The Idea. I think the whole idea of wanting to study abroad arose during my second year of college at Foothill. During my second year I was switching back and forth through interesting majors such as History, Anthropology, Cultural Studies, Humanities and International Studies. Guess which one struck my interest? That's right! International Studies! I thought it was the perfect combination of having a major with a broad spectrum of possibilities as well as having the possibility of traveling and seeing different cultures and types of people around the world. When I mean many possibilities, I'm talkin' ECON! or BUSINESS! or POLI SCI or LAW. Having decided on this major, and having already been determined to get into a University of California (UC), as well as having NEVER traveled internationally before, I wanted to try to get into and begin researching different Study Abroad programs. Having an interest in Japanese culture, I started learning the language (which is also a requirement for the major) and so it only made sense for me to find a program in Japan.
The Research. So, having decided to pursue an International Studies major as well as interest in Japan, my next step was the research. Since I was also determined to get into a UC (Note: This past Nov. I applied to UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCD, UCR) I decided to go campus website to campus website finding different possibilities for studying abroad at each school. I found a program for studying abroad that the whole UC system used called EAP (Education Abroad Program). Knowing that I could do one of these programs regardless of where I got in, I decided on EAP. Next, I had to find which specific school/program I wanted to apply and try to get into.
The Plan. Looking through Japan and reading all the descriptions, locations, requirements, expectations etc. I decided on a special looking school/program called Global & International Studies, Meiji Gakuin Univ.. This program looked PERFECT for me!!! It was in Japan, it was conveniently located in Japan's second largest city, and it had in it's title "INTERNATIONAL STUDIES" which was directly relevant to my major. Though the requirements are a little more steep than other programs (3.0 minimum GPA requirement) and it's odd timing than the usual summer program(Spring/Fall only) I still wanted to do this. My plan was to take the Spring program during the 1st year after I transfer to a 4-year college. As of February 2012, I have 4 quarters of Japanese under my belt as well as the 5th quarter in progress and 6th quarter coming this Spring! I will definitely need to brush up on my Japanese because the course that I'm taking at Foothill is mostly grammar based and doesn't put much emphasis on Kanji or Vocabulary (Basically, you can get an A if you know almost only grammar). It's a good class though. The class structure makes it so that you'll get the grade you want simply, but if you really want to learn the language, you need further research. The plan is to go during Spring 2013. I only hope nothing goes wrong such as another Japanese Disaster that prevents this from happening (*Knock on wood*) not to mention the alleged "End of the World" during December 2012 (haha).
There are a ton of things to do in preparation for the study abroad program such as the application, getting my passport, and many other requirements that I have not even found out yet -- but after all, I have 1 year 2 months to work on it... or 58 weeks... or about 408 days... but I digress. For now I will work on my Japanese, as well as all things academic so that I can get into the best possible school! I will of course continue my research, and maybe I'll post more about the preparation process as the time goes by. But that's it! This is step 1 in GOING ABROAD.
(PS: I promise these next posts won't be as stale and "professional" toned as this one in the future =))
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