Japan: Loving and learning more about my country Past Review
By Mijeong T (Neurobiology and Neurosciences., Wellesley College) for
CIEE: Tokyo - Arts and Sciences
Yes. I learned new things about the culture that I had not experienced. I made many new friends, countless countless memories, and fulfilled my dream of living as a student in Japan. It has shown me also that although I love Japan, I don't think I would live there. Visit often, but not live.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The workload for all classes other than Japanese (Reading and Writing I for native speakers) was easy compared to Wellesley. The amount I needed to do for Japanese was a lot and it was very difficult for me. We could get only half the credit usual language classes got because we met only 2 times a week rather than everyday. However, I thought that was unfair just because what we were studying was on a different level. There's only so much kanji our brain can absorb in some time period, and so if we were to meet everyday, we would not be learning new kanji. General differences is that it is more lecture based, students don't really pay attention, there is very little faculty-student interaction, the students dont care as much about the subject, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Not enough communication between Japan and USA offices. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Although I really wanted to do homestay, the stay at the DK house (not really a dorm, more hostel-like) was a very good experience. I learned to take of myself such as cooking and taking out the trash. I also met Japanese and international people not in my school or program. Although the commute via train was longer than I was used to, I got used to. I would have REALLY appreciated it however, if it had been at closer to the station. It took 15 minutes just to get to the station! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Hiroshima trip, weekend homestay, taiko, fuurin-making |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Japan is super safe. Even the supposedly scary part of Japan was not as scary as in America. Although of course, you should always be cautious. |
| 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 didn't spend that much, but that was only because I was very careful about money. Maybe $10 a day. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I cannot think of any at the moment. Maybe that the buildup of everything you do, maybe even if small every time, can build up to quite an amount. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Fluent |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | None- native speaker |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
I didn't really need to work on speaking, more reading and writing. However, the way that it was done did not work with how my brain functions and I only learned a small amount. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | People who would really like to learn Japanese and interact with many international students (Sophia University has many Japanese students who were raised abroad) or have an international environment. |
