As an old saying goes: “When in Rome.” In other words, when going on a new adventure, don’t be afraid to try new things. 

Sophomore Davin Huynh is no stranger to this advice. He moved to Japan before returning to America after six years to begin his freshman year of high school.

Huynh was born and raised in America until he was eight years old when he and his family first moved to the Kanagawa Prefecture in Sagamihara, Japan.

“My parents are engineers who work for the American government, and they had to go on an overseas assignment to Japan,” Huynh said. “I got to live on a military base for the whole time we were there.”

While staying in Japan, Huynh received a thorough education, alternating between an American school inside the prefecture and a local Japanese school. While staying at these schools, Huynh and his peers were under pressure to excel. Preparing for these classes shaped Huynh’s studying habits and work ethic.

“Since everybody has a high standard, it makes everybody do better in school, but it also puts a lot of stress on people,” Huynh said. “Overall, everybody’s pretty smart.”

Despite how strict the classroom environment was for Huynh, people were very accepting of him and the language barrier that he faced.

“I developed a lot of new friends very quickly, and they were always willing to help me,” Huynh said.

While Huynh was not expecting to love Japan, it became just as much of a home to him as America. However, he had to quickly adapt to his surroundings before being able to succeed.

“I had to go from not knowing any Japanese in elementary school to being fluent by middle school,” Huynh said.

The transition from being an outsider to being part of Japanese culture was fairly independent for Huynh.

“My parents helped me to a degree,” Huynh said, “but it was mostly about me adapting to the new school system without them around to help me.”

Part of the new education system was the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, which Huynh took during his eighth grade year in Japan. This test must be taken by all foreigners; without it, they would not find jobs. Because of this and the fact that Huynh did not know how long he and his family would be there, the sooner he took it, the better.

“I tested in Tokyo on a massive college campus and there were thousands of foreigners there,” Huynh said.

The JLPT is taken at different levels and, despite having been in Japan for only a few years, Huynh passed the test that took place at the highest level, which is N1.

“Most of the people taking that test were adults,” Huynh said. “It made me even more proud that I passed it, because I had to go through a long journey to get there.”

Being able to speak Japanese fluently is something that Huynh enjoys immensely, and he is thrilled whenever he has the opportunity to speak Japanese in America and English in Japan.

“Whenever I switch between the two languages, I think in a different way,” Huynh said. “Sometimes my personality shifts when I communicate in Japanese compared to when I speak in English.”

Because of his bilingual skill, his intelligence, and his athleticism, the future holds many opportunities for Huynh, both locally and abroad. As he continues his journey, he will decide what he wants to pursue.

“I’m going to finish high school here in America,” Huynh said, “After that, who knows?”