Japan: It's complicated. Past Review
By Melody L (Psychology/Public Policy, Sarah Lawrence College) for
Nanzan University: Nagoya - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
It was definitely a worthwhile experience even though I decided to leave the program a semester earlier than I had planned for. Surprisingly, I think of Japan everyday and of my life there and the people that I met. I would certainly do it all over again. I went into it not sure what to expect and was surprised by what it turned out to be.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The assignments tended to be simple reading articles and one short paper for the semester. I found the classes to be mostly centered around professor's lecturing and found them to not be very engaging or challenging in comparison to Sarah Lawrence courses. I found this to be disappointing and it unexpectedly made me homesick for SLC. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
They had an entire staff, some of which who were extremely friendly and wonderful. However, it was difficult to work with them when I approached them about the prospect of leaving the program early. They didn't provide me with much support to discuss my thoughts, but rather tried to caution me of the problems of leaving. They also did a very poor job of sending me my refund for the spring semester, I emailed them consistently and it took nearly two months from my exit from the program to receive it. There were also several issues with them sending my transcript to SLC. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I was really happy with the neighborhood my dorm was located in. It was about a half hour commute to school and it was conveniently located in an area close to grocery stores, and a few restaurants, etc. The house was nicely supplied with sheets and all cookware, and the concierge charged us a small fee each month in order to supply us with toilet paper, trash bags, and other necessities. They would check on us often and were nice enough to take us to get all our documents prepared. Unfortunately, I had a housemate that was suffering through a personal issue (who eventually left early) who took it out on the rest of the house by purposely trying to make living very difficult for the rest of us. |
| * Food: |
In Japan in general, I think it is hard to find vegetarian and vegan options because much of the cooking preparation involves use of fish stock, etc. I really enjoyed the food that was available because I tried a lot of new things that I wouldn't have expected to enjoy. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Nanzan had a festival and also provided several interesting field trips. My Japanese housemate, similar to an RA, coordinated a trip to a local outdoor museum, which was a lot of fun. Overall, there were a lot of cultural events and it was always interesting. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
One of my housemates was assaulted on the way walking home to the dorm. She had taken a shortcut path through a not very well lit area. |
| 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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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
I practiced speaking Japanese in my three hour class each day. I needed the language when traveling about on my own, however most of the students in the program spoke English and tended to do so outside of class when spending time with each other. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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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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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I would heavily consider what type of academics you are looking for when abroad. I had been warned that Nanzan's program was not extremely rigorous and was far more focused on cultural experience, and had thought that was what I wanted. In the end, I found that I was often bored and felt that I had too much time to explore the city and I simply missed being in a challenging and fulfilling academic environment. |
