ENG
INA
Beasiswa Monbukagakusho U to U, Kobe Women’s University
Introducing, my name is Ayu Devi Pragasuri. I am a 2015 Japanese Literature student and usually called Devi. I was given the opportunity to receive the U to U Monbukagakusho Scholarship at Kobe Women's University, when I was studying in semester 7 at that time. The U to U path is a recommendation from universities whose selection process and registration procedures are carried out by universities in Japan without going through the Japanese Embassy. The program that I participated in this scholarship was the Japanese Studies program for 1 year from September 18, 2018 – August 31, 2019. This scholarship provides many facilities such as airfare, tuition fees, and a living allowance for each month.
While in Japan, I lived in Kobe which is in Hyogo Prefecture, precisely in the Kobe Women's University dormitory which is not too far from the university. In the dorm besides me, there were also 2 Chinese and 2 Taiwanese who were also ryuugakusei at the same university, while the rest were all Japanese students. While living in the dormitory there are many things to do together with Japanese students so that it can help in practicing Japanese conversation skills. The activities included a welcoming party for me, a Christmas party, a gyoza making party together, and going to hanami together.
Apart from being in the dormitory, I also participated in many activities at the university. Even at university, I got to know many Japanese students even though they didn't live in dormitories. Most of the classes that I take are classes that are indeed attended by Japanese students so that there I meet a lot of new friends and can better understand college life in Japan. Most of the classes I take have the task of forming groups, then doing research and then presenting them. It was very useful for me because I could understand how to work with Japanese people. In addition to presentations, there are also many discussions in class so that here I learn to be brave to express my opinion in front of other Japanese lecturers and students. I'm not only here to attend lectures concerning the Japanese language. I can also choose other subjects that interest me such as English, Korean, courses for making yukata by sewing myself and courses for learning Japanese calligraphy (shodo). In addition to lectures in class, there are also outside activities that I participate in. These activities included watching traditional Japanese theater arts (Noh and Kabuki) with Japanese Literature students from Kobe Women's University, participating in the open campus activities of Kobe Women's University, participating in tours to get to know more about Japanese culture together with ryuugakusei of other universities in Kobe, becoming volunteer for an art festival on Awaji Island with Japanese students at Kobe Women's University. During the last semester, as a ryuugakusei, I was required to make a presentation about the research I did while in Japan in front of the lecturers and students of Kobe Women's University. The presentation will also be the closing of my final project before ending this scholarship program. At that time, of course, I was very nervous especially having to present in front of many Japanese people and there would also be a question and answer session. However, armed with prayers and hard work that I have done, I finally managed to pass the presentation smoothly and well.
I didn't think about getting this scholarship at first. I myself had never studied Japanese before I started studying at Udayana University. I was just an ordinary student who could only read hiragana and katakana slowly and slowly when my other friends could read hiragana and katakana fluently. However, it did not become a barrier for me to be able to continue to study so that I could get a scholarship later. We can learn everything there is, the most important thing is to keep working hard and never give up, Believe in my own abilities and stick to the decisions that have been made to achieve that.
UDAYANA UNIVERSITY