Course participant reports 2016

Tokyo：Representation and Reality

Student A: I think that those who don't understand Japanese learned the most because we weren't knowledgeable in Japanese culture at all. But because of the many lectures and the interaction with UTokyo students, I felt that towards the end all of us were slowly understanding how Tokyo works. We had all developed our own vague understanding of Tokyo.

Student B: It was enlightening to learn about Princeton students' and UTokyo students' perceptions of each other's universities. As a Princeton student, I was especially interested in the big-city-university life of Todai students.

Student C: The TAs were all extremely helpful, and it was very interesting to hear many different perspectives from both the TAs and the students, who came from many different countries. The lectures, field trips, and casual conversations during free time with students, TAs and faculty all contributed to the wonderful experience I had taking the course.

Germany

A Semester

Hungary

Australia

UTokyo/ANU Exchange

Student Reports

Throughout the course, I enjoyed a lot, felt a lot, and learned a lot. I not only gained knowledge of Australia, but also gained new perspectives on the Australian way of life. Of course after listening to many lectures on Australia with the program I was able to understand better about Australian nature and culture, however, it was even more meaningful for me to learn about different ways of thinking by passing time with ANU students. (Science II, 2nd year)

During the session in Japan, we learned about Japanese culture, especially in regards to Mt. Fuji. I realized that I didn’t know much about Japan. […] I felt embarrassed. I realized that as a Japanese person, I need to learn more about Japan. […] In Australia, we learned about the changing environmental situation from many perspectives, such as the arts, nature and culture. The most interesting topic for me was biodiversity. I knew that people had a responsibility to maintain biodiversity, but I didn’t know why. The lecture made me rethink nature, and presented me with new questions which had never occurred to me. (Science I, 1st year)

In order to build an internationally successful career, I have to master English. I have to expand my vocabulary, be able to understand what native speakers say and clearly express my own thoughts. At the same time, I don't think I have to worry too much because I realized on this trip that native speakers of English don't care about a non-native's speaker’s fluency. They are just interested in what he or she has to say. This is the type of thing that I learned through this course, and that I don’t think I would have learned if I had stayed in Japan. (Science I, 1st year)

I admire the attitude of ANU students toward lectures. They are highly motivated to acquire new knowledge. They ask many questions during lectures. They are so serious when they prepare for presentations that they keep discussing in their futons at night. […] Japanese students tend to think that professors give lectures and that students are like customers, just listening to whatever is being said. During this program I learned that students go to university to learn. I want to incorporate this positive learning style into my studies next semester. I hope the motivation that I gained through this program will last forever, or at least until the end of next semester. (Science I, 1st year)

Summer School for Chinese Language

詳細はこちらをご覧ください。

Campus Asia Winter Program

My “BeST” Memories
 
江島徳政（EJIMA NORIMASA）
教養学部文科3類2年
文学部歴史文化学科日本史学専修内定
 
I participated in a joint project "BeST Program" hosted by Beijing University, Seoul National University and The University of Tokyo during February. "BeST" comes from the initials of Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo. This conference lasted for 3 weeks. All the members who joined this project spent the first 2 weeks studying at SNU and then students of SNU and UT spent remaining 1 week in Tokyo. Students from UT were very impressed by the English conversation skills of students from SNU and BU. We UT students tried our best to communicate with SNU and BU students using our limited English skills. Some of the UT students were communicating with SNU students in Korean.
 
The days in South Korea were very exciting for me. I participated in the impeachment demonstration of President Park with some SNU students. I was very surprised by the passion of people who joined the protest. Since political movements are prohibited by the Communist government in China, I also found it interesting to see and learn how Chinese students reacted to the political protest. When I went to the DMZ (Demilitarized Neutral Zone) between South Korea and North Korea during the project, I felt sad about the tragedy of confrontation between the same “朝鮮民族”. I heard that there are lots of families that are still separated in north and south because of the Korean War. It was too painful for me to imagine a situation where people would kill their family and friends. I sincerely wish that the confrontation in the Korean Peninsula will be settled peacefully as soon as possible. I also had a look at the statue of comfort woman “従軍慰安婦像,” that has great influence on the relationship between Japan and Korea. Although I am not sure which argument is closer to the truth because I have little knowledge about it, I found it painful to realize that the victims of reckless wars are always innocent people. We talked about various topics concerning our three countries. We found many differences while we were talking about cultural aspects such as food, clothes, residences, music, and so on. We also discussed about the historical man"金九", the leader of the Korean independence movement who fought against the Great Empire of Japan during WWⅡ. In addition, we discussed the territorial issues among Japan, China, and Korea. It was very important for me to exchange opinions and ideas directly with the students of each country.
 
It was valuable for me to think about my own career and future during this project. I decided to major in Japanese history from this April. A lot of historical knowledge that I learned during my high school days contributed to making friends with each other. I enjoyed talking about “世宗” and “李舜臣” with Korean students, and also enjoyed talking about “三国志” and ”紅楼夢” with Chinese students. Discussing each other’s history is one of the ways to show each other courtesy. I learned that understanding each other's history can be perceived as a proof of the trust and respect we have for each other. I became very proud of my decision to major in Japanese historyduring my remaining time at UT. It was valuable for me to gain confidence in my past and the steps that I will take from here on out.
 
I really had fun time spending with SNU and BU students. Although I learned more things than I expected, the most important thing was very simple. The best thing I learned was that “liquor, art, and love overcome borders!”
 
We can easily become friends by eating delicious meals together, chatting about romantic love, and appreciating wonderful music and art!
There are two different meanings of the Japanese word “はし”. One is “bridge（橋）” and the other is “chopsticks（箸）”. Although various differences exist among Japan, China, and Korea, we “East Asians” share the same culture using chopsticks（箸） when we eat food. I think it is our mission to share wise wisdom like “はし（箸）” to overcome various conflicts and gaps, and become “はし（橋）”the bridge between our three countries.

Australia/Tokyo