Japan: Strange and Wonderful Past Review
By Max P (PSYCHOLOGY., Illinois State University) for
Kansai Gaidai University: Hirakata - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
Being in Japan and making Japanese friends were incredible. I learned that the American way of life is not the only one, and it is perhaps not the best one. I learned to take more risks, and I gained a surprising amount of self-confidence.
Personal Information
| 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. |
The language classes (spoken and written Japanese) had a higher workload than I anticipated. To be honest, there were several homework assignments that I left untouched in order to free up more time for sightseeing. I don't regret it. There were so many assignments that a few missed did not greatly affect my grade. In the lecture classes (taught by American professors), there was a similar amount of nightly reading assignments, but my professors did not always expect students to have read them, especially has they noticed their students getting lazier as the semester progressed. Had I done every assignment in all my classes, I would have had only a small amount of free time on the weekends. I feel that most of the exchange students put in a similar amount of work as myself. That is, doing about 85-90% of the Japanese work and 40-60% of the lecture readings. I would never treat classes at my home university so casually, but it seemed almost expected at Gaidai as most exchange students prioritized traveling over schoolwork. Overall, I would say that the Japanese teachers were very serious about their work. They had high expectations of students and gave individual attention as needed. My lecture professors were all fascinating people with a lot of interesting personal input about Japanese culture. I know that some were better than others though, as I heard complaints from some other students. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
There was always someone willing to answer my questions, in person and through email. However, it would have been nice if the printed materials included more individualized information about each program rather than about studying abroad in general. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I was set up with a host family after filling out a questionnaire. My host family was a little far from school (45 minute total commute), but I didn't mind it. All I had to buy was a towel, tissues, and cleaning spray. I got along with them well, and I was glad that my host mother knew English as my Japanese was less than stellar. However, the experience was a bit strange for Japan as my host mother was Peruvian and the house was set up in the Western style. That is, no futon, no tatami, eating in chairs and a dinner table, showers instead of Japanese baths. |
| * Food: |
The food was fantastic. Cafeteria lunch was cheap and a good representation of Japanese food overall, and food at my host family was always filling and tasty. However, Dinner was served at 9pm (when my host father came home) and I was almost always hungry between lunch and dinner. I spent a lot of money on snacks. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Countless. There were so many opportunities for travel. This university is in a prime location between Kyoto and Osaka. The university also arranged about 10 trips a month in small groups led by Japanese students to interesting places. One particularly memorable one was a trip to a famous temple and shrine in Kyoto. Traveling with Japanese students allowed me to ask questions and learn more about Japanese religion (a complicated subject indeed). |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
There was a nurse station on campus. After a week of bad stomach issues, I went to the nurse and received free stomach medicine. I would say that my city was extremely safe. No crime visible. I did not need any new vaccines for this trip, but I did have to take a blood test for AIDS. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Too much. Through eating out, train rides to the city, and shopping, I easily spent 25,000 yen ($312) a week, especially at the beginning when I was less money conscious. Bakeries and conveniences stores are everywhere, and as any amount of money below about $10 is in coin form, it seems very innocent to pay a few coins for a snack on the way to wherever you're going. This extra food money can very quickly add up though. It's not uncommon to spend $7 for ice cream. I think it's worth it though. The food was one of my favorite parts about my trip. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Bring twice as much money as you think you'll need. Make you food and transportation budgets huge. You don't want to be limited in what you eat/where you go. |
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? | Japanese year 2 part 1 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Being in Japan, there were limitless opportunities to practice Japanese. It was necessary in daily life, and even those students who did not come to the university to learn Japanese were forced to learn at least some basic phrases in order to survive Japanese life. As my Japanese is still fairly limited, I was not able to hold long conversations with local students or my host family in Japanese, but I know of many who could and did benefit from these opportunities. |
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Direct Enrollment |
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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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | This is a perfect program for someone studying the Japanese language and who wants to experience the culture firsthand. I would not recommend it for students with 0 language ability. |
