The City of Bright Lights, Tokyo! Past Review
By Jerome W (Japanese, Theology, Hope College) for
IES Abroad: Tokyo - Language & Culture
It was a great experience and it has inspired me to travel more in the future!
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
|
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
While the Japanese course can be challenging depending on the level they place you in, the other classes are just filler. While some are entertaining, they mostly were easy credits. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Very accessible and the leader of the program is a great guy and very helpful. I was very pleased. |
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The school arranges it so everything is set up very well. |
| * Food: |
No problems. |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The program sets up numerous cultural events and I went on the one where we went to a castle. |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
|
| * Safety: |
Japan in general is known to be a very safe place, and this held true for me as well. Although there was one isolated incident otherwise I felt very safe and I feel like the other students did as well. |
| 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) |
|
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I spent around 75.00-150.00 on food and personal expenses. I had a scholarship so I spulrged at times but food and getting around in Tokyo is not cheap at all. If each purchased meal costs 5.00, and you make two meals a day for yourself plus transportation that could easily add up to 10.00 a day and that is a conservative number. This is just an example but my program actually helped with expenses a little and as I said before, it is certainly possible to live very frugally if you wanted to and still enjoy the country. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Do not go crazy your first two weeks. It is probably impossible to avoid buying something the first two weeks or so but I would really recommend waiting atleast a month before you make any huge clothing/electronic purchases because the reality is that you do not lose anything by waiting. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 200 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
|
| Language acquisition improvement? |
I could practice with the buddies assigned to the international students, the students I met while participating in different sports, and also in the international dorm speaking is sometimes neccessary because English is not everyone's first language. In that sense the only way you were not exposed to the language is if you did not want to be. |
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
|
A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Tokyo is great for the party person and the introvert as well. There is truly something for everyone in Tokyo. |
