Center for International Education / Seinan Gakuin University

International Student Comments


My message to those who are interested in learning in Seinan Gakuin University.

Andrew Loucky
Middle Tennessee State University, U.S.A.

I am a firm believer that learning is all about what one decides to do with what they are given. You can go to all of your classes and do your homework, but that is really only a part of learning while studying abroad.
Seinan's international division is great. I love all of my classes and the teachers are great (I found that they seem to like it when you can talk to them a little in Japanese). I have been learning a lot. My Japanese language class is especially good. My teachers make sure to teach us things that are not necessarily related to the current material, but would ultimately be useful for one's life in Japan.
The Center for International Students is also great! Everyone there is very friendly and helpful if you have a problem. I have also gotten several opportunities through them that I otherwise wouldn't have been able to experience. For example, recently, I was able to go to a wonderful performance of Kyogen near campus and later in the month I will get to go to Kyoto!

Let us know about interaction with the Japanese students.

Before I came to Japan, I had developed an interest in Japanese archery (Kyudo), and so I had decided to join that club once I got here. However, that, of course, meant speaking in Japanese to someone! Once I gathered up to courage to do so, it really wasn't that bad, and over a couple weeks, I started getting integrated into the club. Before I knew it, as far as I could tell, everyone knew my name. Of course, on a good day, I can only remember a handful of their names, but they seemed to like the fact that a foreigner was interested in their club. Once I started getting involved in the club, I magically had a number of people I could say hello to if I was walking around campus. I would suggest joining a club; it is a great way to meet people.

Are there any particular reasons you chose to do a homestay?

There are many reasons that I chose to live in a homestay. While it is, of course, a rather intimidating option at first, I knew that it would ultimately benefit me greatly. My ultimate intention of coming to Japan was to improve my Japanese ability and knowledge. From what I understood of the International House, many of the people there would be speaking in English and it might be more difficult to truly immerse myself in an entirely Japanese environment. With a host family, especially with mine, I speak Japanese all the time even though my host brother has studied in Canada and has pretty good English.
Furthermore, I wanted to understand the Japanese home life. I had heard that it differs greatly from Western/American lifestyle, so being with a host family would very quickly give me an understanding of differences and similarities.
By living with a host family, it has and will continue to give me an intimate understanding of Japanese culture. I am very happy with my decision to live with a host family. While, at times, the commute to school can be a little confusing, this experience has been a very educational experience. Most importantly, I have enjoyed becoming a part of a family during my time in Japan.

Center For International Education / Seinan Gakuin University


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