Speaking at TUFS

On Monday, I went back to TUFS to talk about Kyudai to my current kouhai's. I honestly meant to talk about this sooner, but I fell sick the day I went back, and only stopped throwing up yesterday. As far as (what seems to be) a stomach flu goes, this case was pretty mild.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. I was invited back by one of the teachers to talk to the humanities scholars currently studying Japanese. Since Nicholas was free, I dragged him along (bribed him with curry) because even if people don't want to listen to me, they'll want to listen to him, because of his school.

CURRY! I don't care if Kichijoji has better curry, this is where I had so many good memories. 

Since I've been at Kyudai for two and a half years, I haven't actually been able to meet any of my kouhai's. Except once, and that was my cousin. This time, though, I got to meet all four scholars studying in TUFS! I was talking with them all through lunch, and they were all really nice and attended my talk and asked loads of questions.

So after we finished talking to them, Nicholas and I basically agreed that this batch of scholars seems very likely to succeed wherever they go. They're all very sensible, and they're not planning to choose a university based on its name - that's the worst thing you can do. What you should do (and this is what my talk was basically about, and what Nicholas added when he came to answer questions), is to choose a university that suits you. Either the atmosphere, or there's a professor you really want to study under (please check that he's teaching, though!), or you find that you want to live in that town And don't forget the little things, like food, cost of living, and all that. Basically, reputation and ranking, while one of the considerations, should not be the only factor in the university choosing decision.

Apart from that, I also talked about the university (obviously), included campus, lesson schedules, things to be careful of (your credits. Be careful of your credits!!), zemi, and yes, I passed around my schedule and textbook. I heard of another student who came to speak and had a powerpoint slide (and apparently shared his timetable), so I decided to try and raise the level by bringing props.

Plus, I wanted to study on the train/plane.

Back to my Singaporean kouhai's - they're all lovely people, and I really hope they enjoy the rest of their stay, even if they don't come to Kyudai. I do hope someone from this batch comes though! Then maybe I can be invited back again (;

Singaporeans + Malaysian

 Apart of the excitement from talking to the kouhai's, just going back to TUFS was a sort of homecoming. I only spent a year there, but it was my first year, and I definitely grew a lot (and made a lot of awesome friends). The first photo I took was of the walkway, even though this is not the best season to take photos:

But I've missed the place, and I've missed the people. It's a bit of a shock to go back and realise that so many of the teachers are now gone or no longer teaching the scholars. Cutbacks and all that.

Oh yes, Naveen, you emailed me about the getting rid of humanities thing - I asked the teacher in charge, and he says while the government seems to be planning to reduce the humanities departments, it should not affect the scholarship. But we really don't know, because MEXT doesn't say anything.

Apart from walking around school, I also had my beloved cheese nan. I don't know why I can't find it in Fukuoka D:

CHEESE

My stomach definitely shrank though, I couldn't even finish half. Good thing I was sharing.

The last thing I did before leaving TUFS was to visit the Kendo club. There are so many first, second and third years now. I actually felt a bit strange walking up to the clubroom, because there are 3 people left that I know. But the kouhai's are generally nice, and some of them seemed to recognise me, I think because I visited a few times in my first year. So they went and got my friends (so weird to hear one of them being called 'senpai'), and we had a nice chat. I even managed to meet the kantoku!

I've seriously missed these people so much. They were my first Japanese friends, and they literally saw me 'grow' in terms of Japanese ability. Up till now, they still recall the days where I needed a translator pretty much all the time. And I remember how they would always teach me the nuances I didn't get. This was pretty much the only time I wished I had stayed on. But I can't, because TUFS doesn't have economics, and anyway, I like life in Kyudai.

Osaka U-Program (Guest Post by Devangi Yadav)

Hey everyone! As you know, I've been asking people to come and guest blog about your experience about MEXT. I mean, I'm only one person, and I only went to TUFS. And for all you people wondering about Osaka U, well, you should really be thankful to Devangi for guest blogging about the Osaka U-Program. 

She covers the dorm, the room (which automatically makes this more detailed, because my TUFS post was only the room, if I remember correctly), her schedule, and she drew a self-protrait!

And unlike what she said, she was not annoying at all. I'm really glad that she's my kouhai now. 

Devangi: Thank you so much for doing this, and I hope the rest of your MEXT life is equally fun! Ganbatte for the September exams!

*******

Hello everyone!

My name is Devangi and I will do my Bachelors in Japan under the MEXT scholarship for Undergraduate studies, I started this year so I’m just at the beginning of my journey and I’d love to introduce you to the place where it started, in Osaka! For those of you who don’t know: the Undergraduate Program scholars are split into two groups, one goes to Tokyo University of Foreign Studies or TUFS (like Eustacia Senpai 3 years ago!) and the other group goes to ‘Center for Japanese Language and Culture’ (CJLC) in Osaka University, for their Language training.

So we are basically called the ‘U-Program’ students over here, you can find the basic information about our program in Osaka in the following link:

About U Program


Moving on, I’d like to share some pictures of my Dorm.

I know everyone says this before the share these pictures, (I'm looking at you Eustacia Senpai ) but viewer discretion is advised, the following pictures of my room are a bit messy! (There are a lot of pictures)

Common Facilities:

Each Floor has their own kitchen, laundry room and common seating area.

(Note from Eustacia: Devangi gave me this very nicely arranged word document, but Blogger won't let me put two picture next to each other without combining them into one image. So in case you get confused, images first, then explanation)

Kitchen! We share our Kitchen, but it’s pretty cool since we also eat together some times.

The Laundry Room and Our Mail Boxes

Elevator and the Common Table where we sometimes eat. (My Floor)

The Common Area of Dorm 2, A TV, Ping Pong Table ☺

Souvenirs from different parts of the world! Left by previous senpais. (That is in Dorm 1)

That is a picture of Dorm 2 and the one beside it shows a part of the Osaka University, Minoh Campus.

Dorm 1 has 4 floors for Boys and 1 for Girls, It has shared bathrooms. Dorm 2 is Girls only, and also private bathrooms!! ;)

Link to the street view of the Campus:

In front of the Dorms!

My Room!

It really is very messy so I'll use a sketch to show how it is.

Hope you get the Idea!

I am in the Natural Sciences – A Category so this is my schedule:

Btw if this crazy question popped up in your mind,

“Is this all in Japanese?”

- “Yes, it is.”

But don't worry, I didn't know any Japanese either. Yet, I am alive!

That is a random sketch of me!

It was really fun making this, because I enjoy it here a lot. So I wanted to give people something to look at while they waited for the loooong MEXT selection process to get done with (I annoyed Eustacia Senpai a lot and also stalked her blog day dreaming all the time ;))

It's going to be one of the best experiences of your life, I am not whining (yet) because the September Exams are still quite a few days away!

Best of Luck to everyone who applied for this!!

Thank you Eustacia senpai for allowing me to do this post!

 - Devangi Yadav 
Mext Undergrad 
2015-2020

*******

I hope you enjoyed this really informative post. If you're a MEXT scholar and you have something you want to share (about application, your university, or your own take on TUFS/Osaka U/Kyushu U), please drop me a comment or an email. I'd love to feature more of your stories here! 

Frequently Asked Questions II

SPRING :D 

Hey everyone! It's been a really long time since my previous FAQ (I think it was almost a year!) and since there are still lots of questions to be answered, I've decided to make a Part 2. So, I sent an email asking for questions to people who recently emailed me and dredged through my inbox.

Before I start, Inas, Sara and Valerie, thank you so much for replying!

Ok, on to the questions! They're all mostly about studies and MEXT, but to be honest, if you have questions about living (and to a smaller extent travelling) in Japan, feel free to ask me. I'll probably turn the questions into Part 3.... next year (looking at how I procrastinate :p)

MEXT Scholarship Questions
What are the chances of furthering my studies after MEXT?
From what Sara and another senior told me, it is possible to further your studies under MEXT. For example, if you're in the undergraduate program, you can study to a Masters degree. For a graduate, you can go to a PhD. I'm not too sure about the details though, so please check with the embassy/university.

What happens if you fail the December exam?
Oh no! Ok, this is a matter of how badly you've failed. If there's a university that will take you in, you will go there. If no university wants you (which means you must have skipped all your lessons or something), then I think you'll have to go home. The school will do its best to help you get in.

