Foreign Exchange Student - Kansai Gaidai
 

Hey all,<BR>My daughter wants to spend a year studying in Japan (foreign exchange program - Kansai Gaidai University) and while daunting, it sounds like an awesome experience for her (will be her junior year in college - her major is art, minor is Japanese). Need input, thoughts, tips, general info. Semester starts fall 2003. All info appreciated!!!

Where is Kansai Gaidai University? I teach Japanese freshmen conversational Japanese at Jiyu Gukouen in Tokyo and am familiar with some of the other universities there but the one your daughter is planning on attending doesn't ring a bell. <BR> Regardless, she will love doing her studies there. The whole of Japan is intriguing and so different and just a lovely place. Myszka

Okay, now I'm worried - you live / teach in Tokyo and haven't heard of Kansai Gaidai? Not the reassurance an anxious mother wants to hear! It's located in the Kansai province outside of Osaka - ring any bells?

There are lots of schools in Japan...and lots of them have similar names. Osaka is 3 hours by bullet train from Tokyo, so don't be surprised if Tokyo people aren't familiar with it. I do know several kids who spent a year (or more) at various Japanese schools and all had a wonderful time. Japan is a very safe society. It's foreign enough to be interesting, yet familiar in many ways. I would check with your daughter's current school. They would know best the success record of a school they use for exchange programs.

Bonjour N,<BR><BR>The full name of that university is &quot;Kansai Gai Koku Go Daigaku&quot; = &quot;Kansai University of Foreign Languages&quot;. Kansai is the region around Osaka and Kyoto, <BR>&quot;gai&quot; = outside<BR>&quot;koku&quot; = country<BR>&quot;go&quot; = language<BR>&quot;daigaku&quot; = university. <BR><BR>The Japanese love to shorten names, hence &quot;Gaidai&quot;.<BR>For example, Tokyo University is widely known as &quot;Todai&quot;, etc.<BR><BR>Gaidai's url is http://www.kansaigaidai.ac.jp/<BR><BR>As Lcuy pointed, there are myriads public and private universities in Japan, and only a few (Todai, Keio, Tohoku, ...) are well known all around Japan, let alone outside.

I went to college in PA. And we had an exchange program with Kansai Gaidai. My friend said it was a decent school, not one of the top schools like Waseda or Kyoto. But it's a respectable school from what she said, with serious education. She didn't have anythig bad to say about her school. I wouldn't be afraid of the scool. Sorry I've never been to Osaka so I can't comment much more.