1
Okay guys, hello! 
Prepare for a long entry!
As promised I’m going to write a whole entry about my experience of studying abroad at a Japanese University, since I’m currently studying at Kobe Daigaku. I’ll try to cover many aspects and hope you have fun while reading~ if you have any questions, please ask right away 
Okay, so first: How did I become an exchange student?
Well, at first I wasn’t planning on going abroad at all after the earthquake and nuclear stuff that happened in Japan. However, when I heard that my University was searching for students to go to Kobe University, I couldn’t resist and applied for it. In order to be in Japan for the summer term 2013 I had to apply in early February 2012 and before I could actually go, there was a crazy amount of paper work to do. First, I had to hand in all kinds of application forms, letters of motivation and letters of recommendation in order for my own University to accept me for the program. Once that was done, I had to apply to Kobe University itself. For this, I had to write a letter of motivation again, had to hand in my academic transcript, send them copies of all kinds of documents and make a special appointment with my doctor in order to be able to fill out their health check-up form. Then, I had to take care of my passport, visa, flights and things like that. It was a year full of paper work and I was seriously hoping that all that stress would be worth it.
(And yes it was!)
Have I studied Japanese before coming here/is it necessary to speak Japanese?
I had studied Japanese for about two and a half years and had just started a course for level B1 after European Reference before I came here. That means that I was able to have everyday conversations, talk about my family, hobbies, and general things like the weather, and I could go shopping, book a hotel, ask for directions, stuff like that. While my University would only accept students who have reached at least elementary level in the language for the program, Kobe University itself does not require any knowledge of Japanese. There are beginner classes that you can take when you come here. However, if you don’t speak Japanese, you will barely be able to take any “real” classes at University (with “real” I mean classes that Japanese students also take and that are not for exchange students only) unless they are in English, which is quite rare (at KU – common at many Unis in Tokyo though). Also, outside of the University, I think it is better if you speak at least a little Japanese. It’s not impossible to live here without speaking the language, but if you cannot speak any of it, you will probably have a hard time making friends and do your everyday errands. Almost no one speaks English and I’ve experienced that people avoided coming near me because they were afraid to get into an embarrassing situation where they would actually have to use English (and when I noticed that and used Japanese with them, it was fine).
What did I have to do after I had arrived here?
When I arrived in Kobe, I had two long weeks of more paper work (yay!) and all kinds of organizational stuff to do. Luckily, Kobe University offers a “tutor” to every exchange student – a student that helps you with all the things you need to do. My tutor was a really friendly (and handsome!
) guy my age called Shin. I still meet him at University sometimes anyways, on the day I arrived in Kobe, we immediately had to go to the city hall in order to print the address on the residence card we had received at the airport. Sounds like two minutes of work, but actually took us ages. Also on the same day, I had to go and buy equipment for my room because my dorm only offered the furniture itself – which means that I had to buy bedclothes, kitchen ware, towels, etc. In the following days, we went to pick up our student ID cards, got a phone, Internet, train tickets, the books for school, and had to attend many events at the University, such as orientations about the campus, the Japanese classes, the Japanese insurance system, another health check-up... all kinds of things. In order to be able to choose the appropriate classes for us, we also had to undergo a placement test consisting of writing, reading, listening, speaking and Kanji. While all of this combined with living in an unknown environment and coping with the new culture was very exhausting, I never felt completely lost because I got lots of help from my tutor, my future teachers and from the friends I had made already. Also, the blooming Sakura made all my sorrows disappear every time I looked at them. So beautiful! 
What classes at University do I take?
