Japan: A Journey of Self-Learning Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The most learning was actually from living abroad. We did have classes that were to help with learning Japanese, but the biggest contributor was going out and using it with the locals. The language classes themselves were intense but extremely useful and well taught.

On-site administration of your program

They tried really hard to be supportive, but we found a lot of people fell through their cracks of bureaucracy at least once during the year. The biggest complaint was the dorm that they placed us in, but half-way through the year, they finished building a new dorm which was much nicer and allowed us to live with other Japanese students.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

For the first half of a year all the internationals were housed in a building that was old, moulding, and had a cockroach problem that wouldn't go away. The upside of this dorm was that the rooms were fairly large and it was an open building so the international students all became very close and would frequently visit each other for support and group outings. The second half of the year, the new dorm had been completed and we were all moved over there. The dorm was much more restricted and we couldn't easily meet each other anymore as the building was broken up into flats of 6 rooms around a common kitchen/living room and common shower/toilet/laundry room. This dorm was much nicer and offered amenities that previously we had to pay for ourselves - like dishes and other kitchen supplies. The rooms this time were about half the size of what we had before though. The new dorm was set up so that we were living with 4 Japanese freshmen and one other international student.

I was given a stipend so I had complete control over what I was eating and gave me an additional way to interact with the locals and experience Japanese daily life. The second dorm however, offered a catered meal plan. I never participated but the meals didn't look very good or filling.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I give a four based on the program led trips. There were not very many and one had to be in the right place at the right time to learn about them. The school hosted several festivals that were very enjoyable. However, ultimately it was our individually led trips that were the best. We did a lot of traveling and exploring on our own.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I got sick once and was actually too sick to try to figure out to find a doctor for the first time. Had I been well enough, the main office of both dorms were set up to help us find whatever we needed in the city. None of us ever seemed to get into any real danger.

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

The entire exchange program was to teach Japanese. As mentioned above it was incredibly good and well organized but we all learned the most from using Japanese in our daily lives.

Select all that apply

• Dorm

Select all that apply

• Local Students
• International Students