Japan was exactly what I needed Past Review

By A student (Temple University) for

Temple University International Programs: Tokyo - Temple University Japan Campus

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

It was expensive and not terribly productive but it was definitely worthwhile. You what I did for the first 21 years of my life? Stay home and study. Suddenly here I was in a foreign country full of distractions, and culture and intrigue and the classes weren't as challenging as I was used to (but in all fairness I was used to quite rigorous classes) and I needed to enjoy the place I was in, because it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. So I learned how to get and do things, and and I learned to be social because it was so challenging to interact with people there. I'm an art student, I don't study anything that doesn't relate to my work, and I'd forgotten I could learn anything else, but here I was learning a foreign language. I realized that the human mind is capable of so much.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	1 month - 6 months

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	Not helpful
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	I lived in a weekly hotel, it was very private and in a great location, the quality of the room was wonderful and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
* Food:	There was no food at the school but I enjoyed local cuisine!
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	I had soo much fun
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes

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)

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	Yes
Language acquisition improvement?
If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Apartment Hotel
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	International Students Local Students

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	I did this program because I needed to escape from my home institution, I needed to have a crazy, wild time because I'd spent my life studying and never doing anything spontaneous. When I got there I realized almost everyone else at the school was like me, people who were escaping from the U.S., and a lot of them, you could tell why, they were social rejects and kind of weird, and that told me something about myself, too. But I was a better student than most of these guys, most of them were lazy and Tokyo lends itself to ignoring school. So I worked hard and also enjoyed myself, and I think I got the most out of the program and was happy to return home in the end. I'd changed, and I felt a lot better about my home school and my work.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Japan and the West: A Psychoanalytic Comparision
Course Department:	Psychology
Instructor:	Helmut Morsbach
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Drawing Portfolio
Course Department:	Art
Instructor:	Kaoru Sakurai
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	The instructor was very helpful, encouraging, and knowledgable. The class was was very open.
Credit Transfer Issues: