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.

Frequently Asked Questions

When you come, the Sakura should be blooming

Alright, as promised, here is a compilation of the questions all of you ask me. If your question isn't answered here, please ask it in the comments.

School-Related
1. What documents do I need?

Just to be clear, I have no idea what documents the Osaka gaidai requires. But, it would be a good idea to bring certified true copies of your  graduation certificates (and however many years of transcript you had to submit to the embassy when applying for the scholarship) in case they want it. This is very important if you applied before you graduated. If you're worried about luggage space, you could always wait until the school asks for it and then get your parents to mail you the transcripts. There's normally sufficient time to get the necessary documents by mail.

2. Under what conditions will I be sent home?

You will be sent home if you're caught cheating. And also, if your attendence is below 80%, you may be barred from the examinations. So basically, do not cheat, and do not frequently skip class.

And yes, you have to pass, but even if you do fail, you'll have make-up tests. It's no fun to have to do the exams twice though, so study hard and try to pass.

3. Are the subjects (MATH) very difficult?

Yes, math is difficult. I hear that in Osaka Gaidai, it's common to fail.

Don't worry so much about Japanese, when you have lessons in Japanese every single day, and you speak it every day, passing generally isn't that much of a problem.

Visa Matters
I'm sorry, but if you have any questions here, you have to ask your embassy. There are different requirements for different countries. Generally though, since you're a Monbukagakusho scholar, there's a lot of help given.

Money Matters
1. How much money will I need for the first month?

Well, you should bring about one month's worth of allowance with you. For us, our first allowance was continually delayed. If you really need money (or if you can't afford), talk to the school. They're there to help. In our case, the school advanced us the first month's allowance (we had to pay them back later).

2. Is the money enough?/How much money will I need a month?

Amount of money needed per month varies on where you live, how often you eat out, how often you go out (to amusement parks, to nomikai's, etc). Generally, the scholarship amount is sufficient for the first year, because our rents are ridiculously cheap. Do note though, that you have to pay for your own gas and electricity fees here in Tokyo Gaidai. And my friend would like to tell you that they only way you can run out of money is if you have zero ability of money management. I'm sure all of you can surivive(:

3. How much is the hostel rent?
At Tokyo, I believe it's about 17,700 a month. I'm not sure about Osaka. But don't worry, your respective schools will send you an information booklet. Remember, when in doubt, refer to the information booklet!

3.1. Is there a monthly cafeteria service (I suppose you mean like in US dormitories).

There is a cafeteria, but as far as I know, there's no cafeteria meal plan. But, we have a stove in our dorm room here in TUFS (please look at this post for details about TUFS dorm rooms), so cooking is quite easy. And what your dorm room cannot handle, the common kitchen can!

4. Are there any jobs near TUFS?

Honestly, I don't know. And that's because we're not allowed to have a baito (part time job) while at TUFS. But like I said before, the allowance is sufficient, so relax and focus on your studies. You can worry about making money once you go to university (especially if you stay in Tokyo, with its sky-high rents) (;

Others
1. What do I need to bring?

Here's what you don't need to bring:

- Electrical appliances (Except perhaps, your laptop). You can buy most of this in Japan, and besides, bring them from home means a heavier weight, and the need to find adaptors.

- Furniture. Our rooms are fully furnished, and we even have a futon, blanket and pillow (all this will be billed to you anyway).

Here's what you should bring:

- Your national costume (if you like it). It'll come in handy for the opening ceremony and other events where you want to introduce your country. If you don't, make sure you have a white shirt and dress pants/skirt (basically, something formal that resembles a suit) for the opening ceremony.

- Your favourite local snacks. If you're sure you can't find it in Japan (do a quite Google search, or ask your seniors!), you might want to bring along the snacks you can't live without. Plus, it's another very good introduction to your country. Make sure you check immigration rules before packing though!

- A LAN cable (for those in TUFS). You can get one here in Japan, but if you want internet on your very first night, bring the cable with you.

2. Can I join a club? What clubs should I join?

You should definitely join a club! It's the best way to make friends and practice your Japanese. And if you're coming to TUFS, please go and check out the kendo team! They're a fun and friendly group, and if the idea of being allowed to scream and hit people with a bamboo sword excites you, you're totally suited. Total beginners are welcome too.

If you're a bit more quiet, what about Kyudo? The Kyudo team is very friendly too (I've intruded, I mean, visited their dojo enough times to say so), and it's apparently a popular club for foreign students to join.

Apart from these two that I'm promoting, there are lots of other clubs like Quatro (dance), choir, etc. Just make sure to check the practice frequencies and times. Remember, school over clubs!

______________

If you have any other questions that I haven't answered, please feel free to ask me in the comments below! I'll probably make a FAQ part 2 from them ^^

ETA: Please take a look at this page of "Do not ask me Questions" and the comments (if possible, I understand that the comment page is very long). If your question falls into the "Do Not Ask Me" section, I will not be replying, even if you use the email me widget and email me. 

To My Kouhai's

So you've gotten the MEXT scholarship! おめでとう！

Now, if you're anything like me, you might have started worrying about preparations, and so, look like this:

Or maybe it was just me.

But I think some of you have questions (and a few of you have asked me, I hope I helped!), and I'd like to help. Please tell me your questions via comments, and I'll do a blog post and try to answer. You can ask about things like what to pack, how much money do you really need (if you don't trust the embassy(; ), what do the rooms come with, orientation and such.

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