Older Student Going to Japan

Wagashi and some other stuff..

2012-06-16T22:37:00.000-04:00

Today was not the best week since I have been here... We got our midterms back, and I did not do as well as I had hoped. I was right at the class average so I can't beat myself up too much. I just have to try a little harder. For my experiential activities class we got to make Wagashi (japanese sweets) The ones that we made in particular are called Nerikiri, they are sweets made with a bean paste, and shaped like flowers of the particular season at the time. It was a lot of fun to make and they are pretty tasty too.

Midterms!

2012-06-08T02:20:00.001-04:00

So I just finished taking my Japanese Language Midterms. I think I did okay, but I will find out next week. No rest for the weary though, vocab quiz on Monday, and an oral exam on Tuesday. So for now I will post some more pictures. Just some Cool Shots from the neighborhood. A dear friend of mine came to visit, I was meeting her in Ginza. In normal fashion I was super early, so I decided to walk around Shibuya Station. Saw some pretty cool things. The last shot is my first time riding the Subway system in Tokyo, not as scary as I thought it would be. Ginza is super duper Fancy, so I couldn't really afford to do anything except take pictures. Sorry guys, no gifts from Ginza. I was there about 3 hours before my friend arrived so I did a lot of walking... I stumbled up Tsukiji fish market, it was late in the day so I didn't try to do a tour or anything. That just goes to show you what you might run into without an agenda. I don't think I already posted these last photos. Fancy Buildings in Ginza. I think my wallet was lighter just looking at them.

Photos for now

2012-05-24T08:36:00.002-04:00

I haven't posted in a while. The biggest reason is I haven't felt like it! A lot has been going on and it is a little crazy that I am already almost half way through my study abroad experience. Language classes here are intense and I have learned so much in the almost 2 months that I have been here. When I arrived I could write well but I couldn't really understand much in the way of actual conversation. I must say that I still can't carry on a deep intellectual conversation, or talk about the state of the American economy, but I am on my way. On average we have about 3 quizzes a week in my Japanese class alone and it has helped me to be a better student. So for now I am just going to post some pics of the amazing things that I have seen since I last posted.

Akihabara was only a few blocks around but there was a lot to see! Also wandering off the main area was pretty neat to see as well.

Shinjuku

2012-04-19T18:42:00.000-04:00

I think for this one, I am just going to post some pics, and let them speak for themselves.

I wish, that I brought my better camera with me.. didn't think I was going to take that many photos, next time I know....... and knowing is half the battle lol

Shinjuku, and then some.

2012-04-15T22:36:00.003-04:00

All day Saturday it rained, and I still was not feeling well. I was getting a little cabin fever and wanted to do something, but not much to do because of the rain. Sunday was nicer so I decided that I was going to take the the train to Akihabara (by myself). I was looking to get directions to Akihabara and I saw that Shinjuku was on the way. Shinjuku was on my list of places to visit so I decided I better not press my luck switching trains too many times on my first trip. If you are coming to Japan http://www.jorudan.co.jp/english/norikae/e-norikeyin.html is a great website that gives you several different options for train routes based on fare, and ease, and in English even.

Shinjuku is really pretty, and really big. I decided that I would walk down one street and go back to the station, then go down another. I didn't want to get too lost, but shinjuku station is pretty big so I don't think I would have gotten too lost.

The first street that I walked down led me to Meji Jingu, I was really surprised when I stumbled upon this. My first Shinto shrine, and its a really big one too.

It was pretty impressive seeing this large wooded area in the middle of a big city. I've been to central park, but this place is different. Maybe because this is a sacred place. Right now is a good time to go because they are celebrating to centennial of the death of emperor Meiji.

I paid 500円　to see the imperial garden, it was really pretty.

A couple of weddings were happening, but I didn't want to be too touristy and take photos of a family Event.

I thought it was really neat to see nature and the industrialized world meshing. More pictures of Shinjuku to come.

