Wonderful City, Laid Back Academics

I studied abroad in Nagoya for a spring semester through IES Abroad. In short, I would definitely recommend the program to anyone considering study abroad in Japan.

The IES orientation in Inuyama was a great way to brush up on the language and be eased into the different culture in an informative and supportive environment that also allowed me to meet people and make friends before being sent off to Nanzan proper. The two IES representatives were incredibly helpful and genuinely seemed to care about the well-being of each individual in the program. Even if you don't go to Japan, I would recommend working with IES since they provide so much support.

The Center for Japanese Studies at Nanzan was staffed by universally nice and helpful people. The entrance process to determine what level of Japanese class you should be in is very extensive, so you'll most likely be placed in the best level for you. The language instructors were also very nice and supportive, and I thought the packets made for the classes were very helpful (oftentimes better than the textbook). I wish that the other academic courses would be given the same level of consideration as the language classes (the other ones are hit-and-miss as far as quality), but this ultimately is a language-learning program. The Japanese methods of teaching are something to get used to if you come from a Western country, and it can sometimes be frustrating. I have my complaints about it, but they're very subjective complaints, and it's more of a cultural difference than something being overtly negative. For those of you looking for a low-stress school year, though, Japanese universities are famously laid back, and the CJS program is no exception. Around mid-terms or finals you may scramble around to remember your kanji, but, for the most part, you have the leeway to put classes on the back-burner and just enjoy being in the country.

I really love the city of Nagoya. I'm not a city-kid. I would not have survived in Tokyo (good place to visit once, though). If you're someone looking for a huge, bustling city, Nagoya may be a bit too quiet for you. For me, though, it was the perfect size. Sakae and Kanayama have the night life you want. Fushimi has a very interesting science museum even if you can't read the signs. There's a zoo; there's the Boston Museum of Art (free for students, by the way); there's an aquarium; there's a huge park with My Neighbor Totoro references that is constantly holding festivals; there are shopping centers everywhere for any need you could possibly have. You can get manga extremely cheap. There are nooks and crannies with very interesting bars and restaurants and shops. And you still have to take the subway everywhere, so you still feel like you're in a city. I had about a 40 minute commute by subway from my homestay to Nanzan, which was typical from what I saw. You get used to it, though. It's also extremely safe, or I at least felt extremely safe. Walking home late at night from the subway station wasn't in any way unpleasant. I had to go to a clinic twice while abroad -- once for getting sick and the second time after twisting my ankle -- and, even if they don't speak English and you haven't memorized your "trip to the hospital" Japanese vocabulary, I found that the doctors really try their best to help you to the best of their capacity, so don't be afraid of getting medical help if you think you need it either.

I am an introvert, so making friends or having a vibrant nightlife were not things that I've found easy doing in the past. But it was surprisingly easy to build a social circle and have things to do on Friday and Saturday nights while I was in Nagoya. My host family was wonderful -- home cooked family dinner every night, trips to museums and zoos, etc. As I said above, the IES orientation was a great way to establish a friend group in a foreign country full of people you've never met.
As a note, Japanese social lives tend to involve bars, alcohol, and lots of karaoke. You will go out for karaoke more in one month in Japan than you've ever thought possible. Drinking isn't a necessary thing, but be warned that it's going to happen around you if you're out late enough. I also taught English (it's incredibly easy to become a tutor if you want to) in my free time, which was a wonderfully rewarding experience. My going away party with my students was one of the happiest moments that I had abroad.

Overall, though there were negative points, as there are with anything, I still love the city and I love the friends I made there. If you have reservations about being a gaijin in such an ethnically homogeneous country: Yes, you do tend to stick out like a sore thumb if you're not on campus with the other study abroad students, sometimes people stare, but I didn't experience anything hostile or mean-spirited for the entire time I was there, and I'm a black woman. So no worries. I definitely want to return to Japan soon.