Syed Pursues Environmentalism in Japan
Upper Malobika Syed breathed a sigh of relief as she sat down around her host’s Chabudai—a traditional short-legged dinner table common in many parts of Japan. That afternoon, she had harvested carrots from the soils of the Nanae prefecture and peeled hundreds of garlic roots. With her back aching and her feet sore, you might imagine that the native New Yorker was ready to hit the sack (literally). In reality, she was so thrilled by the prospect of authentic Japanese cuisine that rest was the farthest thing from her mind. She smiled excitedly when the food was laid out before her.
“I got to see firsthand how my food got on my plate, from picking crops to actually cooking what I grew, which was very rewarding.”
Summer vacation can be a time for self-exploration. For Syed, that meant going on a trip to Japan to gain new experiences, like meditating in a temple under a monk’s supervision and delving deeper into her interest in environmentalism. “Going to Japan has been a long-term dream of mine, and I did so many new things while I was abroad,” Syed said.
Syed was able to travel to Japan through the Student Diplomacy Corps (SDC), a program that provides summer education scholarships for high school students with the hope of building college readiness and deepening understanding of global issues. As the site says, SDC aims to “unleash the potential and creativity of youth.”
Syed was certainly able to do that on her trip, which was aptly named “Sushi Dreams and Sustainability—Food for Thought.” Her trip started off with an orientation in Tokyo, where she was immediately thrown into modern Japanese culture. Using some previous knowledge of Japanese, she could navigate the city and practice her language skills at sites such as the shops of Harajuku, Ueno Park and the Tsukiji fish market. She also visited attractions such as the Shibuya Crossing, and a maid café, where waitresses dress as maids and act as servants to customers.
Syed went on to live at a temple for three days to practice mediation, an experience she found a sharp contrast to her time at Exeter. “I didn’t have as many responsibilities, and the only thing I had to be on time for was meditation,” Syed said. Along with her group, she would meditate at 5:30 in the morning and once again at 7:00 p.m. “The act of meditating was surprisingly difficult. I had to sit still for thirty minutes, and if the monk caught me fidgeting, he’d beat me on the back with a bat. I remember during our last meditation at the temple, the lower part of my body fell asleep; I had to really focus on my breathing to prevent movement. Although it was hard, meditating did instill a sense of patience in me.”
Syed also attended lectures on environmentalism at Tokyo City University. She explained how the talks showed her the value of plant-based eating. “At the university, we learned about the resources put into the production of food and ultimately concluded that since meat, especially red meat, needs a lot more water to be produced, it is more sustainable to eat lower on the food chain,” Syed said.
Before traveling to Japan, Syed fueled her desire to learn more about environmentalism through articles, but she felt that she learned more through her hands-on experience working at a farm. “I got to see firsthand how my food got on my plate, from picking crops to actually cooking what I grew, which was very rewarding,” she said. “The biggest lesson I learned from the trip was to respect not only my food, but also the work that goes into preparing it.”
The final part of the trip’s itinerary was a homestay at a modern Japanese household. “My family was so accommodating. They offered me food all the time and took me out to local parks and restaurants,” Syed recounted. The trip concluded with a flight back to Los Angeles, from where Syed had originally departed four weeks earlier. For Syed, her time in Japan will always be a highlight of her high school experience.