Being a Foreigner in Japan



...can be a very good thing... yet downright inconvenient at times when it really matter.



+ You get to practice your Japanese in different situations (aka people don't water down their speech for you) 

   ...in convenience stores, in the mall, at the train station, on the street... basically, everywhere. Because of how I look, some of my friends and I are often mistaken by Japanese people as one of their own. It's nice at times to not be taken notice and paid attention to. I've learnt a lot about Japanese cultures just by being an 'invisible' bystander. Not looking foreign is also a really good thing when I'm feeling particular adventurous to test out my Japanese abilities.



- You have to explain why you can't understand simple Japanese (and why you need them to water down their speech and speak like talking to 5-year-olds...)

    ...in other words, I find myself trying to defend my dignity more than once. It's difficult, especially for older folks, to grasp that yes, despite looking quite like a Japanese, no, I'm actually a foreigner, and yes, I can say in fluent Japanese that I can't understand what you just said, and uh... yeah, that's the only fluent sentence I can say.

I finally figured out that it's easier to maybe let them hear you speak in English (either with a friend... or, worst case scenario, to yourself) to let them know that 'hey, possible gaikokujin here. Help, please!'



+ You get to try on Japanese fashion items without fear 

    I haven't actually done this myself, but a lot of my friends have found themselves adopting the Japanese way of wearing baggy-straight cut... slacks (?!! really, what do you call those long pants?) as well as Japanese makeup trends that emphasizes a lot on blush, eye liners, red lips, and let's not forget the eyebrow-length fringe, and are able to just blend in so well I wouldn't have been able to tell any different.



- You get weird looks for not dressing like everyone else

    So it's almost summer here and Nishinomiya has been hitting a steady 80 degrees fahrenheit these few days and I've already given up on blending in with the crowd and have started wearing t-shirts and shorts to school.
Let's just say I've gotten a lot of weird looks on the way like, I know they're totally judging but it's so hot, I'm melting, and I really can't afford to care. It's either die of heat under judgment or die of heat comfortably... it's humid here so I'm not even kidding. I have to say, being in Chicago for two years have ruined me for Asian summers. Please come back, Winter!!! 


- When you make a mistake, you don't get the immediate grace of 'ah, it's alright, you're foreign' but 'wow, that's so rude.'

    Before coming to Japan, I had no idea that eating while walking is a huge no-no here. So you know, grabbing a piece of toast before running to class you usually see anime guys do? Don't do it. I've asked many of my Japanese friends about this particular rule and all I got was that it's a matter of 'morale'.

That being said, this 'rule' is less severe the more tourist-populated a place is. In smaller suburb places like where I am, however, the most you can see people doing on the street is drink water.




All these being said, I appreciate the (mostly) lack of attention I get when I go places. After all, my appearance is what makes me inconspicuous when I go on my once-a-weekly excursions to solely Japanese populated places.
Like, you've got to see some of these back alleys!! They're so aesthetically pleasing you won't even believe it!! 



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Dorm Life in Japan -part 1-




It's been over a month since I arrived in Japan and here's my version of things about living in a dorm in Japan... more specifically, things about living in a girl's dorm.



  1. There's thousands of rules. So I might be over-exaggerating on the 'thousand' part but there's literally a rule for every single thing imaginable. I have a curfew at 11:50PM and if I stayed out too late, the door wouldn't open until 4AM (Students who stayed out too late without forewarning will have to write an essay in Japanese to apologize and read it out loud in front of all the residents in the next dorm meeting- something which happens once per month.) We have rules on when we can use the bathtub, hair-dryer, vacuum cleaner, washing machines, and etc. It might sound like a lot (and it is) but once you get a hang of things, it's not that bad... 
  2. We have duties to do. This is something I find that is really different from staying in a dorm in America. At the beginning of each month, the residents staying in the same apartment/unit (in this particular dorm, it's 4 Japanese students and 1 international student per apartment. We each have our own individual narrow but neat bedrooms but we share a kitchen, a dining area, and the bathrooms and toilets) decides who gets which week of cleaning duties which basically consists of taking out the trash every morning before 8AM, and the vacuuming and cleaning of the entire apartment unit on the weekend. The cleaning consists of cleaning the electric stove tops, the mirrors and the sinks, the walls and floors and drains of the shower room and bath, the toilets, and so on. 
  3. Trash. Let's talk about trash since I'm already on the topic of cleaning. In Japan, they take out different kind of trash(es) on different days of the week. They separate their trash into 3 main kinds: Cans, P.E.T. bottles, and combustibles (which also consists of plastic bags and everything else that doesn't fit into the first two categories.) 
  4. Washing machines.  This is how we do our laundry. It's 200 yen for 4.5kg, which is roughly 2USD; it's 300yen for 7kg. I sometimes share a machine with my friends to split the cost. 
  5. Dryers.  The dryers costs 100yen/15 minutes but after using it once for 30mins and still was forced to dig out completely undried clothes, I gave up on it and just did the way other students do by hanging it in our own rooms like this. It is suggested that you either turn on the heater or leave your window open for the clothes to dry faster. It usually takes around a day or two if it's sunny. 


