Joe In Japan

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.

The Research Phase

I guess I can start at the beginning, when I first looked into a study abroad program seriously. That was in the spring of my sophomore year here at UMaine. I had taken my first semester of Japanese class and throughly enjoyed it. I figured, I can do this, the time is right for me to start looking into this. At the beginning of each semester here at UMaine, the OIP holds a meeting for all those interested going abroad. The only problem for me was, the meeting was aimed at people going abroad the following semester. I was merely looking for information - that was too short a time to commit to something as big as this. But it was beneficial nonetheless. I was able to see first hand the application process I would possibly be going through the following semester, and I got to meet the director of the office personally. This was really good for me, because I was able to set up an appointment right then and there to explore my options for studying abroad. If you are really set on going abroad, establishing an early dialog with your local OIP is important. Going abroad is not something you are going to want to rush. Information is plentiful if only you go out and take that first step to go down to the OIP and even just talk to the receptionist. In retrospect, I would highly recommend this to freshmen - by starting your research early about different options for going abroad, you have the most possibilities in terms of places to go and the potential dates you might want to leave. Since I am in the latter years of my college experience, it is really coming down to now or never.

At UMaine, there are two distinct paths that you can take in regards to study abroad programs, direct exchange or through private companies. Direct exchange is where you pay all tuition to your home college and go off to a “sister school” which is affiliated with your own. This has clear advantages. For one, it is just so much simpler logistically. Private companies will require you to go through much of the process on your own, whereas with the direct exchange, the study abroad adviser (at UMaine, his name is Ace) will have direct contact with the study abroad departments at all sister schools. For another thing, it will probably be much cheaper (as long as you go to state school like I do). Finally, the people factor. You will be able to talk with many people on campus who have gone abroad, and you will also be able to meet foreign exchange students who have come over from the country you are interested. I cannot tell you how much of a motivation for me this was to go abroad. About halfway through the semester I was researching, a group of students came all the way over from Hirosaki in a three-week intensive English program. I immediately jumped on the chance to meet with Japanese students, and also to just be a help and talk with them. They were some of the most interesting people I’ve met, many of whom I will have the good fortune to meet again when I go abroad.

I suppose this is a good time to bring this up. Talking with people who have actually gone on the program you intend to go on is the most important information you can glean during the research process. Fortunately, this was made all the easier by having a girlfriend whose roommate had gone abroad to Hirosaki for a year. I have spent a lot of time discussing with her the finer details and personal experiences she has had with Japan. That is something that you simply cannot get from a book or website. Make an effort to go out and find people from the country and school you wish to go to, and also the people who have gone before. These people will be the most important factors in your decision to go abroad.

The Application Phase

Well, once you have all your research done and you know where you want to go, you think the battle is almost over, right? Well, not quite, to put it mildly. I did mention earlier that people who work in the International Programs offices love paper, which is not an overstatement. During the first few weeks of school the following semester, I recieved a packet of information with dozens of pieces of information and applications. I had sheets for when things were due, how to fill the stuff out, and then the actual application itself. None of these are particularly difficult, usually requiring no more than your name and address. However, there were a few things that took me a while to come to grips with. The first is the form that tells your home school what classes you will be taking while abroad. They need this so that they can figure out how the different classes will transfer for credit. I spent some time going over the course selections and consulting my contacts for potential good classes. After I had the filled out, the fun didn’t stop there. I then had to go out and get a series of signatures, from my academic adviser, to the study abroad adviser, to the college dean. You’d be surprised how difficult it can be to get people to scratch their name out on your application for you. In fact, that is one of the two forms I still have to hand in by tomorrow. The college dean finally signed off on the bugger today, so I feel much better now that all my plans haven’t been foiled by someone else’s pen-on-paper action. You don’t want to fall behind in the signature battle, that is a sure way to lose to war to go abroad.

Another piece of the application is the personal statement. This will be an essay of roughly two pages detailing just how awesome you are. Really, ham it up and make yourself look good. The host country you will be visiting will want reassurance that you are really there to be a positive contributor to their student culture and country. Make sure to outline your reasons for you interest in the particular country your will be going to. But in all honesty, this isn’t as serious as one you might write for a college application. Have fun with it. Like with a college application essay, this will be your one opportunity to talk directly to the people admitting you.

In addition to all that, UMaine needed a sealed transcript and recommendations from two people. Getting the transcript wasn’t to hard, but it was a pain to get ahold of my academic adviser to write a recommendation for me (the other was written by my Japanese teacher). This is something you will want to get taken care of right away if it is required of you - since it is up to other people to come through for you, you will want to give them as much time as possible. In fact, this is a good thing to keep in mind through the whole process. My study abroad adviser gave me what seemed like a surplus of time with which to complete everything. Don’t think about it this way. Unless you want things to come down to the wire, stay on top of them. I was juggling a lot of different forms and keeping in contact with all kinds of people to make sure that I got what I needed from them, especially those recommendations. Getting things done early when it comes to applying for a study abroad program probably means a longer life expectancy in the long run.

