Can you compare Tokyo to Bialystok?
Yes, you can. In Bialystok people are more open - says Patryk Yamaguchi, a student of the first year at the Faculty of Medicine at Medical University of Bialystok, who has been living for 18 years in the Japan’s capital city and now he studies with Polish students.
Patrick Yamaguchi graduated from high school in Tokyo and has friends, colleagues and family there. His mother is Polish, she comes from the area of Grajewo (Podlaskie voivodeship). It was there, where he visited his grandmother two times before graduation and in fact these were his only two contacts with Poland.
" I did not even learn Polish, because it was such a short trip," she says in Polish and he speaks almost like a native.
When he was 18 , he came to Poland and stayed for good. He dreamed of college. However, the Japanese matriculation exam is not recognized in our country. Therefore, in two years he learned Polish and passed the Polish high school final examination “matura”. The next step was to study pharmacy at the Medical University of Bialystok.
"In Japan, pharmacist is a very good profession," he explains.
However, he stopped the pharmacy studies during the second year and decided to start medicine at the Faculty of Medicine also at Medical University of Bialystok.
- I liked pharmacy, but medical studies attracted me even more.
How do you find studying medicine?
- It's hard because there is a lot of learning. Sometimes I have language difficulties. I do not mean everyday words, but specialized medical vocabulary. English translation does not always help either - he says.
In Japan, a doctor is as good profession as a pharmacist. The average salary is about 5 thousand dollars per month. However, it is considered as decent earnings when you make about 7 thousand dollars or more. It is worth adding that the cost of living in Japan is about 10 times higher than in Bialystok.
Tokyo and Bialystok.
In terms of infrastructure, city transport or lifestyle, there is no comparison between the two cities. These are two very distant worlds.
- Tokyo lives around the clock. Everything works at any time of the day or night. The city can be easily reached by train or subway. Even if I fancy to go out for coffee or something to eat at 3 in the morning, I would not have any problem with it.
There is also the other side of the coin. As Patryk says, although Japanese people are very hardworking people, they do not like to maintain social contacts after work.
- Corporate employees go out together for a drink or a beer. However, this is rather treated as part of their work. In Bialystok it is very different. Here people are more open to each other.
It is Interesting that before starting his studies at UMB, Patryk did not know much about Bialystok. But he knew that the Medical University had a good reputation.
- I was not interested in studies in Warsaw or Gdańsk. I know that these are bigger cities, but there is also more competition between students, and universities do not have such good reputation like UMB. I like my life in Bialystok. Everything is close together. The campus can be reached in a few minutes on foot or by bike- he explains.
-The nearest airport is in Warsaw. This is not a problem at all. By train you can get there in a little over two hours, by bus in three to four hours.
In order to stay in touch with family and friends from Japan he uses Skype every day and during vacations he visits them .
Culture or cuisine are not a problem either- I love Polish food. The beetroot soup is the most delicious.
Low temperatures in winter are no trouble. Although in Tokyo, when it is 0 ° C it is said to be very cold (snow is a rarity), in northern Japan (Hokkaido) winters are similar to those in Poland.
- Bialystok is a small town, but big enough for comfortable life. Residents are very open, willing to talk with you. And when they find out I'm from Japan, they are very curious. It's very nice.
- What I like the most about the university is that it is located in the historic palace. Especially in the evenings, when the building is highlighted, it looks very impressive.
Patryk does not know yet which medical specialization he will choose. For now - he jokes - depending on the type of classes he finishes, such specialization he wants to take.
Interestingly, Patryk does not think about leaving Poland after graduation.
"I have spent a lot of time in different countries other than Poland. I have my own experiences. Maybe it is that I no longer have to look for what young people are looking for, or Poles who want to work abroad.