First day of Classes

2012-04-12T19:08:00.000-04:00

Today is the first day of classes and I am pretty excited as I always am (such a dork I know). I am taking 15 credits, I'm not exactly sure how that translates to american credits but I know that it is enough for my university to consider me full time. Also to stay in Japan on a student Visa you need to take at least 10 credits. The only class that I am taking that is not taught in Japanese is called, "Language in Japanese Society". I am taking another course that is called multilingual interactions, so that is kind of a hybrid class, where the students teach each other their native language. I think my selections will keep me thinking about Japanese language all day, where as back home, it is twice a week and before big tests.

some pictures around campus on the first day of class.

got to campus early so I took a walk around the neighborhood very pretty

Placement Test Results

2012-04-09T20:07:00.001-04:00

Yesterday we got our placement results. I got into 2a. This is not what I was expecting but also not the end of the world. Most of the american students who have had the same amount of Japanese classes as me placed in the same class. On the bright side of this, most of my classes are going to be language classes.. when I return to Towson I will only be able to take 2 more semesters of Japanese so I figure I might as well get as much learning in as I can. Also, when we start classes, if we find this one to be too easy, we can request to be placed in a higher class....

I can't breath through my nose. 花粉症、hay fever, or allergy to pollen is a word I don't think I am going to forget for the next few weeks. This year it hit me twice, with the weather being so nice so early in the states, and the Sakura blooming right after I arrive. I Think I am going to take advantage of fact that the majority of people wear masks here. Medical masks, I mean. if you are sick or someone in your family is sick, they even have masks especially for 花粉症. I don't think I got one for allergies but I think anyone would help really

The Dorms

2012-04-07T19:54:00.000-04:00

The dorms are pretty nice. All of the Photos that I have seem make them look really small.. I can assure you that it is plenty of room.

the Gekkan, where you take your shoes off... I didn't bring to many so it is doubling as a coat rack.

The main room, there is a sliding door between the toilet and the bed... on the other side of the bed is a balcony

pull up for a big flush and down for a small flush

No need for explanation

Shower room

some views from my Balcony... you can barely hear the train when it goes by

The Kitchenette is on the other side of the room next to the door.

Check Up

2012-04-07T19:34:00.000-04:00

In Japan it is mandatory to get a checkup every year, and for students it is usually done at school. We foreign students were no exception, so we had to come to campus on Saturday morning. The boys went at 10am and the girls at 3pm. It was pretty cool how it was set up. We had to walk all the way up to the 5th floor, and when it was our time go, the fun began. We got these sheet where the Nurses/ Doctors? filled in their information. We walked down to the 4th floor to get our weight and height measured, the 3rd floor to get our hearts checked, I can't remember if their was anything on the second floor but when we walked down to the first floor before we were seen we had to sit in white chairs. Just outside the building, there were X-ray vans, and 2 at a time we would go out and get our chest x-rays. When we returned we gave the last person our big sheet of paper and she gave us a pamphlet about domestic violence (all in Japanese) then we had to sit in the black chairs to show that we were finished. After everyone was done we were able to leave and we had the rest of the day to ourselves. Very efficient. I didn't do too much the rest of the day, except go grocery shopping and hang out in my dorm room. The cherry blossoms are in bloom but it is still rather cold here (and I am minimally prepared for cold weather), So I think I am going to try and go see them today.

Me and the guys I have been hanging out with went here for lunch. It is just around the corner from Campus

I got the Katsudon seto. Deliscious! Wet sat at a tatami mat area with a low table, my back hurt after a little while. The guys could see that I was in pain so they moved around the table to accomodate me. I think I am going to have to practice sitting on the ground for a long time.

My trip to the Super Market. I went a lone so I am sure that I am going to have to go back soon

May comes in these really cool Squishy bottles here

Shampoo in a bag

For Dinner I made Curry with some Kind of meet. I think It was beef, but I did not see the Kanji for it.

