Vol. 9

2010-2011 Exchange Students’ Arrival
We welcomed 73 students from partner universities from all over the world this month, and the Japanese program started on September 9. We offer 5 different Japanese levels in the program, 6 subject courses instructed
in English, 1 J-Bridge course, and 4 Japanese for Specific Purposes courses this year. The program has improved ever this year. This volume highlights the 3-day orientation.

On Sept 6th, OGU welcomed the
2010-2011 exchange students!
This year, there are 73 international students who represent 15 countries/regions from around the world which
include: Mexico, the United States, theNetherlands, Iceland, Finland, the Czech
Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, the Philippines, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and China. The students representvery unique cultures from each individual
country. Undoubtedly, the students’ appearance will play a huge role in enriching the international atmosphere campus-wide. Students will study at OGU for
either one semester or one school year.
This opportunity gives them a chance tolearn Japanese language and culture
both on and off campus with other OGU
students, their host families and in various Japanese communities.
During the second weekof September, the International Center hosted athree-day orientation. This
year’s orientation incorpo-

rated several changes to accommodate
the wide variety of needs of the large
number of international students.
Orientation highlights:● Special on campus sessions were held
for the students with staff from thebank, the hanko shop and the Internet
and mobile companies. Staff traveled
to campus to assist the students with
their banking needs, their new mobile
phones and their individual hanko
needs.
● In an effort to assist students not yet
proficient in Japanese feel more comfortable, language support in Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean and
Finnish was provided by the International Center staff.

● The International Students Support
Team (ISST) dedicated nearly a weekof their summer holiday to assist theInternational Center staff and the international students. They provided airport pick up assistance, orientation
assistance and serviced a full-time
Help Desk to answer any questions
students had regarding OGU and life inJapan.
Lastly, the campus has become a greatplace for all OGU students to interact
and learn more about the world throughthe eyes of the 73 international students!
We look forward to watching this dynamic develop during the upcoming Kishibe Festival during the month of October.

First Report from 2010-2011 Outbound Students
The remainder of 28 outbound students departed from Japan to begin
their study abroad experience on Sept 7th. Several have already encountered unexpected events and faced tougher language barriers than they
could have ever imagined. Although a few of them are experiencing challenges in some way or another, they continue to put their best foot forward to achieve their goals. This article features reports from America,
Europe, and Asia.
Tomomi Ohta, Junior, Foreign teen minutes away by car. It would benearly impossible for me to walk to downLanguage Major
town Scranton due to the long distanceMarywood University (U.S.A.)
and because public transportation runs
Only a short time has passed since I
arrived in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Although Marywood University is nestled ina small town within a very calm and pristine environment, it is a bit inconvenientas there are limited city facilities and thenearest convenience store is nearly fif-students on campus, so I miss the opportunity to communicate with students fromaround the world. Having said all of that,
I think this is an ideal location to master
English. I rarely meet anyone who
speaks Japanese or is even interested inJapan. Although I often see many mod-so infrequently. It is difficult to live here
without a car.
On campus, the university, students do
not have a chance to meet Japanesepeople very often, so they always smileand talk to me. Disappointing, is the factthat there are not many international

Tomomi with classmatesin the ESL programPage 2els of Japanese cars driven aroundtown, I don’t think many people knowthat they are Japanese brands. Japan
is known to be one of the most advanced countries, yet we still need tomake an effort to be recognized in theworld. I would like to not only aim to
improve my English during my stay in
America, but also make an effort toheighten the awareness, of my homecountry of Japan, for others during thenext six months.

before I decide to buy it. Once, although I studied the package andthought I knew what I was buying; I
purchased something very different.
What I thought was a can of mushroom
sauce I was purchasing, turned out tobe a can of whole mushrooms once I
opened it at home. Undoubtedly, I willencounter even more mix-ups fromhere forward. However, I will continue
to do my best, work hard to earn theclass credits and focus on understanding the Swedish language.

