Study Abroad in Japan

Hi! In honor of receiving the Gilman Scholarship for study abroad, I have decided to start this blog to satisfy the project requirement. The purpose of this blog will not only be to chronicle my study abroad experience in Japan, but also to provide tips and guides to help make one’s experience in Japan easier and more fun. You can also learn from some of the many mistakes I’m sure to make. ^^

A little about me:

I’m currently an upperclassman at the University of California, San Diego. My major is Japanese Studies with an interest in Political Science. My goal? To become an American diplomat with a focus on Japan (and perhaps East Asia as a whole, eventually).

My reason for studying abroad is simple: to understand this country known as Japan and its citizens. I wish to experience as much as possible while I’m here, and one of my priorities is to become familiar with the thoughts and opinions that Japanese citizens hold. To put it casually, I want to get to know as many native Japanese people as I can. v^^

I have two fears regarding studying abroad in Japan: food and navigating around.

I don’t eat vegetables or fish; however, while I’m here, I’ll at least try to get accustomed to eating fish. I generally don’t enjoy the taste, but since Japan is such a big fishing country and fish is cheap here, I’ll force myself to eat it as much as possible. Hopefully I’ll grow to like it.

As far as navigating around goes, let’s just say I have a terrible sense of direction. Oh well! It’ll be an adventure. ^^

About my program:

I will be studying abroad at the International Christian University (ICU) in Mitaka, Tokyo through the University of California’s Education Abroad Program (UCEAP). The program is for one year and begins July 5th but we must be there by July 4th (July 4th in Japan, not America).

The summer program is called the Intensive Language Program (ILP) and lasts until August 13th. It is a six-week program that I hear is tough and really tests your Japanese ability. Unfortunately, due to this, students are not allowed to have a part-time job during the summer program. Sucks, since I could really use the money. -_-

Speaking of money, my program is quite heavily funded by Financial Aid and a couple of scholarships I was able to obtain. The estimated budget for the entire year came out to be a little over $36,500.

Financial Aid (without loans/scholarships) covered about $20,000 and I took out a subsidized loan for $5,500. I managed to obtain the Duttenhaver Scholarship (http://eap.ucop.edu/financial_information/duttenhaver_dan_wise.shtm, strictly limited to UCEAP students who are studying abroad for one year) and the Gilman Scholarship (http://www.iie.org/en/Programs/Gilman-Scholarship-Program, open to any U.S. undergrad student currently receiving a Pell Grant and planning to study abroad for at least four weeks), each worth $5,000 for a total of $10,000.

I initially applied for four scholarships but was unable to obtain the Chris Borton Memorial Scholarship and the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) scholarship. I’m not fretting about it too much though, since I did not expect to receive two scholarships when applying. My excitement when I was informed I would be receiving the Duttenhaver and Gilman scholarships was at a high point.

For both scholarships, if I remember correctly, the minimum GPA required to apply was a 3.0. My GPA at the time was around a 3.15, so I don’t believe I was chosen based on academic merit.

For the Duttenhaver Scholarship, I believe the essays were truly important. After being accepted for the scholarship, I was able to meet the donor, Linda Duttenhaver. She was a truly kind lady who wanted to help students’ dreams come true and promote an experience that she was able to partake in while she was a student herself. She was really interested in my Statement of Financial Need, so if you decide to apply for this scholarship, make sure you don’t skimp on this part!

I’m extremely grateful to Mrs. Duttenhaver, and the charity that she has provided me will not be in vain. I’m not sure how many students were able to receive this scholarship, but it seems only a few students from UCSD received it, so I’m that much more grateful. Thank you so much, Mrs. Duttenhaver!

The Gilman Scholarship is a government-based program which accepted a third of their applicants, so they seem to be quite lenient. They distribute aid based on financial need and length of program up to $5,000. I’m assuming they hold your financial need in high importance and also your Follow-up Project (this blog is mine), so make sure when you write about your Follow-up Project that you’re truly prepared and know exactly what you’re going to do. To be able to have the government provide me with so much aid (this scholarship on top of the normal financial aid) is quite a blessing. Hell yeah, America!

I’m a little under budget, but once the year begins, I should be fine with a part-time job. I plan on either teaching English at an Elementary School or tutoring English to ICU students if the former doesn’t work out.


Some great advice given to me by others...

From a friend:
+ Show Spoiler +
From TLers:
http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=240968#10
http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=240968#20
http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=240968&currentpage=2#24


Now, on to the real stuff! :D


Before the flight… (June 18 - July 3)

I began feeling homesick two weeks before my flight. It first hit me one night when I checked Facebook and I saw some friends planning events that would occur after I arrived in Japan. From that night on, the feeling never left me: I was incredibly sad that I would be leaving my friends and family behind, to the point that I was having second thoughts about going.

