I was a fool to think that once I got through the application process in America for study abroad I would be home free. The sheer numbers of application forms required to study abroad in Japan are enough to prune the weak and faint of heart. Indeed, the application process is like a many-headed hydra, you cut down one form only to see two more spring up in its place. And once you have succeeded in this battle you face yet another once you’re on Japanese soil, with a whole new set of paperwork to get through. Forms for the office, forms for the dorm, forms for alien registration, forms for a bank account, I cannot recall the great profusion of forms we had to fill out.

My first week was a flurry of orientation, preparation, and greeting activity. Starting the very morning of our first day on campus, we were ushered off to a matriculation ceremony for new students and sat in the stifling heat for 4 hours listening to speeches and suchlike. From this then on we were given a schedule for each day of the next week.

Monday, September 5

            9:00     Japanese Language Placement Test Explanation

9:30 - 11:30     Japanese Language Placement Test

11:30 - 13:30   Japanese Language Placement Interview

13:30 - 14:50   Explanation of Curriculum & Registration

                                    - On Registration Procedures

                                    - On Japanese Language Programs

                                    - On Japan Studies

15:00 - 15:40   Introduction to Information Literacy

            16:45   Club Orientation

Tuesday, September 6

9:50 - 10:10     Library Orientation

10:10 - 11:00   Campus Life Orientation

                                    (Counseling Center, Student Services Div, Religious Center)

11:10 - 11:50   Orientation to Life in Japan

- “Making the Most of Your Stay in Japan: For those who are new to Japan”

                                    - “Welcome to ICU: For those already accustomed to life in Japan”

            12:00   Explanation of JLP

(Announcement of placement test results)

            15:00   Club Orientation

This is small sample of our first days. I managed to procure the text from one of the speeches given during the Campus Life Orientation. If you’re interested, have a look see.

Now I would like to address the issue of the “Japanese Language Placement Test”. I remember how innocently I headed off for the test that morning; how naïve I was, studying a bit the night before. I look back on my foolishness and laugh. This test, it must be understood, is used to gauge incoming students from every level of Japanese, from those with an informal familiarity with the language to native level speakers. It was not until much later that I fully understood what this meant. It meant that I would be leaving great expanses of my scantron blank, blank with failure. Now, we were not meant to answer questions beyond our level, but that didn’t stop me from trying, I do hate to leave an answer blank. This turned out to be a mistake, all it did was waste time I could have spent answering questions I might actually get. Additionally, the test was given in an insanely short period of time, given the number of questions. I suppose now that this was to encourage less guessing of the kind I attempted. The whole experience was a blow to my confidence at the time that really shouldn’t have been. In the end I was placed in Japanese 3 which was my equivalent level.

The “Club Orientation” that was held twice was actually a rather interesting event. For those not familiar with Japanese school culture, clubs and after school activities play a large role in the lives of Japanese students. In middle and high school, most students participate in at least one club. Furthermore, being in a club is not the casual, nonchalant experience of an American student, it’s an actual commitment. You’re expected to be there, participate, try your best, and support the team or group. It’s different from the norm in America and is a little more difficult, but it can also be a lot of fun to put your all into something. Anyways, the various clubs on campus conduct a two part “Club Orientation” where each club presents themselves on stage to the incoming new students. Some clubs do skits, some perform, some show videos or simply tell the audience who and what they are and why we join. The Soccer Club did a Power Rangers-esque skit where a be-caped villain and henchmen attacked some players using soccer. A green spandex-clad hero then came to the rescue to do soccer-battle with the villain; however he proved not powerful enough and exclaimed to the audience, “Soccer Club needs you! Only with your power can we defeat him!” Other memorable performances were those of the Smooth Steppers, a modern dance club; Nippon Minzoku Buyo, who perform a classical style of Japanese dance; and the nationally-acclaimed Modern Music Society who performed a jazz piece. All of the clubs were awesome; I honestly wish I could go beyond the bounds of physical possibility and join nearly all of them. With my feeble mortal powers, I believe I will join the Wadaiko Club, which is the traditional Japanese Taiko drumming. If time allows, I will certainly look into a few others.

A final note about Class Registration, it’s quite different from what I had hitherto experienced (and in my three years of college experience, I have gone through registration procedures for three different schools, plus cross-registration). At ICU, you first pick out your classes and enter them online at the registration site, being careful to do so at a computer connected to a printer. Once you select your classes, a one-time only tentative schedule will come up for you to print out. If, like me, you did not read the registration instructions or otherwise failed to print your class schedule, a trip to the Student Services Division and some explanation will get you the print out. You then take this paper to your assigned advisor, who signs it and perhaps talks to you a bit. This signed piece of paper goes with you down to the Integrated Learning Center where you can make any necessary changes before handing the paper in. You must then face the many-headed hydra to prove yourself worthy…   or not. But I found the whole process to be rather daunting and convoluted, though I suppose it worked in the end.

My first day of classes has come and gone. The classes seem interesting enough, as far as first impressions go. They are: Japanese 3, Contemporary History of Japan, Modern Japanese Literature in English Translation, and Asian International Relations. I have opted for a One-Year Japan Studies degree since the necessary classes are those I would take anyways.

So, wish me luck!