Alu_Rathbone

I have a meeting with the Director of Study Abroad. I do have a few questions I'm going to ask, but what would be important questions to ask him?

So far I have:

How much does financial aid cover?
Does the program company offer foreign language classes or should I go to the community college?
If I choose to stay with a host family will they have some knowledge of English so that if I don't know how to ask something I can ask?
What is the approximate cost of the program?
Are there any classes here at Elmhurst that I will be required to take?

The program I like is Nanzan University, Nagoya Japan. (There are two different companies that offer it and they vary in price.)

Are there any other questions I should ask?

IrishNY

What are the other costs that you would be responsible for that are not included in the cost of the program?

Sounds exciting - I hope it works out!

Lisa_wanna_b_quilter

Does all of this apply to the degree you want?


We had a Japanese exchange student 23 years ago. She came back here, went to college and married an American. She still lives here, but visits Japan several times a year. Even "back in the day" when she was in school, Japanese public school students started taking mandatory English classes in 4th grade. Most people at know the basics.

Cyn

With my daughter, someone thought to ask if these were safe places for a single young lady. The place in Thailand she was thinking of said with her blond hair and looks, they would not let her go due to safety issues. She went to Ireland instead on that trip and New Zealand this summer. She has been all over Europe and there has never been any problems. Her trip to Africa was cancelled from the state dept because of unrest but I was concerned about all the shots she had to take. I'm just thinking out loud here...

QuiltMania

Maybe it's the mom in me but I think you should ask something about safety like:
If I stay with a host family, have they undergone a background check?
If I don't stay with a host family, does the company have residences or do I have to secure my own residence?
In case of emergency, does the company have a designated contact person or do I have to deal with the authorities myself?

Alu_Rathbone

The school website stated that they run background checks on their host families and they do have international student housing. The last question is a good one though, I didn't even think of that one...

The school I'm looking at has a huge international enrollment and they do try to match the student with the host family... I want the host family to learn the language a little more than if I were living on campus. I do know that I may have to take public transportation if the family does not live near the school which is most likely going to be the case.

My moms biggest concern is safety and it is something that I will have to bring up.

As for my degree, my major is History and possibly political science. I'm going for the Language Studies and international/intercultural studies. It will look good on my graduate school applications to have more than one language (preferably two languages outside of English) and to have studied abroad. The more rare the language is that an average American going into grad school knows the better. I am currently taking Spanish and I start Japanese in the fall. My senior year I will probably take a semester of French to satisfy the Major in Multiple Foreign languages. I love foreign language but I plan on getting a PH.D in History and Eastern Languages (focus on Japanese).

Even though the English language is compulsory in Japan to learn, does not mean that everyone knows the language that well. My best friend, Albert, is Filipino, was raised in Manila till he was fourteen and did not take English what so ever when he immigrated here. He told me that it is rare for him not to have taken English at all in his school career in Manila. He picked it up very easily when he arrived here.

My grandfather grew up speaking polish, he stopped speaking it after his mother passed away. He does not remember the language at all.

I also love the Japanese language so it's a plus for me.

sueisallaboutquilts

Hope you go to Japan!! My son is there and absolutely LOVES it!!
Keep us posted :D