日本語のテスト　Japanese test

2012-04-05T17:45:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I took the first part of the language placement test. It was four tests total; grammar, Kanji/ vocab, reading, and a written portion. When taking the test they said if we didn't know it don't fill it in because it would skew what class we should belong in. When we received the first test I was amazed that it was all in Japanese!!! this made the test very intimidating and I don't think I did so hot. Each section had four parts, and the students that were here the semester before were taking the same test as us new arrivals. They explained the placement as there were three levels (beginner, intermediate and advanced) within these levels they are split into upper and lower (1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6) and in each of those subdivisions they have an A and B class... I didn't answer a whole lot for each section but essentially they are placing the whole range of people, so I am going to try and keep a positive attitude about the whole thing. I think I did pretty well on the writing portion, however.. they gave us two options for it. One was difficult and I could not understand the instructions, so for us who could not understand, they gave us the option for one with instructions written in English. I heard that if we did too good on that one they are going to make us take the harder one today, hopefully I didn't do too good. We are having a verbal test today and a welcome party.

Tomorrow is the first day where we are not going to be busy all day. The guys have a physical at 10am and then we are free after that. Maybe I will explore the neighborhood or take a train ride somewhere.

first day

2012-04-04T15:36:00.000-04:00

My first full day in Japan was pretty exciting even though we did not do a whole lot. I woke up around 5:30am, and I thought that I had escaped the Jet lag by staying awake most of both of the plane rides here. It is now almost one in the morning so that is not the case. We took a bus to Machida from the airport, and with one stop it took about two and a half hours. Some of the things that I noticed on the way was how clean Japan is (at least what I have seen so far). Not one grocery bag in a tree or litter on the ground. When we got to the campus, which is beautiful by the way, we had lunch and all of the staff and faculty that we will be interacting with us introduced themselves. The food was delicious. After that we had a run down of what our schedule is going to be like when until the 11th of April(a lot of orientations and placement tests).We get to actually get to register for classes on the ninth. We had another orientation for the dorms, at this point I was getting pretty sleepy, but I made it through, when we finally made it the to the rooms it was raining pretty hard so I didn'r get to do much today. I tried going to bed around seven pm but it didn't make it through the whole night. I woke up a couple of times, with my final wake up time at about five am I think jet lag will escape me pretty soon.

I have been drinking hot coffee from vending machines since I have arrived. Most of it has cream and sugar, which is not my thing. They do have some black coffee choices, they are not as strong as I would prefer and at 120円, I am going to have to buy some after orientations today. A few things that I wish I had now that I did not bring are, a towel and a rag. Last night when I took a shower I used a long sleeve shirt to dry off with. A internet cord, so I don't have to wait to get on the internet (I'm going through withdraw!) and a while ago I purchased a collapse-able ashtray from a Japanese store called Muji in New York City. I collect ashtrays from different places and now I know why there is a need for something like this here. People do smoke but, it is really hard to find an ashtray on the streets around here.

Im here!!!!

2012-04-02T17:06:00.000-04:00

I arrived at Narita last night with just enough time to make it to the last shuttle going to the hotel that we will be staying in for the evening... I slept maybe one hour yesterday. I woke up at 5:30 this morning so hopefully I wont have jet lag. The person that I am sharing a room with does not speak English, so I have already had to speak Japanese (as much as I know) a bit. I will try and get some photos up tonight after we get settled into the dorms.

Heading Out!!!!

