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Life at Osaka University from the Perspective of Foreign Students: Notes from Jun Arya
I'm Jun Arya, a 3rd year student at Udayana University. At the end of the 2nd semester holiday, I received an offer from MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) for a student exchange program at Osaka University. I got so happy, without much consideration I immediately tried to register for the program. The files required are quite easy, the difficult thing is asking Sensei (the lecturer) for the permission files needed for this program. Sensei is busy taking care of various activities, so students must be active to contact them first. If in doubt or don't know how to do it, don't hesitate to ask seniors for advice, because I do the same thing.
A few months after I finished applying I got the pass announcement. There are many obstacles in preparing the further documents needed for departure, this is all due to the COVID-19 virus pandemic. Such as the changing departure schedule, changing visa application permits, and preparation for medical tests. Finally in November I was able to pass the health check at the Japanese airport safely. Then I must follow quarantine procedures for 2 weeks at personal expense. I feel very lucky and grateful to be able to go to Japan during the pandemic.
After quarantine, I arrived at the Osaka University dormitory in Minoh. Offline campus life begins. For us, foreign students, this dormitory is very convenient because access to various places is very easy. There are many shopping centers for daily necessities, public transportation is effective and easy to use, and most importantly this dormitory is located next to the Osaka University Minoh campus. It's okay to enjoy life in Japan, but don't forget that the original goal was to improve academically. Learning at Osaka University is very interesting and fun, especially for myself who has never attended offline lectures at all before at Udayana University. This program was also conducted online before arriving in Japan. Sensei here is very passionate and patient in teaching foreign students from various countries with various levels of Japanese. Discussions in class are the most fun because the various opinions of students who have different cultures and perspectives are very interesting and full of information. There are also some difficulties in lectures, namely making papers or essays in Japanese because of lack of personal practice or having never received this lesson before. However, sensei taught me the rules and the basics so that slowly the other students and I could write well in Japanese.
This experience is the most valuable experience during my study period. Not only Japanese language and culture, we can also exchange culture with students from various countries. If you want our opinions and culture to be respected, then pay attention and respect the opinions and cultures of others. In the future, I would like to share my experiences and things that I have learned in terms of knowledge and cultural tolerance here to the people around me in Indonesia.
Author: Jun Arya Wangsa
Editor: Novy Rainy
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UDAYANA UNIVERSITY