Nagoya resident Elisa Montiel-Welti, a Mexican researcher at Kyoto's Doshisha University, first came to Japan in 2002 as an exchange student to study international relations.
"I had very little knowledge about Asia as, growing up in Mexico, I had been influenced mainly by American and European cultures," she says. "I was curious about the country and Japan was certainly a new challenge."
Initially, she was interested in an Asian Studies course at Kansai Gaidai University, close to Kyoto, but once in the country, she came across what she calls "a fascinating new field": overseas aid. Largely funded by the Japanese government, Montiel-Welti says she was surprised by the size and scope of the programs. She then went back to Mexico for two years before returning to specialize in international development at Doshisha. After completing her degree, she chose to stay longer, completing a Ph.D. and then becoming a researcher.