One line is way to short... Past Review
By A student (University of the Pacific) - abroad from 03/26/2012 to 07/13/2012 with
Kwansei Gakuin University: Nishinomiya - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
While I learned a little in the classes, just living here helped me learn a lot. Cliche as it is, living in another country for some time kicks you forcefully out of your comfort zone and that experience is amazing. It's tough, it's not what you expect, and it makes you react. For me, that's awesome, to some it scares the hell out of them. Either way, you find out what you do when you're faced with something that's totally different. So yes, it's worth it.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Classes were surprisingly easy compared to my home university. I'm unsure if this is a comment on the degree of difficulty for Pacific or ease for Kansai Gakuin, but it was something I was not expecting. It felt as if I learned little in the majority of classes. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
While I heard a lot of complaints from students in terms of housing and classes, I ran into no problems with these things. I did opt for individually arranged housing, and therefore did not rely on the administrators for much, and in fact the only real problems were the fact they were unsure how to handle someone in my situation. Additionally, orientation, both inbound and outbound seemed unnecessarily long. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I chose to arrange housing on my own, and was very fortunate on where I ended up. That being said, I received minimal support from the host school, and none from my home university, despite this being offered as an opportunity. |
| * Food: |
Food was delicious on campus. The only complaint would be a lack of variation, but despite that, there was plenty to eat. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Classes are offered to local students, but often times the actual participation by these students is minimal. Also, the international students are often separated from regular students, and there seems to be very few attempts to change this, outside of self-motivation to go meet local students. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
This is due largely to the fact that Japan as a nation has very low crime rates. The program itself covered disaster preparedness, but other security concerns were minimal. |
| 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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| * Was housing included in your program cost? | No |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | No |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $150 if I wanted to eat more than rice and noodles |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Eat like a local. A very poor local. While it may be comforting to eat food from home, it's going to get expensive really quickly. If you're in a host family situation, it's less of an issue, but if you choose to live on your own, learn to cook. |
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 |
Only during language courses, and when we met with our Japanese partners once a week. However, this weekly meeting was immensely helpful. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| 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? | Intermediate Second Semester |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Watch television shows. For me the speed was the most difficult part, and talking to many students learning English, the same rings true. Television with native speakers helps you get accustomed to it. |
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?
Select all that apply |
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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? | Classes would be a cake walk compared with those from Pacific. 15 units and a part time job here and I still had ample free time. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Japanese Pop Culture |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | There was no challenge what so ever. The only assignments were an in class writing prompt, and the final paper of 2,000 words. Despite the title of "Popular Culture" the teacher instead focused on very fringe cultures and minor global perceptions. While an interesting subject for study, this is completely incongruent with the title of the course. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