Related Question: What happens if my first choice university rejects me? 
The school will help you find another university. I'm not sure how this is done though.

How do you pick your university?
There are a few stages (this is TUFS specific. If any Osaka people could chime in, that would be awesome):
Stage 1: You get back your results (and then you celebrate or mope around - no prizes to the correct guess for my experience)
Stage 2: You go for a consultation with the teacher (In TUFS' case, Tani Sensei) as to which universities you can probably get in.
Stage 3: You apply and wait for MEXT to give it's approval.
Stage 4: If MEXT gives the green light, you either go for the exam/interview (if there's any) and then continue waiting for the official university letter.

How are the students divided? Can you choose your language school?
I'm not too sure, although we're divided pretty evenly between Osaka and Tokyo. And no, we can't pick our language school.

How many people get in overall?
There were about 60 people in my year, so I'm guessing about 120 people worldwide. This is for my batch (those that came in April 2012), so I'm not too sure about the latest numbers.

What kind of language test do you get when you first arrive?
For TUFS, it was a general Japanese language test. Gosh, I just realised I forgot :O
I'm pretty sure reading, writing, speaking (like conversations with the teacher) and listening are all tested though.

Life in Japan (Language and other stuff)
How good should my Japanese be?
Erh, erh, you're asking me? My Japanese friends still have to help me check every single one of my papers for grammar mistakes *blushes*. Just rest assured that by the end of the one year, you should be good enough for university. And the language schools will teach you from zero, so there's absolutely no need to worry.

Osaka people: is Kansai-ben very different from Standard Japanese?
I'm not sure why I was asked this, but let's just say it's different. It's not like Chinese, where knowing Mandarin doesn't help with Cantonese or Hokkien, but you will have a few problems understanding. At least, that's my experience with Hakata-ben and Kita-kyushu-ben.

Are there any student mentors when you first arrive?
Yes! There's an advisor on each floor of the dorm, and he/she will help you settle in, bring you to get your yuuchou bank account set up and all that. In fact, my advisor was the person who helped me find a doctor when I was sick and checked up on me.

Should I bring my laptop over? and Is a laptop necessary for the first year?I
It's up to you. It's not that necessary for your first year, although I'm using it for school assignments a lot more since I entered university. If your laptop is new, it may be worth using an adaptor for at least the first year. If your laptop is old and you were thinking of getting a new one anyway, wait till you come before you buy a laptop (and there are normally lots of student discounts in April, when the new school year starts).

Is it expensive to live in Japan? Do I need baito?
Living expenses vary from region to region. Kyushu is actually pretty ok, I managed just fine without baito for my first year. I just started teaching English, but that's because I made a few extravagant purchases this year. It's pretty normal to have baito though.

What can you buy at the 100yen stores?
EVERYTHING. Notebooks, snacks, drainage nets (get those, they are insanely useful if you hate scrubbing the plastic draining thing in your sink), little boxes, house slippers/house socks, etc. The only thing I would caution you against buying there would be cooking utensils, because I heard a horror story (from my senpai) about them melting under heat.

How do I pay my rent/set up my bank account?
When you first arrive in Japan, TUFS will help you set up a bank account. From there, they'll deduct the rent (automatically). You can set it up so that your water bills, electricity bills, phone bills, etc are all deducted automatically, but you'll have to fill in a separate form for each.

Personal Questions
How do you cope with homesickness?
It probably varies from person to person, but I find that going outside and doing something helps immensely. The whole point of this is to leave your house/room and get some fresh air. So at the very least, walk to a nearby store/conbini (you don't have to buy anything). Better yet, go do something, like kendo practice. Be warned, you will not feel like going out, but you should force yourself to do so. I normally feel this sense of inertia before kendo, but I never regret going.

I hope this was useful! Let me know if there are any other questions that isn't covered in this FAQ or the previous one.

Also, I'd love to do an FAQ for Kyushu University, to try and convince more of you to come here. So ask away in the comments or email me with your questions!

I Graduate Today!!!