But of course, that didn’t stop me. If it did, I wouldn’t be writing this blog!

There was a whole new experience waiting for me, and I would not allow all my efforts to be wasted.

For the couple weeks leading up to my flight, I spent every waking moment with my friends and family. Time was truly precious; so much so that I didn’t pack until the day before my flight.

Let me give you a tip about packing: make sure you actually plan out what you’re going to pack and what items will go in which suitcase. The UCEAP advisor told us to pack a couple days worth of necessities in one suitcase since we could use a baggage delivery service at Narita Airport to deliver the rest of our luggage to the dorm. I was stupid enough to pack it all in a duffel bag (50 pounds worth) instead of my suitcase with a roller. Yeah, I’m sure you see the problem (for reference, I’m a little 130-pound Asian kid).

Here’s a site with some helpful packing tips that my friend showed me: http://lifehacker.com/5788501/how-to-pack-your-suitcase-as-efficiently-as-a-flight-attendant

Unfortunately, he showed me the site too late. I was already finished packing when I received the link and was too lazy to redo it all. Oh well! T_T

The day of my flight… (July 3)

My flight was at 7:55 A.M. I didn’t sleep the night before as I planned to sleep on the long plane ride. My first flight was from San Diego to Los Angeles, then from Los Angeles straight to Narita.

Once in the air, it only takes 23 minutes to get from San Diego to Los Angeles. I was so exhausted, however, and began to doze off, but the plane was really small and a little rickety so I didn’t fall into a deep slumber.

Once I arrived at LAX, I had to wait a little over two hours before my next flight. I was first planning to use this time to begin my blog, but for some reason I couldn’t connect to their Wi-Fi. What’s up with that!?

I was starving, so I opted to just get some breakfast. $6.50 for a banana muffin and a bottle of apple juice. Damn airports. -_-

The gate to my dreams...

It was time to get on the plane. My heart raced. I was finally leaving America.

Something I forgot to mention, while at the airport I managed to get a lot of compliments for the shirt I was wearing. It was pretty funny.

+ Show Spoiler [The shirt in question] +

On the plane…

I was able to get a window seat. My carry-on was a little too big for the side compartment so I had to use the compartment for the passengers seated in the middle-left portion of the plane. I had no idea those compartments were bigger up until then.

Korean Air. It was no surprise that there were plenty of pretty stewardesses. Since the flight was on route to Narita before stopping at Seoul, there was also a group of Japanese stewardesses, and a couple of stewardesses were able to speak Korean, Japanese and English! Hopefully one day I’ll be able to do the same.

Their entertainment system was not shabby. The movie selection wasn’t up to par, but their music was great. They had Korean, Japanese, Chinese, the latest top hits from America, Classical, and a bunch of other genres. I spent most of my time listening to the Korean songs, from pop to ballads. I only watched one movie, which was Meet the In-Laws, a Korean movie with English subtitles. It was a cliché Romeo & Julie type movie which was mediocre at best, I felt.

I didn’t notice it at first, but apparently I was in the wrong seat. The lady who the seat belonged to said she preferred to sit in my original seat anyway, so all was okay. As fate would have it, the person sitting beside me was a man who was involved in International Politics and was going to Japan for some business (along with pleasure). He gave me his card and told me if I was to ever go to Odawara or Yokohama, then I should go to the Mayor’s office and flash his card to the Mayor so I could be guided around to see some cool stuff. I certainly plan on doing so if I’m ever in the area.


After landing...




When we landed at Narita Airport, he also introduced me to a friend of his—a lovely lady, probably around the age of 30, who helped me get my bags delivered to my dorm and showed me the way to the Narita Express. Funny story: I told one of my friends that I was going to get a pretty girl to help me out when I landed in Japan. I didn’t think it’d actually come true!

Before I boarded the Narita Express, however, I decided to buy a prepaid phone. Fortunately there was a Softbank at the airport (past the stairs leading to the Narita Express and to the left if you keep walking straight) with an employee who spoke very good English. It took about an hour to set up the phone, and the phone itself cost me ￥9,500 (they only had one type of phone available at the time). I invested ￥5,000 for phone calls (which is useable up to 60 days, and the phone number that came with the phone is valid up to 360 days). Thanks to the English-speaking employee at Softbank, everything was very easy to set up.

