Staying Kosher in Kyoto thanks to my host family Past Review
By Suzannah S (East Asian Studies., Wellesley College) for
Associated Kyoto Program: Kyoto - Doshisha University
This was the most amazing experience of my life and I feel empty inside knowing that it's over.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
| The term and year this program took place: | Full-Year 2009 |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The elective courses were overall quite easy, but the language course work load made up for it. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
All of the staff was very helpful and approachable. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Lived with a host mother, father, and 19 year old host sister in a suburb of kyoto, a 15 minute train ride from the university. I had my own room. <br /><br /> My host family was the center of my life in Japan as well as my language acquisition. The house had everything I needed, and I grew to be very close with the family to the extent that I really became a part of the family. |
| * Food: |
My host family was very accommodating for my Jewish diet restrictions. My host mom noticed what snacks I brought home and started buying them for me and leaving them on the table. It's fun to go out to eat with friends, but some of my best conversations and memories are over dinner at home with my host mom. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Lots of great fieldtrips and fun activities and parties. The Tokyo, Mie-ken, and Obama trips were really fun! |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I always felt safe, but I caught something like 8 colds during the course of the year! My host mom always took care of me, and I was able to go to the doctor and get medicine fine, but I think my body just wasn't adjusted to the diet/lack of central heating/bathing at night. |
| 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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I tried to limit my lunch money to 350 yen per day so that I had a lot left over to do fun stuff on the weekends.' |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | ' If any of your classes have optional excursions that get reimbursed, I highly recommend going on these, because you will want to go to those places anyway, and this way it's free! |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Japanese 202 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Do NOT watch American television when you're abroad. I know it's painful and often hard to understand, but watch Japanese television, maybe your host family will help explain it to you. Practice speaking with them as much as possible. And make Japanese 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?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Really be yourself around your host family. Get to know them and befriend them. I learned as much at home as I did at school. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Kyoto Architecture |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Langner-Teramoto |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Extremely disorganized and the professor was very hard to understand. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
