Immersion in the local culture is the best way to practice a language. Past Review

By A student (East Asian Studies., Brandeis University) - abroad from 01/11/2012 to 04/30/2012 with

Columbia University: Kyoto - Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies / KCJS

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

I gained more confidence in my abilities to speak Japanese and hold a conversation with native speakers. I also made a lot of great friends that I will keep in touch with. I would not trade the experience for anything.

Personal Information

If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here:	Doshisha University
How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	1 month - 6 months

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	the afternoon courses could have been a bit more challenging.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	The administration was good overall and did a great job of managing and adapting to needs/wants of the students, faculty, staff, host families and even the Japanese students that were in our classes.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	I had a great time in my host families house and although we got off to a bit of a rocky start communication wise it was one of my favorite parts of my time abroad.
* Food:	My host mother was a stay at home mom and her cooking was AMAZING. on top of that, pretty much anywhere you go in japan you are bound to find good food.You just have to be willing to go a bit out of your comfort zone from time to time.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	Since my program had a requirement that you actually join a club at the host institution it was easy to feel immersed in the culture. I was in the ballroom dancing club and practiced 6 hours a week with about 20 different students and they became some of my closest friends while abroad and once I returned.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?	information on health care was easily accessible and the instructors made it clear that if we needed anything they were always happy to help (day or night) if we just gave them a call.
* Safety:	Japan in general is a really safe place to be and Kyoto in particular is a very safe city. I mean kindergarten kids ride the train by themselves for over an hour each morning to school and that's perfectly normal so i wouldn't worry too much. Some people were worried about radiation since the earthquake last year but that had very little effect on the kyoto area.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes

Finances

* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget? (1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)	Japan is a very expensive place to live and kyoto is no exception. On top of this the exchange rate was pretty bad while I was there so that did not make the weekly allowance any better to juggle. Overall, I felt like I budgeted enough money and actually had a bit left over so that I could splurge on my spring break but just remember to be aware of the exchange rate and the fact that coins can be worth a lot more when they are in yen than they are in dollars.
* Was housing included in your program cost?	Yes
* Was food included in your program cost?	Yes
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	$150
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	Remember that most coins in Japan are worth a dollar or more and if you are at the arcade your money will go down the drain faster than you can say "Mobile Suite Gundam." Also, the all you can drink and/or eat places (nomihodai and/or tabehodai) are your friends on the weekend and you can get an hour and a half of drinks for roughly $17.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language? 0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language	it was strongly encouraged and the teachers would yell at you if you spoke in English but it is all too easy to fall into the English trap when you are just with other international students for most of the day. This is particularly hard during the spring term during which time most of the Japanese students are on spring break while you are in class and it makes it hard to adjust to using japanese amongst your peers.
How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program?	Intermediate
How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program?	Advanced
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure?	Advanced Japanese conversation and composition
How many hours per day did you use the language?
Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants?	definitely get a language partner (or 2 like in my case) and meet with them as often as possible. Also, do a Community Involvement Project that lets you join a club and get involved in an activity that lets you use the language all the time.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Host Family
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Host Family
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Local Students Americans International Students
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with?	10+

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?	Community Involvement Project Host Family Japanese Class
* What could be improved?	communication between administration and host families more coherent class structure for the afternoon classes more emphasis on speaking only japanese (especially during the spring semester)
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	That kansai-ben (the dialect of Kyoto) is WAY different than any dialect you learn in class and takes a lot of getting used to.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Japanese Politics
Course Department:
Instructor:	Professor Weathers
Instruction Language:	english
Comments:	This course was supposed to be an introductory course to Japanese politics in the post world war 2 era. However, it was taught as though being presented to a graduate level group of students that had significant background in the subject. As a result, most of the first month was a confusing mess of trying to figure out who exactly the major politicians were. I liked the topic of the discussions but the class overall felt like it was lacking a coherent plan and focus. On top of that there were a lot of hard to understand graphs that we were presented in Japanese that even the Japanese students didn't understand.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Medieval History
Course Department:
Instructor:
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	This course could have been more challenging but was a lot of fun overall. It is a once in a lifetime experience to take a course on Medieval Japan in the Medieval capital. We got to visit many famous temples and historical sites as well as talk to several experts on the topics we were studying both in Japanese and in English.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Japanese
Course Department:
Instructor:	Yamaoka
Instruction Language:	Japanese
Comments:	The Japanese classes are always challenging but are also a lot of fun. I really enjoyed the fact that we had a variety of activities to do each day that all helped us learn different aspects of the Japanese language or culture. Some days we would do kanji and reading, others we would focus on grammar and vocabulary and still others we would try to use what we had read in class to further our understanding of Japanese culture. I really enjoyed the Community Involvement Project (CIP) in which each person got to participate in an activity of their choosing every week in order to get immersed in the Japanese language and culture.
Credit Transfer Issues: