An Introduction

Konnichiwa! In three weeks I will be flying to Okinawa, Japan, and I have already forgotten most of my (very limited, JPNS 1101 level) Japanese. “It will come back to you,” people say, “when you are forced to use it”. Yes, I agree, I think it will. But that is what is both difficult and incredibly rewarding about traveling abroad. You are always being pushed a little bit outside of your comfort zone. You are relearning life’s basics under a new set of rules. Ordering food, buying a bus ticket, and using a bathroom are all activities that can end up being far more adventurous than initially anticipated.

This will be my third co-op at Northeastern and I will be living and working in Onna Village, Okinawa, Japan from September to December at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST). Closer to Taiwan than Japan’s main Islands, Okinawa has been described to me as having a culture that is distinct from the busy cities of Tokyo and Osaka. Instead of hustle and bustle of city life, things run on “island time”. The islands of Okinawa are a popular vacation destination for “mainland” tourists, and offer a more tropical climate.

At OIST I will be working in the Economo Biodiversity and Biocomplexity research unit. I am currently in my senior year at Northeastern, studying environmental science and biology, and am very interested in studying how human development impacts surrounding ecosystems. I hope to explore this interest in a new context in the Economo lab, where a major research focus is on ants! Side note-- when I accepted this co-op I knew the lab was nicknamed the “Ari-lab” but it wasn’t until I was learning the equivalent of my Japanese ABCs that I discovered Ari (蟻) means Ant….A-for-Ant…okay I got it, probably something I should know.

More updates to come!!

Hajimemashite--nice to meet you.

Tori