Keigo Yoshida, Junior, Economics
Major
Linnaeus University (Sweden)
Although I suspected my new life in
Sweden would be difficult, I could havenever imagined to what degree. One of
the biggest challenges I experience issimply trying to understand the language
during class. I am enrolled in regulardepartment courses with the Swedish
students and the lectures are instructedentirely in Swedish. The best I can do isconcentrate to understand and get asmuch out of the lecture as possible.
By far, the most difficult challenge
takes place off campus. Can you imagine
all the signs in town, as well as on campus, written in a foreign language you
can’t even comprehend? In this caseeverything is written in Swedish. I often
ask everyone questions wherever I go,
yet not everyone speaks English. I feelbad asking so often and believe it is my
responsibility to learn the language since
I am living in Sweden. Grocery shopping
everyday is a difficult task without thelanguage skills. The packaging is written
in Swedish, so it takes me a lot of time tofigure out what each product actually is

Keigo’s Swedish host familylish as well as take subject courses inEnglish. I also take Korean language
classes each day. I am often disappointed at my lack of English skills.
Korean students drink a lot of
alcohol in their private time, yet they also
study for their classes when necessary.
They spend a large amount of their time
studying for their subjects. I believe first
impressions are important and eventhough I cannot speak Korean, I always
tried my best to approach other students
and communicate with them the best I
can and as often as I can. As a result, I
made many friends. I also joined a soccer team. Although I still only speak simple phrases in Korean, I have a Korean
roommate and he and my other friends
study Japanese. I often teach themJapanese in exchange for Korean lessons. It seems as if time is flying by andnow there are only four months left on
my exchange. I will continue giving mybest effort to communicate in Korea until
the day I return to Japan!

Shuhei Shibata, Junior, Foreign
Language Major
Soonchunhyang University (Korea)
I came to Soonchunhyang University toaccomplish two things: learn the Korean
language and continue my English studies as a means to a bright future career.
Likewise, my goal is to broaden my perspective on the world. Here, at Soonchunhyang University, there are not only
Korean students, but also many international students from China, the U.S.,
Mexico, Australia, England, Indonesia,
Cambodia and Columbia. Throughout
the week, I communicate with international students living in the dorm in Eng-(Top) Shuhei in front of the City Hall in Seoul(Bottom) Shuhei and classmates in Korean class

A Cross-Cultural Encounter in Korea
Sakura Nitta (Foreign Languages, 3rd year student)
Before her adventure to Korea,
Sakura was pretty unsatisfied andsomewhat struggling in her daily
life. She felt as if she needed afresh start and decided to dosomething to change her situation. In March of this year she
went on a four-month study
abroad program to Baekseok University in Korea. After her return,
Sakura showed such a significant
transformation, that people on
campus and the staff at the International Center said it was if she
became a totally different person.
Below Sakura shares her story inhopes that it will inspire other
OGU students to study abroad.

T

he main reason I chose to study
abroad in Korea was to learn
about things that could only be
acquired outside of Japan as well as
become familiar with Korean customs
and cultures. However, the hard reality isthat the beginning of my studies there
were quite challenging. I found it wasmuch harder than I had imagined. For
example, on a tourist vacation, I could
manage without understanding the language, yet for a more long-term situation
my lack of ability to express myself wasboth sad and frustrating. Once I became
used to my new environment, I was able
to make some Korean friends, and became very close to them. Later, we eventraveled together. When it came to dailyliving, by talking with Korean students
every day, I was able to pick up somewords naturally after only a short threemonths. I could hold short conversations
in Korean and was able to express myself a little. Even some of more simple(Top) With friends and host mother(Bottom) A typical Korean meal

Page 3things that were easily explained inJapanese become difficult to express in
Korean. I was really happy the first timesomeone actually understood what I
was trying to say. Through this humble
experience, I came to truly know how
important foreign languages are as atool for communication.
After a semester at Baekseok, I was
invited to spend a two-month home
stay at a friend’s home in Seoul. Here, I
had an authentic experience living witha Korean family and felt the differencein customs and culture much more thanduring my time at the university.
As many of you may know, Korean

food is very red-hot and spicy. Spicy
dishes were served practically everyday at my home stay. During my stay, I
helped the family prepare kimchi. I was
also surprised to learn that Koreanhouseholds have a refrigerator specially to store kimchi. Some of the differences I learned about in everyday
life include: Korean people do not havethe custom of soaking in the bath tub
like Japanese do; driving manners canbe quite rough in comparison to Japan,transportation is significantly cheaper;and one can get complimentary dishes
at dining places and even extra servings! I often compare Korea with Japan,

thinking if only Japan were more like
Korea. Although Korea neighbors Japan and definitely shares some similarities, the differences are enormous! I
was able to see these for myself firsthand. My world interests do not end
with my Korean experience. I have now
begun to take an interest in other countries and am considering learning more
about the differences between Japanand those countries.
My message to everyone at OGU:
Reach out and grab a hold of any
chance to study abroad! Hurry!

