After my last post, I figured I’d lighten the mood a bit with an article I found over at Gadling via digg entitled, “Big in Japan: How to rent an apartment in Tokyo.” Author Matthew Firestone decided to move into his own place with a roommate and discovered firsthand the craziness that is renting an apartment in Japan. The place cost $1500 a month, not bad for two people in downtown Toyko. But, not only do you have to pay a down payment and security deposit, you must also pay something called “reikin,” which is two months worth of rent as a gift to the landlord, non-refundable. It doesn’t stop there. You must then pay a “finder’s fee,” costing another month’s rent, non-refundable. Why do these practices exist? According to the article, it is because of feudal laws still on the books mandating that things like apartments be suitably expensive such as to maintain the gap between rich and poor.
I must say, I was shocked to read this article. The cost of living in Japan must be insane, but somehow people manage, otherwise Japan wouldn’t be one of the leaders in the global economy. Go give the article a read, and discover what it means to be “hikoshi-bimbo,” also known as “moving poor.”
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Making the decision to study abroad is one that should not be made without at least a bit of foresight. The reason I say this is, you will spend a good semester solid worrying about forms and applications, which will hound you right down to the last day before you go back home for the break. This is no lie, as it is right now Thursday evening and I have to get not just one but two complete forms back to the Office of International Programs. If I had to venture a guess about what uses the most paper, I’d say TP manufacturers, the U.S. Federal Reserve and International Program offices at colleges across the wide world. But in all seriousness, there is quite a bit to keep track of, and a bit of diligence on your part can ensure that everything goes smoothly.
Continue reading 'Applying for a Study Abroad Program or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Paperwork'»
So why would someone want to do this? Get out of their comfort zone, go to a completely foreign land where they don’t know anyone, and then stay there for several months? Well, there are a couple of reasons. I guess I should go back to high school to really start this off.
Continue reading 'The Backstory…'»
Hirosaki 08-09
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anime, Europe, high school, introspective, Japan, Japanese, language, study abroad, traveling, UMaine, video games
Well, this is the very first post on this site, so I suppose introductions are in order. My name is Joe Kester and I am a student at the University of Maine, who so happens to have a love of Japan and the Japanese language. It was this great interest of mine that lead me to pursue a study abroad program there, which I will be departing for in March of 2008. I recently was accepted, so I figured I would set up a site where I could document what transpires over the next few months in great detail.
I’m going to cut this short for now, but don’t worry! Over the next few days, I will have posts up about my experience applying for study abroad and some pointers for beginning Japanese language students. Until then!
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Themocracy