What I learned in Todai
- TOKYO exchange
- 2019.02From: SEOUL
- Jin Young Park
Although Japan is one of the most often travelled places for Koreans these days, traveling to the place is one thing, but living in that place is another. In addition, since I haven’t studied any Japanese before – other than studying Hiragana and a few phrases on my own – I had no idea of what was coming ahead of me upon my arrival to Tokyo. Fortunately, Todai offered such clear instructions on all the administrative issues and my tutor Hitaki was so kind enough to help me get settled that I didn’t have much troubles even from the start.
Academically, Todai not only offers such a variety of courses, but also very well-managed and quality classes. Since I was an exchange student, I had the privilege to take any classes that I wanted to in GraSPP, so I chose small-sized, seminar classes. The teachers were always very well-prepared and actively engaging with the students. Also for me, I took the Japanese course offered by the School of Engineering and it was certainly one of the most fruitful experiences here at Todai. Although going to classes three times a week every morning was not easy, the curriculum was well-organized and both the teachers and the students were so enthusiastic that I was able to get through till the end. On top of the Japanese courses, I met a Todai student who wanted to do a language exchange, so we met once a week and had such quality times together.
Staying in Japan was beyond my expectations. It was more than impressive to see how everything was very well organized and clean everywhere I went. I knew what to do or where to go whenever I had issues because the instructions and explanations were all written and told in such details. The accommodation provided by the school was very comfortable as well. Moreover, I liked the fact that most of the places that I visited and traveled had a beautiful blend with nature, even in metropolitan cities like Tokyo. I would definitely love to come back to Japan in the near future!