2012-03-30T11:53:00.001-04:00

This morning I got the last email from オビリン (Oberlin) before I arrive in Japan. It was about my arrival to Japan. Unfortunately the flight that I caught has me arriving after the volunteer students leave the airport. This means that I am going to have to find the shuttle to the hotel all by myself, which means I may have to use Japanese! I used to work in a restaurant and whenever I heard people speaking Japanese, I would say to myself "I am going to speak Japanese to them!". Needless to say, I always chickened out. It is easier to speak Japanese to your Sensei, or people learning the language with you. Living in Japan for four months is going to be a great opportunity to utilize what I have learned as well as learning quite a bit more. As I look back on the process that has lead me up to this point, it is all very surreal. Being a non-traditional student, I have had a lot of experience that I never thought I would have. When my friends were going to college (when they were supposed too) I never thought I would get to a number of things. Live in the dorms, take crazy classes, or study abroad just to name a few things. I thought that I would be stuck in the hospitality industry for the rest of my life (not that anything is wrong with that, just not something that I wanted to do forever. If you told me when I was 18 that I was going to study for a semester in Japan, I would have laughed at you. There are many steps involved in getting to study abroad. I started the application process in September of last year, once I got accepted (first from my university, then from Oberlin), a lot more followed. it seems like I have been doing things that have lead up to me leaving for the past six months. If you happen upon this blog and you don't know me, if you are wondering what it is like getting ready to study in Japan, if you are thinking that since you are a "non-traditional student" you can't do it.... It is hard, it is stressful, it is also, thus far a rewarding experience. I proves to me (and hopefully other people) that if I work hard, I can accomplish anything, and so can you!

日本に行きましょう！(lets go to Japan!)

2012-03-09T09:18:00.000-05:00

With only 22 days until I head to Japan, I have most of the preparation complete. With that being said I still need to do a little bit more. I have to finish packing up my belongings at my house as well as for my trip. I was going through some old clothes that I haven't fit into for a long time and some of them fit again. That was a little bonus before my trip, it is like having new clothes.

I purchase my airline tickets through Vayama.com. While they were the best deal at the time, when filling out the ticket information they only allow you to put your middle initial. I now have to call the airline to make sure that my full middle name is on the the ticket due to new regulations requiring your ticket to have your name exactly as it appears on your passport. They also do not let you select a seat from their website.

On the advice of J.F. Oberlin, I purchased traveler's checques as well as some currency in Yen before I arrive. This only added to the excitement when I received Japanese Yen. ¥ is the symbol for currency there, like $ is for here. I do have money in the bank as well. I hear not all places accept foreign debit/ credit. The places that are most likely to accept them are 7-11s and post offices. Check with your bank to see if they have sister banks in Japan, my bank unfortunately does not. I think they said something to me like it will cost 1% for the currency exchange plus whatever ATM fees. Also, you need to (and so do I) to put a travel flag on your credit cards. I did with my bank card. The person that I spoke with said that he can only put a flag on it for three months and then I will have to do it again, that is a little annoying but I guess it is just standard procedure. They gave me a number that I could call internationally. I am a big dork, so I am going to make a spreadsheet so that I can have it on my computer as well as make a copy and put it elsewhere.

I purchased an outlet adapter for my electronics, I have spoken with many people and they said they did not need a currency converter for their technology. I know that my computers power supply can run on Japanese power settings. I do need to get a 3-prong to 2-prong adapter thing as well.

Got some Sexy Luggage for my trip. Probably shouldn't have spent the money, but I figured that would be a good gift to myself for my 30th birthday. And I will be able to use if for a long time I am sure. I still need to purchase some luggage locks and address labels.

With the weather being as crazy as it is I just remembered that I have allergies! They are tolerable here but I have no idea what it is going to be like when everything is in bloom upon first arrival. I am not going to try and bring any medicine over there, it will avoid potential hassle at customs, as well as maybe be a fun language test at the local drugstore.

Finding out about home-stay ( or lack thereof)

