Study Abroad in Japan! Past Review
By Erin B (ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE/LETTERS., Towson University) for
Kansai Gaidai University: Hirakata - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
Absolutely.
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. |
Not too different. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
CIE Office was very intimidating, and mostly staffed with Japanese people, where as the professors were mostly American or from another English-speaking country. This was somewhat confusing for internationa students trying to get help from the office. |
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Housing is surprisingly far from the campus, and the rules are very strict. Also, the managers of the property often did not speak very good English, relying instead of their RAs to handle things. |
| * Food: |
Plan on cooking most of your own meals, because there are very few restaurants that cater to the traditional college student schedule. |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Stuff! |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
|
| * Safety: |
Stuff! |
| 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 had a budget of 650 dollars per month for food and 500 dollars for other expenses. This worked out fine. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Bring as muc in cash or checks as possible - banks will kill you with foreign transaction fees. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 101 |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
Japan has a high level of English literacy, but spoken English is rare outside of the ducational environment. This was frequently frustrating and difficult to handle, because the university offered little to no help with activities outside of the school grounds. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
|
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Exchange |
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 did you like most about the program? |
|
| * What could be improved? |
|
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Love, Sex and Death in Noh, Kabuki, and Bunraku |
| Course Department: | ??? |
| Instructor: | Lyle Barkhymer |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Fantastic Course! A good balance of lecture, audio-visual material, class discussion, and field trips. What a way to get involved with the culture! |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | None so far. |
