Juan Felipe Arroyave (MA/PhD Japanese) spent the summer in Japan with support from the Kasai-Buerge Scholarship. “Thanks to this award, I was able to spend two weeks in Japan as a Seminar Leader for the last edition of Komatsu Summer School (KSS),” reports Arroyave. “This bilingual summer camp, held in a rural area of Ishikawa Prefecture, attracted high school students from all over Japan who were eager to engage with liberal arts subjects in English, and figure out pathways for sustainable development in Japan. It was, without hyperbole, a life-changing experience for me. On a professional level, KSS gave me the chance to teach in Japan for the first time and get acquainted with classroom dynamics and student expectations in the country. On a personal level, it allowed me to connect with many fantastic individuals, not only those from the Japanese and American volunteer groups, but the high school participants as well. My deepest gratitude to the Kasai-Buerge family and the UW Japan Studies Program for making this experience possible!”