University of Wisconsin Oshkosh alumni Melanie (Stepanek) Cross ’10 and her husband, Eric Cross ’07, of Oshkosh, traveled to Japan for an exploratory trip in August. The couple spent 12 days touring different cities and catching up with friends.
“We went to Tokyo first,” said Cross, the public relations and social media director in the UW Oshkosh Admissions Office. “Then, we flew down to Fukuoka, and we took a train to Hiroshima. And then we went back to Tokyo for a few days at the end.”
During their time in Japan, the Crosses also enjoyed sightseeing with former exchange students Hiroshi Sunada and Shiori Yamaguchi, who the couple had hosted in Oshkosh a few years ago.
Cross and her husband also visited alumnus Tom Hanaway ’11, who is working as the social media manager and web editor for The Japan Times.
Hanaway said he moved to Tokyo earlier this year and has been enjoying his experience living abroad.
“Living abroad means learning something new every single day, and I love that,” Hanaway said. “After college, I really missed simply learning, and living abroad has filled that void.”
In 2010, he studied abroad in Japan as part of the USA Summer Camp, an English teaching program available to UWO students, which inspired him to want to live abroad.
“It was some of the most exciting moments of my life up until that point,” he said. “I didn’t want that to be the last time experiencing a foreign culture for an extended period of time.”
Hanaway also attributes his inspiration to live abroad to his friends and professors. He said having friends who lived abroad, along with his professors’ encouragement, confirmed he needed to make the move.
“I had friends who lived in Australia and South Korea,” Hanaway said. “When I heard about their travels and adventures, I longed again for the days where every day was something unexpected and something fresh.”
Although he lives abroad, there are some things he does miss about home … his family, friends and, especially, American foods.
“Japan is out of the loop about a lot of delicious items,” he said. “… And although they’re trying, the selection of cheese here is sad enough to make a Midwestern boy cry.”
Cross said it was interesting to see how things were similar and different in Japan compared with America. She shared the example of how people in the states embrace small talk, but people in Japan primarily keep to themselves.
Hanaway credits UWO for molding him into a professional and preparing him for the real-world. He said the University’s journalism department taught him the skills he uses daily in his career like writing, editing and website development.
“My four years at Oshkosh were some of the best of my life,” Hanaway said. “At UW Oshkosh, students really have the chance to stand out and become part of the Oshkosh community.”
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