An exciting adventure with a lot of beautiful, serene moments. Past Review
By A student (Eastern Illinois University) - abroad from 01/17/2017 to 05/28/2017 with
Kansai Gaidai University: Hirakata - Asian Studies Program
Interestingly, I felt a pretty strong spiritual connection to the historical monuments and temples especially. Living in Japan (despite naturally encountering daily stressors) gave me a really wonderful peaceful feeling. Also, I learned a lot about the culture and their art, finding inspiration from my experiences and Japanese aesthetics. One of the most important things I think I gained though was a connection to my peers living across the globe. So it was absolutely worthwhile because I loved the local students.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Living in Japan for 5 months, I felt pretty comfortable around the locals and became pretty familiar with navigation. However, something important to me was making friends with local students. I wasn't aware that they'd be on break for two months once we got there. So when they came back I didn't have much time to spend with the kids I befriended. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I didn't get sick even once while I was there. However, the people on campus and at the drugstores were very helpful, although I'd suggest having some keywords beforehand when searching for specific things in case the store clerks don't have a very high level of English. |
| * Safety: |
Besides being stared at often due to an obviously foreign appearance. There was never a time I felt endangered. Although, I was almost always with a friend when I was walking around . |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I think for my situation at the time, this program suited all of my needs. If I go to study in Japan again. I'd probably enroll directly into a specialty art school though. KGU just doesn't have enough art studio options for me to justify going back for major. |
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) |
Granted my roomate and I were splitting most of our expenses, but our food and personal expenses didn't seem very costly at all. Although in Japan you can't really buy foods in bulk and the more familiar products like peanut butter and jams were packaged small and costly in comparison. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I believe I spent about $100 dollars each week. (Excluding weekend trips and vacation time) |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Some of the other international students I befriended were good about budgeting themselves. Allowing themselves calculated splurges. I think it'd be important to have an awareness of the difference in currency value and approximate price of basic necessities before visiting the country. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Second |
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Exchange |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | The local students have a trimester, so at the start of the spring semester for international students, local students immediately go on winter break for two months. Also, pocket change in Japan is really useful and public restrooms don't often have paper towels or hand dryers. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
