Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I liked that it was challenging and fast paced. I learned more in a semester at Nagoya Gakuin Daigaku than I had in 2 years of previous study. There was a lot more focus on conversation than at my home university. I felt confident communicating with native Japanese. There were two negative aspects. One was that the text books were very outdated and provided antiquated cultural lessons. The other was feeling a little bit patronized by the professors, but I assume that was more of a cultural issue than anything else.

On-site administration of your program

The information they provided before departure was very confusing and needed a lot of back and forth communication before requirements were understood. I felt that they misrepresented the amount of assistance that we would receive from the international office. I was under the impression, for instance, that someone would be helping students to get cellphones and bank accounts. In actuality students were left to figure these issues out independently or rely on RAs at the RAs' convenience. Furthermore, the program directors continuously told me that I absolutely needed a Japanese bank account when this turned out to be completely false. I could use my American bank account at Japanese atm machines, which was much more convenient. I had to rely on other students for this information and was without access to money for a considerable amount of time. They also made promises that weren't kept, such as fixing the very weak internet connection in the dorms. Generally, students made a conscious effort to avoid the office because going there usually involved being asked to do something like participate in a commercial and not help for the student. The positive aspects were general friendliness, small class sizes with individual attention, and the RAs, who were always immensely helpful and friendly.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Housing was very close to the University. There were dorms, which I lived in, and apartments within a 10 minute walking distance. The dorms had individual bedrooms, a kitchen area with a hot plate and refrigerator provided, and a bathroom/shower. They were very comfortable and very nice. However, they had a very very weak internet connection that often did not work at all. The apartment, where 4 male students lived, did not have internet at first but soon were provided perfect working internet after some prodding. However, other students were not allowed to visit this apartment at all, which was a unanimously hated rule as the apartment residents were also not allowed to visit the dorms, but all were confined to a lounge when hanging out together. The apartment, though, was also very nice and roomy. There was also dorms about 40 minutes from campus from which some students commuted. Those students were also not allowed in the local dorms or apartment. The neighborhood surrounding the dorms and apartment was very safe and very convenient. Not only were the dorms and apartment close to campus, but they were in a fairly busy part town and 10 minutes by subway from the nightlife areas. We had no trouble getting around either by bicycle or by train or subway. Though most of this post seems negative, it is mostly in regards to the administration and not to the housing itself, which was very nice, comfortable and convenient.

I thought the cafeteria was generally good and inexpensive. There were also plenty of places to eat around town. About a 20 minute bike ride away was our favorite place to eat, sushiro, where you can get very cheap but pretty tasty sushi. There is also a bento place pretty near campus.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I learned so much through interaction with the friends I made at Nagoya Gakuin and the daily encounters with Nagoya residents. Everywhere I traveled I learned something new. I never knew I could learn and grow so much in such a short amount of time. I also never expected to forge such close friendships in 4 months. Every day was exciting. I mean every day. Just going to someone's house for a party was such an opportunity to learn. The most exciting things that I got to do were attending festivals traveling to different cities. The festivals were especially exciting. They were exactly what I expected and it really hit home that I was in Japan then. I actually went to my first one with the university. They brought all of us to a hanami (flower watching) picnic the first week before classes. That was when I truly realized that I was in Japan. The university provided students over 20 with beer (very Japanese of them) and there were stands all along the sidewalks with such foreign-seeming things like fish on a stick and tamago senbei (fried egg on a tortilla-like cracker with mayonnaise and sort of a teriyaki sauce). I couldn't imagine a better introduction to Japanese life than that. All my fears washed away and I realized that this was going to be one heck of a semester. I did some amazing things independently, too, of course. Once I went to a hot spring town called Atami and the two days I spent there were just saturated with incredible experiences. There happened to be a very large festival going on there the night I arrived, with floats and music, and I wore a yukatta I had bought in Tokyo a few days before. The university arranged a few field trips for us as well, which were fun because all the international students got to experience the trip together. We took a bus trip, and that was the first time I stayed in a more traditional Japanese hotel with tatami mats on the floor. I was just giddy about that. During that trip we dressed up as ninjas and visited a ninja school, where we got to see old ninja houses and watch a star throwing demonstration. It was definitely one of the more memorable parts of my time abroad. My advice to anyone studying in Japan during spring is to take full advantage of Golden Week. All professionals and students in Japan get a week off. This is the perfect time to travel. Also, take advantage of Hostel world for cheap places to stay and buses for cheap transportation. Anyone studying at Nagoya Gakuin should also take advantage of the time between the end of classes and the date you are required to leave the dorms. This is also a perfect time to travel, so make sure you save some money for that purpose for the end of the semester.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Japan is just generally one of the safest places in the world you can go. If you lose something on a subway, you are much more likely to get it back than in the U.S. I never felt afraid walking at night. There are police wandering around everywhere, especially in the more bustling parts of the city. There were a few instances where someone made me feel uncomfortable, but nothing ever happened. I have heard much scarier stories from people who studied abroad in Europe than my mild tale of a Korean man following me from one train to another and then leaving me alone when I asked him to. I had no health care needs, so I cannot comment on the program's assistance or the quality of health care.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

I improved from having a very low vocabulary and not being able to apply the grammar rules I knew to real conversations to being able to communicate to native Japanese speakers and find my away around alone.

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• Dorm
• Dorm

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• International Students
• International Students

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• International Students