Learn More About Japanese Culture Than You Could Ever Imagine!

Going into my undergraduate career, I knew I wanted to study abroad. My original intention was to go somewhere in Europe, since at the time I was quite the Anglophile. But I ultimately decided to study in Japan to learn more about my cultural heritage. Having grown up in a white household and in a predominantly white suburb, I didn’t know much about Japanese culture at all. IES Abroad Tokyo certainly changed that!

There’s no good way to explain how studying abroad in Tokyo changed me. I am a pre-med student, and my academic life at my home institution is very rigorous and extremely challenging. In truth, I was pretty unhappy during my first three years in college, mostly due to how cutthroat life is on my campus. Being removed from that scene really changed my outlook on life, and helped me to become a happier and mentally healthier person. A lot of this has to do with the way the program is set up socially. There is a deep sense of community in IES Tokyo. The staff is so helpful and they make the IES Center feel like your “home away from home.” They can give advice on almost every aspect of life and really get to know each of the students personally. The staff does a wonderful job of pairing each student with a Japanese e-pal, a friend who you will get to know and will spend time with you throughout your stay (not just during the first couple of weeks). They also do a great job of choosing host families, if you apply for one. I did find that the academics are not as challenging as I thought they would be. While I did learn a decent amount of Japanese, I found that I was not very well prepared for taking Japanese at my home institution. With that being said, I did learn a lot about Japanese culture. The field placement program is also hit-or-miss. I was pretty satisfied with my placement (they do their best to match your interests with the job site); however, I wish I could have done more to help my placement, and I almost felt like a burden to work flow when I was there.

Seeing lots of Japan was no issue at all. I travelled into the center Tokyo at least 5 days a week. (I actually lived in Tokyo, unlike most of my peers who lived in Chiba, where Kanda University is located). I was constantly exploring and enjoying the food scene. There was never a shortage of things to do and see (there are many events going on in the city all the time, and the IES Center staff can really help you out finding what to do!). We were also able to travel around Japan, since the program includes a couple of trips to other Japanese cities. The staff is also really helpful in planning independent trips.

Overall this was a wonderful experience and I couldn’t ask for anything better!