Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

Once is Never Enough Past Review

By (Japanese Language and Literature., University of Hawaii - Manoa) - abroad from 08/25/2013 to 12/20/2013 with

Akita International University: Akita - Direct Enrollment & Exchange

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
So worth it! Learned so many things about not only Japanese culture, but about people from around the world.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 2 weeks - 1 month

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Compared to American universities, the classwork wasn't very difficult. You will have to do work, obviously, but it won't take up all of your time. In fact, it is highly encouraged to take only the bare minimum of credits you need (usually about 12) so that you have more time to socialize with your classmates and the community.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

Because this year there were more international students that previously, there was a bit of friction between the students and the administration. But they were overall fairly nice.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I lived in Komachi Dorm. It's a lot smaller than the apartments, but it's also the cheapest living arrangement and comes with water and electricity included in the fee (so I didn't have to pay for heating! very important as a person who normally lives in a warm climate). There were a lot of rules in the dorm, but they were more lax in the apartments. I had a Japanese roommate who was super nice and we would converse in Japanese. Just a head's up, AIU is in the middle of nowhere. There are forests and rice fields all around. There's a few small towns nearby but nothing big. I loved that though, it was so peaceful and had a relaxed atmosphere so I didn't feel drained or rushed.

* Food:

Unless you really like dry fish, cabbage, sad excuses for "international food", and rice/miso soup, don't get the meal plan. Get the prepaid card instead. Cooking is also a fun way to both get good food and socialize. There is a market about 10 minutes by bus from the school, a farmers' market across the street, and an import shop for when you want to splurge a bit.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The student body spoke a mix of English and Japanese, but more often than not English won out. It is really easy to make friends with the international students but you have to really try to reach out and befriend the Japanese people. Start with your roommate, and maybe LDIC conversation partners, student clubs, and go from there.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Health Insurance is mandatory, but I didn't need to use it. A couple of my friends did and they seemed to be pretty well taken care of.

* Safety:

AIU is very safe. Just be careful of bears, hornets (in the warm season), icy roads (in the cold season), and fast drivers.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

Finances

* 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)

It's very easy to spend a lot of money, but if you budget yourself, you can probably survive on $100 a week.

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? About $15 on food (I was on the meal plan unfortunately), and maybe $20-40 a week for everything else
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Don't buy the meal plan unless you don't plan on cooking! (and make sure you budget at least $600 for the meal plan if you do). There are 2 grocery stores nearby. The first is J. Marue (J. Mart) which has a large variety and has cheaper produce as a whole. The second one is Aeon Shop. It has sales every Tuesday and has cheaper meat, drinks (milk, juice, water, etc), and, if the Rakuten Eagles do well in baseball, you might get lucky and have a big sale!

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

It was really based on your own motivation and how much you wanted to practice and use Japanese. It's really easy to use only English at AIU, but it is also entirely possible to use just Japanese as well, you just have to put more effort into it.

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? Japanese 402 (upper intermediate)
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? Talk to your roommate in Japanese. Join a club that's predominantly Japanese. Go out into the city and practice.

Direct Enrollment/Exchange

* Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? Exchange

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • Americans
  • International Students
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?
  • The people are so nice!
  • variety of ways to be involved on campus
  • field trips to many places
* What could be improved?
  • cafeteria food
  • some of the residence hall staff were unreasonably mean (no singing in the lobby?! really!?!)
  • the gap of interaction between the Japanese and international students could be smaller
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? Coming from Hawaii, I learned that I had no real concept of what "cold" was. So a suggested packing list would have been helpful. Also, if I knew before hand not to get the meal plan, would've saved a lot of money.

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 Academic or Linguist
You went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you!

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

JAS 310
Course Department: Japan Area Studies
Instructor: Yuko Abe
Instruction Language: Japanese
Comments: "Intercultural Perspectives on Japanese Culture". Since the class was conducted in Japanese it was designed for students who were in upper-intermediate Japanese or higher. I liked this class because it was a mix of Japanese and international students. We discussed things about Japanese culture such as education, the declining population rate, holidays, and more. We went of a few field trips to a school, a Shinto temple, and even the neighboring city to help out at a community event. As a non-native speaker of Japanese, it can get confusing, but my Japanese classmates were always willing to help translate what was going on in class. I highly recommend this class.
Credit Transfer Issues: I took this class with the expectation that it wouldn't transfer. Please talk to your academic advisor to see what will transfer and what won't.