Liane's Study Abroad in Japan-Before Take-Off
One of our listeners, Liane, came to Japan on a study abroad program last year and she has been nice enough to share her experience with us. I will be posting her stories over the next several weeks. I hope you will enjoy them. If you have any questions and want to see some pictures you can visit Liane's website.
Read her first installment
Read her second installment
Liane wrote
With the hassle of applications, passports, and visas over and the school semester finally finished, what else is there to do but pack and get ready for the tremendous adventure that’s ahead. And I don’t mean just the physical objects thrown in a suitcase, but also a working knowledge of what will be different from life at home. Of course there will be plenty of things that you’ll just have to adapt to on the fly, but it’s still nice to go in with some idea so you don’t get too surprised. This week, I want to share what I went through and the information I found useful to help you get an idea of what you might need to do to get ready yourself.
My original plan, once the school semester was over, was to get an internship or job to earn some spending money for Japan and pack/get ready on the side. Well, I ended up not finding a job I could take just for the summer and after a month or so of trying decided to focus on keeping up with and learning more Japanese. This, of course, was part of my original intentions as well, but I didn’t plan on spending quite as much time on it. In any case, my main concern was that I did not know enough kanji to get into the level at school that I wanted to, seeing as Japanese classes prior to this focused on spoken Japanese. Extremely luckily for me, a Japanese family had moved in reasonably close by the year before and started going to my church, where I was able to meet the mother/wife of the family. I asked her to help me practice Japanese and kanji over the summer, and she was more than willing to. I went to her house almost once a week and I think it really did help, at least in recognizing more kanji and keeping up my speaking. I really tried to take advantage of the situation and sometimes brought things with me, like a lonely planet guide to Japan my mom had bought for me, to ask what places I ought to go see. I’m guessing it probably isn’t common to have a native Japanese speaker available to you like this, but if you do, really make use of any time you can spend practicing with them and asking other questions you have.
My program also gave me plenty of advice. They actually had a manual or two online about how to get ready and what to bring. I did eventually read them, and there was some good information. For example, they suggested giving power of attorney to a parent or guardian before you leave just in case something important comes up at home while you are gone and have no means of signing anything. Nothing came up while I was gone, but I still gave my mom power of attorney just in case. They also recommended getting slip-on shoes because, as you may know, in Japan you take off your shoes and put them back on a lot. It’s a whole lot easier if you aren’t worried about lacing up your shoes every time you go out. I ended up getting sketchers because they seemed to be the only company around which made sneakers with full backs in slip-on style. I was also told I would need shoes/slippers that wouldn’t scratch the floors to be worn indoors only at JCMU (Japan Center for Michigan Universities), where I would be attending school. They suggested buying them before leaving because Japanese sizes are much smaller than American ones and it would also be convenient to have something when we first arrived. It surprised me how hard it was to actually manage finding something like this though. I ended up buying something or other at Walmart, but even then I had to go to several before I found anything. I think it must have been the wrong time of year to be looking.
JCMU also provided us with program specific information. This may or may not apply to your program, but I think it’s still useful. So, at JCMU, the students, were each going to be renting a bike and helmet from the school (for free) for personal use to be able to get to the grocery store or the train station etc. and would be keeping it for the semester. To be able to receive a bike, we HAD to have a bike lock and we needed it our first full day in Japan, so it had to be bought in the states and put into our carry-on bag. It’s really a good idea to bring a bike lock anyway though, because chances are that if you will be staying in Japan for a good amount of time, you will end up riding a bike at some point and you don’t want it to be “borrowed” by anyone while you’re in a store. In addition, they recommended getting waterproof gloves for the times that we would have to ride in the rain. It is true that your hands will get cold in the rain, but I only ended up riding in bad rain about three times total, so it wasn’t so terrible. However, if you really want to get something like this, start looking earlier than later because I wasn’t able to find anything waterproof, at least not at a decent price.
Speaking of bicycles (and poor transitions), I was really REALLY worried about having to ride one. The last time I rode a bike before going to Japan was with my half-sister in Boston a few years earlier during which I almost ran into many a parked car and some small, relatively stationary children. Needless to say, I’m not a good bike rider… Because of this my dad fixed up my mom’s old bike enough that I was able to practice a little bit in the driveway. I seemed to be okay enough, but I’m sure I’ll write about my bicycling adventures in Japan later so you can decide if it really was okay. In any case, if you aren’t so good with a bike and you’re going to Japan, I strongly recommend practicing ahead of time because, next to taking trains, biking is the next most common means of transportation and you really probably will end up on a bike at least once.