I have Uni every day from Monday until Friday. Kobe University wants every exchange student to take at least 5 classes a week, but your own University might want you to do more. In sum, I take 10 classes, 8 of them being Japanese language classes. I have a “general” Japanese class every morning from 10:40 – 12:10h, in which I learn new grammar and vocab at the beginning of every week, practice all week and have a test at the end of the week. For these classes, it is only necessary to come 3 times a week, but I go 5 times because it’s at intermediate level and actually a bit hard for me. In the afternoon, I have listening, conversation and reading classes. Besides Japanese, I also take an English lecture on Japanese Society and Culture and a Japanese lecture on Second Language Acquisition. For the SLA class I’m allowed to write all my reports and the paper in English, which is great because I wouldn’t be able to do it in Japanese, haha!
There is also a composition class and a Kanji class offered, but I don’t go to these. So, in sum, I finish classes at 15:00h 3 times a week, at 17:00h once and at 12:10h once. In between the morning and the afternoon classes, there also is a break of 60 minutes, and in between each class there is a break of 20 minutes. Oh, and a funny fact about University in Japan: Students are allowed to obviously sleep during class. No kidding! 
How is life in Japan? How much free time do I have and how do I spend it?
Well, living is Japan is different, but exciting. In the beginning there are many things I had to get used to, like the hot and humid weather, the long way to Uni, the politeness including constant bowing, the strange glances coming from Japanese people when I’m sitting in the train, just the fact that I am a foreigner in this country. I have never lived in a foreign country, so I felt this quite strongly in the beginning. Besides that, I had to get used to my dorm, which is quite cheap, but accordingly old. I share kitchen, bathroom and toilet with 10 other girls – which, as you can imagine, can be quite exhausting sometimes. But at the same time, you get to know new people very soon and compared to other dorms (where everyone has their own little apartment) it’s easier to make friends because you will meet each other eventually every day. I feel like having enough free time as I don’t have to get up in the morning before 8:00h ( 
) and I am free during the evenings, which I like to use to get some food, go shopping or go for walks. On weekends, there often are events organized by Japanese students for exchange students, or we exchange students go out together, party together, go sightseeing together… or there are meetings of University circles. To be honest, I never get bored! During my time here I also have two “long” weekends (with Monday being free) and I had the Golden Week, which are great opportunities to travel a bit. Depending on how long you can stay here, you might also be able to use the spring/summer holidays.
Was it hard to make international/Japanese friends?
Well, as I mentioned before, because of my dorm it was easy for me to make many international friends. But even if you live in other dorms you will meet many people in class, during breaks and at certain events. I have actually made four really good friends and we usually go out or on trips together we are actually the funniest group - a Manga addicted very talkative American girl, a shy but actually really funny and sarcastic Australian girl, a sleepy and dorky Australian girl and me, a H!P-loving loud girl. I think that, if you study abroad in Japan, it is not very hard to make friends with other exchange students because most of them are alone and want to make friends as well. Also, these people all share the same interest in Japan, so most of them like Manga, or the culture, the language, the music – I even found a MM fan amongst them (lucky!! A forever-Ai-chan wota).
And I also got to know many Japanese students, but I’m not a shy person and I’m not afraid to speak Japanese which probably makes it a bit easier. At University, I’m enrolled in the Intercultural Faculty, which actually has an own place for students to hang out. When you go there, you’ll meet many exchange students, but also many Japanese students who are interested in foreign countries and languages and will try to talk to you. I usually spend my lunch breaks there, so I get the chance to talk to Japanese people almost every day. I’d even consider some of them to be real friends already. Besides that, I have joined two circles as well. One of those is called “Language Exchange Club” and is for exchange and international students, who will be divided into groups to meet once a week and practice the language they learn. The second circle I joined is the University cooking circle, which has cooking events twice a month. I like going there because I learn a little bit about Japanese cuisine and I get to practice my Japanese – however, the students there are not used to hanging out with foreigners, so I usually am the one who has to start conversations, but once they notice that my Japanese is decent we always have fun together. On a side note, living in Kansai area probably makes it easier as well because people here definitely are more open towards other people than in other parts of Japan.
(I love Kansai!)
How much money do I spend in a month?
Kobe University tells prospective exchange students to act on the assumption of spending 100,000 Yen a month, including everything but Internet (rent, water/electricity/gas, transport costs, food, phone, books for Uni, insurance). Of course this depends on your way of living. I personally need about that amount of money including Internet (for which I got a great deal, though), going out and traveling a bit (but I have to say that the Euro currently is really strong compared to the Yen – good for me
). There are scholarships from the Japanese government, but they only support a limited number of students with good academic records. It’s not impossible to get them though; it’s definitely worth a try!
So, would I recommend spending a term abroad in Japan?
If you have an interest in Japan, may it be the culture, language, Manga or music, I would definitely recommend you to go. It is a lot of hard work, takes a lot of preparation, is quite stressful, and you will feel lonely sometimes – but that is so worth it! There is no way of experiencing this country and culture better than by living here for 5 months (or longer!). You will be able to see many great places, beautiful traditional houses, big cities, beautiful landscapes, places with a great history, shrines, temples, parks. You will get to eat awesome food, like yakiniku, okonomiyaki, sushi, all kind of matsuri food, matcha ice cream, udon, tempura – Japanese cuisine is full of variety. There is no better way to learn the language than by using it every day. And above all, you will be able to meet great people and will find yourself having friends from all over the world, may it be America, Europe, Australia or Asia. You will laugh together with Japanese people when singing Love Machine at Karaoke, and you will be amazed together with international friends when meeting a Maiko in Kyoto. And, of course, I also wanna mention that you will have chances to see and meet H!P groups. I can say that my experience so far was great and that I am looking forward to the 2 months ahead of me.
I also have a YouTube channel, so if you're interested, please check it out:
http://www.youtube.c.../IchigoNoShoujo
I hope this blog entry gave you an idea of what it is like to study in Japan! I’ll say it again, if you have any questions (about this entry or for future blog entries), feel free to ask me and I’m going to try and answer them. I'm also very happy about comments and opinions! Other than that, I hope you enjoyed this post. Thank you very much for reading!
Prepare for a long entry!
As promised I’m going to write a whole entry about my experience of studying abroad at a Japanese University, since I’m currently studying at Kobe Daigaku. I’ll try to cover many aspects and hope you have fun while reading~ if you have any questions, please ask right away Okay, so first: How did I become an exchange student?
Well, at first I wasn’t planning on going abroad at all after the earthquake and nuclear stuff that happened in Japan. However, when I heard that my University was searching for students to go to Kobe University, I couldn’t resist and applied for it. In order to be in Japan for the summer term 2013 I had to apply in early February 2012 and before I could actually go, there was a crazy amount of paper work to do. First, I had to hand in all kinds of application forms, letters of motivation and letters of recommendation in order for my own University to accept me for the program. Once that was done, I had to apply to Kobe University itself. For this, I had to write a letter of motivation again, had to hand in my academic transcript, send them copies of all kinds of documents and make a special appointment with my doctor in order to be able to fill out their health check-up form. Then, I had to take care of my passport, visa, flights and things like that. It was a year full of paper work and I was seriously hoping that all that stress would be worth it.
(And yes it was!)Have I studied Japanese before coming here/is it necessary to speak Japanese?
I had studied Japanese for about two and a half years and had just started a course for level B1 after European Reference before I came here. That means that I was able to have everyday conversations, talk about my family, hobbies, and general things like the weather, and I could go shopping, book a hotel, ask for directions, stuff like that. While my University would only accept students who have reached at least elementary level in the language for the program, Kobe University itself does not require any knowledge of Japanese. There are beginner classes that you can take when you come here. However, if you don’t speak Japanese, you will barely be able to take any “real” classes at University (with “real” I mean classes that Japanese students also take and that are not for exchange students only) unless they are in English, which is quite rare (at KU – common at many Unis in Tokyo though). Also, outside of the University, I think it is better if you speak at least a little Japanese. It’s not impossible to live here without speaking the language, but if you cannot speak any of it, you will probably have a hard time making friends and do your everyday errands. Almost no one speaks English and I’ve experienced that people avoided coming near me because they were afraid to get into an embarrassing situation where they would actually have to use English (and when I noticed that and used Japanese with them, it was fine).
What did I have to do after I had arrived here?
When I arrived in Kobe, I had two long weeks of more paper work (yay!) and all kinds of organizational stuff to do. Luckily, Kobe University offers a “tutor” to every exchange student – a student that helps you with all the things you need to do. My tutor was a really friendly (and handsome!
) guy my age called Shin. I still meet him at University sometimes anyways, on the day I arrived in Kobe, we immediately had to go to the city hall in order to print the address on the residence card we had received at the airport. Sounds like two minutes of work, but actually took us ages. Also on the same day, I had to go and buy equipment for my room because my dorm only offered the furniture itself – which means that I had to buy bedclothes, kitchen ware, towels, etc. In the following days, we went to pick up our student ID cards, got a phone, Internet, train tickets, the books for school, and had to attend many events at the University, such as orientations about the campus, the Japanese classes, the Japanese insurance system, another health check-up... all kinds of things. In order to be able to choose the appropriate classes for us, we also had to undergo a placement test consisting of writing, reading, listening, speaking and Kanji. While all of this combined with living in an unknown environment and coping with the new culture was very exhausting, I never felt completely lost because I got lots of help from my tutor, my future teachers and from the friends I had made already. Also, the blooming Sakura made all my sorrows disappear every time I looked at them. So beautiful! What classes at University do I take?
I have Uni every day from Monday until Friday. Kobe University wants every exchange student to take at least 5 classes a week, but your own University might want you to do more. In sum, I take 10 classes, 8 of them being Japanese language classes. I have a “general” Japanese class every morning from 10:40 – 12:10h, in which I learn new grammar and vocab at the beginning of every week, practice all week and have a test at the end of the week. For these classes, it is only necessary to come 3 times a week, but I go 5 times because it’s at intermediate level and actually a bit hard for me. In the afternoon, I have listening, conversation and reading classes. Besides Japanese, I also take an English lecture on Japanese Society and Culture and a Japanese lecture on Second Language Acquisition. For the SLA class I’m allowed to write all my reports and the paper in English, which is great because I wouldn’t be able to do it in Japanese, haha!
There is also a composition class and a Kanji class offered, but I don’t go to these. So, in sum, I finish classes at 15:00h 3 times a week, at 17:00h once and at 12:10h once. In between the morning and the afternoon classes, there also is a break of 60 minutes, and in between each class there is a break of 20 minutes. Oh, and a funny fact about University in Japan: Students are allowed to obviously sleep during class. No kidding! How is life in Japan? How much free time do I have and how do I spend it?
Well, living is Japan is different, but exciting. In the beginning there are many things I had to get used to, like the hot and humid weather, the long way to Uni, the politeness including constant bowing, the strange glances coming from Japanese people when I’m sitting in the train, just the fact that I am a foreigner in this country. I have never lived in a foreign country, so I felt this quite strongly in the beginning. Besides that, I had to get used to my dorm, which is quite cheap, but accordingly old. I share kitchen, bathroom and toilet with 10 other girls – which, as you can imagine, can be quite exhausting sometimes. But at the same time, you get to know new people very soon and compared to other dorms (where everyone has their own little apartment) it’s easier to make friends because you will meet each other eventually every day.
I feel like having enough free time as I don’t have to get up in the morning before 8:00h ( ) and I am free during the evenings, which I like to use to get some food, go shopping or go for walks. On weekends, there often are events organized by Japanese students for exchange students, or we exchange students go out together, party together, go sightseeing together… or there are meetings of University circles. To be honest, I never get bored! During my time here I also have two “long” weekends (with Monday being free) and I had the Golden Week, which are great opportunities to travel a bit. Depending on how long you can stay here, you might also be able to use the spring/summer holidays.Was it hard to make international/Japanese friends?
