August 27, 2007 (Vol. 6, No. 1)

Anthropology Major Returns After Studying in Japan

As a child, Barbara Frohberg was fascinated with Japanese animation and Manga (Japanese comics). This fascination soon grew to include Japanese culture, which Frohberg recently studied close-up—she completed a year-long study-abroad program in Japan, thanks to the Benjamin Gilman Scholarship.

While in Japan, Frohberg stayed with a host family. Her classes were conducted in Japanese, but Frohberg was prepared—at Lehman, she took two semesters of Japanese with Professor Asako Tochika (Languages and Literatures). Her classes in Japan were designed specifically for the Japan and East Asian Studies Study Abroad Program, and she was assigned a Japanese study partner to help with her studies.

"It was a great experience," says Frohberg. "I learned to speak Japanese through intense course study and by speaking with my classmates and the Japanese family I lived with."

Frohberg was also able to travel throughout Japan, which helped strengthen her already strong affection for the country. She attended the Hiroshima Peace Conference cosponsored by Lehman in August 2006 and the Winter Festival in Hokkaido. She also rode the bullet train to Tokyo.

"Living in Japan is so different," she said. "The country is so clean. The people are so different from Americans. I love it there and look forward to returning to visit with my Japanese host family."

An anthropology major, Frohberg is entering her junior year at Lehman. She credits Prof. Tochika's classes with giving her a solid foundation for her study-abroad experience. "In her classes we also learned about the food and got to try various dishes," Frohberg said. "She taught us about the culture and that helped to prevent me from making serious mistakes in etiquette."

Frohberg also credits Prof. Lynne Van Voorhis (Assistant Dean, Office of Transfer, Summer, Weekend, and Study Abroad Programs) for helping her with the application process.

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