In accordance with MLO 5, and to fully internalize the Japanese language and cultural information we had been studying, we studied abroad for various lengths of time at one of CSUMB's partner schools in Japan. I chose to study abroad at Okayama University, located in the comparatively rural prefecture of Okayama, Japan. I enjoyed the pace of Okayama; it was certainly busier than the suburbs of Chatsworth where i grew up, but I felt it wasn't nearly as chaotic and busy as Tokyo seemed to be when I visited.
Okayama's exchange program, EPOK (Exchange Program OKayama), also provided a lot of structure and support for international students, which definitely played a pivotal role in my enjoyment of my time abroad. Perhaps the most beneficial, and perhaps unusual, part of studying abroad at Okayama was the student tutor that was assigned to each exchange student. It just so happened that I had met my student tutor a year prior when he studied abroad at CSUMB, so it was both a pleasant reunion and a great help in adjusting to life in a foreign land.
In addition to the coursework abroad, CSUMB required us to submit photos documenting our experience abroad as part of a department-wide project on flickr.com. As of yet, I have submitted only one or two pictures to this, which I intend to remedy in the next term.
Okayama's exchange program, EPOK (Exchange Program OKayama), also provided a lot of structure and support for international students, which definitely played a pivotal role in my enjoyment of my time abroad. Perhaps the most beneficial, and perhaps unusual, part of studying abroad at Okayama was the student tutor that was assigned to each exchange student. It just so happened that I had met my student tutor a year prior when he studied abroad at CSUMB, so it was both a pleasant reunion and a great help in adjusting to life in a foreign land.
In addition to the coursework abroad, CSUMB required us to submit photos documenting our experience abroad as part of a department-wide project on flickr.com. As of yet, I have submitted only one or two pictures to this, which I intend to remedy in the next term.