2012-03-03T10:04:00.000-05:00

When I first decided that I wanted to study in Japan, I knew that Home-stay was something that I was interested in. I feel that it is probably going to be the best way to retain all of the new grammar and vocabulary that I will be learning. Staying in the international student dorms would probably make it harder to stay in Japanese-language mode, by hanging out with only the other international students. Also, it would be really easy to isolate all together. The dorms at Oberlin are really nice, single person dorms, which made it hard to check the home-stay box on the application. Alas, I have been curious about who I might be staying with while I am abroad. Would I be staying with two parents and some kids? Would I be staying with people who might be my age or a little older? Where will I be staying is also something that I have been wondering. They place people in homes up to an hour away from campus. This does not really bother me since my commute is about an hour each way here as well. Will I be staying further west? or closer to downtown Tokyo. I Just found out that I was not placed with a home-stay. I guess I was a little to picky with my placement choices. That is okay. I will just have to get out of my comfort zone and make Japanese friends (which was the plan in the first place). I have already made a few pen-pals in Japan that I will be excited to meet once I get there. As I mentioned before, The dorms look really nice, they are also within walking distance to school. I believe that Oberlin also offers a free shuttle to campus. It will save me some money on commuting, so I can make bigger trips while I am there. The one major expense with living in the dorms is that I am going to have to pay for all of my meals. With the home-stay some of the meals were included in the price. I spoke with a Towson student who is in the Kansai region right now studying and here budget seems to be around the same as mine and she is doing just fine.

28 days until I head to Japan!

Trip to the Embassy of Japan

2012-02-27T12:15:00.000-05:00

I figure that I should practice making some videos before I head to Japan. I took the MARC train to D.C., which I have done before but it was pretty special this time. I did have to drop off the passport and pick it up three business days later with the visa inside.

In other news. I turned 30 yesterday, and had a wonderful day. That also means that I have 33 days before I fly to Japan.

The Waiting Game

2012-02-23T21:11:00.000-05:00

Since my last post I have received my Certificate of Eligibility (COE) from the Tokyo Immigration Bureau, along with the original copy of the acceptance letter from J.F. Oberlin University. I must admit that I was a little nervous waiting for the COE because it was almost two months after they said that they had sent the application in for me that I was notified that it was approved. A lot of things that I read about the COE from other blogs made it seem like they are quick to refuse anyone. I think that if you put all of the information in correctly you do not have a problem, the university that accepted you wants you to go to their school so they are going to make sure that the COE application is done correctly. When I received the COE it was dated as being processed in a little over Four weeks. When I received those two things I had to go to the Embassy of Japan in Washington D.C.. There I needed to apply for my Student Visa. I had to fill out another application and take another passport photo. This only took three business days and the passport with the visa was back in my hands. When you drop off your passport with the application and COE they give you a receipt that says that if you do not bring it back they will not give you back your passport, so naturally I was checking to see if I had it every five minutes. I picked it up without a problem.

Now everything is done. I purchased my plane ticket, have my Student Visa and the COE. All of the stuff that I needed for the study abroad office at my university is turned in. I ordered some Japanese Yen from my bank. All I have to do now is wait.

I'm in the System!

2012-02-06T09:06:00.000-05:00

I received an email from Oberlin notifying me that I am in the system. At Towson University our online learning system is Blackboard, I am sure that most of you in college have something similar to this. Oberlin has Moodle, I have my user name and password now. I even have some assignments that I have to complete before I arrive. I know, homework already? actually it makes me even more excited than I was before. The assignments are just a couple of questionnaires that help the school to shape their future exchange programs, and one brief essay in Japanese. The essay is entitled 日本語と私、(the Japanese language and me). It needs to be completed in 30 minutes, in Japanese, without a dictionary. I finished the essay and let me say, I don't think it was my best work. Even though they would probably not know if I looked in a dictionary or not, I don't want to be placed in a higher class and not know what the heck they are saying. When I arrive I will have another placement test as well (four hours and thirty minutes). My certificate of eligibility from the Tokyo Immigration Bureau has been shipped to the U.S. It has taken almost two very long months to get this and I have been on pins and needles waiting for it. I was very excited when I received the email and now... I just have to wait for Towson to receive it, and then I can get my visa.

