Past Review
By Lily Y (Japanese Language and Literature., The University of Texas at Austin) for
IES Abroad: Tokyo - Language & Culture
My study abroad experience was not what I had expected. I was tricked into thinking the school I would be attending would be in Tokyo but it was in Chiba. This led to me spending more money on transportation to go into Tokyo and also not being able to stay out longer than 11pm or i would not make the last train to my home when people who live in tokyo have a last train til at least 1am. Overall I the customer serivce was great and people are very polite. There were many interesting events and places.
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | Kanda University for International Students |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I feel that I would have almost learned nothing if it was not in Japan surrounded by the language. We spent a week of class basically an hour and a half each day to practice a speech in class, which is about 10hrs of class time practicing on a speech we could have practiced at home. I feel that the Japanese program at UT Austin is far greater in teaching expect that during classes at Meikai it was necessary to speak japanese because the teacher do not understand english very well, or so they say. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
My expectiations were not met. I was throughly disappointed with the work content of the Japanese class. Taking an hour and a half to learn 7 Kanji words does not seem time efficient. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Higashi matsudo, Leo Palace <br /><br /> the apartment was a 15-20minute walk to the train station but it was nice because I did not have to change trains to get to school. |
| * Food: |
quantity of food is smaller than the states, and the price of food is greater in Japan. I got use to not eating as much as I did in the States. They have places that sell american food, like mcdonalds and alot of pasta restaurants for those that do not like japanese food. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I had a good time touring and visiting historical places in japan. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
japan is overall a safe country. Not many murders occur. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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Finances
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* 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) |
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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | If you plan to stay in Japan longer than a month open up a japanese bank account. It'll be easier to take out money from your account anywhere and there is no transaction fee. I had bank of america and I could only get money out at 7-11 atms and the post office. It also charged me $10 transaction fee for every 10000yen i took out. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 412K |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Sign up for an E-pal. Some students do not ever hang out with their e-pal but in some cases e-pals become really good friends and introduce you to more japanese students and allow you to experience more of japan. Yes, speaking japanese was needed everyday. Most japanese people understand alittle bit of english. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | If possible try to go to Sophia University. Meikai is a good school but the program did not live up to my expectation. Also, Sophia is actually in Tokyo, Meikai says it's in tokyo but it's actually in Chiba. Which takes at least an hour by train to get to shinjuku or shibuya. |
