GILROY
– Before she graduated from college in May, Holly Bettencourt
had already seen three continents.
Now, the 22-year-old is preparing to fully experience her fourth
by spending a year in Japan teaching English.
GILROY – Before she graduated from college in May, Holly Bettencourt had already seen three continents.
Now, the 22-year-old is preparing to fully experience her fourth by spending a year in Japan teaching English.
The world traveler, who graduated from Gilroy High School in 2000, looks forward to studying Japanese culture in-depth. At her request for a small town, she’ll be based in Uwa-Cho, on the southern island of Shikoku, the smallest of Japan’s four islands.
“I get to work in a small area and get to really know the culture, rather than just big-town culture,” Bettencourt said. “I’m excited: It will be overwhelming, but it will be a good experience.”
She attended an orientation session with others who have gone through the program and completed a four-week basic Japanese course, learning conversational phrases and classroom etiquette. She’s also making sure her clothing is appropriate – meaning nothing that shows the upper arms.
“I’m basically ready to go,” Bettencourt said. “In the next few weeks, I’ll be spending time with my family, working a little bit.”
She’ll also be completing her scrapbook documenting her travels so far.
Bettencourt caught the travel bug after her freshman year at Santa Clara University. She spent the next summer traveling through Europe, often on her own.
Then, during her junior year, she participated in a foreign exchange program, studying in Australia and living with an Australian family. Her mother, Reneé, joined her over the summer Christmas holiday and the two explored the country’s coast and visited New Zealand.
In her spare time, Bettencourt scrapbooks the pictures, tickets, currency and other momentos from her travels. It’s a project she loves to hate.
“It’s a good way to capture memories, but it’s so time-consuming,” she said. “Once you start scrapbooking, it’s like you have to finish even if you don’t want to. After this, I don’t think I’ll scrapbook ever again.”
As graduation approached this past year, Bettencourt searched for a new adventure.
She considered the Peace Corps before hearing about the program that would allow her to teach in Japan for a year. Although she had never envisioned herself teaching, she was drawn to the country so unlike those she had already seen.
“I was always fascinated with Japan, it was something completely different,” she said.
Bettencourt graduated with honors from Santa Clara University this spring, earning a bachelor’s degree in political science and a minor in religious studies.
Renee said she will miss her daughter, but she’s glad to see her take advantage of a great opportunity.
“I think she should go for it while she’s young,” Renee said. “She’s an independent girl – this is her thing.”
Although Bettencourt is seasoned at familiarizing herself with new places and people, she knows that overcoming “culture shock” this time around could take a little more time.
“(Australia) was English-speaking, so it was really easy to transition to,” she said.
Still, she expects to enjoy Japanese culture even more after immersing herself in it, and foresees having a career that involves putting her Japanese knowledge to use, depending on what opportunities arise in the years to come.
If she chooses, Bettencourt will be able to renew her teaching contract for a maximum of two more years. She said she’s open to staying in Japan through that time, but afterwards will probably lay down roots somewhere in the Western U.S.
“I imagine I’ll be back in the states for quite some time after that,” Bettencourt said. “I think I’ll be a little burnt out on culture shock.”
