The International Center Newsletter

TAKING OFF

Vol. 21 Winter, 2014

Hello from All Corners of the World!
This issue first features Mr. Daichi Misaki who just graduated from The University of Queensland with amaster’s degree in Business Administration in December of last year. His college life started with a set back.
This articles tells how he coped with the situation and finally graduated from overseas university. He tells us
you can make anything happen if you keep believing “Practice makes perfect.” and “You can do it.”Daichi Misaki

IBusiness School Postgraduate Association at the graduate school (Left)

With classmates after the graduation ceremony (Left)

International Studies Major, Graduated in 2012

received a master’s degree in businessadministration from The University ofQueensland in Australia on December 16,
2013. I was able to complete the graduate
school program with the help and support ofmany people. I would like to share some of myexperiences in my four years at Osaka Gakuin
University as well as my study abroad time inAustralia with you.
Do you have a goal in your life? I believe if
you have a goal, even if it is a small one, how
you live everyday will change. When I was inhigh school, my family hosted a boy from New
Zealand for a few weeks. But I was not able tocommunicate with him in English at all backthen. It was an extremely frustrating experience, but it also turned out to be an awakening
for me. I realized if I could speak English, auniversal language, my world would be widened. The most important thing was that I
found a future dream through this experience.
Later, I entered OGU having a goal to study
abroad in the U.S., but then I faced the harshreality. My first TOEIC score was only 285.
Before entering OGU, all I did was play soccer, so English classes at university were completely over my head. I was depressed withthe score, but my dream to study abroad
helped me move forward. Because I really
wished to study in the U.S., I studied English
without sparing time for sleep. OGU has many
facilities and systems to support students, andthe International Center is one of them. I usedmost of the resources that were available forstudents at OGU and was able to make mydream come true in the second year at OGU.
I left Japan to go to the U.S. to study fortwo semesters without giving much thought tomy future. However, after I met international
students who studied really hard and otherJapanese students who studied at the graduate school in the U.S., I started to think about

studying overseas and receiving a degree
there.
After coming back from the U.S., I started
studying for IELTS in order to enter a graduate
school in Australia. At that time, my English
had already improved at a certain level, so I
was able to achieve the required score withina year. Of course I expected it would be reallyhard to study at an Australian graduate school,
but it was much harder than I imagined. I alsochanged my major from International Studies
to Business, so it made my academic life evenharder. There were so many difficulties. I didn’t
have enough background knowledge, didn’tknow how to do assignments in English, didn’t
do well on the test because my English level
was not high, couldn’t finish a pile of assignments, and couldn’t cope with discussions withother students. I sometimes felt I made a mistake and that I chose the wrong path, but because people around me supported me inmany ways, I was able to slug it out.
Nothing worthwhile is easy to accomplish
and everything looks difficult at the beginning,but if you get used to it, it will be all right. Ichanged my goal from playing soccer to studying. My university life started with TOEIC 285.
No matter how hard I studied, I could not getbetter than C at the graduate school in thebeginning and almost gave it up, but when I
continued to work hard , I was able to graduate. Even when you are truly committed tosomething, you sometimes fail. But if you continue trying without giving it up, your efforts will
be rewarded. I am now moving towards mynext goal.
Your four years at OGU will probably passby quickly, like an arrow, but you can grow up
if you have a goal and make the effort toachieve it. If there is anything I can do to help
you accomplish your goal, please contact methrough the International Center!

Vol. 21Page 2

The next student is Ms. Qiuying Zheng who studied at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HKPU) for 4 months from September 2013. She is originally from
Shandong Province, China. She made a great effort to realize her dream of studying abroad in English speaking countries. The HKPU is a high –ranked university
and offers almost all classes in English. She learned English and Cantonese there. After graduating from OGU, she will be working in Japan. She is also the one
who proved that if you diligently devote yourselves in whatever you do, your dream will come .

Qiuying Zheng (4th year, Business Administration Major)

Exchange students from OGU (Ms. Zheng(right), Ms. Akane Harada (left))

