FEATURES
Balancing East & West Freshman Mary Kelly Shevlin transcends Japanese culture shock and language barrier to see the beauty in new experiences.
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BY PAIGE DUSSOLD REPORTER
he sat quietly during class in a foreign land, with strangers, unfamiliar customs and a daunting language barrier. During the lecture she was able to pick up on one important thing: her teacher was making a joke about her lack of knowledge of the language. Imagine that teacher’s surprise when she let out a laugh. She really didn’t care about the awkward situation. This was definitely a sign that she was doing just fine. Freshman Mary Kelly Shevlin, known as ‘MK’ by friends and family, travelled to Ashikaga, Japan for a two week exchange during the summer. The 14 year-old learned of her adventure abroad only two months before departure through a family friend in Ashikaga’s sister city Springfield, Illinois. Shevlin’s father Douglas Shevlin was hoping that this trip would show her a world that starkly contrasted the one she grew up in. He knew that his daughter understood those differences, but to experience them firsthand and gain a new perspective was something he wouldn’t let her pass up. Shevlin was assured that her host family would speak English since she did not speak any Japanese, so she jumped at the spontaneous opportunity which was somewhat of a spur of the moment decision according to Shevlin. “I got an email maybe three weeks before the trip that [the host family] didn’t speak English, so three weeks before the trip I crammed,” Shevlin said. However Shevlin was able to have confidence in the face of a challenge. “She doesn’t have problems asking questions and finding out for herself what she needs to know and where she needs to be,” Douglas said. Though she handled herself with grace, breaking out of the comfort zone came with some side effects. “I was scared because it would be two weeks without my family in a foreign country with a language that I don’t speak very well” Shevlin said. But these fears did little to deter Shevlin whose eyes lit up while speaking of the challenge. When she first arrived in Japan, the adjustment was so extreme she momentarily wanted to return home. “The biggest [differences] were the responses, you have to bow a lot which takes getting used to and just saying ‘thank you’ all the time and ‘excuse me’ all the time,” Shevlin said. According to Shevlin, knowing about these differences between world cultures is an important aspect of being a well rounded person.
Seeing how different people live makes a person more accepting of their fellow human beings. All the details she observed opened her mind even further. She acquired a new understanding of the world around her and the diverse humanity within it according to Shevlin. Crossing from the western world into the ways of the east is a recipe for culture shock, but that was just what made each moment uniquely amazing to Shevlin. While exploring the country with her host family she was a guest in many Japanese temples where she learned how to pray traditionally like the Japanese people do which requires more bowing and even more clapping. No matter the setting, every moment brought new understandings about the world she lives in. “When meeting new people, and especially when learning about new countries and history or geography… It just helps you really pay attention to your own culture and to other cultures as well… it really broadens your worldview,” Shevlin said. “Japan was exquisite… I can’t wait to go back to visit my host family and use all the manners and language I learned this past summer.” Japan taught Shevlin that there is intense beauty in the unfamiliar aspects of other people’s lives. She looked to the side while reflecting on her time in Ashikaga. Warmth dripped from every word as she passed on her most treasured memories. “[My favorite part] was the family time with my host family and their daily lives, because they just made it such a point to include me in their routine. I found that whenever I would go anywhere, they would immediately introduce me to all their friends and they were very sweet about it. It was really nice,” Shevlin said. Shevlin admitted that her fear coming into the trip was being away from her family for a long time in a strange place so it is only fitting that she felt most at peace in a family setting surrounded by acceptance. Thanks to her adventure a much larger picture comes to mind at the word ‘family.’ “[Traveling] is important because it makes you a more intelligent person, it helps you better understand people as a whole,” Shevlin said. “Even people from my own culture.”
“It would be two weeks without my family in a foreign country with a language that I don’t speak very well.” -Mary Kelly Shevlin
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LE JOURNAL September 2015
