A challenging, yet satisfying year in Japan Past Review

By (Biology/Japanese, Tufts University) for

Tufts Programs Abroad: Tufts in Japan

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
My study abroad experience definitely helped me gain more social skills. The way I used to approach making friends and hanging out did not work in Japan, so I had to adapt. It was a difficult challenge, but the friends I did make, and the experiences I had with them, made it a wonderful experience. I am happy to have improved my language skills; I honestly thought that I could not make it as far as I did. It has certainly given me confidence that I can do anything, even something as difficult as learning and utilizing a new language on a near daily basis. While my future goals remain the same (dentistry), I know I will definitely be returning to Japan in the future to see old friends and to tour places I have yet to visit. Perhaps one day I may also go on a dental teaching or service mission to Japan.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 0-2 weeks

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

There are some really passionate teachers in the program, ones who take a real interest in how the students are and trying to help foreigners adjust to both the curriculum and to social life in Japan. These teachers really made it easy to feel at home in a university setting completely different from at home. Not every teacher is like this, but most of them will be. The textbook material for the intermediate language classes are acceptable, but could use more explanation of grammar and vocabulary usage. The textbooks focus a lot on giving examples, but at the higher levels examples without in-depth explanation does not help much in advancing language understanding and mastery. However, the grading system seems to be quite kind, and teachers do go out of their way to try and help you pass a class you may be struggling in. For the most part, however, the workload compared with American universities is quite light and not very challenging, at least at the intermediate level. The program also offers each students a personal tutor, although the tutors seem to be a hit or miss when it comes to keeping appointment times or even simply staying in contact. Luckily, my tutor was wonderful and we became good friends. Overall, I felt my studies at university gave me the tools to advance my language ability, but it was really up to me to go out and use them to actually advance my skill.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

There are some definite problems with communication between the Program administration and the study abroad students. Even prior to going to Japan, I received paperwork that had to be filled out immediately, even though the due date had already passed since Kanazawa University was late in sending it out. Semester grades took a very long time to process. Questions about national health insurance bills received various answers depending on who you asked. They changed the schedule of the spring semester and made no effort to notify students or their universities. There was also a fiasco with a faculty member approving a student's absence during testing period then retracting their word and penalizing the student for their absence. This needs to be rectified, as it gives the impression of disorganization and lack of regard for students.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The rooms are fantastic, fully equipped even if facilities are smaller than what I am used to. The only possible downside was that the location of the dorm kept us fairly isolated from native students, so it was quite impractical to hang out with local friends. Chances to practice Japanese were also low due to this isolation.

* Food:

Food is quite excellent in the campus cafeteria and convenience store, but it does not cater to vegetarians at all. If you are vegetarian, you will be hard pressed to find something filling and nutritious.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Socially, there was not much provided by Kanazawa University for my program. There was one international festival in the fall, which was fun but only for international students. We had also one trip especially for study abroad students, but many ended up disliking the trip as we spent a majority of it on the bus and had very little time to explore each of the places we visited. There were very few events in all, and I don't recall any of them involving both native Japanese students and international students. On the other hand, from Tufts University we had many wonderful social gatherings with the Tufts program director and her assistant. We occasionally met with her friends as well. These events were wonderful and something I looked forward to every month as Kanazawa University did not provide much of anything in the way of fun social gatherings. Tufts also arranged for a trip to Wakura Onsen, and safe to say that was an experience I will never, ever forget. It may have been just with other Tufts students, but it was definitely the highlight of my second semester.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

Safety is #1 in Japan and I never felt endangered at all. Japan is indeed one of the safest and most honest countries in the world. You don't have to worry about being robbed in Japan, but don't use this as an excuse to be careless with your belongings! As for health, I never had any problem which required me to see a doctor. However, many of my classmates had difficultly sleeping and other issues, but they had difficult time receiving treatment as the English-speaking doctor was only available Tuesday and the treatments prescribed to students sometimes did not help.

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)

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? When cooking for myself, I'd spend only about $125 a month on food (that's 3 meals a day). When I didn't, I would average about $3-400 for food a month. Gift/clothes shopping averaged $100 a month. Cell phone bill typically was a little under $30 a month, and gas about $20. Typical rent+ utilities bill is about $150 a month. This seems like a lot, but I always had extra stipend remaining at the end of a month and plenty saved up for when I went traveling.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? The national health insurance bill was a surprise and I paid for part of the year before I stopped paying it. There was never a clear answer on whether or not we had to pay for this. All I know is I never used it nor ever needed it, as I had both my own personal insurance and SOS insurance provided by Tufts. We also had a surprised air conditioner cleaning bill that we weren't informed of until after we had all our units cleaned. Outside of the university, the only tip I have is to watch out at izakayas (drinking places). Some places will provide you with a small dish of vegetables or other food without asking, but expect you to pay for it. I had this happen to me when I was traveling in Osaka and it doubled the price.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? None
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? Japanese 3 (Beginner-Intermediate Level)
If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?

Language acquisition improvement?

Most people spoke English in my dormitory, so I had to go out to practice my speaking ability. Some days I went without speaking in the foreign language at all, but I found that listening to conversations in Japanese helped me advance regardless.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • International Students
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • International Students

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? Any student passionate about the Japanese language, especially those looking for a career in Japanese studies, would benefit from this program. The only requirements are courage and a strong will to overcome the cultural barriers that you will encounter in Japan. If you've got the positive attitude, then you will enjoy this program.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Experiences in Japanese Culture

Course Department:
Instructor: Professor Okazawa, Professor Bittmann
Instruction Language: English/Japanese
Comments: This class is all about "experience" and it delivers precisely that. The class is a series of field trips to different specialty workshops and temples where students practice authentic Japanese arts and crafts, from flower arranging to Zen meditation. It is really a lot of fun, and you get quite a few souvenirs to bring home from it. There is one paper per semester, but as long as you can write passionately about what you experienced in the class, then it is not difficult at all. Unless you dislike field trips, I definitely recommend taking this class!
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Japanese Listening

Course Department:
Instructor: Professor Ota
Instruction Language: Japanese
Comments: This class is not very useful at all. I took it thinking I would improve my listening capability, but most of them time I felt like I was being talked at versus talked with. The professor tends to get carried away talking, so it is easy to get lost. The recordings are also very difficult to hear in class. The test is basically the same questions from the book that you do in class. I do not recommend this class at all as it doesn't really help with Japanese listening or comprehension.
Credit Transfer Issues: