Helena Hu (AUT) at Kanda University 2007-08

My name is Helena Hu, and I am currently on a one year language and culture exchange programme at Kanda University, Chiba, Japan. Kanda is a sister university of my New Zealand university, AUT.

Being able to speak fluent Japanese and get to learn the culture has always been my dream. I really appreciate the opportunity AUT provided. Through the first semester’s intensive study, I feel that I am one step closer to making my dream come true. Also the Sasakawa Scholarship has given me a huge financial support and allows me to focus on study and participating in local activities without worrying about money issues. Therefore, I would like to say thank you to the generous Sasakawa Fellowship Fund

University Life

Kanda is an amazing University for language education. They are always trying their best to meet the students’ requirements. In the first week after I arrived in Japan, Kanda helped all students to set up step by step. Also, they provide each exchange student with a one to one tutor. These Japanese tutors are usually students in their third or fourth year at Kanda. They help us with the language, and give us many tips on how to live in Japan and understand the country. After a while, we all became very good friends. We learnt about each other’s culture, and went sightseeing together a few times, such as to Tokyo Tower, Hokkaido etc...

Skiing with Japanese friend - British Hill

I enrolled in Japanese papers as well as some other interesting papers such as Nihongokiso and Nihongojijokiso, which are all taught in Japanese. In the beginning, I was very nervous and felt inadequate because my listening and speaking was quite bad. After a few weeks study, all my worries were gone. The lecturers are really kind, encouraging and helpful, and they have excellent teaching strategies.

Class trip

I started from Japanese 2 and Kanji 3 here. In the past four months, I made a great effort in studying Japanese and the progress is remarkable. I am much more confident with my Japanese now; I have no trouble communicating with the locals and my teacher told me that I could skip Level 3 and go directly to Level 4.

Tips:

Electricity
The voltage used throughout Japan is uniformly 100 volts, A.C. There are two kinds of frequencies in use: 50 Hertz in eastern Japan and 60 Hertz in western Japan (including Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka). A convertible type of electrical appliance such as a hair dryer, travel iron and shaver will therefore be handy; otherwise a step-down transformer is required to convert the voltage. There are no columnar-shaped plugs or 3-pin plugs used in Japan; 2-flat-pin plugs are used instead. It is therefore advisable to purchase a plug adapter beforehand. In my opinion, you don’t need to bring your electrical appliance or you can buy a voltage changer from NZ.

ATMs
The majority of ATMs do not accept foreign-issued credit cards, although post office ATMs are an exception. For me, I always withdraw the money from my National Bank card in post office. I check the rates about NZ dollar to Japanese Yen by internet. It is a very convenient way to organize your money. However, I still suggest you to check with your card company before departure.

Mobile phones
The biggest mobile phone companies in Japan are NTT Docomo, au by KDDI, and Softbank (formerly Vodafone, and before that J-phone). Docomo is the most popular company with about 50 million subscribers. Au is next with about 30 million subscribers, while Softbank has about 15 million subscribers. However, as foreigners we must provide a Certificate of Alien Registration Card when buying a mobile phone. Please be patient - usually you can certification after 1 or 2 weeks. I chose the cheapest plan which is around 3000 Yen a month and the mobile phone is free.

Visiting Tokyo Tower with Japanese friends and classmates

Make Japanese friends:
Use every opportunity to make as many Japanese friends as you can. It is not only good for improving your Japanese, but it is also the best way to better understand Japanese culture.

Overall, studying in Kanda Japan has been hugely satisfying. I believe that this is one of the best experiences in my life. I would like to say thank you to the people at AUT, Kanda and Sasakawa Fellowship Fund who have given me such huge support and help.