Hey, I'm planning on studying abroad in the fall, and I'm trying to decide which program to choose. I've heard varying opinions about Kansai Gaidai, so even though it's been recommended by my school, I still don't know if it's quite what I want.
I've also just recently found about Mitsureikan, and though it seems like the location would be excellent, I've heard nothing else about it.
Does anyone have any experience with either program?
(Or any other programs in Kyoto/Osaka?)
Name:
Anonymous2009-01-30 12:41
I went to Gaidai. It was fun, but as far as the education you'll receive i cant recommend it. The classes for Japanese are fine, and quite good. Hopefully thats all you're interested in. as for the classes that are about japan, they're pretty shitty. all of the professors there have their heads up their own asses (except the lady who teaches religion).
It's 80% female at Gaidai, which depending on how you look at it either rocks or sucks. You can get involved with sports, but i recommend you keep your nights and weekends open for drinking...which is what most every foreign exchange student will be doing while they're at gaidai.
As far as location, Gaidai is in a sick place to be. While the town its located in (Hirakata) sucks, its like 45 minutes max to get to where anything good is (shinsaibashi etc).
I spent a year there through my university here in the U.S, but i was lucky to have already lived in Japan prior to that. That was enough to put me into their upper level Japanese courses, and when I came back I was very fluent in both reading in writing... but all the other classes were a total waste.
As long as you dont go to the video store and rent anime every weekend, its pretty hard to not have an awesome time while youre at gaidai