Finally it was time to make my way towards the university. At the time, I had these to guide me:

http://www.uctsc.org/ICUILP/NRT-ICUILP2011.pdf
http://www.uctsc.org/pdf/N'EX_Narita-Musashisakai.pdf

They came in handy, but this being my first time in Japan, I wanted to make sure I was taking the right trains and headed to the right place. Whenever I got even a little confused, I would ask random people for help. I must have talked to about ten different strangers that day. Knowing the language certainly helped, because I know I would have felt uneasy the whole time if I couldn’t ask people for aid.

To be honest, from the moment I landed in Japan, I didn’t feel like I was in a different country. It must be because I already feel quite knowledgeable about the country and know how to speak the language well enough to get around. I’ve felt at home and incredibly comfortable ever since I landed (aside from the hot and humid weather).



Somewhere along the way I lost my train ticket from Tokyo Station to Musashi-sakai station. I managed to find a security guard and he directed me to someone who was able to help me. I had to repay the fee for the ride from Tokyo Station to Musashi-sakai, but it wasn’t too much (I forget the exact price).

Next was to take the bus from the station to ICU. Apparently in Japan, there’s a spot to board the bus and a spot to get off of the bus. I tried to board the bus from the other spot, but the driver obviously didn’t let me. It was kind of embarrassing, and what was worse was that I was lugging my 50-pound duffel bag around the whole time, so I was incredibly tired already but had to walk to the other stop which was about 75 meters away.


ICU at last...

By this time it was night. When I arrived at ICU, everything was pitched dark. I didn’t know the way to my dorm, and I was way too exhausted to carry my bag around. Not to mention it was still humid as hell at night. I spotted a student walking by himself and called him over. I asked him for directions and he offered to help me carry my bag. Japanese people are so nice. As expected of a student at ICU, his English was good. He guided me to my dorm and we had a nice conversation during the walk. Once we reached the dorm, we split ways. I gave him my thanks and entered the dorm.

There was a ton of people in the front lounge. Apparently they finished the dorm orientation and everyone was getting acquainted with each other, which sucked for me as I missed out on everything and didn’t know anyone. I was guided to my room by a Japanese student who was working at the dorm for the summer. Thankfully he carried my bag for me.

The dorm was a lot nicer than I expected. It was better than any dorm I’ve ever seen in the states. It did cost ~$1,000 for six weeks, though. I was given a key card which I had to use to get in and out of my room and the dorms. Instead of describing everything, here are some pictures:

+ Show Spoiler [Dorm Pictures (IMAGE HEAVY)] +
After I got settled inside my room, I opened my duffel bag to unpack some of the things. As luck would have it, my shampoo, which was wrapped inside a plastic bag, leaked through the bag and onto more than half of my clothes. I was down to a couple of shorts and one t-shirt… my Guild Wars 2 t-shirt that I got from PAX Prime last year.

An announcement rang throughout the speakers in the dorm. Apparently the Japanese helpers were taking everyone out to buy things. Perfect chance for me to buy some detergent, I thought! I washed up a bit before heading out with them all.




One of the helpers helped me find some detergent and a laundry basket. I also bought some water and some Kirin Lemon Tea because I wanted to taste an authentic Japanese drink in Japan. The lemon tea was DELICIOUS. One of my favorite drinks now. The bottle of water was also pretty cheap. Not sure how many ounces it was, but it was a standard vending machine bottle size and it was only ￥58. I think the Kirin Lemon Tea was ￥98.

The difference between Japanese markets and American markets: you put your basket of groceries on the counter and the cashier will unload all your stuff into another basket after they scan it. They’ll drop your original basket in the stack beside them beforehand. Also, you don’t hand the cashier your money directly. Instead, you put your money in this tray beside the cash register and the cashier will take it from there.

After you’ve paid and received your change and receipt, you take your basket of groceries to a table past the cash registers to pack your stuff inside the plastic bags they give you. Yep, that’s right: you pack your own stuff. It’s a pain opening those plastic bags. T_T

I had no idea about any of this beforehand so I was a little confused at first. Interesting experience!

The next morning we all had a placement test to take, so after I got back to the dorm I took a long-awaited shower and headed to bed. I was able to meet my roommate finally before going to sleep, a very nice Chinese-Canadian guy who was about to start working on his PhD for Japanese Literature at Princeton University. Needless to say, he’s incredibly good at Japanese, and most likely the best in this summer program.

So it was time for bed. I had no problem falling asleep at all, as I had barely gotten any sleep on the airplane and was exhausted throughout the day. Thank god for the air conditioner in our bedroom.