Joseph Ellison, (AUT) at Kanda Gaigo Daigaku in Chiba, 2006

 

This essay is about my experiences studying in Japan, about how the scholarship I received from the Sasakawa Fellowship Fund for Japanese Language Education has helped me, and also about my experiences as an exchange student.  To understand how the scholarship has helped me, I think it is necessary to know more about my situation.

 

I am a second year student at Auckland University of Technology doing a Japanese degree. I was able to travel to Japan on an exchange program, so for 2006 I am studying at Kanda Gaigo Daigaku in Chiba. I live in a university dormitory that was arranged for me by my university.  My dormitory is not a classic dorm though. I actually live in a university-owned 3 bedroom apartment with two other foreign exchange students.  My major is Japanese, so all of my classes are focused on language learning, except for a voluntary socio-linguistics paper I am taking about different varieties of colloquial Japanese. I have classes from 9am until 3 pm every day except Wednesday, which is a holiday.

 

The scholarship has helped me by providing me with the most valuable thing I need -  time. Without the financial pressures I would otherwise be facing here, I am free to socialise and study much more than would otherwise be possible. On average I spend about 10 hours a day at university, Wednesday included, and have an enjoyable and active social life. Without the money I received I would be forced to spend about half of my time working.

 

As my overall goal was not to learn Japanese but to use it, the social aspect is the most important to me. It is actually very scary to make friends here, as with even the best students there is a gap between their Japanese and the standard Japanese spoken by native people. It requires a large amount of courage to introduce yourself to people and make friends. In addition, all of my roommates and classmates are from foreign countries. This situation didn’t occur to me before I came, but of course you will be surrounded by foreigners: Japanese people don’t need Japanese classes. This means it is a bit harder to make friends, and there is a temptation to make friends with other English speakers and remain in an exchange student group. Many of my classmates have chosen this path and it shows in their studies. To make friends, I recommend joining a club. Japan’s high schools and universities have a very active club life and it is a great way to meet new people. It does require some time and commitment though, which brings me back to why time is so important, and the scholarship so helpful.

 

My university was very helpful to me and actually went with me to sort out many of the bureaucratic forms I needed to fill out. I do not know if this is common practice but it can be quite hard to negotiate the application for your alien registration, or insurance etc. I do strongly recommend getting the Japanese health insurance offered to you though. It was required when I purchased my cellphone, and I have used it many times since then as well. Students who did not purchase Japanese insurance were forced to wait an extra month for cellphones.

 

Other advice I can offer is :

 

  1. Save as much money as you can. Whether you get a scholarship or not every cent helps, and you will probably be in a situation where you have to pay rent and key money and insurance all at once when you first arrive. I was required to pay about 80,000 yen within two weeks of arrival. 

  2. You will also need to purchase many personal goods, such as toiletries, cookware, utensils, and in some cases even appliances.

  3. I also recommend learning to cook as it is both cheaper and healthier than the alternative. I wish I had learned before I came, as I am now learning the hard way.

  4. As far as life in Japan goes, I think it is an incredibly rewarding place to live and I take great care to remain within the social norms and not embarrass myself. It has been my experience that if I make the effort to speak politely to people in Japanese, they will respond positively. I have made some good friends by just being willing to try to talk to someone on the street and ask them questions.  I fully encourage future exchange students to do the same. It really does make a difference.

  5. Lastly I recommend purchasing an electronic dictionary. I did not think I needed one initially and was sorely mistaken. I now take my dictionary everywhere with me, and it has been a lifesaver.

 

The exchange experience really comes down to what you put into it. It can be a year long holiday, or it can be the best place in the world to really study and learn Japanese language and culture. If you are prepared to do the hard work it is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

 

I would like to close by thanking everyone at Sasakawa and AUT for all the help and encouragement you have given me. I cannot describe how valuable you have all been to me in English or Japanese. Thank you.