Today (as you can obviously see from the title), is the day I graduated from my one-year course at TUFS. The reason why this post is written so late is that today was also the day of my farewell from Kendo, and a last class dinner.

For some reason, I was chosen to be the representative of the humanities students, which means that I was the first one to get my certificate, and I got it way way earlier than most of my friends:

Oh happy day!

After the party (which had a lot of food), I went for a second lunch with the kendo team! They were all so sweet! I got some awesome presents from them (no photos sorry! Do you want to see it very badly? I could take one and upload it I guess....)

I love my kendo team. Kohai's: Go join kendo! 

Incidentally, I was told that my clothes were very casual by the kendo team. O.o I thought I was semiformal!

Sorry, this is the only full-body pic I have (I think) It's not very good.

Also, I got my official acceptance letter from Kyushu University!

And if you're wondering what the graduation certificate looks like, these two photos should satisfy your curiosity:

The cover

The left side is in English, the right side is in Japanese

I'm happy to graduate, but I wish I didn't have to leave my friends behind. Sadly, I'm the only one going to Kyushu University.

UNIVERSITY POSTING!!! (MEXT Undergraduate Scholarship)

So today is the first day of school. And when everyone goes for lunch, lo and behold, the university postings are out! (Even though we were told to wait for the tenth). Of course, me being me, I only found out on the way back to the dorm O...TL. I just gobbled some food and rushed back to open the Envelope (which deserves a capitalisation).

At first, I didn't want to tell anyone my posting (I'm not putting it on facebook), although I've already told those who asked. But then I remembered, I have so many kohai's here, and they should know (I know at least one person has asked me). So, here's a little kanji practice for you:

Please excuse my messy table

 I'm not sure if I can bring myself to type the name, but I'm sure most of you can figure out where it is. Since I've actually got the campus guide, so I suppose I should start reading it.

Oh, and I should start hunting for a new apartment now.

6 more weeks to go! I don't know if I'm excited or scared.

Post-Exam Wrap-Up

I thought of making this post about the long-ago kendo competition, but I can't write a post that requires me to show happiness while I'm doing all I can not to break down in tears.

You see, I got THE RESULTS (the one that determines your university) today.

And being me, I'm focusing on my weakest point, or to put it another way, my lowest score. Maths.

Even though I've done math for the past 12 years. And even though my marks weren't that terrible in Singapore, I'm still the worst in class now. Which effectively ruins my chances to go to my dream university.

I could say that it's because we're not allowed formula sheets in the exam (and talk about how unnecessary that is, since with the internet, looking up formulas is easy).

I could say it's because we weren't allowed calculators (in which case, what is the calculator for)

I could give a lot of excuses, but they're just that. Excuses. I'm the one that did badly, I'm the one that can't do math, and I shouldn't be blaming it on a different system.

So to all my future juniors, let this be one piece of advice to you. Although I love to encourage you guys to apply, before you come, think about how good you are with academic pressure. Sure, come here and have fun, but make sure you're ok with studying hard, or you're ok not going to a brand-name university.

And on a related note, here's a piece of information I was told today. One of the scholars got expelled for cheating - twice. If you cheat once, I could say that you're under pressure. If you cheat twice, it makes me think you have nothing but contempt for the system. And right now, having studied so hard but did so badly, I have no sympathy for cheaters.

In other words, don't come here if you can't study.

Right now, I'm just sad. I feel like I'm letting my Junior College (that's high school for most of you) down. I see my friends going to Harvard, to Cambridge, to Kings, to Hong Kong Univeristy, to NUS, and here I am, struggling. My school was tough, and we have a winner mindset. So now that I feel like I'm letting my school down, I feel just terrible.

And I have this up ahead:

University applications.

Frankly, I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm going to have to rethink everything.

University Presentations (大学説明会)

Last week, we had what was arguably one of the most important events this year - the 大学説明会 (daigakusetsumeikai - University Presentations). The reason why your teachers tell you not to stress about your universities (and one of the reasons why I applied for this scholarship) is that this year is when you choose your university. So what this event does is that it invites universities from all across Japan to give presentations and consultations to the students.

The event went like this - Listen to a bunch of presentations, Consult/Talk to the professors from many different universities, Continue mingling at the "party" (for us, "dinner"). Quite simple, but very tiring.

