environment.
On the other hand, entering a new environment means expanding your comfort zone, along with new lessons, challenges, and new relationships. Interning at the headquarters, I met and worked with not only Japanese people but also many colleagues and interns from many different countries such as Thailand, Korea, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, and even Vietnam. . I was fortunate to be friends with a Vietnamese intern and an Uzbek colleague. We went to dinner at an Uzbekistan restaurant and exchanged a lot about the cultures of the two countries.
"Ichigo ichie" (“Every encounter is a once-in-a-lifetime encounter”), all meetings over the past nearly a month have been unique, never to happen again in life and therefore, extremely precious. To me, this is the friendliest greeting that Japan can give me as well as an extremely favorable start for the upcoming 1-year internship journey.
Trainee in 2023
Nguyen Tri Trung