Immersing Myself in the History of Shiga Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I took the 2015 "Crossroads of Japan" history-focused program led by Northern Illinois University historian Dr. Taylor Atkins. I took the JCMU Summer Intensive Japanese Language & Culture program in 2014, but as a history major with a focus on Japan, I was ecstatic to learn about this short travel-oriented program! I came in with high expectations, and even then Dr. Atkins and JCMU far exceeded them. Dr. Atkins not only taught the rich history of the Shiga Prefecture area, he literally just brought us to the locations he taught about and lectured on the go. In two weeks, he brought us to a Ninja Village, a historic Japanese castle, ancient temples & shrines, a historic island in the middle of Lake Biwa, a traditional Japanese wares studio, the Lake Biwa Museum, and more! Dr. Atkins was extraordinarily knowledgeable about everything we saw and everywhere we went. He loved to pull us aside frequently just to lecture about all of the things he was showing us. In fact, we came across a few monuments and structures that he did not mean to show us, but since he is fluent and Japanese and immediately recognized what they were, he would sometimes stop us just to talk about what it was. I truly felt like a scholar in the field, out and about to research Japan's past! Questions were not only welcome, but encouraged: though he has been in the field for decades, he treated those of us on the program like his academic equals. He fully considered each and every single one of our ideas with his complete attention, and he always provided thoughtful feedback and support. I was one of only a couple of history majors on the program, but the others not only did very well, Dr. Atkins even loved the contributions they made to our daily discussions since the non-history major's perspectives would be different (but equally valuable) to his own. It was both an extraordinarily enlightening and positive experience. Of course, the program was rigorous! On top of all of the travel and on-the-go lectures we did, we also had an hour every night where we got together in the JCMU lobby to debrief and discuss what we saw, heard, and read. It was here where Dr. Atkins merely guided our questions and conversations rather than commanding them. He valued our own thoughts and did not want to sway them in any way, so he acted less as a tyrannical teacher and more as a conversation participant himself. Because of this, I feel like every single person on the program deeply engaged with the content, and we all (instructor included) learned an unbelievable amount over the course of just 2 weeks.

On-site administration of your program

All of the paperwork and administrative tasks were explained to me clearly, and there were multiple staff members available in both the U.S. and directly on their campus in Hikone to help me right away whenever anything came up. I honestly wasn't expecting the high level of support I got from a study abroad program - it put my mind at ease. For this program in particular, Dr. Atkins worked together with the staff as well to make sure that our schedules were clearly stated, transportation plans were made, and more. It made it very easy to focus on the program's content.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The housing was the best! JCMU has their own dorms that we stayed in. I had my own private bedroom with a study desk, a closet, and a large amount of storage space. In addition, I only had to share our room's kitchen and bathroom with one other person. The kitchen was fully stocked and came with all of the appliances I needed to cook my own Japanese food (including a rice cooker, a must for Japanese cooking). Rooms were adequately cleaned - there were knicks here and there, but I mean, these are rooms used by dozens of other past students, so I wasn't expecting anything brand new. There were the occasional bugs and spiders every now and then, but you can't exactly escape that no matter where in the world you live. That being said, the dorms at JCMU still far exceeded my expectations!

Eating sushi and ramen in Japan has ruined my appetite for the same foods in the U.S. - even budget versions of Japanese food in Japan far surpass the quality of their expensive U.S. counterparts. Plenty of delicious places to eat in the area! Not to mention, since we had our own kitchen, we could just make our own food as well. There was a large grocery store within a 5-10 minute bike ride of JCMU, so I was never short on options.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Since we were out and about all the time, were were always connecting with different aspects of the area's culture and society. From meeting up with traditional Japanese weavers to saying "hi" to a group of adorable middle school students, I truly felt like I belonged in the Shiga community.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I never had any issues abroad, but the support and information was readily available should I have needed to take advantage of it.

Japan is already a safe country, but since JCMU had a large on-site staff ready to act in case of emergency, I always felt very comfortable going out and about.

This was my third time studying abroad in Japan, and I think it was also the most amazing experience I've had as well! From Dr. Atkins' wonderful instruction to all of the new sites we explored and considered, I can't think of a single thing I would change about the course.

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

Hikone life was comparable budget-wise to my life in Lansing. Some grocery items were more in Japan, some were less, but all-in-all it averaged to about the same. Kitchens, bikes, and other resources were provided, which meant that we could save money by biking around and cooking our own meals. To top it off, included in your program fees are all of the transportation/admission costs of getting into all of the various places your instructor takes you to. This means that when Dr. Atkins took us all to all of the amazing places he took us to (Ninja Village, Chikubu Island, historic castles/temples/shrines, and more), it was all covered by JCMU! For our program, even some of the lunches were covered as well - bonus~

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• Dorm

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• Americans
• International Students

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• Americans
• International Students

• Course content
• Travel-oriented
• Inexpensive

• Nothing I can think of!

The Academic or Linguist