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Can anyone give me some information on studying abroad?

• I'm a college freshman now, and while I'm looking ahead, I have a few things I want to do while I'm in college. One of those things is to study abroad. It's one of those things that everyone I know says I should do at some point, and which I've personally known I want to do. The country I want to study in is Japan. I've been interested in the culture for a year or two now, and Japanese is the language I'm taking in college. It's actually not all that hard a language, and I'm gripping it pretty well. I know I can't survive on my own in Japan yet, but I've still got quite a bit of time to learn the language before I go anywhere. But to get to my question, I'm wondering if anyone can give me some information on studying abroad. I'm not looking for anything specifically about Japan, since I have a cousin who lives both in America and Japan who can tell me most of what I need to know. What I am looking for is information on the actual process of studying abroad. To give an idea of my very tentative plan, I was thinking about studying abroad during the summer between my sophomore and junior years. I want to do it during the summer so I can take all of the courses I need for my major during the school year without making any sacrifices, and also because it will give me something to do other than lounge around my house for four months annoying my parents. I was considering the summer between my sophomore and junior years because it fits really well into the grand scheme of things. This summer, the one between my freshman and sophomore years, is the time when I'll be finishing fully acclimating to college life and whatnot. I also won't know enough Japanese to study abroad by the time this summer rolls around. The summer between my junior and senior years isn't a viable time to study abroad, because it's the summer I need to attend LDAC for Army ROTC. While LDAC doesn't take up the whole summer, it takes up a significant portion of the middle of it, so that if I did decide to study abroad that summer I would only be able to go for a few weeks. However, the summer between my sophomore and junior years, I am completely free. Also, by that point I will have completed two semesters of my university's advanced Japanese course, giving me enough of a command of the language to be able to survive on my own relatively well. Money isn't really an issue, since I've already started saving money from my past jobs and gifts to help pay for the trip, as well as the money I continue to earn working. So, does anyone have any tips? When should I start talking my school's Office of International Programs? Is my timeframe good? How long before going should I apply for my passport? Should I live in a university owned apartment (the host university for my school's exchange program is in Tokyo) or should I live with a host family (my school's exchange program offers both options)? Any other suggestions? I really appreciate any help.

• Answer:

  First off, kudos on planning ahead. Your time line sounds great but go ahead and start talking to your Office of International Affairs/Study Abroad office now so they can help you solidify your plans as well as help suggest affiliate or university based programs that will best fit what you want. I plan on going to Spain in a couple of months and I wondered about whether to stay with a host family or in the apartments provided but from everyone I have talked to, I decided to go with the host family. You'll get even more of a cultural immersion because the family would speak the language with you constantly and they'll help you to learn about the area from their point of view instead of you just seeing the tourist spots that the school or program will show you. As exciting as that seemed to me, I still made sure my program would be able to switch me to the apartment if I didn't like the homestay. Although they assured me they could they said they have never had a situation where the student or the family were unhappy or unsatisfied with the experience in any way. The passport is the easy part and should generally only take no more than two months (if that long). What takes time and will also cost you are your visas. This is partly why I suggest talking with someone at school now so that you can get all of your paperwork taken care of, classes approved and they can help with the complicated things like visas. The hard part is usually deciding on a program. There are so many out there that it can be overwhelming sometimes so try to narrow that down. I'm choosing to do mine through CIS because what they offer fit my needs and wants. I hope all of this helps and that you have a great time! Good Luck!