Everything is "Totes Daijoubs" Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Would have been 5 stars had it not been for the English-spoken elective classes that they offered during my stay.

On-site administration of your program

The administration was excellent in dealing with student's problems and worries, particularly those dealing with host family issues, obtaining a "foreigners identification card," and extra-curricular inquiries. Personally I thought they could have been a little more organized in helping students obtain train passes. They left Doshisha University students to help us and take us to our designated train station, but due to a slight language barrier and manner differences, minor complications arose amongst a few students afterwards dealing with renewing a train pass, or knowing how to use it adequately. For the most part, however, they were well prepared to help a student with anything legal, scholastic, or medical.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I chose a homestay, which ended up becoming a key part to my abroad experience. I felt very fortunate, however, since my family was familiar with American culture as they have traveled to the U.S. multiple times. They had set up my room with an actual bed and air conditioning, along with a rack on which to hang my clothes with hangers, a desk, a chair, a small bookcase with drawers, a clothes basket, and plenty of blankets. Keep in mind it was still in a traditional Japanese house, so the door was a paper sliding door, and the walls were very thin; I felt like I could have easily punched through the wall. I was again fortunate to not have a curfew, but it was a common concept amongst other students, especially females. If not, then telling your host parents what time you were going to be home was a necessity. In other words, if you are a college student getting used to the freedom your own apartment or dorm provides you, get ready to fall back into a schedule for bed and dinner, since showing respect to your host family by being timely and prepared is vital. Always know that a host family requires work on both ends; you and your family need to meet halfway between the cultural divide and respect each other's needs and space. My family really wanted to get to know me, so I had to open up quite a bit to them. My host mother was adamant about me telling her what foods I really wanted, although I am not a picky eater. Sometimes a family might seem pushy, and sometimes they will just let you do your own thing. The key is to find a balance. That being said, I was invited to go skiing with my host dad and brother at a place three hours away driving. Then I was invited to a traditional Japanese hotel by my host mother where they served nothing but delicious crab. Although a host family WILL limit your freedom to some extent while you are abroad, there are also great benefits and amazing experiences you can have with a family if you just open yourself up to them.

All of the food was amazing, though again, I am not a picky eater. From conveyor sushi to crab to the school's cafeteria food to raw horse meat, you can find a little bit of everything during your stay if you're interested enough. Naturally, everyone ate at Doshisha's cafeteria during the first few weeks, but as time progressed, everyone became a little more daring. A few of my friends found a "lunch passport" at a nearby bookstore that contained a huge variety of lunches offered at different restaurants and cafes each for only 500 yen ($5). This created the "passport group" which would go to a different place every day for lunch. I joined them every now and then, depending on where they were going. There were two cafeterias to choose from, although one of them closed during the Japanese spring holiday, which lasts around a month. Food offered throughout the semester at the cafeterias included ramen, udon, soba, omelette rice, taco rice, kimchi, and donburi. There's also a curry place, a thai place, a burger place (MOS burger), and many cafes around the immediate area of Doshisha. You just have to get out and try stuff! You might end up eating kangaroo like I did.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Integration requires a lot of hard work on your part. Sure, there's the Community Involvement Project (CIP) required by KCJS, which demands that each student find something to do at least once a week that either involves helping the community or learning a new skill, but how deep are you willing to go? I volunteered at a community center for my CIP in which I had to do office type work and map out seating arrangements. Although it may not sound TOO exciting, I did end up talking to my Japanese supervisors and even some guests they had whenever I had the chance. Not only did this give me more opportunities to practice my Japanese, my scope on Japanese society increased a little more with each new person met. There are also community events you can sign up for, one of which some of us got to dress up in kimonos for a day and make arts and crafts with other Japanese people. There is also the Japanese friend program.. thing. Where you can sign up to be paired with a Japanese student and then coordinate with them when you just want to... well, talk with them. It is not as blind as you think, however. We were given a list with no names, but with a description written by the students themselves explaining their interests, hobbies, majors, and other miscellaneous info. We all got to choose a person we wanted as our partner, but if two or more people chose the same person, it was first come first served. Personally, I was nervous when I first met my partner. I did not know whether to mostly use English or Japanese as he was learning English himself, but we settled on a nice mix of both to help each other. In the end, I applaud this part of the program, as my partner and I became extremely close, and I am still in contact with him in Facebook. I invited him to many weekend outings, including one school field trip. He taught me the true meaning of settling cultural differences. I do not know what my abroad experience would have been without him. Needless to say, this system is also hit and miss, as some students ended up seeing their partner only a few times, if at all. Just know that you need to put in some effort. Friends don't make themselves.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

My clumsy self somehow managed to trip on an up-moving escalator. Don't ask me how. Just know that this resulted in my knee being pierced by the metal "teeth" of the escalator step, and a bit of blood loss. Thankfully, the administration and my host mother helped me find a nearby clinic, in which they cleaned the wound, bandaged me up, took an X-ray, gave me a knee brace, and prescribed me pain medication all for the price of $25. That's right. It really is that cheap over there. The nurses and the doctor were all very nice too. Despite being a slightly small clinic, their English knowledge was not too bad and certainly helped when our Japanese conversation became full with medical jargon that was a bit difficult for me to understand. Relax. You are in good hands.

Japan certainly does earn the title of being a virtually crime-free country. I felt completely safe walking 10 minutes from the train station to my house alone at 12am. There weren't even very many main roads either. Now, there was a time our group of friends was being bothered by a seemingly drunk Japanese grown man. He turned out to be a bit bothersome for quite a while, and not many natives are willing to shake them off themselves, let alone you. It is a very safe country, but dangerous moments can happen, so be prepared. Remember that Japanese people are still not quite used to seeing foreigners around, so anything can still happen if you stick out physically. Women, this includes uncomfortable train groping. Yes, it does happen. Be prepared.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Japan is a costly country. One train ride alone can end up costing you $2, and you will be using the train a lot during your stay. Food is all right, but like always there's cheap places to eat and there's nice places to eat. Overall though food was on the cheaper end. Clothes are very expensive, but Uniqlo had pretty good prices and sizes appropriate for foreigners. Remember that sizes over there are generally smaller. Try getting one size larger than you're used to first. Movies are around $15. Karaoke can be quite cheap if you're not getting in after 7pm, which actually happens most of the time....

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

There is indeed a contract encouraging you to speak the language constantly, or at least inside the building that the program is situated in. Though we spoke Japanese inside the building and around teachers, we spoke English perhaps more than I care to admit. I did have my language partner, my CIP, and my homestay however, so my day was filled with a great amount of every-day Japanese.

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

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• Local Students
• Americans

• The Japanese language classes. They are they best Japanese classes with the finest teachers. You WILL have fun.
• FOOD
• The friends I met along the way.

• Electives classes
• A few structural points during the orientation process

The Avid Adventurer