日本語を勉強してます

2011-12-29T10:57:00.001-05:00

So as I have posted before I will have a long, long break between now and when I arrive in Japan. That means I have plenty of time to forget what I have learned. It could also mean an opportunity to have my own little Japanese language boot camp! I don't know about you, but usually after a semester ends my brain goes into hibernation immediately following the last exam. It is going to be hard to stay focused but if I want to be placed in a decent level after the language placement I am going to have to stay vigilant. Some of the things that I will be using are: Tuttle's Kanji Flash cards. Using "actual" flash cards are good if you ride public transportation like I do, it helps the time go by pretty quickly. My only suggestion is that you don't bring too many at one time because by the time you think you remember a Kanji, or it's many pronunciations you fill your brain up with something else.. I think 15 is the most I can do at one time. I imagine this is different for every person. Barron's 501 Japanese Verbs Although i would like to learn 501 verbs before I arrive, I dont think it is going to happen. They do however, have a list of 55 essential verbs. I think i can commit myself to learning 55 verbs in 3 months. Some of the verbs I already know. Yookosoo Workbook we did not use this workbook often in my first two semesters of Japanese, but enough so i cant sell it back. The workbook has a ton of exercises that will help keep what i already know fresh in my head. Journal I am going to try and start journaling everything that I can in Japanese. Simple tasks that I do and maybe things that I want. Just some things that will help with sentence structure and particles, maybe even reinforce some Kanji.

Post Christmas Frenzy

2011-12-27T12:22:00.000-05:00

I know I do not leave for Japan until April, but a lot of things need to be done. I am still waiting on my certificate of eligibility from the ministry of education in Japan. That should arrive by late January, early February. Once I receive that, I will have to go to the embassy of Japan in D.C. to get my visa to enter the country as a student. The Process at the embassy should not take more than one day. I know it is a little too soon to look but I will have to sublet my room hare in the states. I imagine that subletting is going to be a problem for some students (especially the ones who waited a little while to go to college). When is too soon to start looking? When is too late? I don't know.. I think I am going to put an add on craigslist in January and find out. One of the other big things that I have to think about is getting a plane ticket. Plane tickets From BWI (the closest airport to me) seem to be more expensive than airports that are a little further away. When I first started looking in August (way before I even applied), round trip tickets were about $1600.00. Now they have gone down to about $1350.00. Researching about how to get the cheapest flights is kind of mind numbing and sites say completely different things about when to buy and who to buy it from. Most sites do say that Tuesdays and Wednesdays are some of the cheapest days to buy tickets. Also, I should get the tickets at least 30 days in advance, which is when オビリン　would like you to have it done by as well. I am hoping that flights get a little cheaper by then. Most important thing... I need to find a J-O-B!!!! I am very sure that I am going to want to spend more money than the expected cost of attendance has allotted me and my work-study money is not going to cover that. I have just about three months to make a million dollars (not really) so I have a feeling that I am going to be serving at a restaurant sometime soon. It is probably the best way to make a lot of money in a little bit of time, as far as I know. I did make a lot of money selling some things on amazon.com creating a seller account to sell some of my text books and electronics. One word of advice with selling on amazon, don't use any other computer except your own to access the seller account. I was printing shipping labels at the school library and they suspended my account because it said I was linked to a previously closed account. I was freaking out because I sold about $700.00 worth of stuff and they were not going to give me my money for 90 days. Luckily after a few emails and some fishing around I was able to get it reopened.

2011-12-21T20:10:00.000-05:00

Just took the last exam for the semester.... WHAT A RELIEF! I do not have to do anything academic until sometime in April, and when I am doing it, it will be in Japan woo hoo!!! I think the last exam just made me a little more excited to be going to Japan. I got an -A in 日本語のクラス(Japanese class), not the end of the world, it is still a good grade but I really like the class and wish I did better. Since I have such a long break and I can't sign up for any classes at my home university I asked my current 先生(teacher) if I could sit in during her 202 portion of the class until I leave. She said yes. So between now and april I will be filling my head with nothing but vocabulary, grammer, katakana, and Kanji. I think I have gotten better with the Katakana but I want to be able to read it faster. I am still waiting for most of the classes that I want to take while in Japan to be approved by the department chairs, so if you have to do something like that you should work on that as soon as possible.

