Enjoying Tokyo from Afar Past Review
By A student (Middlebury College) - abroad from 03/16/2019 to 06/25/2019 with
Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Tokyo
Japanese language skills -- it was definitely worthwhile.
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. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Lots of support especially through orientation. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Semester-long study abroad students do not have access to a full kitchen to cook. |
| * Food: |
Dietary needs, i.e. halal, vegetarian, etc., options are very limited in the dining hall. Semester-long study abroad students cannot cook in the housing they are put in. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Great if you can speak Japanese well enough, otherwise quite difficult. Community engagement projects also helped with this. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Health care office hours at ICU were quite limited, i.e. only open until 17:00 weekdays. Also, an actual doctor was only there about once or twice a week; the other workers were only nurses who could only provide recommendations to other nearby clinics. |
| * Safety: |
Well secured housing and campus overall. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
Yes, but also I would have liked to be on a campus closer to the city center. |
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) |
The food in the dining hall is affordable. However, with dietary restrictions, you're forced to purchase from nearby convenience stores or eat out, which increases the cost. Travel is quite expensive as well, with one round trip to the inner part of the city costing up to $15 USD. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $150-200 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Budget regularly -- keep track of every cent/yen. |
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? | Intermediate |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | JAPN 0401 |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 10+ |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Keep reading and talking with others in Japanese. Make Japanese-only speaking friends. |
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? | That a bike is necessary to get to the nearby station. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Principles of Audio-Visual Education |
| Course Department: | EDST |
| Instructor: | Aoki Hiroyuki |
| Instruction Language: | Japanese |
| Comments: | Challenging in that the entire class is conducted in Japanese and all work must be submitted in Japanese. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