CET Life Share Program: OGU students can expand their world- view through theeyes of an American university student!

T

his past January, Osaka Gakuin
University signed an agreementwith CET Academic Programs.
CET is a study abroad agency, which isbased in Washington D.C. Since its foundation in 1982, CET has been offering
innovative independent study abroad
programs for American university students to China, Czech, Italy, Spain,
Syria, and Vietnam. After a competitive
selection process, OGU was selected as
their choice venue for their exclusive
Japanese studies program.
CET students are eager to learn Japanese language and culture. OGU offers
the CET Life Share Program in which
CET and OGU students live together andgrow accustom to one another’s perspectives and customs. The common
language spoken between them is basically Japanese. However, an added
benefit is that the OGU students havethe opportunity to learn how American
university students think and live. Each
moment of the day offers learning opportunities for both parties. Together, they
prepare meals, clean the apt, wash laundry, watch TV and spend free time on
weekends together.
During an interview, Natsuko Imakita. asophomore in the Foreign language Department, claimed “my room share and I
cried many times during our final days
together because we did not want theexperience to end; we didn’t want to live
apart again”. Natsuko lived with Rika
Holtgraver from Pittsburgh University,
during this year’s CET summer program.

My image of an American:
Natsuko (N hereafter):“When I first heard that I would room withan American, I imagined that she would
resemble the celebrity Paris Hilton. However, she looked nothing like Paris, infact, she had brown hair and brown eyes.

Daily life:
N: “I was the one to prepare the daily
meal. I wanted Rika to experience Japanese food. I prepared rice and miso
soup, teriyaki meat, and other typicalJapanese dishes daily. Rika really enjoyed this, so I felt good about doing it.”
Rika (R hereafter):“I have lived with American roommates,
but this was my first time to have a Japanese roommate. In the U.S., we speak inmore direct terms and share our true
opinion with others. In Japan, it is important to attempt to read others’ thoughts
and then act upon the situation. I learned
much from watching Natsu. I tried to takethe initiative to help her prepare meals,
do the dishes, and clean our room!”

Bonding through illness:
N: “One day, Rika had a cold and a highfever. She couldn’t even speak; she wasso sick. I took care of her as much as I
could. I did what I thought anyone would
do. However, Rika was really touched bywhat I did for her, so I felt it was all very
worthwhile.”
R: “I felt extremely grateful to Natsu
when she took care of me. I was nervous
just thinking about going to a doctor or
how I would take care of myself in a foreign country. Natsu was so helpful andeven offered to take me to the clinic to
get medical care. I was extremely grateful to her.”problem by being too direct or hurtinganyone’s feelings with harsh words.”
Natsuko and Rika shared both goodand bad times in their eight weeks living
together. Rika mentioned that living withsomeone her own age was much different than living with a home stay family.
The life share program turned out to be avery memorable experience. Natsuko
claims the experience increased her
motivation to learn more English. Bothhave a goal to become future teacher
and on their last night together, they
made a pledge to fulfill this goal.
The CET Life Share Program is agolden learning opportunity for both CETand OGU students. This program is held
not only in summer, but also in the fall(August to December) and spring(January to May). If you are an OGU
student interested in participating in the
program, please contact the International
Center at 06-6381-8434 or inoffice@ogu.ac.jp.