Silly things that I learned...

2011-12-19T11:10:00.000-05:00

So I don't leave until April fool's day, to find as much information as I can. Things like what to bring with me, what not to bring, what I can expect in a home-stay situation, what kind of things to do while I am in Japan, etc. I never write any of it down, and I spend hours doing it while I could be studying for finals that are going on this week!!!! It is fun to think of what I will be doing, while not in classes in Japan, but I am sure that fantasy and reality are two different things.

Some of the things that I learned (may or may not be relevant to any of the above mentioned stuff):

1. Bring Deodorant. Apparently, the stuff that they have there is not as strong. Let's face it, I need the high grade stuff!!!!

2. Immigration at the airport is a fairly painless process.

3. Home-stay can be a pretty cool experience if you are considerate of other people's customs; the american way is not the only way to do things. I am actually very excited to do things that are non-american, I am wishing that my home-stay family and I get along and we can do things together. I will be the big 3-0 when I arrive, so i may have more common interests with the host-parents that with the students, not sure. I like to think that i get a long with all age groups here but i think it will be easier to break the ice with the host-parents.

4. A great way to save money is thrift store shopping. I do this now so it wont be much of a change. In japan they are called リサイクルショプ (recycle shop). I think even if you are looking for a gift for someone, they wont be offended if it is second hand, because you got it in JAPAN. I have found some pretty cool things while at the thrift store here, so I expect it will be the same over there.

5. If your laptop or other electronic equipment that you plan on bringing to Japan has a polarized plug (one side bigger than the other) or it has 3 prongs, you will need to get an adapter for it. If it is a blowdryer, it wont work as strong.

6. It is really humid in Machida during the spring and summer months. It is pretty hot and humid in Baltimore as well so I am not too worried about that. This revelation makes it really important to follow through with step one!

I am sure I will look up more things before I actually arrive in Japan so stay tuned!

Courses and Home Stay

2011-12-17T09:40:00.000-05:00

While Im in Japan I will be taking classes. At my school back here in the states I have to get course equivalencies signed off by the chairs of each department. This process has taken a while so if you have to get something like this done, I recommend working on it right away. Unfortunately I am not able to register for the classes yet so I may or may not even get the classes that I want. Luckily オビリン(Oberlin) has a lot of really interesting classes. the ones that I am interested in are:

Modern Japanese History

This survey course will introduce students to nineteenth- and twentieth-century Japanese history. The course begins with a brief introduction to politics, society, thought and diplomacy in Japan between 1600-1800, then it explores the tumultuous nineteenth century, when domestic conflict and imperialist pressure produced a political revolution and a profound and unsettling transformation in politics, economics, social organization and thought. Next, the course explores the twentieth century, a time marked by social instability, foreign aggression, wartime destruction and economic recovery. The course will be primarily lectured based, but some time will also be devoted to discussions about primary source readings (in translation). Assignments will include class discussions, a midterm exam, a final report and a term paper.

Sino-Japanese Relations

Sino-Japanese relations have radically changed during modern times and are now at their worst since diplomatic normalization in 1972. This class will provide a detailed introduction to the various issues influencing Sino-Japanese relations, including, but not limited to, differing historical perceptions, the textbook controversy, visits by Japanese politicians to Yasukuni Shrine, and questions relating to war reparations, Japanese ODA to China, and Taiwanese independence. While the course will focus on current issues, historical background going back to the 19th century will be discussed as necessary.
Reading assignments written by leading specialists of Sino-Japanese relations, and course lectures are designed to provide students a greater insight and understanding of Sino-Japanese relations, paying close attention to the recent tension between Japan and China. Each class will be divided into two parts. The first portion of the class is a lecture provided by the instructor. This will be followed by a discussion of weekly readings, student presentations, documentary videos, field trips (e.g., Japanese Diet or Kamakura), and others. Weekly reading assignments will be assigned at the end of each class.

