ACROSS OCEANS

Story of Seeking in a Foreign Land

By Cheerish Dianne Rosa

sertive about her goals and told her family about them.

“I’m really considering which university I would go to because I only considered Japanese universities— so I was frustrated. But my parents know about my future goals, so they helped me look for an opportunity,” Saki detailed. Deep in her heart, her guts tell her that she was not meant to stay there.

After a thorough search, they finally decided to let Saki study abroad, giving her a greater opportunity to study English. So, she went to live in Taoyuan City, Taiwan and took an AB English program at Kainu University. As she persistently followed her goals in a foreign country, Saki planned to ace both her English and Mandarin language skills. However, after three years of studying in Taiwan, she was not content with the outcome yet. Although she learned to speak Mandarin fluently, her English speaking skills are yet to be developed.

“When I was in Taiwan, there were not many opportunities to speak in English,” she said. So, she continued her quest to reach her goals and decided to go to further lengths as an exchange student in other countries.

“I told my teachers about my goals and asked for help to realize them. Then, I was given an opportunity to go to America and Australia, but I can’t afford the tuition,” she added. After a patient search, her teacher recommended one of their partner schools in the Philippines for her academic endeavors—the University of Mindanao. Right then and there, Saki knew it was the best choice as Filipinos are known to be good at English. However, she was about to hear disheartening news.

“They said my graduation would be delayed if I choose to go to UM. I am in fourth grade in Kainu but in UM, I would be in third grade,’’ Saki said. Additionally, the thought that her parents will need to pay