Hello, 你好, こんにちは! My name is Sarai and I'm fundraising specifically for my ethnographic fieldwork research project for this summer (June & July) in Tokyo, Japan! I am an undergad (junior) at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, UT and am a double major: my primary is Mandarin Chinese and my secondary is Sociocultural Anthropology. For my anthro major, I am required to complete field school research.

My Research Project

Because of my particular interest/area of expertise in Chinese culture and language, my project aims to center around Japanese and Chinese/Taiwanese relations. Specifically, I will be researching racism and marginalization affecting Chinese/Taiwanese immigrants in Tokyo by Japanese individuals. I plan on conducting the majority of my research in both Tokyo and Yokohama, as well as places of particular importance to Chinese/Japanese relations such as the Yasukuni Shrine.

Main research questions: What does racism mean to Japanese/Chinese/Taiwanese people? What do they view as discrimination? How does this discrimination manifest itself in everyday experiences? What do they wish would change?

Cost Breakdown

Education and Career Goals

As part of my primary Chinese major, I plan on participating in the Chinese Flagship program. Flagship is a US Government program seeking to promote using what they deem as 'critical languages' in professional environments. The end goal of Flagship is to complete a ~5-month semester of direct-enrollment study abroad in Taiwan followed by a ~4-month internship in the student's field of education/expertise. Especially through BYU, many students achieve high-levels of professional language. In doing Flagship through BYU, I also plan to achieve my Master's of Arts in Professional Language.

Ultimately in my career, I aim to work in a diplomatic capacity on behalf of the US in East Asian relations with special area expertise in China. My research will help me gain valuable experience and knowledge to implement throughout my professional life. As preparation for the field school, I've been doing my best to learn Japanese using both DuoLingo and part-time Japanese instructors at the LDS MTC (as of 1/25/23 I have a 166 day streak on Duolingo!).

Me as a Student

I currently have a 3.67 GPA and am enrolled in 16-credits. The lowest grade I've ever achieved was a B in Chinese 301 during my 19-credit Fall '22 semester while also working 20 hours a week. I am an incredibly diligent student and love learning all that I possibly can. I also suffer from a chronic illness (lazily labeled as chronic neuro-migraines) which often prevents me from performing to the best of my ability but I am more than determined and motivated to not let that define my success.

I have worked as a Resident Assistant for the three years I have been at BYU. I love being able to help people with a variety of problems: physical, social, mental illnesses, etc. The downside of this is that I do not take home much as most of my pay is taken out to pay for room and board. I have also applied to many scholarships and funding sources from my college but it is an incredibly competitive environment.

Thank you!

I cannot express how much your consideration means to me. I think these sorts of experiences are part of what can make a college experience so great and memorable! I look forward to learning, growing, and maturing in my field school :)