It has been five years since I came to
Japan from China. I have experienced
many fun and interesting things, but also
some difficult things in the past five years.
However, when looking back over thoseyears, I have no regret that I decided tocome to Japan.
I came to Japan when I was a second
year student in high school, so after studying Japanese for a year and half, I entered
Osaka Gakuin University. During the firstyear at OGU, taking classes taught in Japanese was a lot harder than I expected and it
was not easy to communicate with Japanese students either. In order to get used tomy university life, I practiced conversation inJapanese with my friends and took extra
Japanese classes in addition to the department courses.
Keeping in mind “When in Rome, do as
the Romans do,” I tried to learn Japaneseculture and customs and to attended allclasses and do my best. I always worked
twice as hard as the Japanese students
because I didn’t want to fall behind them.
No matter how hard classes were, I nevergave up and tried my best until the end.
Because of this, I was able to get the 128
credits required to graduate from OGU by
the end of the first semester in the fourthyear, and received three scholarships infour years.
In order to further broaden my perspective and improve my English skills, I decided to set a goal to be an exchange student
from OGU. Getting 450 points on TOEIC
was the minimum requirement to study in
English-speaking countries, but my firstTOEIC score was only 270. I had no confidence to accomplish my goal, but, thankfully, a staff at the International Center
helped me with English every week andchecked my papers, so I could graduallyacquire English skills and build my confidence. Just before the exchange programapplication deadline, I got 470 on TOEIC
and a chance to study at The Hong Kong
Polytechnic University (HKPU) for a semester in the fourth year at OGU.
Needless to say, studying at HKPU wasextremely difficult, but I enjoyed my life
very much while I was there. The toughest
thing was that all classes including Cantonese language classes were offered in
English. At the beginning, I could not
speak with other students because I felt
my English was not good enough. However, I thought I came to Hong Kong to improve my English, so I tried to have thecourage to begin a conversation with students around me and actively participate
in a variety of events. I valued every
chance to talk with other students in English. In Hong Kong, I not only learned English and Cantonese, but I also madefriends with many local and international
students and had many intercultural experiences. I believe my perspective became
even wider through this study abroad experience.
I had many good memories, but I would
like to share the most impressive memory inHong Kong with you. I was very surprised tosee all local students at HKPU fluently
speak English, and many of them always
study at the library or a study room in thedorm. I wish Japanese students who receive “the pressure-free education (YutoriKyoiku)” to become active in the world, but
in order to do that, I recommend that theyleave Japan even for a short time and experience living overseas.
I will start working in Japan from March of2014. I really look forward to it now. Before
that, I will learn Japanese business manners and the products my company makes
and sells. I tried everything I could during
my university life. I will never change myattitude and would like to continue growing
more as a person in the future. I hope all of
you who are reading this will make a step
forward and have a fulfilling university life.

Her birthday party with friends (right)

Internship at OGU: Liu Shing Chian(Higashi Osaka University Kashihara High School)
A high school intern came to the International Center again last December. Mr. Liu Shing Chian came to Japan from Taiwan just threemonths ago. He said he knew only Hiragana and Katakana when he came to Osaka, but he is now able to communicate in Japanese amazingly well. He is good at not only Chinese, his mother tongue, and Japanese, but also English. He has already gotten 850 on T OEIC. This isalso amazing, isn’t it? The International Center had a mid-completion ceremony for international students on December 20, so Mr. Lui helped
us with that.

I

had the great opportunity to do an internship at the library and International
Center of Osaka Gakuin University fromDecember 17 to 20, 2013.
In the first two days, I worked in the university library, helping the staff with checking out and processing returned books andputting those books back on the shelves.

Let me tell you what amazing thing I saw
in the basement of the library. It was amoving bookshelf! If a person would like tofind a book, she/he can move a bookshelf
automatically by just pressing a button.
Wow! It is difficult to explain this system,
but I thought it was the best way to makespace in the library.

Vol. 21

Page 3Mr. Lui with Mr. Ikawa at Kashihara
High School and staff at the Interna-

Next, I worked at the International Center for my last two days. I heard international students speaking not only English,
but also “real” German and French there,
which was a rare experience for me. It was
just like I imagined an international place
would be. Many international students
from different countries were studying
there, and, if I remember correctly, there
were students from at least eight different
countries. I thought it was wonderful.
Staff at both the library and the International Center were very kind to me. Whenever I needed help, they lent me a helping
hand. I truly appreciate their warm support.
Through this internship experience, I
have decided to learn as many foreign

languages as possible. I have been very
interested in language learning. I think if I
learn a language, I also learn the cultureand history of the country where the language is spoken. It is a way to “kill two birds
with one stone.”
After becoming fluent in Japanese, I would
like to study Russian and German. My native language is Chinese, but I still have a
lot to learn, so I would like to continue studying Chinese as well. Learning foreign languages is not easy, but I always enjoy it andwould like to continue doing it in the future.
The four days at OGU became unforgettable memories for me. I feel very lucky tohave received this internship opportunity,and I will always remember these enjoyable
days at OGU.

Flavor in Finland～Antti Kunnas
Finland may seem a country so far from Japan to you, but in fact, it is the closest
European destination from Japan. Yes, really. The population in Finland is notlarge, but there are numerous forests, lakes andnational parks. So, Finnish people love natureand enjoy various outdoor activities. In summer,
we do hiking and camping, and in winter, skiing,
ice hockey, and so on. In addition to outdoor
activities you can do in Finland, I would like torecommend that you visit the Santa Claus Village
in Rovaniemi, located in the northern part of Finland, in winter. You will not only meet Santa Claus, but you can also enjoy riding asnowmobile and a sleigh pulled by reindeers. Please go and enjoy the cold winterin Finland! (Former part-time staff)

International Center
Osaka Gakuin University/Osaka Gakuin Junior College
2-36-1 Kishibe-Minami, Suita City, Osaka 654-8511, Japan
Tel: 81-6-6381-8434 Fax: 81-6-6381-8499
Email: inoffice@ogu.ac.jp