My Study Abroad Experience- Part 2

Part 1: http://japantherapyneworleans.blogspot.com/2015/08/my-japan-study-abroad-experience-part-1.html

My Japan Study Abroad Experience

Part 2: School Life

Program:
UNO-Japan: Study at Doshisha University
Studying in Kyoto, Japan
To Learn more go to inst.uno.edu/Japan or contact them at UNOJapan@uno.edu or (504)280-6388.

It's exciting to travel to a new country to see and experience new things, but when you're studying abroad you still have to go to school. I went on this program because it was already affiliated with the university I was attending. The good thing about this program is that it accepts students all over the country. In my last post I mentioned I had a roommate. Well, she was coming from California. My program year also had students from Utah and Ohio. The reason why my roommate decided to apply to this program was because it was the cheapest she could find online. And this program is not only limited to students. My program year had a girl who attended that was no longer a student. The girl just went to the two required classes she needed to take to be on the trip but didn't have to stress over what grades she got. This program is literally for just about anyone (there are restrictions though so look that info up).

My roommate and I eating out in Kyoto, Japan.

Now, I said something about required classes. Let me explain that. This program is a study abroad program. There will be a selection of classes you can sign up for. It is required that you take two classes during the program of the listed classes they supply you. I took a Japanese 2001 class and an English class focused on geisha and samurai. My roommate took a Japanese 1001 class and a Japanese history class. I repeat, two classes are required and it doesn't matter what two. Next order of business, these classes are taught in English by professors from the University of New Orleans or Tulane. The classes are small and attendance is mandatory. The program direct and teachers understand that you are in a new country so your classes are not extremely hard. You still have to work hard at your classes but there's typically no homework. In the Japanese classes you take online tests. For the other classes (like English and History) there will be about two papers to write during your six week stay in Japan for the program. The classes change every year for the program, so depending on which teachers will travel will determine the type of classes for that program's year.

Two classrooms we used on campus in two different buildings.

The university I studied at was Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan. We only used the campus for classes and lunch. The campus was so beautiful when I went, and it still is. Each building was designed differently, and the designs reflect the function of the building, in my opinion. The campus wasn't too large so it was easy to get around. In order to get onto the campus all the study abroad students on the program received student passes. The passes were needed because the campus entrance was guarded by security. I didn't need to purchase a printer because the student pass that I was given gave me access to the computer labs. There were two that I knew of, so there was always space in the labs to print my papers before class. If you weren't feeling in the mood for cafeteria food there would be the option of convenience store food or restaurants near by. During the program the students had the chance to go to three club activities on campus. I got to participate and meet the students of the flower arranging club and the calligraphy club. The other club was the kendo club.

The building I ate lunch in. It was crowded during lunch hour.

Group photo of the program students with the flower arranging club (Ikebana).

The campus was always so lively with students everywhere. The study abroad students had the opportunity to gain new friends with the Japanese students. But that'll be discussed next time, so look forward to it.

Part 3: http://japantherapyneworleans.blogspot.com/2015/08/my-japan-study-abroad-experience-part-3.html

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Get into a Japanese Community

Now I don't mean to find a literal Japanese community full of Japanese people, even though you can. Those are usually Japanese families who have started a community for themselves. No matter where you live or where you're from you can always find people like you who appreciate the Japanese culture, language, or whatever else you're into that's Japanese. You can either attend Japanese language, history, or literature related classes or you can join related clubs to meet people. But don't just join random clubs or classes, you still need to have interest in whatever you join.

What communities did I join?

I've joined some classes and clubs in my college days and met some of the greatest people through it. I've even found that I've bettered myself because of it. I have enrolled in Japanese language classes, studied abroad in Japan (I'll talk about that in detail another time), joined a Japanese culture club, and started a Japanese language club with friends who wanted to improve their Japanese. I would have joined my college's anime club but it wasn't the club for me. It was just a bunch of people watching anime on a Friday. I was looking for more of an intelligent discussion on anime which sometimes the culture club would cover. I loved the clubs I joined so much I took officer positions in them. Once I was done my Japanese classes I took the opportunity to tutor a friend who was just beginning the first level of Japanese classes. I was very involved with Japanese things in college, as you can see. In high school, not so much. There was only a few people who likes Japanese things and they weren't too open about it. All I did in high school that was Japanese related was draw anime characters in a notebook, bring manga to school to read, wrote a story in a notebook that was inspired by all the manga I've read, and go home after school to watch anime. It wasn't that exciting. I'm so glad I got to freely express my love of Japan in college. It has literally changed my life.

What did I get to do in the clubs?

Let's talk about the club I started with my friends I came back with from the study abroad program. We came back from Japan wanting to keep up with the Japanese we learned. Half of us were done with the Japanese classes we needed while the other half continued in their studies. We all decided it would be great to study together and form a Japanese conversation club. We called it Renshuu Douraku which roughly means leisurely practice in Japanese, and that's exactly what the club was. We would have our president go to the board and teach us sentence structure and use it in our own sentences. Once every month we'd play a game that I would make up that involved Japanese. I remember I translated the Game of Life board into Japanese so we could play in Japanese. That was pretty awesome. Sometimes we'd go on outings like going Japanese restaurants or local Japanese concerts. The club was pretty much just friends though. Not many people at my college were interested in learning Japanese.

During Renshuu Douraku club and outing to see a Japanese concert (Aural Vampire).

Now for the culture club. This was probably my favorite club. The president of Renshuu Douraku joined the culture club, Nippon, first. He already established himself with the people of that club and was already a good member. I joined the club because the president of Douraku wanted me to help out with a charity event Nippon culture club was putting on. I didn't know any of the people in the club and had never met them before but I knew one thing, I loved Japan. So I joined Nippon, the Japanese culture club, and my life changed for the better. The members of Nippon welcomed me with open arms, like I was already friends with them. I first attended meetings and helped organize the events but then they discovered my talents and passions. I began to give lectures at the meetings, perform at events, and recruit for new members at school events. I loved the responsibility and leadership Nippon provided me. I was extremely active in the club, even after I graduated from college. Nippon was one of the best times of my life.

Hosting a lecture about horror in anime at a Nippon meeting and performing at a Nippon event.

I recommend getting involved in a Japanese related club if you really like Japan. You will learn so much and make great friends out of it. If there are no clubs at your college or even at your high school you can always start a club like my friends and I did. It takes time and dedication to start a club but it's well worth it. Joining a club brings about a lot of opportunities that you wouldn't get anywhere else. I have no regrets about my involvement in the Japanese community at my college. I hope you all get to experience what I have one day.

I hope you enjoyed this post. It was very personal and I loved sharing this with all of you.

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