The last component of the application I will talk about is the passport and passport photographs. For the application to Hirosaki, the OIP required my to submit a photocopy of my passport in addition to four separate passport photos. This seemed kind of redundant, but it was still necessary all the same because of visa requirements. I took a quick trip down to the local Wal-Mart to get my photos taken, but you can get them taken at pretty much any travel agency or place that processes photos. It was kind of rough for me, though, because they sold passport photos two at a time usually, so taking four was double the price. Hopefully also you have a passport by this point, because if you don’t you will be in a world of trouble, because they can take of to six months to process (at least in America). If you have even the slightest inkling of going abroad you go to the post office and get one.

The Waiting Phase

So, after all the research and all the paperwork, now you get to play the waiting game, which is where I am now. Some countries and universities will probably be on different schedules than others, so allow plenty of time to hear back. Your local study abroad adviser will surely let you know when to expect to hear from them. Hirosaki, and indeed all of Japan runs on an academic schedule very different from the western world. I won’t be arriving there until March for the spring 2008 semester, and I won’t be receiving my acceptance packet until next month sometime. Your mileage will vary.

Whew, that was a looong post, but hopefully full of useful information for those of you out there curious about studying abroad. Good luck!

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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.

When I was a high school student, I found that I took a liking for foreign language. At the time, I was taking Spanish and I did pretty well. I was fortunate to have a dad who just happened to be fluent in it. I would be lying if he wasn’t one of the primary reasons why I settled on Spanish. It was partially because of him too that I did well. But I found that I enjoyed learning a language, feeling the ebb and flow of the new sounds, discovering the grammatical structure. I know, it all sounds very nerdy. But I really do enjoy it now studying Japanese just as much as when I first started to learn Spanish.

It was also around this time in high school when my family took a trip we had been planning for a while: a trip to Europe, visiting the countries of France and England. Even though it was tiring and exasperating at times, I found myself enjoying the different culture immensely. We stayed in Paris, walked the streets, visited all the touristy spots. We also went up to Normandy to see where the D-Day landings took place. That was an amazing experience as well, because as an avid video gamer I had seen this patch of ground several times, but to see it in person was fantastic. You really feel more of a connection to something like that after having seen it for yourself. England was great too, and not just because they spoke English. :P London was a great city where we spent most of our time. Later in the week we went up to Stonehenge, which was cool to see as well, but I do remember it being a bit underwhelming. It really is just as the pictures show it to be.

Anyway, the result of this trip was a new found interest in travel and foreign cultures. As such, I began thinking about studying abroad in college, but I just couldn’t see myself going to Spain for an extended time. I didn’t feel myself having a connection there - it was more of my “father’s” country. I really wanted to visit somewhere I could relate to on some level personally. It just so happens that around this time, my friends introduced me to animation from Japan, a.k.a. anime. I was instantly hooked. I always had an affinity for the fantastic, which anime had plenty of. But more than that, I was able to hear the language of Japanese for the first time. This too, I became hooked to. As time went on and the more I watched, I started picking out bits and phrases.

Like I said earlier, I am also an avid video gamer. It was also in this way that I exposed to another facet of Japanese popular culture. I played some of the Final Fantasies, Resident Evils, Metal Gear Solids, and several of the happy, bouncy Nintendo games. I really loved the style of these games and their difference from their Western counterparts. I knew it now. I knew what country was “mine.”

Towards the end of high school and beginning of college, I began studying Japanese on my own. At first, I found that learning the basic character sets was the best starting point. After some time, I had the “kana” under my belt. Come my Sophomore year, I discovered the Critical Languages department here at the University of Maine. I immediately began taking Japanese classes. Which brings us to the modern day. I am up to Japanese III and still loving it. I just wrapped up my applications to study abroad and am now waiting for March to roll around so I start my travels. :)

A final thing I want to say about my decision to travel: the quote at the top of the blog. I really feel that traveling is one of the greatest experiences a person can have - I had a taste of that on my family’s trip to Europe. The thought of staying in one place all my life with the big, wide world out there is a frightening thought to me. So more than my love of Japan and the Japanese language, I desire to see the world while I still can, at a time in history when it is more important than ever to be understanding foreign people and cultures.

Well, now that we have gotten to know each other, I suppose I’ll wrap this up. I’ll go into greater detail what the University of Maine had me go through in the application process, so that those contemplating a study abroad program can get an idea about what to expect. Later!

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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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