SHE DIDN’T KNOW THE LANGUAGE. OR ANYBODY. FOUR MONTHS OVERSEAS AS A JSU SENIOR HAD CHANGED HER. THERE WAS A WHOLE WORLD OUT THERE TO EXPLORE.
By Bette Pearce
Not yet 30 years old, Gabrielle Frazier is part of a young and burgeoning global citizenry. She’s studied in China, taught in Japan and visited some of the great cities of Europe and Asia — London, Paris, Rome and Istanbul.
She’s even taken her parents’ advice to “spread her wings” perhaps more literally than they would have liked, skydiving and bungee jumping during her solo overseas excursions.
“I’ve experienced things I thought I’d never be capable of doing,” says the 2010 Jackson State University graduate, who recently returned to Jackson.
Frazier, who spent four months of her senior year studying in China, credits her alma mater for making available otherwise unexplored opportunities.
“I’d never thought about studying abroad before, but I went for it,” says Frazier, the 28-year-old daughter of Mississippi state Sen. and Mrs. Hillman (Jean) Frazier. “When I got home from China, I wanted more experiences abroad. I caught the travel bug.”
That travel bug led to a three-year stint in Japan as an English teacher through the Japan Exchange and Teacher program.
Japan established the exchange program in the 1980s. About 5,000 individuals worldwide apply each year, with some 1,000 accepted.
Shortly after graduating with a degree in English, Frazier was contacted by JSU’s Career Services Office about the program. “They really do a great job keeping graduates and students abreast of different career opportunities, not just locally but around the world.”
When JET representatives visited campus, “I remember sitting in that meeting and thinking this was just perfect for me. It was a paid position, I would be living on my own, and it just seemed like an adventure that fit well in my life and where I was at the time,” Frazier says.
After a yearlong application process, Frazier was accepted into the JET program. She left for Takasaki only two months after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated large portions of Japan.
Since Takasaki is located in central Japan, about a two-hour train ride from Tokyo, Frazier did not see the devastation that others who would become close friends had lived through. “They are real heroes,” she says.
“These same friends and colleagues,” she says, “were really surprised to learn that I did not speak a word of Japanese.”
“But I got along fine. I took a beginner’s course in Japanese when I got there, and I worked with a Japanese teacher in teaching primary and secondary English. Many Japanese already speak English as a second language.”
Gabrielle Frazier’s solo trips through Europe and Asia include a dive over a waterfall (cover photo) and bungee jumping (below). While teaching in Japan, her parents, state Sen. Hillman and Jean Frazier, of Jackson, take the opportunity to visit and enjoy the customs.
Wanting to experience as much as possible, Frazier used vacation time and holidays for a broad range of “adventures.” In addition to skydiving and bungee jumping over river rapids, she took a plunge off a waterfall; snow skied in the shadow of Mt. Fujiyama; and traveled to cities throughout Europe and Asia.
“I never would have thought about traveling to other countries by myself,” Frazier says. “I learned to have the courage to try different things and experience life to its fullest.”
Frazier made many close friends in Japan, so much so that “Takasaki came to feel like my community,” she says.
“I didn’t have a car, so I rode a bicycle or walked everywhere, as many people in Japan do. I came to feel so connected to the people and the community. When you’re not confined in a car, as we are here, you find yourself striking up conversations with others and getting closer to the people in the community.”
Frazier had the option of extending her stay another two years, but at the end of her third year, she says, she was ready to return to Jackson and to her parents.
Sen. Frazier is both amazed and proud of his daughter.
“When I was her age, a big trip was going to the (Gulf) Coast,” he says. “She went far beyond her small geographical area.”
He’s also noticed a marked maturity. “She grew up fast and has so much to share now,” he says. “It was wonderful seeing her grow and develop an appreciation of other cultures.
“When her mother and I visited her in Japan, we were so impressed at how she navigated through the city. She went there alone, she made many friends, learned the language and became very independent.”
Sen. Frazier adds that a world made smaller by technology — citing regular visits over Skype — eased concerns about their daughter being so far from home.
A longtime member of Mt. Galilee Missionary Baptist Church, Gabrielle Frazier now spends much of her time involved in activities at Word of Life Church in Flowood, which she joined upon her return from Japan.
“It was my family and Mt. Galilee that I thought of often while I was away,” she says. “My faith is very important to me, and I love being involved in my church’s activities.”
As for her future career path, she remains unsure. “It would be nice to find a job that involves traveling … but without God and His support, I have no journey.”