Hello, my name is Tessa Wells, and I am currently studying abroad at Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, Japan. My stay here has already been very exciting, but a day that stands out to me was my trip to Osaka Castle and the city of Osaka. I visited the Castle with two RA’s and other students who live on my same dorm floor. At first glance, I was stunned by…
Even though I am studying abroad and probably wouldn’t have known about this event, visiting Japan during the month of February offers a unique opportunity to witness the Plum Blossom Festival, held every year on February 25th. Although cherry blossoms are more well-known, plum blossoms are equally beautiful and offer their own unique charm. I had the opportunity to experience the festival at the Kitano Tenmangū shrine, which is a…
Hello! My name is Keith Silver, I am a CITA major with a concentration in studio art. I am currently a senior at the College of Charleston! My current program is an Asian Studies exchange with Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, Japan. The university is about an hour away from downtown Osaka, and Kyoto. It is in a little college town, Hirakata. It is surrounded by mountains and beautiful architecture.…
*Written previously* Aboard the MV World Odyssey, we are taught from day one that we must learn to be flexible. Flexible with ourselves, the staff, the seas, but most importantly, the journey. This got put to the test pretty early into our voyage, as we learned that due to the Coronavirus, our itinerary was shifting. Rather than traveling from Japan to China like originally planned, there was a quick detour…
*Written Previously* This has been a great semester and I haven’t come to terms yet with heading back to America. Just thinking about it makes me sad. There are so many good and bad things that happened; however, I cherish them all. Every day I would go to visit my friends at Cheer Jr. which is a small pub in Hirakata-Shi. The gentleman that owns Cheers Jr. also owns Ages…
*(Previously Written)* My name is Noelle, and this is my second blog post regarding studying abroad. In the past, I have travelled to Ghana with the school. This year, I am in South Korea for my final year of university. I am a Marketing major, soon to be starting class at Sung Kyun Kwan University (성균관대학교). I chose the opportunity to study in South Korea because I travelled here three…
I am exceptionally fortunate to have studied abroad several times during my college career. I have completed four short term study abroad programs through CofC. These programs have varied in length and destination: from a one-week spring break trip in Cuba, to two two-week Maymesters in Ghana and Iceland respectively, to a three-week summer program in England and France. Now, I am halfway through my semester abroad in Greece. Other…
I have been in Japan for about 2 months now. When I first got here, everything seemed like a dream. New foods, new places, first time on a train, first time living away from home, making new friends, ect. I felt like I was adapting well to the new environment. This was until I got more settled in when I started to realize how different the environment was. The foods…
I would like to introduce myself; my name is Ashanti S. Long and I’m a Junior at the College of Charleston. I am a Computer Science Major and I want to minor in Japanese Studies. At first, I didn’t want to major in Computer Science, I wanted to be a Veterinarian when I was younger. I have always loved animals and enjoyed their company. I think I was influenced by…
I’m Trinity Strauss, a Sophomore at CofC with an Anthropology Major and a double minor in Linguistics and Japanese Studies. I chose to go to Kansai Gaidai University because I loved how the location of the campus is in Hirakata-shi, right in between Osaka and Kyoto. I have many goals while I am abroad in Japan. My main priority is to strengthen my speaking and reading skills in the Japanese…