Words of wisdom for participants:
N: “The most important thing to remember is to communicate with your roommate. I enjoyed just talking with her.
Please talk openly to your roommate.”
R: “CET students should try to learn alittle about how Japanese approach conflict or problems before coming to Japan.
Doing this, can help them better understand the situation before worsening a

Rika and Natsuko enjoying sightseeingin Kyoto together

Page 4

Tips for a Host Family—Part VI by: Yuko Teramura
Visits by the students’ family andfriends:
In most home stay programs, international students are informed that inviting
family and friends to stay over is prohibited, although this does not always prevent students from asking. In homes
where it is not possible to have guests,
the host families must be very clear to
the exchange student from the beginning. If families are not clear from day
one, they may find themselves in a challenging situation uncomfortable to get out
of. For example, there was this one student who requested her family, who wasvisiting Japan for three days, permission
to stay with her and her home stay family. Although the host family agreed toher first request for her family to visit, shelater expected the boyfriend would be
able to stay overnight. I’ve also heard
about a case where the student invited
over friends of the opposite sex while thehost family was away. From a student’s
perspective, they may assume since theypreviously received permission forguests, having future guests would also

KC News
International Center
Intern!
Antti Kunnas, a former exchange student from Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences in Finland, recently became the International Center’s first everintern.

Message from Antti:
Greetings! I’m Antti Kunnas from
Finland. I studied as an exchange student at OGU during September 2009 July, 2010. I have had the privilege ofworking at the International Center as
an intern since August and will continue this position through January.
Many people think Finland and Japanare different, but I believe there aremany similarities. I l enjoy Japan and
the Japanese language, and learning
about Japan and Japanese is my favorite hobby. In the past I would watch
many animated cartoons, howeverwith my new internship, there is little
time to do that. If any of you are interested in Europe, especially the Nordic
Region, please feel free to ask me
about it anytime.
Kind Regards,
Antti
Antti, is fluent in Japanese, English,

be fine. It is important that from the very
beginning, host families give a definite
NO to any requests they are unable toaccommodate.
As a rule of thumb, when you are willingto accommodate a student’s request, firstbe definite about the length of stay. It isbest to discuss face-to-face with the family/friend how long they intend to stayand mark it on your calendar. If an extension is not possible, explain this detailclearly and firmly. You can avoid problems if both sides understand theboundaries of the visit prior to the visit.
In my situation, whenever we hosted
additional guests of the student, we decided not to prepare dinner for them.
Simply because they might want to try
out restaurants they locate in their guidebooks and it might make it more challenging to enjoy sightseeing if they had
to worry about being home in time fordinner.
Having said this, a visit of a family or
friend is also an additional opportunity forinternational exchange. For example,
during one visiting family’s two-week
and Finnish and his multilingual skills
will play an important role at the International Center. This year, 9 international students join us from Finland, andAntti will be a big help assisting with
their needs as well as the many international students from all over theworld. Please join us in welcoming Antti
to OGU as one of our new staff persons, whenever you see him at theInternational Center!

stay, a host family showed their hospitality by serving homemade Japanesecooking and inviting the guests out fordinner. Other host families have celebrated New Years with the visiting families enjoying toshikoshi soba noodles
together on New Year’s Eve and ozone
and osechi on New Year’s Day. There
have also been cases where the hostand visiting families went sightseeing
together and the host families were able
to guide the guests to shops and restaurants where foreigners would otherwise
find it difficult to enter. Some families
were very grateful to be able to go to an
izakaya, a yakitori or a sushi place. Hostfamilies have also had a great time chatting with the visiting families over dessert
discussing places they’ve visited, sharing
pictures and stories about their adventures. Often, well after the guests leave,
the exchange continues and the relationships deepen through the exchange ofletters and presents back and forth. In
my opinion, ultimately this is what international exchange is all about.
(To be continued)
school students who were very interested in listening to what they had tosay!

Returnees helping the KC booth
Antti working in the officeOpen Campus
OGU Open Campus, for high school
students, was held five times throughout
June, August, and September. Returning
outbound students assisted staff at theInternational Center booth. They sharedwith students, who visited the booth,
personal testimony about their own overseas experience. They promoted OGU’s
exchange programs and shared stories
about their authentic experiences to highInternational Center
BLOG！
A new International Center blog wasrecently developed. Various topics thatare not printed in the newsletter will beavailable on the blog. The blog can beaccessed at
http://inoffice.blog102.fc2.com/
as well as from the official OGU website. Enjoy!

Osaka Gakuin University/Osaka Gakuin Junior College
2-36-1 Kishibe-Minami, Suita City, Osaka 564-8511
Tel: 06-6381-8434 Fax: 06-6381-8499 Email: inoffice@ogu.ac.jp