Konnichiwa! Hello! My name is Hina Claerbout. I was born on the island of Maui, which is one of the many islands that make up the chain of Hawaiian islands. I grew up on Maui, often playing in the grassy fields on the slopes of Maui’s tallest mountain named Haleakala or splashing around in the ocean that surrounds the island. Every summer during my school breaks, I would fly to Japan to visit my grandparents and stay with them in the house that my mom grew up in and go to the school she attended. These experiences made me love Japan and want to spend even more time there. Thus, when I moved to Oahu to start college at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, I decided to continue studying Japanese. After two years, I had the opportunity to take part in an exchange program and attend Keio University in Tokyo, Japan. I am here now and plan to live in Japan for one year to study the Japanese language and culture. I am so excited to share my experiences with you throughout this program and get to know you all!
Want to know more about how you can study or intern abroad when you are a college student? The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and supported in its implementation by the Institute of International Education (IIE). Learn more about the scholarship by clicking here!
