| Major(s) | Sociology and Japanese (dual major) |
| Hobbies | Singing, listening to all kinds of music, watching thriller dramas and movies, reading, writing fanfiction, exploring tasty restaurants |
| Hometown | Beijing, China |
| Program/Study Site | CIEE: Japan - Arts & Sciences at Sophia University, Tokyo |
Why study abroad?
Studying abroad in Japan was a dream of mine. I’ve planned to study abroad in Japan since I decided to become a Japanese major.
Why did you choose Japan?
I was born and raised in a metropolitan city, and while I enjoyed the peaceful and laid-back atmosphere at Claremont, I did miss home once in a while, so I decided to study in the biggest city in Japan. I remember that Sophia University was the only Tokyo program that Scripps offers.
What courses did you enroll in while abroad?
- Intensive Japanese
- Business Japanese
- Japan Research
- Introduction to Japanese Society
- Premodern and modern Japanese literature
What was your living situation?
I stayed in two different host families during my year abroad in Tokyo. Homestay in Japan, a partner of CIEE, helped me find matching host families based on the questionnaire I filled out beforehand.
What did you do for fun?
During my spare time and breaks, I enjoyed hanging out with my host family and new friends I made through the program and traveling around Tokyo and Japan.
Highlights of the program:
The language courses helped improve my Japanese proficiency and helped me pass the N1 level of the JLPT test. In the second semester, I worked at Juntendo University as an English conversation leader, an opportunity introduced to me by CIEE. I traveled to many places, and my trip to Okinawa with friends from CIEE was especially fun and unforgettable. I also developed a close relationship with my host family and maintain regular contact with them after I left Japan.
The most challenging aspects of your experience:
The homestay experience, as much as it was fun, was also challenging. It required a lot of adaptation, and as cultural differences became more apparent in a smaller community, the cultural shock that came with it became more unavoidable as well. Besides, I needed to communicate with my host family regularly about things such as my commute schedules, my travel plans, my food preferences, and health conditions, and the communication process was a challenge to my language skills. But thanks to these challenges, I understood the Japanese culture and society better than before and improved my communication skills in Japanese. Without the experience, I also wouldn’t have met a host family that basically became my family.
Final comments or suggestions for future participants:
I’d suggest people buy a Japanese sim card before leaving. It’s difficult to buy sim cards in Japan as you need a Japanese bank account and often a new phone to do that. My iPhone broke down once in Japan and I found out that having it fixed wasn't easy, so check your electronics to make sure that they’re perfectly functioning before you go.
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