The Time of My Life in Tokyo! Past Review
By A student (Plan Ii Honors, The University of Texas at Austin) - abroad from 04/02/2012 to 07/27/2012 with
J. F. Oberlin University: Tokyo - Reconnaissance Japan Program
I learned a lot about myself and feel much more independent and competent now in unfamiliar situations. I learned a ton of Japanese, and really got a hands on experience in the culture. It's been amazing being able to really see how different and similar people can be living in a different culture. I would definitely do it again, and I definitely feel it was worthwhile. I already miss Japan so much!
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
As long as you study hard for the placement exam, your time at Obirin should be great! The one hour courses are not at all challenging, but the history, literature and Japanese language courses are wonderful. The academic resources are great, and the international office go out of their way to help you if you ever need anything. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
They were great and very helpful. Anytime I had a problem, they went out of their way to help me out. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I lived in a homestay, and the experience was fantastic for improving my Japanese. Living with a Japanese family also gave me the opportunity to see some of Japan hat I'd never have been able to otherwise. They took me and a friend to a hot spring on weekend, and showed us a lot of great sites. Another weekend their neighbors took us all out to their beach house, and we went fishing and ate lunch off the coast of Japan. The downside of a host family was having a curfew and the occasional problems of miscommunication I had with my host father. But they were always ok with me staying out all night (a usual thing in Japan) if I wanted to, and I would definitely opt to do a homestay if I went back to Japan again. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
My homestay definitely helped me feel socially integrated. I definitely recommend joining a club or team while in Japan--Oberlin has a ton of great groups for all interests! They're happy to have new members, especially foreigners, so definitely take advantage of that. Spend as much time as you can going out to see the city, Tokyo is amazing! Oberlin also holds a camp one weekend of each semester, and it's a great place to meet other Japanese students and practice your Japanese. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I only had one cold, and I went into the local pharmacy and after about five seconds of miming my symptoms the man behind the counter gave me the medicine I needed. It was affordable and I was feeling better in no time. |
| * Safety: |
I felt safe any time of day or night in Japan, and never encountered any issues abroad. There was a typhoon while we were there but the school closed down with plenty of time for us all to get home and stay out of the weather. Always use your common sense, but generally I found Japan to feel far safer than Austin or Houston (where I'm from). |
| 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) |
Japan is very expensive, but if you follow the prescribed budget that Oberlin provides in their information packet when you apply, you should be fine. |
| * 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 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Try to find the cheaper restaurants and food places around the campus early on. The convenience store (Family Mart) is on the expensive end, so don't rely on that. The co-op across the street is very affordable! If you do a homestay, try to eat at home as much as possible. |
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? | One semester of upper division Japanese |
| 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? | Do you best to meet often with your Japanese professor to practice your language skills. Study hard for your placement exam! Getting placed into a course that's to low for your level will wind up wasting your time. If you've completed two years of Japanese, you should definitely do your best to get into the 3A level, unless you feel that you need to review and relearn your basics. But if you really want to push your Japanese and learn a lot, definitely try for 3A (corresponds to the difficulty of UT's upper division courses). |
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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| 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? | I wish I had gone a week or two earlier to tour around Japan before beginning my program. There wasn't much time to tour more than the immediate Tokyo area while I was there. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Outright UrbaniteA social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country. |
