KANSAI GAIDAI UNIVERSITY

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Taking part in extracurricular activities is a good way to interact with local students. The clubs and circles welcome the participation of international students. Active participation in club and circle activities enriches student life and builds interpersonal relationships and social skills. To name a few, athletically inclined students may join soccer, basketball, or tennis clubs. There is also a wide range of Japanese martial arts clubs such as Judo, Kendo, or Karate. Those who seek cultur-al pursuits may find it attractive to explore clubs such as Tea Ceremony, Flower Arrangement, or Koto (the Japanese harp). Information on clubs and circles is available at the CIE. Students should be aware that because of the Japanese academic calendar, clubs/circles are not usually active in February and March.EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIESIn an effort to provide international and local students with more opportunities to interact with each other, the “Experience Japan Program” has been launched. In this program, local students present international students with various hands-on programs to introduce Japanese culture and unique aspects of Japan through day trips, sports, cooking, or Japanese distinctive cultural activities such as tea ceremony and calligraphy.International students are also welcome to propose activities which may help Japanese people to understand their cultures and countries. Detailed information on this program will be given to you upon your arrival here.EXPERIENCE JAPAN PROGRAMMaking food samplesPracticing calligraphyTrying Yuzen DyeingBARRAGAN MARTINEZ, Catherine CelesteMexicoThe University of GuadalajaraRANKIN, Kaylee JeanAustraliaUniversity of New South WalesKoreaYeungnam UniversityKIM, TaeyunMexicoUniversity of IberoamericanaMARABOLI GARCIA, MadeleineI love the community since the setting here makes it possible to study and live in Japan comfortably. I treasure the advice my friend gave me: focus on living a life as a student at a Japanese university, which may be a once in a lifetime experience.I chose Hirakata over Tokyo since I wanted to experience a local way of living. I really like the atmosphere here, which is very open to international students. Teachers are nice and they understand our needs. I truly learned about the Japanese way of life through my experience.The program is foreign friendly. Study abroad experience helps you grow as a person. I have become more open and friendly and everyone here is very interested in finding out about us. Through interactions with them, I have learned about my own country and culture. The Kansai area is very interesting to me. I love the programs such as Speaking Partner Program and homestay. I met more international students here than at my home university. Participate in as many programs as you can to maximize your experience.43