USA Gaikokujin

I have decided to publish huge posts infrequently instead of smaller posts frequently. Why? Well I want to experience Japan so that I can blog about it and that takes time. I have met many people from many different countries with a variety of cultures. I have a friend from England, Portugal, a few from Sweden, few from the USA, and lastly, a few good friends from Japan. I've been writing down everywhere I've been, people I've met, and places I've seen. Some of this is from that book and some of it is from my thoughts that just came back to me...

When I first arrived in Tokyo, I wasn't surprised by the kindess of the Japanese American Airlines staff. I wasn't sure where to go after a certain point, so I asked them in Japanese if they spoke English, and fortunately, they did. I made my first contact with other International students at Narita Airport (in Tokyo). While waiting for our flight, we noticed another がいじん(foreigner) speaking in Japanese very loudly to one of the staff, making it very apparent to everyone that he was angry.

While I was being drawn into the lights of the Narita convenience store, I met two students from the US. I eventually arrived at Itami Airport (in Osaka) without any problems. Kansai Gaidai picked us up and most of my worries left at the airport at that point.

I met my speaking partner, Kana, and her friend Ayumi. Both of them are really kind and speak English really well. We walked around Hirakata(ひらかた）and get a good feel for the town. It's not that big (for a Japanese city) and the bus system makes it very easy to get around). My room mate is from Korea, and he is great!!! He's been here for a semester already so he knows where everything is in the city. He's been very helpful in helping me adjust to Japanese life.

I've ate Okonomiyaki（おこのみやき), Onigiri （おにぎり）, and sushi.

I finally got my pre-paid cell phone from Softbank. For a prepaid phone, it's really good. I can type in English and Japanese. The smiley faces are really detailed and there are 6 pages or so of them. It takes great pictures and the display is crisp.

Well I leave in three days (U.S time) and I am just about finished packing. Thanks to some help, I was able to fit everything I need into one luggage and one carry-on. If I could fall asleep in public places (airplane), I wouldn't need a carry-on, but I can't so I want stuff to keep myself occupied. Here is my packing list and a picture will be posted once I am finished.

Summer clothes

• 15-20 t-shirts
• 4 shorts
• sandals

Winter clothes

• 7 long sleeve shirts
• 3 pairs of jeans
• my UCM hoodie
• Winter pajamas
• A wool coat

Other

• 10 pairs of socks
• 10 pairs of boxers
• Face wash
• shampoo
• soap
• toothpaste
• toothbrush
• floss
• towels & washcloths
  
• Magic Jack
  
• Gifts from your area

Got the recommendations from the professors?

Great!

Now you need two non-academic recommendations. This can be a boss from a current(or previous) job, a high school teacher, a coach, or instructor. These two people need to know you well, and they should have an idea about your goals and hopefully that includes studying abroad. These are fairly simple to get but don't take a long time in getting them back.

Now depending on your college, (UCM does have this) there might be an application fee. What? Already? Yes...already. If they didn't have an application fee then everyone would be turning in applications...see where that's going? Don't worry, the fee will be refunded to you if you decide you don't want to go. (up to a certain point but that's later) Going to pay it and keep going forward? Well if your sane, then you would be asking...what does this go toward? (the fee)

At UCM, the fee pays for your application fee at what University you end up attending. (in this case, Kansai Gaidai)

Three requirements left and they are a one page essay of why you want to study abroad, a passport, and some passport sized photos.

Ok, this is the point where you really need to ask yourself why you want to study abroad. By now, you should be serious about this. This will be your base or foundation for the essay. They take this seriously because your representing UCM, Missouri and the United States. Some reasons include (but not limited too)

• Become bilingual
• Become open minded
• Make more friends
• Experience something new
• Part of your major
• Want to have a career in another country

Or something else besides "I just wanna go there."

Have a writing center proof read your essay before you submit it. If you don't have a writing center, find someone that is good at editing ( an English professor perhaps?) and help develop your essay to be better.

A passport is needed to go to another country and can be applied for here. You should apply for this as soon as possible because sometimes it takes a long time to process the paperwork(kind of like your CoE). Even if you decide not to study abroad, it's good for 10 years so it might good to have one.

Focus of this post: Have a reason for study abroad, apply for the passport, and stay on top of the paperwork

I found a few other blogs about students going to Kansai Gaidai and I felt that I should mention something similar.

Why am I writing this?

Well I got the idea from the International center because when I get back, I have to volunteer to potential victims...err students that want to study abroad. This will hopefully serve as a good resource for what thoughts were bouncing around my mind during my year long process of being able to go study at Kansai Gaidai. I leave in about one week and two days. The fact that I am going to Japan for four months (oh how I wish it was 9...maybe this gives me reason for Graduate program there...hehe) has not sank into my mind.

