This summer I had the chance to go to Kyoto, Japan through CIEE’s High School Study abroad program. I attended session I, which took place during June. If you want to go to Japan, I recommend session I because it isn’t too hot and humid yet, and we also got to visit schools while they were still in session. CIEE offers really good scholarships, and the staff is really helpful and communicative. Student and staff mentors are also always available to answer questions, which helped a lot during the application process.

First, I will discuss the advantages of choosing CIEE from my experience:
- I was super impressed with the affordability of the program; although the upfront cost seems high, the money goes towards excellent staff and teachers, stipends for our host families, and stipend to pay for lunches and transportation — they also arranged really nice hotels for us during field trips and for when we first arrived.

- The language classes are high quality and supplement your immersion. I was placed in level 1, which is upper-novice/lower intermediate, and the language support was excellent. Our class was taught by a native Japanese speaker, and instruction was delivered in mostly Japanese. Although it was challenging to adjust to at first, especially since I had only ever self studied Japanese, I think that if your goal is to actually learn the language, then you are in good hands. For the language and culture programs, we are required to take a language assessment (STAMP) before and after the program to measure our growth. In just one month, my score increased from a level 2 to a level 4!

- College Credit: Most language and culture programs offer the choice of college credits (about $150). I HIGHLY recommend choosing this option, because you are pretty much guaranteed the credit even if you start knowing absolutely none of the target language. You can send apply the credit to your high school transcript, or send it to colleges when you apply.

- Immersive and educational curriculum: we didn’t only take language classes, but we also engaged in a lot of other activities to learn about Japanese culture and society. Some of my favorites of these was the high school visits and field trip to Hiroshima. The program does a really good job of align sure you are practicing your language skills and actually engaging with the local culture. We also got to do some volunteering at a daycare/elementary school that was super fun, and you can count it as volunteer hours. I made a lot of friends while abroad, some local and some also studying abroad. Everyone was super helpful, friendly, and enthusiastic about the program.

Now, I will discuss some negatives of the program:
- Transport time: Your host family could live as far as 90 minutes away from school, and since class started at 8:45 that meant waking up at 6am. I ended up living all the way in Osaka; 2 trains, a bus, and over an hour away. My roommate and I would have to leave the house no later than 7:00 noon order to get to school on time. Personally, I actually enjoyed the long commute. It gave me a long time to people watch and observe the landscape. There were also a lot of fun malls on the route that my roommate and I would frequently explore. The biggest drawback for me was that we had a curfew (I’ll talk about this later) which meant we had to head home really early, and didn’t get to explore as much as we wanted.

- Rules/Freedom: Like probably every other summer abroad program you’ll find, we had a LOT of rules. We weren’t supposed to go anywhere without our host family or a teacher, we had a super early curfew (7:30 for dinner), and we were expected to go straight home after school — no exploring. I understand why this exists, programs like this have a lot of liability and need to keep track of kids who are alone in a foreign country. However, it was a little frustrating as someone who is used to being very independent and loves to explore on my own. Luckily, my host family always took me and my roommate out on weekends, so we never had too many issues. It was a lot worse for other students though, because they were stuck inside all weekend if their host family didn’t want to hang out with them. They weren’t even able to walk to a convenience store down the street. While the program is very safe and does a good job of keeping track of you, it was a little too strict in my opinion and I felt like I missed out on some opportunities to experience life in Japan.

My Advice:
- I highly recommend doing a summer abroad. Even if you are not 100% sure, you can always apply and see if you can get in. Studying abroad gave me a new outlook on life, I realized that the world is a lot bigger than we think. I learned communication skills and how to navigate life in a new environment, abilities that will benefit me in all aspects of my future.

- While working on your application, reach out to an advisor or whoever you have contact to if you have questions. Ask them to review what you wrote and give you any suggestions before you submit, they are happy to help!

- Once accepted, try to complete the required materials as fast as possible, and communicate with staff if you are having issues (for example, I couldn’t get a health clearance before the deadline so I got an extension)

- Don’t pack a lot so you have room for buying new stuff, you will have access to a laundry machine and trust me you won’t need as much clothes as you think

- Bring a portable charger, or prepare to buy one when you get there (You can find them at Hands, Aeon, etc.). You will be out all day almost every day, and your phone will likely loose power fast — especially if you are using maps or taking photos.

