Sean Adams, (Massey University) at
Kyoto Sangyo University, Kyoto, 2006
My name is Sean Adams, and I am at present (August 2006) halfway through
a 1 year exchange at Kyoto Sangyo University (KSU) in Kyoto, Japan. I am
a 4th year BA Japanese major at Massey University, Palmerston North. I
have studied Japanese since high school, and I spent one year in Osaka
in 2004 as an English Tutor on the Working Holiday Programme. Having had
that year I thought I knew what to expect of Japanese life in general,
but this year has been an eye opener with regards to university life in
Japan. I have had an excellent time so far and am happy with the
progress of my Japanese. I am currently studying very hard for the
Japanese Language Proficiency Test level 1 which I am taking in
December. I have noticed that it is becoming increasingly difficult to
remember English words; perhaps my brain has reached capacity. The KSU
campus is very beautiful in Spring and Autumn, and students coming here
on exchange should expect to lose a few kilograms climbing the steps
everyday as it is situated on a mountainside. A lot of bureaucracy goes
along with life at the university, and chances are things would not have
gone as smoothly for me if Paul Churton, a fellow kiwi, had not been one
of the International office staff here. Once you get settled it is a
very nice, warm atmosphere and the Kyoto area offers a lot of
sightseeing and nature.
General Tips for future exchange students
Money!
One important skill you should either have or work on here is money
management. If you do not keep track of where your money is going you
will be seriously surprised at how quickly your money will disappear. I
am usually very good at exercising restraint when it comes to purchasing
things by compulsion. My biggest outgoing is food, and secondly
transport. Don’t think that you are above teaching English as a
part-time job: it is easy money and you are going to need all the money
you can get.
Food
In Japan you can pretty much forget the idea of getting a balanced diet,
especially on a limited budget, although it is true that money can be
saved by eating seasonal vegetables and fish.
Health
I take the pre-emptive approach: consider yourself sick before you get
sick as getting sick in Japan is not something you want. I take a
multivitamin every day with sufficient vitamin C, upping the vitamin C
dose in winter.
Accommodation
Recommended by KSU (probably the only option) was living in their
I-house, a hostel for foreign students and Japanese students. This year
there are only 6 Japanese students living there. If you are wanting to
make Japanese friends it may be difficult with the small number who
actually live in the I-house. There is no financial assistance from KSU.
Living at the I-house is a fair price and close to university. There is
no internet access in the rooms, however a computer lab with 10
computers is available.
Stardom?
If you don’t like being stared at everywhere you go, you may find things
difficult.
University in Japan.
I had a few problems with paper selection at the start, I wanted to take
proper lectures with Japanese students in Japanese, and I felt I had the
ability but was unable to do this due to some rules. You take 7-8 papers
a semester and each paper is held only once per week. I had 3 Japanese
language papers and 4 extra papers with English based lectures about
topics on Japanese economy, Japanese business, and accounting. The
Japanese language papers were not particularly challenging and the same
material was often covered twice. But in general what was really
beneficial was the fact that at least in class someone would correct my
Japanese when I did make a mistake, which people are too polite to do
outside of class.
If you are interested in Japan, and you have some ability, you won’t be
disappointed.
Sean Adams.
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