Triple-major Amber Kimmel tests whether Japan could be home and career base
A semester abroad helped Amber Kimmel determine the feasibility of building a hospitality career in Japan long-term
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Published
Amber Kimmel stands at a temple in front of daruma figures, which are said to grant wishes.
Triple-major Amber Kimmel tests whether Japan could be home and career base
•
Published
Amber Kimmel's second trip to Japan felt different. Unlike her previous visit as a tourist, her fall 2024 semester at Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka meant living as a resident — handling daily challenges and truly testing whether she could see herself calling Japan home.
Living in Romania with her parents for over a decade cultivated her interest in diverse cultures. At age 12, she discovered YouTube travel videos of Japan and was fascinated by how different the country appeared compared to her own life. From there, she knew she wanted to study Japanese in college, and Miami’s East Asian Languages and Cultures major allowed her to fulfill that. She would end up adding on two other majors: International Studies, to enhance her career prospects, and Hospitality Management, after working at the Marcum Hotel and Conference Center on campus and developing a love for the industry. This triple major supports her plan of building a life and career in Japan.
“One of my main goals for my study abroad was to determine whether or not I could see myself living in Japan,” Kimmel said. “I really felt just being there for a few months really helped me get a feel for life there. It gave me a much better view of daily life and daily challenges.”
Before her semester abroad started last fall, Kimmel traveled to Nagoya and took a road trip to Mount Fuji, staying in a lodge atop the mountain where she said the spectacular views made the jet lag worth it. Once classes began, she settled into life in Osaka, exploring her new home city and bonding with her host family over experiences like making hand-rolled sushi together during a special dinner.
Weekend trips to Kyoto, Kobe, and Tokyo taught Kimmel how to use Japan’s complex public transportation system made up of trains, subways, and buses, which she was unfamiliar with. More than once, she admitted she missed the last train, got on the wrong bus, or accidentally waited in the wrong place to be picked up. While stressful, Kimmel said she learned not to panic and to ask locals for help when needed: “Japanese people are very friendly, and in my experience, they will often do their best to help when they can.”
As she finishes up her fifth and final year at Miami, Kimmel said she hopes to work in the hospitality industry in Japan after graduation and that her study abroad helped to further these goals. The classes she took at Kansai Gaidai, like Management Across Cultures and Business Japanese, gave her invaluable insight into managing people from different backgrounds.
Kimmel currently works as a supervisor for a hotel in West Chester with a multicultural team and added that these classes opened her up to different management styles, working styles, and how people receive criticism and praise. She said she’s eager to get a feel for Japanese hospitality and is excited to compare and contrast what she’s learned in the States so she can provide the best experience for guests.
If it’s financially feasible, and works with someone’s course schedule, Kimmel said “everyone should have a study abroad experience” as it opens people to different cultures, lifestyles, and ways of being that are irreplaceable.
“Your study abroad will improve your language skills more than anything else, purely because you’ll be forced to use it,” Kimmel said about speaking Japanese. “There is nothing that compares to being surrounded by the language.”
Kimmel also acknowledged that studying abroad in an unfamiliar country can be intimidating, but to try and push past this initial anxiety: “Even though I had been studying Japanese for years, and I feel like I knew a lot, I was still scared to go there and be on my own with no one I knew. Overcoming that fear of going someplace new and being on your own is really, really useful for the rest of your life.”
Living in Romania with her parents for over a decade cultivated her interest in diverse cultures. At age 12, she discovered YouTube travel videos of Japan and was fascinated by how different the country appeared compared to her own life. From there, she knew she wanted to study Japanese in college, and Miami’s East Asian Languages and Cultures major allowed her to fulfill that. She would end up adding on two other majors: International Studies, to enhance her career prospects, and Hospitality Management, after working at the Marcum Hotel and Conference Center on campus and developing a love for the industry. This triple major supports her plan of building a life and career in Japan.
“One of my main goals for my study abroad was to determine whether or not I could see myself living in Japan,” Kimmel said. “I really felt just being there for a few months really helped me get a feel for life there. It gave me a much better view of daily life and daily challenges.”
Before her semester abroad started last fall, Kimmel traveled to Nagoya and took a road trip to Mount Fuji, staying in a lodge atop the mountain where she said the spectacular views made the jet lag worth it. Once classes began, she settled into life in Osaka, exploring her new home city and bonding with her host family over experiences like making hand-rolled sushi together during a special dinner.
Weekend trips to Kyoto, Kobe, and Tokyo taught Kimmel how to use Japan’s complex public transportation system made up of trains, subways, and buses, which she was unfamiliar with. More than once, she admitted she missed the last train, got on the wrong bus, or accidentally waited in the wrong place to be picked up. While stressful, Kimmel said she learned not to panic and to ask locals for help when needed: “Japanese people are very friendly, and in my experience, they will often do their best to help when they can.”
As she finishes up her fifth and final year at Miami, Kimmel said she hopes to work in the hospitality industry in Japan after graduation and that her study abroad helped to further these goals. The classes she took at Kansai Gaidai, like Management Across Cultures and Business Japanese, gave her invaluable insight into managing people from different backgrounds.
Kimmel currently works as a supervisor for a hotel in West Chester with a multicultural team and added that these classes opened her up to different management styles, working styles, and how people receive criticism and praise. She said she’s eager to get a feel for Japanese hospitality and is excited to compare and contrast what she’s learned in the States so she can provide the best experience for guests.
If it’s financially feasible, and works with someone’s course schedule, Kimmel said “everyone should have a study abroad experience” as it opens people to different cultures, lifestyles, and ways of being that are irreplaceable.
“Your study abroad will improve your language skills more than anything else, purely because you’ll be forced to use it,” Kimmel said about speaking Japanese. “There is nothing that compares to being surrounded by the language.”
Kimmel also acknowledged that studying abroad in an unfamiliar country can be intimidating, but to try and push past this initial anxiety: “Even though I had been studying Japanese for years, and I feel like I knew a lot, I was still scared to go there and be on my own with no one I knew. Overcoming that fear of going someplace new and being on your own is really, really useful for the rest of your life.”
Established in 1809, Miami University is located in Oxford, Ohio, with regional campuses in Hamilton and Middletown, a learning center in West Chester, and a European study center in Luxembourg. Interested in learning more about education abroad opportunities? Visit the website for more information.
