For two years, I worked as a Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer in Ghana working on AIDS countermeasures. After I returned, I became a Kyushu Overseas Cooperation Volunteer and worked on a developmental education assistance project.During my project, I reviewed my two years of experience as a volunteer and decided to go back to school because I wanted to work in the field of international health again. My background is not the medical field, so it is a brand new experience for me to learn about tropical aspects of such fields as medicine,
epidemiology, and medical anthropology. It is also a great opportunity for me to consider the health problems of
developing countries from various angles. I greatly appreciate every day with enthusiastic teachers who are willing to listen to my concerns for hours and also appreciate spending time in school with classmates from various backgrounds. In the second year, a long‐term internship and research are included in the curriculum. My hope is to work in Africa again, so I would like to work hard in acquiring knowledge from classes during the first year and put it to use in practice.