And um, while there wasn't a dress code, I (and my fellow Singaporeans), take the blame for a good number (I think more than half) the Arts Stream students coming is semi-formal/business casual clothing (one girl was rocking a suit!). You see, I made Rena wear a blazer with me (and a nice dress). And when we met Nicholas, he was wearing a fairly nice jacket, not a blazer, but definitely not casual (we do a mind-read of each other's brains unconsciously . Because of that, two other students felt the need to change, and bumped into Simone on the way back. And somehow, she thought that the dress code was semi-formal and started telling everyone she saw. So when the other students started arriving, we were all surprised to see them in blazers and such. Well, the 'mystery' was cleared up once Simone came.

From this fair, I got, a lot of information. I talked to around seven universities (we were supposed to talk to at least five. Most universities will give information about their dorm (how long you can stay, if there is one, cost) and their different courses.

Top Left: Some of the files/information booklets I got. Top Right:
Ryuku University (Okinawa!), Bottom Left: University of Tokushima
(very enthusiastic people), Bottom Right: Hitotsubashi University
(Very strong in Economics)

So as your senpai, I have a few pieces of advice you may or may not hear when you come:

Very very importantly, please be nice to the visiting professors/staff! We were told that one year, a professor was very angry because no one came to his table (um, it happened this year for the TUFS table, but in all fairness, we didn't have people who were taking Japanese Language, I think). But do remember that these people have come from all over Japan, taking trains and such. So if you have time (and you will have time), just take a chance at the not-so-popular tables. You may find out that it's a good fit for your after all. Plus, if you're waiting for one university and the table next to it is empty, you might as well use the time to talk to another university. It won't hurt you.

Before you even start, think about the questions you want to ask. While we did have the period before to prepare, it's quite hard to come up with questions one hour ahead. But generally, you should at least ask if your course is available, what the university specialises in and the dorm conditions.

Of course, you should definitely pay attention to the presentations. A lot of the professors are very funny, and if you're unprepared, you can use the information they give as a base for forming questions. Plus, it will introduce you to other good universities that you may not have heard off.

This leads to the next point, which is keep an open mind. One unexpected contender was Shiga University, which, apart from having a persuasive and funny teacher come to present, seems to have an excellent economics/business program (especially if you're interested in the real life applications, because you will get to do internships and go on field trips to factories). I remember that a lot of us business/economics students went "suddenly, I feel like going to Shiga University" after the presentation.

In the same vein, if you're asked to write what you learnt about five universities, it's a good idea to write in pencil (especially if you choose the universities in advance like me). Trust me, there's a very high probability that your choice of universities that you want to 'visit' will change after the presentations. That is, if you stay awake through them.

Finally, do some research after. If rankings matter to you (or your family), it's not a bad idea to search for what rank the universities you're interested in are, and to ask around (Linked In has a group called Business in Japan that is really helpful). Remember, everyone is really nice, but they're also trying to get you to choose their university.

Don't forget, you aren't limited to the universities that came. You can choose from any public university in Japan, so no worries!

My Room (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies International Hall 1)

I realised that even though I moved here in April, I haven't posted anything about the living conditions. And I would think that all those that want to come here under MEXT would be pretty curious about this topic (well, I was very curious anyway). So, to calm your worries - the living conditions at TUFS are really great.

The basics: I'm in Hall 1 (there are two halls, although they're building a third hall now). What this means is that I have a toilet in my room, while those in Hall 2 have to share a communal toilet. At least, that's what I heard from the students in Hall 2 (there was something about how that's very uncomfortable during winter).

The rooms themselves are quite small. Including my toilet, I have 15m squared of space. On each floor, the first room is occupied by a Japanese tutor, who is available for advice and support. There is a common laundry area (floor 6 and if I'm right, floor 2 as well) and two common rooms (floor 5 and floor 7). On the first floor, there is a small music room (there's a piano!), a exercise place (you can play ping pong there), a kitchen, a Japanese-style room (occasionally, there are classes like Tea Ceremony there), a TV room (with a very nice TV inside). I think there's also a study room, although most people study in the common room.

