My Study Abroad Experience: Year at Hiroshima University

Atomic Bomb Domr

Itsukushima Shrine at Miyajima

Before I started college, I knew one thing I really wanted to do before I graduated was to study abroad.  I knew I wanted to wait a year or two before actually doing it, so I did a lot of research my freshman year exploring different options I had at my school.  I ended up going on exchange during what would have been my Junior year in college ('08-'09), and I think this is an ideal time to study abroad.  I think most schools will require at least sophomore or junior standing anyway.  Before I go any further, I will say that every school is different, and each program will have different requirements, but I'm just sharing my experience.
The University of Hawaii at Manoa has a couple of options for those wanting to study abroad.  There is MIX or Manoa International Exchange or UHM Study Abroad.  Knowing I wanted to study somewhere in Japan, I chose to go with MIX because there are many more options as far as which schools are available, where as UHM Study Abroad only has two options. 
I wanted to do something different, so I decided to apply for Hiroshima Univesity's study abroad program.  I chose Hiroshima because that's where my family came from, and I wanted a different experience.  The requirements for the program I applied for included having a 3.0 GPA and 1 year of Japanese language.  Letters of recommendation, statement of purpose and transcripts were also needed to apply, and I think this is pretty typical at any school.  The application process was pretty long.  I first applied with the Center for Japanese Studies at UHM, and after getting accepted through them, I applied directly through the school.  I started the applications in October and didn't get my final decision until April of the next year.  Not quite sure if this is typical or not, but waiting for the final decision can be quite nerve-wracking.

Dorm doom

Funding is also another thing to consider when studying abroad.  There are many scholarships available, but I will admit, it's not cheap!  I tried to save as much money as possible before leaving for Japan.  In fact, the entire summer before I left, I worked 3 jobs to save money.  I was lucky enough to qualify for the JASSO scholarship.  All schools in Japan will offer this scholarship to exchange students, regardless of the school (although the number of recipients will vary) since it is government funding.  It included a relocation allowance (basically to cover airfare and your first couple weeks) of 120,000-yen (~$1,200 in a prefect world) and a monthly stipend of 80,000-yen (~$800).  I was very lucky to have gotten this scholarship, because it helped me out a lot!  Truthfully $800 a month is a lot, especially living by yourself, but I did a lot of traveling, 飲み会 (drinking parties), karaoke, and other fun things, so the money went pretty fast.  I did have to pay monthly rent at my dorm which was 5,000-yen (~$50!), shared utilities (gas, water and electricity) at about 10,000-yen a month (~$100), cell phone at about 2,000-yen ($20) and health insurance and pension.  The monthly expenses were really very cheap compared to living here in Hawaii, and so were groceries and eating out. This will vary depending where you live though, since we lived in a pretty rural town.  I had a post office bank account, which is very simple to set up and easy to use.  Living on my own taught me to manage my money well.  Thankfully I'm quite good with money so I didn't make any extravagant impulsive buys, but I have to admit my phone bill was sky high the first two months after calling home so much.  I didn't have internet in my dorm for about a month so I couldn't use skype, thus I made long-distance calls on my phone and paid dearly for it (about $300!)

Korean Food night in our dorm

Being away from home and my girlfriend was something that I thought I would be able to handle pretty well when I left, but oh I was wrong.  Bring in a foreign country all by yourself, knowing no one was really hard for me at first.  Once I started to open up and make friends it got easier day by day, but the first month or so, I was really homesick.  I tried to keep busy so I could keep my mind off of things, and most importantly get out of my dorm room.  Since I had no internet there wasn't much I could do, but when I was stuck in my room, I would watch movies.  I swear I watched "10 Things I Hate About You" (my favorite movie btw) at least 15 times!  I just kept telling myself it would get better, and indeed it did.  On top of that, the first few weeks were mentally tough, being surrounded my Japanese all day, every day was very tiring, but also very beneficial.  Just being in Japan and doing everyday things (going to the grocery store or post office) helped to improve my Japanese.

Hirodai Campus

The actual classes that I took were relatively easy.   I took a placement test for my language classes and got places in level 3 classes.  We had the option of taking the upper level classes simultaneously so I took level 3 and 4 classes together.  I ended up taking 6 classes my first semester, 5 of them being language courses and 1 education class.  Each class is 90 minutes and only meets once a week, so I found myself having a lot of free time.  At first this was hard for me to adjust to, since here at home we have shorter classes that meet more frequently.  Work load for each class was easily manageable, and I thought the classes were easy compared to schools here in the US.  If you know anyone else who's studied in Japan, I'm sure they have a similar impression.

Kiyomizudera, Kyoto

 I found that college life in Japan is relaxed compared to the states.  Like in high school, many students participate in extracurricular activities (サークル・部活動).  I participated in a weekly English Cafe, which was an English conversation social night held once a week.  A friend of mine also got me to participate in a latin dance club where we learned salsa.  I met a lot of new people and made new friends this way, so I highly recommend joining a club!  As it is in the US, drinking is also a big part of college life.  I don't drink much, but I think I had the most alcohol I ever had in my life while I was in Japan.  We had parties or went out to bars practically every weekend.  Alcohol is also relatively cheap and no ID is required for purchasing alcohol, nor do they check ID when you order a drink.