History of U.S. Japanese Exchanges

This course will explain the political and cultural creative tension between Japan and the United States over the past century and a half. It will trace the evolution of political and cultural exchanges between the two countries through four main phases: 1) early encounters between Japanese and Americans from the 1840s to the 1860s, 2) adaptations that Japanese and Americans began to make to accommodate each other between the 1860s and the 1890s, 3) elaborations and adaptations of Western civilization in under the influence of the United States, and 4) competition between the United States and Japan before, during and after World War II. The course will be primarily lectured based, but some time will also be devoted to discussions about primary source readings (in English) that will be provided to students. Assignments will include class discussions, a midterm exam and a final exam.

And of course I will be taking Japanese Language （日本語）classes. From what I understand, a lot of American students, place a little lower than expected. I am not sure if this is because of the long break before the spring semester starts (My last final is done on 12/21 and I don't leave for Japan until April first), or because Japanese is not the easiest language to learn Either way I am going to try and study over the long break so I don't lose too much of what I have learned. I think over the breaks in the past I have been more focused on learning kanji, while this is great it does not help with grammer. Also I have hiragana down, but katakana is not the best. I think I will have to practice that a little more, as a lot of signs are written in katakana.

Home Stay

I am still not sure if I have been placed with a host family yet. My study abroad advisor at Towson University told me that Obirin said that home stays are hard to come by, but since I am number 7 on the list of international students, I am pretty confident that I will get it. I think that will really help with language acquisition, and they feed you as well. I have been reviewing other blogs about home stay and they say it is customary to give a gift of some sort upon arrival. Nothing expensive, just a token of thanks, preferably something that displays anything about where you live like a T-shirt with your states baseball team. When I have more information about my potential host family and what I am thinking about giving I will post more about this.

The School Im Going Too...

2011-12-13T10:35:00.000-05:00

J.F. Oberlin University or、オビリン、is located in a suburb of Tokyo. It is about a 40 minute train ride from downtown Tokyo. I was accepted into the program through my school, Towson University. I was super excited but, from there I had about a month to get a bunch of stuff done. There are a lot of things that need to be done before I am able to get a student visa. I needed to get a:

complete physical with a chest x-ray and everything.

A statement of financial guarantee and expenses to be paid. (you cannot work in Japan with a student visa, unless you get special permission)

6 passport photos... on the application it does say 3cm x 4cm but i did not cut it down because I have no sense of metric. I thought that was the passport size. Passport photos are 2 x 2 inches. I had to send them more cut down to the right size. I sent 2 photos express mail to Japan and it cost me $40.00. so make sure that they are cut to the right size.

And a copy of my passport page.

After I sent them the right sized photos, I received an email saying that all my information is in and they will let me know if I get accepted into the program shortly. I was a little surprised because I thought I was already accepted into the program. I guess that my school approved me and then I still had to be approved by J.F. Oberlin. The last week before I found out I was on pins and needles. Well I got in (I guess you can tell because I am writing this blog). I just got an email this morning with a spreadsheet of all of the international students and what they still need to submit. Everything I needed has been submitted, just waiting for some forms from the ministry of education so that I can get my student-visa for Japan. On the spreadsheet it showed that there are 63 international students. So that means that in all the world I am one of 63 students that got accepted to this school, that made me smile this morning.

Studying In Japan in April

2011-12-12T11:36:00.001-05:00

はじめまして

On April fool's day, I will be traveling to a suburb of Tokyo called Machida（町田市）. I will be studying at a university named J.F. Oberlin (オビリン）for four months. As someone who had no intention of going to school when I graduated high school (in 2000), this is one of the most exciting things to ever happen to me. It is also scary, the whole process has been a little intimidating. In the months that lead up to my trip abroad I will be chronicling the whole process. From getting a passport, applying to the school, some of the silly things that was required of me, and anything else I can think of. Of course I will be taking pictures and videos when I arrive, but I will try not to get ahead of myself.