USA Gaikokujin

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.