Past Review
By Ryan S (History, AAAS, SUNY - Binghamton) for
Kansai Gaidai University: Hirakata - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
It was very worthwhile and it offered me an experience that I will never replicate probably. I can't say exactly what I gained from the program, aside from some of the obvious aspects like knowledge and experience but that stuff is very important. Also I met a lot of people from around the world who I keep in touch with, which is really cool.
Personal Information
| The term and year this program took place: | Fall 2009 |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Learned a lot of the language, culture and history while I was there and I feel it was a success. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
They are very helpful and speak English. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Same as any dormitory but with an international community. <br /><br /> Very satisfied, it was in a good location. A bit far from campus though. |
| * Food: |
Food is good. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Not enough free days to travel. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Swine Flu updates almost every day. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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? | $100 at the least, depends how I ate that week. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Japan is expensive, make sure you have much more then what you think you will need and don't buy stuff you don't. |
Language
| Language acquisition improvement? |
I can now speak moderately well. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Go out and meet people, explore, do new things. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Japan to 1860 |
| Course Department: | History |
| Instructor: | Professor Hlawatsch |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Interesting. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | No idea yet... |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Introduction to Japanese History |
| Course Department: | History |
| Instructor: | Hlawatsch |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Interesting. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | Same as above. |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Modern Japanese Cinema |
| Course Department: | ? |
| Instructor: | Paul Berry |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Interesting. Teacher was a little eccentric. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | same |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Spoken Japanese |
| Course Department: | Japanese Language |
| Instructor: | Tajima |
| Instruction Language: | Japanese and English |
| Comments: | Very good teacher, and incredibly helpful class. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | It should. |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Written Japanese |
| Course Department: | Japanese Language |
| Instructor: | Kai |
| Instruction Language: | Japanese and English |
| Comments: | Writing system can be frustrating but is very useful. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | same. |