For anyone reading this who is considering studying abroad, DO IT!  If money is holding you back, apply for scholarships because there are a lot of opportunities!  Studying abroad was a life changing experience for me.  I learned so much about myself, grew more independent and outgoing, and my Japanese improved immensely.  No matter where you study abroad, you will make your experience memorable!  Take risks, try new things and step out of the box.  I did, and I don't regret any of it!  Except maybe that this experience sparked my interest in traveling the world, and now I want to see everything! 
If anyone has any questions, feel free to leave them here.  If anyone else has studied abroad I'd love to hear about it!  Lastly, thank you for reading this 'till the end :)

Travel Blog: Shimanami Kaido!

So, this blog post is way overdue since I did this almost a month ago, but this was such an awesome experience!
Shimanami Kaido is a 60km (37 miles) road that runs from Imabari (Ehime Prefecture) to Onomichi (Hiroshima Prefecture). It passes through six islands in the Seto-uchi and is only accessible by cycling or walking. When I first heard of this, I thought it was pretty impressive that this path was built only for cycling. Everything is quite modern and the path was really maintained. As you can see below, the cycling path doesn't follow the actual highway, so it's significantly longer than if you actually drove.We decided to try this on a weekday so it wouldn't be as crowded (I think we only saw 2 or 3 other people the whole day...) so we went on a Tuesday (June 7th). We departed JR Matsuyama Station at 7am and it took about an hour to get to Imabari station by local train. Once we arrived, we caught a bus to Itoyama Sunrise, the cycle rental shop, which is located right at the start of the bike path. A one day rental only cost 500-yen, along with a 1000-yen deposit. There are numerous rental terminals along the path on the different islands, so they have a norisute (乗り捨て) system, which is really convenient. It allows you to return your cycle at any rental terminal along the course (in case you decide to turn around). The only downside is that you don't get your deposit back, so it cost us 1500-yen total. Also, each bridge you cross has a small toll you need to pay. We got a ticket book at Itoyama Sunrise which was on sale for 250-yen (originally 500-yen) which had tickets to cover all the tolls.
So we finally headed out at around 830. The first bridge leading to the first island Oshima was the longest one, and passing through Oshima was the toughest part of the trip. This island was huge and it probably took us about 45-60 minutes to get through this part. I was so happy to see the next bridge, and even happier that the next island Hakatajima was pretty short. We got through this one and the next one, Omishima relatively quickly and stopped for lunch before we headed to the next island. We ate and rested for about an hour, and headed out again at about 1:00. The next island, Ikuchijima was also another long one at about 12km and we got lost a couple times here. The path is usually well marked on the ground, but in some places there were no signs so we had to ask people for directions. Unfortunately this island had a temple I wanted to see, but we were trying to finish by sundown, so we decided to pass and keep going. I forgot to mention, these islands have quite a few attractions, like museums, temples and parks etc, but we didn't really stop to see anything because we were determined to make it to Onomichi. By this point i was getting really exhausted and ran out of water, but we kept going because we were almost done. The last two bridges and islands were really tough because we were so tired, but we managed to make it to the ferry port on the last island, Mukaishima before the sun went down. I was so relived to see the end and finally be able to sit down on something other than the seat on the bicycle (very uncomfortable...). From Mukaishima to Onomichi you have to take a ferry, which took only about 5 minutes. We finally arrived at Onomichi at 5pm, so it took us about 7 hours total to complete the course.
The whole course was relatively flat with a few hills, but to me the hardest part was the bridges. At each bridge there was a circular ramp with a steady incline, which takes some time to get up to the bridge. I wish I had brought more water, because I ran out half way through the trip. This was pretty tough for me since I'm not really in shape, nor do I cycle long distances, but it was such an amazing experience! The views from the bridges were really pretty, and it was pretty fun.
After eating dinner, we returned to Matsuyama by bus and train, and it took about 2 hours because we left Onomichi a bit late. I got back home at around 10pm, very tired and really sunburnt, but nonetheless feeling very accomplished. For those of you who happen to be in the area, and want a unique experience in Japan, I definitly recommend doing this!

Summer Internship!!

So I'm finally done with midterms! These past 2 weeks have been crazy busy! But I do have some exciting news. So about a month ago a professor of mine passed out fliers informing us about a summer internship in Matsuyama this summer. It's 80-90 days long and a paid internship. I have known about this since my freshman year in college and always wanted to apply, but I didn't think I would get in, so I opted not to. About a week ago she encouraged people to submit applications because they hadn't received that many, so I talked with her after class and she said I would be a good candidate. I only had 2 days to finish the application, so I did and turned it in right before the deadline.
This past Wednesday I had an interview, and I got a call Thursday morning telling me that I had been nominated as a candidate for this internship. Unfortunately the decision isn't finalized yet, and I still have to submit letters of recommendation and a lot of other paperwork, but I think there's a good chance I will go back this summer. I'm scrambling to turn in everything by next Wednesday, so wish me luck :)