These are just a few things I took notice of during my first month. In America, there's more freedom when one lives in a dorm. No one really cares when we return (if we return), what we do, and how we do things in our room as long as we aren't disruptive but here in this Japanese girl's dorm I'm placed in, it gets a little suffocating at times. There's a lot of do's and don't's and they literally gave us two sheets of paper with all the rules written on them the very first day we move in... and they even gave us a dorm rule mini test at 11PM at night!!! 

But as I've mentioned, these are my version of things in this particular dorm I'm at. I've heard of different experiences from other international students living in other dorms (and home-stays) and each has their own pros and cons. 

That's it for now~ 
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Surviving the First Week



I've arrived in Japan for a week and six days and everything had been in constant motion- orientation, hangouts, and seeing more of the city I'm in. It's only after I've arrived that I realize how important it was (and is) to surround myself with people. Unlike how I first was after arriving in the States (reclusive, introverted,depressed, and homesick), I've found myself spending hours and hours in the company of new people, only returning to my dorm room at night to sleep. 

 Here's a list of things to do based on my first week here: 
  1. Meet new people and make as many friends as you can before classes start. With classes starting (tomorrow, 7th of April for me), everyone you've known from orientation will be having different schedules and classes from yourselves. So if you really meet someone you want to know during orientation, go talk to them and get their contact. 
  2. Travel before chaos starts. And by chaos, I mean classes, once again. Within the span of a few days, I've gone to Osaka, Kyoto, Iga-Ueno (where the ninjas are; this is a part of my orientation). While I normally would prefer indoors, I know I won't have time to travel all that often in the future. For the record, the university I'll be attending DOES NOT OBSERVE THE GOLDEN WEEK!! THE ONE TRUE HOLIDAY I'VE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO!! 
  3. Go to all convenience stores/markets around the area. Japan's groceries are unexpectedly pricy and it took me a week to find a market that sells things at a cheaper price, thirty-minute walk away. Don't buy a whole lot of things at once. Wait a little, go around town, compare the prices, and you'll find a store that fits your needs (physical and financial-wise) without feeling like you're ripping a hole in your wallet every time you stand before a cashier. 
  4. Ask any 'dumb' and 'silly' question without fear. Believe me, everyone knows that you're not from around (I'll get to that in the future but basically, you can tell a foreigner apart from a Japanese just by the way a person dresses... and the make-up... yeah, that's the real reason over there...) and will be willing to help in any way. Push through the awkwardness, speak Japanese even if it's broken, and don't give up on asking until you truly understand what's puzzling. Personally, I get lost a lot and my sense of direction is non-existent. So far, everyone I've stopped to ask on the street has been really friendly. I also never figured out how bad my Japanese is until I stopped mid-conversation to groan into my hands that I give up on finishing whatever sentence I was trying to say... I'm getting good at speaking in a roundabout way to get my point across now, if I do say so myself. 



 A little bit more about my programme. 
  • It's Not in Osaka. Or Kobe. 

I'm currently staying at a place called Nishinomiya in the Hyogo prefecture. To be honest, I felt kind of startled (okay, I was really really really shocked) when I realized that the places in the program name had nothing to do with the real location at all. So yeah, when I said I'll be writing from Osaka the next time I post in my first blog, I am obviously wrong. 

It says Nishinomiya right there at the bottom.



A view of Nishinomiya.
  • The University is called Kwansei Gakuin University
Or Kangaku for short because it's a mouthful. It's a beautiful school with a lot of campuses in different locations. I'm in the main campus at Nishinomiya Uegahara. 
In the last almost-two weeks, I've already taken a Japanese placement test and has registered for classes based on the results. I'll write more about classes registration here in Japan in the future after a few more weeks to get a feel of how the adding and dropping of classes as well. I think I'm taking too many classes... 