So those are the shared facilities. And now, onto to the rooms (basically, my room). So, here are the photos (Warning! A lot of photos ahead!):

 This is my room from the door

 The clothes rack is right next to the door. It's really really small. (Tip: bring as many hangers as you need when you're coming)

 And right below the clothes rack is the shoe rack. As a side note, don't you love Magic Mop? It makes cleaning so much easier!

 We have individual heaters and individual heating bills (remember to always turn off your heater when you're not using it. This is especially since electricity bills are going to go up!). While I've heard of a senpai who (apparently) never turned on his heater for the whole year, I definitely can't do that. I have another senpai that bathed in cold water during winter (with very low electricity bills as a result. If you want to try, his advice was to "try and remain conscious when the cold water first hits you."

 My mini-kitchenette! It's an electric stove (so if you get a kettle, get an electric kettle), but it's adequate for all cooking needs. Or at least, I haven't had to use the kitchen on the first floor yet.

 I use the space below the stove to store all food-related items. In the right corner is my beloved blender. Right now, I go by "which dish uses the least ingredients" method of selecting things to cook because I don't have the space to store a lot of ingredients.

 My bed. There's a board next to it, so I'm trying to fill it up before I leave. All those notes are either prayers or verses.

We have a balcony on which I can hang clothes! Can you see my name on the yellow towel? Well, you can't really see my name on my dogi (simply put, it's the kendo top) though...

 The view from my balcony during sunset! (after a bit of editing)

 The real, unedited view. This is the school track. I wake up to the soccer/baseball team practicing (I wonder how they find time to go to classes since I always see some people practicing....)

I have no space. Which is why all my clothes must be foldable (only formal wear is the exception). And yes, it's over my refrigerator) 

 My bookshelf ^^ Because of this, my room is known as a mini-library (and I lend books out too!)

This is how I decorate my library shelves - with toys from Kinder Surprise (I love Kinder Surprise. Kinder Joy? Not as much) 

I really have no room, which is why my rice cooker is next to my bed....

Just know that the toilet is small but contains a (deep) bathtub, a sink and a toilet bowl. There aren't any full-length mirrors, but there's one small-medium sized mirror hanging over the sink.

So, here's my room. It's small, but really cozy ^^

ETA1: 24/7/2014: If you need to see more of my room, +InasWH did an excellent vlog about it! Click here to go to the video

ETA2: 14/6/2015: If you're looking for information on the Osaka U-Program (the Osaka version of TUFS), +Devangi Yadav made an excellent and detailed post here

Pre-Arrival Information Handbook (TUFS)

I just got the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS) pre-arrival information handbook yesterday (+ a word document you're supposed to fill out), and immediately started stressing over (of all things), what language to use to reply to the email.

You see, I'm supposed to reply to acknowledge getting the 2 documents, and me being slightly OCD/perfectionistic (take your pick), I didn't know what language. Should I use Japanese? But the email is written in English, so they might expect an English reply. Not helping matters was the fact that I just had a Japanese lesson on keigo (polite language), so the whole "be polite" thing was at the forefront of my brain. In the end, I decided to write in English. I'm not that good in Japanese after all.

But apart from the completely unnecessary self-inflicted angst, I also had a chance to look at the handbook (PDF document). This is the first page:

I can honestly say that with each document that gets emailed over, I get used to the fact that this is reality and not just some wonderful dream I'm having. The document is actually fairly detailed, and it covers things like arrival and the dorm. The dorm actually sounds appealing. It's all single room (15 metres squared) and comes with a toilet (+ bath) and a mini-kitchen. I don't imagine there's much room to swing a cat, but all the amenities is convenient.

However, JLC (Japan Language Centre) "does not approve part-time jobs as for undergraduate students". There goes my plan to work part-time to supplement the allowance. Plus, the monthly allowance has actually decreased, from the initial ¥123 000 to ¥120 000) :/ Mom, Dad, if you read this, well, I'll have to depend on your for at least one more year :D

And to end things on a happier note, here are the subjects I'm studying (read the Humanities and Social Sciences column):

I'm actually looking forward to most all my subjects (I know, I'm a nerd/mugger) ^^