- Bring a water bottle or buy one there!!! Again, you will be out ALL DAY and need to stay hydrated. In Japan especially, it can get really hot and humid so you need to be careful of heatstroke. In Kyoto especially there is no drinking fountains or anything, so you don’t want to be wasting money buying water.

The program was overpriced. My daughter enjoyed her homestay family, but the daily commute one way was 1hr away from Tokyo city center, where the Language Center was. This was unexpected. The program was disorganized, their rep gave us the wrong airport information for arrival, as we booked our own flight instead of the highly recommended platform they use, which had additional costs. The program didn’t really have a lot of downtime for kids, lots of activities packed in. We were made to think safety and traveling with a buddy was a must, but soon realized that our daughter traveled to and from the activities on her own. Travel time could be over a hour. Initially my daughter told us that kids were getting lost for hours and crying. We understand about immersing in the Japanese culture, taking public transportation, but veering away from what was initially discussed at orientation about traveling with a buddy, safety and throwing kids in an environment they’re not familiar with shows negligence on the programs organization and outlook. When we insisted on speaking to the director, he downplayed our daughter getting lost from the group. It should be the group leaders responsibility to take head counts to and from an activity, or have backup plans in place when kids are separated from their group.

I spent four weeks in Kyoto during the summer of 2025 and I had a great time! From this trip, I've made lifelong friends with shared interests with which I plan to visit Japan with again! I also made friends with some locals in Japan such as a neighbor from my homestay and, of course, I also got really close with my wonderful homestay family! Not to mention I visited some of the most beautiful places I've ever seen such as Miyajima Island with my study abroad group or Himeji-jo with my host family, both of which I recommend if you visit Japan! Overall, I think this is such a wonderful way to visit Japan, learn some extra Japanese, and have fun!

I had no idea what to expect when traveling abroad with a group of people I had never met before, in a country I had never been, speaking a language I had never once talked in...and it turned out to be amazing. It was almost freaky how quickly everyone on the trip clicked with each other. We were instantly best friends. All of us, which made the entire trip so much more fun, and were able to help each other out on our Japanese homework or be there when someone was having a rough day. Exploring and learning in Tokyo opened my perspective on the world, how not every society thinks and operates the same as the U.S. Everyone was so friendly and helpful and I never had a problem making my way around despite the language barrier. Most memorable of all was the weekend spent with my host family. They made me feel right at home and the two young children kept me laughing the entire time. I was initially anxious about staying in a Japanese household on my own, but I quickly realized how similar their family was to my own. There were many aspects that were different, but at the end of the day a family is a family. I wouldn't trade that experience for the world. If I were to give anyone a tip when visiting Japan, it would be to step out of your comfort zone just because you're afraid you'll make a fool of yourself, because that's the best way to learn and create memories to last forever.

As a low income minority, studying abroad was too out there and seemingly impossible. However out of all the study abroad programs that I found online this one was the one that offered the most financial help, and it ended up with me going to Tokyo, Japan entirely for free. I am eternally grateful to CIEE thanks to them I see myself more than what I used to and my confidence and ambition has gone up. A great program not just for learning languages, but for learning about yourself and growing, I advocate heavily for CIEE and encourage many to take the chance to apply for their programs and to take the time to file out the financial aid documents.

I made so many new friends from all over the country and learned so many new things while learning to speak Japanese for the first time. Originally, I was unnerved by the fact that there wasn't too much information provided on the website, but after talking to an alumni and emailing the helpful CIEE staff, I was able to convince my parents to let me go. Also, there's a scholarship option that I applied to and was lucky enough to receive, so that really helped me out. Once in Japan, I had the time of my life! We went to Narita, Tokyo, and Kyoto and everyday I found myself trying and LOVING new things. It was an amazing experience and I really wish I could go back to the first day and live it all again right now. From shopping in Harajuku, to visiting the Skytree is Asakusa, to having an amazing homestay, I really had the time of my life.

It was an amazing experience for me and I take each moment with me! I really enjoyed having fun with my Japanese family, they were fun and really kind (arigato Makane Chan ;") ) Tea but the learning program is so fun and get a to the point were you really get help and understand what your doing.