Well, as I mentioned before, because of my dorm it was easy for me to make many international friends. But even if you live in other dorms you will meet many people in class, during breaks and at certain events. I have actually made four really good friends and we usually go out or on trips together
we are actually the funniest group - a Manga addicted very talkative American girl, a shy but actually really funny and sarcastic Australian girl, a sleepy and dorky Australian girl and me, a H!P-loving loud girl. I think that, if you study abroad in Japan, it is not very hard to make friends with other exchange students because most of them are alone and want to make friends as well. Also, these people all share the same interest in Japan, so most of them like Manga, or the culture, the language, the music – I even found a MM fan amongst them (lucky!! A forever-Ai-chan wota).And I also got to know many Japanese students, but I’m not a shy person and I’m not afraid to speak Japanese which probably makes it a bit easier. At University, I’m enrolled in the Intercultural Faculty, which actually has an own place for students to hang out. When you go there, you’ll meet many exchange students, but also many Japanese students who are interested in foreign countries and languages and will try to talk to you. I usually spend my lunch breaks there, so I get the chance to talk to Japanese people almost every day. I’d even consider some of them to be real friends already. Besides that, I have joined two circles as well. One of those is called “Language Exchange Club” and is for exchange and international students, who will be divided into groups to meet once a week and practice the language they learn. The second circle I joined is the University cooking circle, which has cooking events twice a month. I like going there because I learn a little bit about Japanese cuisine and I get to practice my Japanese – however, the students there are not used to hanging out with foreigners, so I usually am the one who has to start conversations, but once they notice that my Japanese is decent we always have fun together. On a side note, living in Kansai area probably makes it easier as well because people here definitely are more open towards other people than in other parts of Japan.
(I love Kansai!)How much money do I spend in a month?
Kobe University tells prospective exchange students to act on the assumption of spending 100,000 Yen a month, including everything but Internet (rent, water/electricity/gas, transport costs, food, phone, books for Uni, insurance). Of course this depends on your way of living. I personally need about that amount of money including Internet (for which I got a great deal, though), going out and traveling a bit (but I have to say that the Euro currently is really strong compared to the Yen – good for me
). There are scholarships from the Japanese government, but they only support a limited number of students with good academic records. It’s not impossible to get them though; it’s definitely worth a try!So, would I recommend spending a term abroad in Japan?
If you have an interest in Japan, may it be the culture, language, Manga or music, I would definitely recommend you to go. It is a lot of hard work, takes a lot of preparation, is quite stressful, and you will feel lonely sometimes – but that is so worth it! There is no way of experiencing this country and culture better than by living here for 5 months (or longer!). You will be able to see many great places, beautiful traditional houses, big cities, beautiful landscapes, places with a great history, shrines, temples, parks. You will get to eat awesome food, like yakiniku, okonomiyaki, sushi, all kind of matsuri food, matcha ice cream, udon, tempura – Japanese cuisine is full of variety. There is no better way to learn the language than by using it every day. And above all, you will be able to meet great people and will find yourself having friends from all over the world, may it be America, Europe, Australia or Asia. You will laugh together with Japanese people when singing Love Machine at Karaoke, and you will be amazed together with international friends when meeting a Maiko in Kyoto. And, of course, I also wanna mention that you will have chances to see and meet H!P groups. I can say that my experience so far was great and that I am looking forward to the 2 months ahead of me.
I also have a YouTube channel, so if you're interested, please check it out:
http://www.youtube.c.../IchigoNoShoujo
I hope this blog entry gave you an idea of what it is like to study in Japan! I’ll say it again, if you have any questions (about this entry or for future blog entries), feel free to ask me and I’m going to try and answer them. I'm also very happy about comments and opinions! Other than that, I hope you enjoyed this post. Thank you very much for reading!
Japan sounds like a lot of fun. Now I want to go even more.