About the Program - 2009 University Students Autumn Course

This year 29 University students from 18 different countries attended the program: Indonesia, India, Mexico, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia, Romania, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The program ran from 21st October to 2nd December. In the 6 weeks we had intensive but interesting lectures, Japanese cultural experiences (Japanese calligraphy, Japanese tea ceremony, Wadaiko, Japanese flower arrangement, Kimono), interactions with Japanese people among other things. These interactions were mainly during the trip to Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves during these activities.

There are a lot of things that we did not know about Japan, which we learnt in the intense discussions. Moreover, we introduced a lot of things about our countries during our stay. This cultural exchange made the Japanese happy through their interactions with us. We were just as excited to interact with the Japanese people, to learn their way of life and to try out life in Japan. From this course each of us have been enlightened and drawn to think about the role of Japanese language in our future.

Q: What, in your opinion, was the hardest part of the training?

• The last interview presentation.
• Preparation for the weekly review classes
• Communicating in Japanese language only
• Keeping up with everyone else’s level of Japanese
• Understanding the Japanese spoken language of elderly people.
• Waking up early every morning.
• Finding new individual preferences in terms of foodstuff.

Q: Except for those related to the study of the Japanese language, were there any skills or achievements that you managed?

• I was able to use chopsticks.
• I was able to use public transportation by myself in Osaka and Tokyo.
• I was able to have a telephone conversation with a Japanese native in Japanese.
• I made new friends.

Q: What thing did you like most about/in Japan?

• Beautiful sceneries
• Takoyaki and Okonomyaki (Japanese dishes)
• Shopping
• Wadaiko was the best.
• Going out by bicycle.

Q: What are your ambitions after this course?

• I want to continue learning Japanese more and more.
• I want to study in Japan.
• I want to excel in the Japanese Language Proficiency Test
• I want to be as good a teacher of Japanese language as the Japanese language teachers of The Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Kansai.
• I want to be a trainee of a Wadaiko band.

Q: What advice would you give to next year’s trainees?

• Do not be shy to use Japanese in conversations; no one punishes you even for making mistakes.
• Enjoy yourself for the time you are in Japan, take up the challenge and try various things.
• Try your best to make as many new friends as possible.
• Take a lot of pictures to remind you of the experience.
• To make a splendid introduction of your own country, make thorough preparation for this.