Hello! My name is Reina Nishigaki ( in Chinese Character, 西垣玲奈). I am an exchange student from Japan and I’m going to stay here for a year. My major at my university in Japan is Law, mostly because I am interested in international laws. I became interested in this topic when I learned about the important roles of international laws for international relations and issues, especially issues of East Asia. To comprehend the international laws, I need to know more about international perspectives and perspectives from other fields. By acquiring a comprehensive basic knowledge, I’m able to study international laws from a multi-faceted viewpoint to further enhance my research. So, I would like to learn Political Science, International Studies, East Asia Societies and of course English, at UO. I’m not good at English, so please teach me English!

In my free time, I like playing tennis, exercising and listening to music. I often listen to K-pop songs. I like Korean and Chinese culture. I visited Korea this summer. I went to Gyeongbokgung wearing a hanbok. I had a great time in Korea. Next time, I would like to go to China.

I’m interested in the international relationships among China, Korea and Japan. They have similar culture, but nowadays the international relationship among them is not good because of historical problems. Especially, regarding Japan and Korea, it is said that they are mutually “close but distant countries”. I really want to solve the tension between them and improve their international relationship. Therefore, I’d like to learn about these issues in terms of not only international laws, but also history and politics.

So far, I enjoy this class. It is especially interesting to learn the history behind the Japanese language from the viewpoint of an American university student, because there are a lot of things I didn’t know, even though my first language is Japanese. I think the teaching method in this class is effective. Using iClickers is new for me, but it is helpful to know which part of the lesson that I don’t understand. Also, the readings and quizzes before class helps me to prepare for the lesson. Since there are so many technical terms, reading is a little challenging for me. However, the contents are very interesting. I look forward to learning more about East Asia!