Another thing my school recommended, and I’m sure any program you go on will too, is to bring small gifts from America with you. It doesn’t have to be anything expensive or extra special, just something that resembles your state, your school, or something important to you, and if it’s rare or not found at all in Japan, even better! These presents are to give to people you meet along the way when you’re in Japan. I have no idea how many things you should bring, but I suggest bringing a lot of really small things like key chains or bracelets that are reasonably cheap, but still nice, and you can tuck them into the small empty spaces in your luggage. One thing I brought that I thought was kind of nice (although most of the people I gave them to didn’t seem very impressed) was state quarters of 5 of states that were important to me for various reasons. Something that can spark a conversation is always good too. And remember, if you’re going to be staying with a host family, you need to have something to give them when you meet them the first time. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but try to find something pretty nice, because they’re going out of their way to give you a home and meals and everything, so this is the way to give your thanks. Also remember that if you can’t afford something nicer than small trinkets, in Japan it *really is* the thought that counts, so bring *something* and they should appreciate it. And especially if you’ll be staying with a host family, bring lots and lots of pictures from home. If you have a computer that you can store a bunch on and show in slideshow format, great. If not, still bring as many as you can. Pictures are a way you can share your culture and family back home with people you meet in Japan since they cannot come here and share it with you in person. It’s also a good conversation starter and/or ice breaker.
Now being a computer science major, I was really interested in all of the technology (and price) differences. For this, I went to my good friend, Tai, who is half Japanese, had been to Japan the previous spring semester, and also was studying computer science. Here’s a list of tips and info about the technology in Japan that I found out from him:
- Electrical outlets are the same in Japan as the US except that they only have 2-prong outlets. If you have any plugs with 3 prongs an easy fix is to go to a Japanese convenience store and buy a… well… I’m not actually sure what to call it, but what I’m talking about is a device that you plug into one outlet, and it expands that one to three or so plugs you can use. Anyway, if you use one of these, the third prong hangs right off the bottom, so there’s no problem. That third prong is just a ground for the other two anyway, so it will not harm the function of your device if all three are not plugged in.
- Cameras are more advanced in Japan and you can get them for probably about the same price as the available cameras in the states.
- Cell phones have all sorts of ranges of capabilities and pricing plans, but if you sign up for a plan, it has to be for at least one year, so being there one semester means you should probably either not get a cell or only get a pre-paid one (which usually have less capabilities and I couldn’t find one).
- DVDs are more expensive and are region 2 (US is region 1) unless you are getting American movies, in which case they’re a bit cheaper as long as it isn’t a brand new release.
- Games and gaming systems are essentially exactly the same price in Japan as the United States. There are, of course many games that never make it to the US, so you’re free to pick some of those up. Also, all of the Nintendo handheld systems of recent years (gameboy in all forms and the Nintendo DS) are region free as well as the games that go with them, so you can play Japanese games on your American system, or get the system in Japan and play American games when you come home.
- On the same note, the best electronic Japanese-English dictionary out there as of last year (according to Tai) is on a game cartridge for the Nintendo DS. It’s probably about the same price total you would pay for a regular electronic dictionary, but you can buy other games for it, so it’s a good buy for your money. You can also write in kanji using the stylus to look things up, so you don’t have to know anything about what it says or radicals or anything else to be able to find what you’re looking for. The one down side is that it was made for Japanese students who want to learn English, so sometimes there is not much explanation when looking up Japanese words, as well as the fact that often times there’s a lot more kanji reading involved than you might like. I still think it’s great, but I’ve never used anything else. I wrote a bit about this on the Guzen Media Japan forum, so go look it up if you want more information.
- And my personal favorite, TV tuners work exactly the same in Japan as in the US. (I only know about the ones for computers, but any device that has one, it should work the same in Japan.) That means you can buy a TV tuner before you go, hook it up to cable or antenna there, and you have Japanese TV to watch and record right on your computer. If you do this though, make sure to bring or buy burnable DVDs because recording half hour shows took up about 600MB of space, and hour shows took over a gig on my computer.
These were the things I was interested in, so that’s all of the information I have, but if you have questions about anything else technology related, feel free to write me an e-mail or post it on the Guzen Media Japan forum.
I also should mention that, for me, one of my personal top priorities was to get a laptop because I only owned a desk top and I really wanted to have my own computer in Japan since I planned on using Skype and e-mail as my main communication with friends and family back home. Of course, not only that, but I wanted to be able to watch DVDs, have a word processor I knew I would understand to do homework on, and be able to upload digital pictures so I could take as many as I wanted. Plus, after I found out from Tai that I could use a TV tuner in Japan, I had to get one. I’m not saying you need your own computer if you’re going to Japan. In fact, JCMU had several public computers connected to the internet to be used my students and faculty. But for me, it was really important and I’m really glad I had it, even though it was annoyingly heavy to carry around for long stretches of time like going from home to school and back. But, at least you’re allowed to carry a laptop on a plane and have it count as something like a purse or coat, so you don’t lose out on a carry-on bag. At least that’s what the rules were last year.