Most likely...as I am stepping on to the plane from Chicago (anyone else going too?), my mind will say "Hey Dustin...your going to Japan for 4 months" and who knows what happens there. I might just yell for no reason...then the security guards might come tackle me down. Regardless I feel like I can relax now and I don't have to worry about paperwork. It's been quite the year with moments of doubt due to the excruciating wait for that Certificate of Eligibility.

Getting your paperwork finished? Remember, stay on top of those recommendations and turning everything in. Did you notice that you need copies of some legal papers? What legal papers? Don't worry, we'll walk through that next time.

I thought I would share my to do list of what I want to see, food to try, goals to fulfill and memories to create

• Visit Kyoto CHECK
  
• Visit Nara CHECK
• Learn at least 20 phrases in Osaka-ben (the Osaka/Kansai dialect)-CHECK
• Eventually write my posts in English and Japanese
• Karaoke in Japanese CHECK
• Watch a sumo match - live or on TV
• See a geisha CHECK
• Attend a J-rock/J-pop concert
• Speak only Japanese for an entire day
• Visit Hiroshima-CHECK
• Eat natto-CHECK
• Eat takoyaki--fried octopus-CHECK
• Eat any Japanese food-CHECK(Kitsune)
• Learn and memorize 7 phrases each week-Check
• Have a very close friend from Kansai Gaidai-CHECK
• Try out OSAKA BANG-CHECK
• Visit Onsen ( I will visit this many many many times)-Check
• Go to Osaka Castle-Check
• Go to Shinsaibachi-Check
• Go to Sky Garden-Check
  

I will add more and update with what I've done. I'm sure you're thinking...what is Osaka Bang? Well just watch below.

Well I leave in about a week!

Last post was about the qualities a student must have in order to study abroad. I also gave a few heads up notices to let you know of what I have went through to get through this point. This is a general post for all students wanting study abroad and not just Japan. Eventually I will narrow it down to Kansai Gaidai only.

First step would be to go to your International Center at your University and ask them questions. (Students at U.C.M can click here to access their website for information as well) The staff will give you paperwork and ask you why you want to study abroad. Some of the paperwork will ask general information about you, your GPA, languages you might know, etc.

Some questions I asked at my first meeting were....

• Do I need to know Japanese?
• How much does it cost?
• Are there scholarships for students studying abroad?
• Where will I live?

That was the easy step. Now you better hope you've become somewhat close to a few of your professors because you will need two separate recommendations. Not high school teachers or random professors, but ones that who have had you in recent college class. A start for a good recommendation is to email them asking and describing why you need it. Another tip would be to contact them in advance. Ok, how early you may ask? The earlier the better. Find out the best method of getting the form to them whether that's emailing it to them or dropping it off in person. Once you have that established, make sure you email them thanking them.

After you get your recommendations...your not finished. Now go get your recommendations and fill out the paperwork.

Focus of this post: Complete the paperwork ASAP and that includes communicating with the appropriate people in a timely fashion.

3/31/2009

So I am going to be studying abroad at Kansai Gaidai University during the Fall of 2009. Being a CIS student, I wanted to think of a way to record my experiences, the good and the not so good, of studying abroad in Japan. I also want this blog to serve as a guide for students who are interested in Japan, studying abroad, or studying abroad in Japan.

Wish I would have thought of creating a blog when I first went to the International Center in September 2008.....

But I didn't so I'm catching up....

The process has been really long and has required every bit of my patience and discipline to keep sifting through the continuous amount of paperwork. Even at this point, I still have more paperwork. For me though, Japan's worth it. Studying abroad and going outside of what is comfortable for a person requires different qualities. A person has to be somewhat independent and not completly relient on mommy and daddy. Not to say that they shouldn't be a guidence but one shouldn't be so relient that making decisions requires them. It also requires a hell lot of patience. I started my paperwork in September so I can study in the Fall and be in Japan around the same time...

Did you catch that? I'll repeat...

I started the process in SEPETEMBER.

I'm not trying to shoot dreams down because I hate that. I am saying it isn't simply "Oh hey I want to go to (insert country here)!" and fill out a sheet and expect everything to be finished and filled out by another person. It takes a lot of time and patience but it goes by fast if the paperwork is taken care of...on time. The staff at UCM's International Center(and I am sure this applies to other universities) is extremly helpful and will assist you in any way possible, but....

Focus of the post: Patience and realize that this process soely depends on you filling out paperwork and doing research.

Next post will show what I did to get started...and some important questions I asked the International Center.