Valentina Orbanicさん（リエカ大学 第5学年次）

It all started when I applied for the students exchange program in Japan in January　2019. I will never forget the moment when I received the e-mail that I was chosen between other students to go for a month exchange this summer. I was so happy and I really didn't know what to expect.

My journey started on 16th of August when I came to Osaka. The driver took me and two my colleagues from Croatia to Mukogawa to meet Ms. Kyoko Torii, who is a very nice person. She took us to the house in which we stayed next four weeks and the next morning she explained us how this exchange works. I was staying at the department of Oral and Maxillofacial surgery. The first person who I met from the department was doctor Yoshimitsu Takahashi, a very young, but talented and good doctor. He was very kind because he was always answering to my questions and there were a plenty of them. He also gave me the team picture with the names of all people working at the department in order to learn easier their names.

The next person I met was Prof. Kishimoto, my mentor from who I learned a lot of. He organised for me a welcome party which was very nice and I had an opportunity to try different type of Japanese food.

However, the best doctor and a really great implantologist with a bright future ahead of him in implantology is doctor Joji Tamaoka. I will never forget him and thank you very much to him for letting me assist him during his operations and also for taking me to a private clinic to watch implant operation which was done by the famous doctor Nosaka.

I want to say also thank you to Prof. Noguchi who gave me the opportunity to operate for the first time in my life, it was such a great experience. Also, thank you to doctors Masumi, Miho and Bando who taught me how to suture only using my hands. Honestly it wasn't easy, but I made it.

Actually, the life in Japan wasn't only the life at department. We had free weekends during which we were travelling all around Japan. We had visited some of the biggest cities in Japan as Kyoto, Kobe, Nara, Osaka, Hiroshima and Tokyo. We had a really great time and we experienced Japanese culture.

For the end I want to say that I Iearned a lot of from this experience I have made new friendships and I will return to Japan for sure in the future. And thank you very much to Hyogo College of Medicine and my Medical School of Rijeka.