Thanks to PII, I am able to communicate to my family without barriers Past Review
By Tamara Garcia (Brandeis University) - abroad from 05/28/2016 to 07/23/2016 with
Princeton University: Kanazawa - Princeton in Ishikawa (PII)
Half of my family hails from Japan, and I have always had trouble communicating with them. When I visited them as soon as the program was over, they noticed my improvement instantly. I was able to communicate to my family for the first time in my life without any barriers, so to say that the program was worthwhile would be an understatement.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
|
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The workload is heavy, but the teachers always make themselves available for questions or concerns from the students. I especially enjoyed the content for the second half of the 3rd year course, where we shifted away from the textbook and our lessons were based on film, keeping the course refreshing and interesting. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
|
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I got along very well with my host mother, but my host father was a bit sexist which got to me at certain times. Based on their past stories with their host children, they seem to have gotten along well with their male host children, but as a female I felt that the expectations for me were a bit unfair. |
| * Food: |
Food was prepared by my host mother, who really took into consideration my likes and dislikes. |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Having such a rigorous academic schedule made it a bit difficult to appreciate Kanazawa on a daily-basis, though PII did a great job offering so many different cultural programs. |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
|
| * Safety: |
I had some extraordinarily unfortunate experiences during the program thanks to my own carelessness. I missed my stop on the last train home once and ended up at a completely closed down station, with no taxis in sight. In any other country this situation could have ended badly, but I ended up arriving home safely. For future students, I would advise to be aware that transportation in Japan does not run late, so keep track of the time! |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I do not think that any other program would have been as academically rewarding as PII, especially when you consider that it was only 8 weeks. |
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) |
I came to Japan with the intention to spend money, but for students on a budget, with convenience store food I think it's fairly doable! Transportation is expensive though, so travelling to different cities during the breaks may not be a possibility for everyone. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | For personal travel, I recommend taking the overnight bus to visit other cities in Japan. I visited Korea during one of the breaks, and I was able to do so affordably with the help of my host family, who recommended that I book through a Japanese travel agency. |
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 |
|
| 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? | Advanced |
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
|
| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 10+ |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
|
| * What could be improved? |
|
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | It is a lot of work! |