The rules of the airplane are, of course, important. There are weight and size limits to be met as well as restrictions on what you can bring in your carry-on bag and what is allowed to be brought period. And because I’m so full of luck (including the bad kind), the time I was scheduled to leave happened to be about 2 or 3 weeks after that huge airport bomb scare in America when they wouldn’t allow passengers to bring any liquids of any kind onto flights. This meant I had to keep a close eye on the new rules, which seemed to change daily, by checking my plane company’s website and the national plane security website. Because of this I had to re-think and rearrange everything that was going into my carry-on and check-in luggage. I was particularly worried about the few days of shampoo and the other liquids now going in my check-in luggage (those bottles aren’t made for flying!), so I ended up buying a nice little set of no-spill Nalgene travel bottles from L. L. Bean to put that stuff in. It ended up working really well because, as I found out later in Japan that you can get refills for cheaper than getting a bottle, and this gave me something to put it in. I also recommend bringing some aspirin and other common over-the-counter drugs because things like that in Japan aren’t as strong as what we use in the US so it may not work out as well if you get sick. But make sure you check the rules about what you can bring into the country before you do and your supply gets taken away at customs.
Another thing that really worked out for me was something called vacuum bags that have one-way seals that only let air out and not in. They really do work and make your clothes take up a lot less space. I was trying to fit everything into one check-in bag even though I was allowed two because I knew I’d be bringing another bag’s worth back and didn’t want to start off with too much. So, I put about a week’s worth of clothes and a bunch of things to layer with, (partly because I’m always cold, and partly because I was going to be there for 3 seasons and did not want to bring a huge winter jacket) in a couple of vacuum bags and managed to make room for everything else. I’m telling you, I have no idea how I would have fit everything without those things. Be careful though. These bags can get small tears pretty easily if you go rough on them getting the air out, and once that happens it’s no good anymore. One more tip for you, bring a pillow if you can fit it. I found that the pillows I was given to use in Japan were really small and just made my neck and shoulders hurt and I wished the whole time I had brought mine. And hey, it can protect your belongings a bit too, so it isn’t a total loss.
Now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for. I did a lot of research on this and here’s how I ended up working out money. I already had a bank account with an ATM card, and that’s what I ended up using the whole time. The exception was when I first arrived at the airport, I used about $300 of traveler’s checks to get the equivalent amount in yen. My parents actually made me get $1000 in traveler’s checks before leaving, but I never used the rest. If this is your first time going to Japan, I do recommend bringing some money in traveler’s checks to be able to have some cash your first few days, but for the rest of the time an ATM card works perfectly fine. There was a small fee taken out every time I withdrew (a different amount for each ATM, but around $1 - $2), but I believe I found in my research that ATMs have pretty much the best exchange rate of all the ways you can manage money short of starting a bank account in Japan. (Please correct me if I’m wrong!) If you do plan on using an ATM card, remember to tell your bank ahead of time that you will be traveling to Japan so that they don’t think your card and pin have been stolen and put a hold on your account. Another good thing to remember is that it is rare to find places that accept debit or credit cards in Japan, so don’t count on using them to pay for anything. Japan is all about the cash, so you’re going to have to carry it around with you whether you like it or not. You’ll also end up with a lot of change (and this change is worth something unlike US change!) so you might want to get a change purse either here or when you get to Japan.
About three weeks before I was to leave, I received an e-mail from JCMU with another couple papers to fill out. This time it wasn’t so bad, it was just picking what classes I would be taking in Japan. I believe everyone was required to take the 3-course language class, but depending on the credit system of the individual schools, we had to pick one or two more extra classes to fulfill our credit requirements for the semester. My school uses a weird system where every course is worth one credit and to be full time you take four credits. This made it easy for me because the 3-course language class was 3 credits and I could choose any other class being offered to fill the fourth. Unfortunately there were very few choices to pick from as it was a tentative list and you were not guaranteed to be placed in your first choice of class. I chose an online course entitled Intercultural Communications and Technology, which even counted toward my Asian Studies minor!
The final days were a packing frenzy and were over more quickly than I had imagined they would be. I was finally going to Japan and I couldn’t wait…
Next time: The Flight, The Arrival