This is all for now. 
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Mind on Destination


A tiny bit about me and why I want to Study Abroad when I already am

I'm an international student of Northern Illinois University, a junior in standing, an English (writing) major with minors in Linguistics and Japanese Studies, and a girl who loves learning new languages and a change in scenery every once a while. Despite dreading plane rides--ironically, seeing as to how I've much I've flown my entire life--I love traveling and visiting new places and cultures, and Japan has simply been at the top of my list of countries to go (and after that comes England, France, and Germany! One mustn't forget the birth places of some of the most amazing composers to have ever graced the earth but let's not go there right now--)

 Just so there's no confusion, I'm Taiwanese-Malaysian with a Malaysian passport, and I've lived in both Taiwan and Malaysia until three years ago when I came to America for college. As I begin posting my experiences studying abroad in Japan, be aware that I'm writing as an Asian from Asia who's already been studying abroad for three years and is quite familiar with the notion of being abroad.


The application to the programme ah, I adore this spelling!! 


 The program I'm participating in is a cosponsored program by my university and USAC. There's three different stages to applying: the first being an application sent to the Study Abroad Office at NIU, then once approved, to the University Studies Abroad Consortium (aka USAC), and when that is approved, to the host university in Japan itself. 

 I'm not going to lie but the application process is long, complicated, and frustrating (but I'm absolutely certain it's going to be so worth it in the end.) There's a credit-approval form for classes I want to take from abroad, health forms, letter to the dorm/host families, letter of reason of study, essays, bank statements, proof of Japanese proficiency, and so one and so forth. 

 I think the only reason I survived this entire application process was because I started it a year early. So really, if you're thinking of studying abroad, start your application ahead of time, especially if there are limited spaces available. 

After receiving confirmation that I'm accepted as a student by the university in Japan comes the task of applying for a Japanese visa. Surprisingly, this step is the easiest and shortest for me as it only took less than a week to get done and approved (but I am made aware that sometimes, depending on individual cases and places, the process might take up to weeks and months.) 

 A word of good news for my fellow international friends from Malaysia who have gone through the process of applying for an American visa, applying for a Japanese visa is way less stressful!! 

- drowns in gratefulness- 

Why I chose this programme or Osaka, really


 When I made the decision to study abroad in Japan, my first choice was actually Tokyo. I enjoy city life and the feeling of being surrounded by people, concrete, and skyscrapers (allow me to digress and say that when I first got to Birmingham, America--where I first started college before transferring to NIU--and was told that it was a city, I was shocked. There was not a single sighting of anything that resembled a tall building in view. At all. But then I came to DeKalb...) However, after discussing with my Japanese professor about this issue, I agreed with her suggestion that perhaps for my first experience of Japan, it would be better if I went to somewhere more laid-back. As to why Osaka? Well... 

(Conversation with Japanese friend a week pre-application)

Me: Is there a place you'd suggest that isn't Tokyo for me to study abroad at?
Friend: What are you looking for in a place?
Me: ...nothing much? I'm fine with any place as long as there's a decent amount of people.
Friend: The food in Osaka is pretty good.

So yeah... Food is actually one of the first deciding factors for me. The fact that the fees I have to pay for studying in Osaka is cheaper than Tokyo is an additional (and very much appreciated) plus. I'm pretty much sold on Osaka after that. 

 Have I also mentioned that I truly am overjoyed that Kyoto is really close by? I'll definitely be planning some trips there during my four-month stay there. 

Anticipation & Anxieties and everything in between and beyond


 I'll be arriving in Kansai International Airport in four days and right now, I'm torn between nervousness and panic. It didn't occur to me until last month that despite being quite confident in my Japanese language classes in America, my meager knowledge in the Japanese language is not going to bring me very far conversation-wise. As odd as it may sound, I'm actually excited to finally experience what it means to live in a country where I am not fluent in the language at all! There's going to be lots of confusion and awkwardness and I simply can't wait! Imagine all the writing materials I'd get to accumulate for my stories! 

-hangs out the sign 'I'm a writer. Everything you do and say may be used in my story'-
-you've been warned-

I'm looking forward to meeting new people, learning about new cultures, adventuring to new places, and creating memories that will last a lifetime. 

I'll be writing from Osaka the next time I post~ 
There'll definitely be photos. Lots and lots of photos. 
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