Breaking personal boundaries at KCJS Past Review

By Melissa L (PSYCHOLOGY., Barnard College) for

Columbia University: Kyoto - Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies / KCJS

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

I feel a lot more independent. I am glad I travelled on my own during Fall break. The program gives you boundaries and a sense of direction . Whatever you do on your own time, outside of school, should break all boundaries.

Personal Information

If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here:	Doshisha University
The term and year this program took place:	Fall 2009

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	I thought the classes would be more challenging. But, they were well integrated with the country itself, and the in-class lectures, and field trips were well balanced.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	Overall they weren't that helpful. I wish we were assigned advisors, especially since everyone knows what culture shock and going to a different country is hard when you don't have a good support system there when you need it. Also, they don't accomodate everyone who doesn't have internet, only a selected few. And they aren't very good at communicating when something is obviously not right. Even though they had been doing this for 21 years, they weren't very knowledgable about the campus or how to get individual problems solved. They expected everyone to be very independent. I expected them to help me out more, especially since I am not fluent in the language.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	Amazing! I lived in the North part of Kyoto and it was quite rural but I was able to get almost anywhere on bike. <br /><br /> My host parents were amazing. But, the program pressured them into taking a student when they didn't want to. But that didn't affect their ability to care for me. Very safe. 20 minutes by bike to class. Kind of far from nightlife, but still bikable. Calling taxis were expensive, but not so much if you split it with friends.
* Food:	Healthy. Quantity was almost too much, but delicious.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	Groups were too clicky. I didn't feel like hanging out with a bunch of people that were desperate to make friends fast.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:	I thought there would be a doctor I could see on campus. Turns out I was wrong. Luckily, my host family brought me to their doctor, and it was cheap, high quality care, and fast. Better than America.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	No

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)
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	Food: $40, Personal expenses: $50
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	Transportation costs a lot.

Language

How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program?	Beginner
Language acquisition improvement?	I feel like speaking is very important, and I wish the language class would have focused more on speaking and expressing yourself in different ways.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Host Family
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Americans

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	You might not think that you accomplished anything while you studied abroad, but after you come back you'll realize you accomplished so much more than you ever would have expected. Just make sure you have more fun, and do more exploring than sitting at home. Make sure you put yourself out there, travel to other parts, and challenge yourself everyday.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Japanese, Level D (4th year)
Course Department:	n/a
Instructor:	Uemiya
Instruction Language:	Japanese
Comments:	The class was not well balanced, and not well organized. Unlike other Japanese classes, we had a lot of field trips, that were well incorporated. I participated less than I would of, just because I didn't feel challenged nor encouraged.
Credit Transfer Issues:	No.

Course Name/Rating:	Japanese Civilization
Course Department:	n/a
Instructor:	Ayako Kano
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	Very organized, and well taught class. Low stress, but learned a lot. Teacher didn't focus on memorization but really incorporating what you learned. I wish we would have had more field trips.
Credit Transfer Issues:	no

Course Name/Rating:	Japanese Theater
Course Department:	n/a
Instructor:	Ayako Kano
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	The field trips of this class were amazing. The teacher was well organized, although the class could have been a bit more organized. The readings were very managable and interesting.
Credit Transfer Issues:	no