japan (1 Viewer)

[babydoll_]

this is where people who have been to japan tell me about how great it is and make me jealous.

 

[yenta]

Why do you want to be jealous??! Well I went to Japan about 2 years ago, for a three week school trip. We stayed in Onojo (it's in Fukuoka), Kobe, Hiroshima, Kyoto and Tokyo. The whole country is awesome, each city had its own good things, e.g. Hiroshima had the Peace Park and Museum, Kyoto has heaps of temples and shrines, Tokyo has Disneyland...there's soooo much to do it's not funny. Have I made you jealous yet? If not, I'll keep going... some of the food there is so nice, my favourites were udon noodles and okonomiyaki (sort of like a Japanese style omelette). And the Japanese people...they are in my opinion the most polite people in the world. I stayed with 2 different host families and they were always so polite and caring, asking if I needed anything and if I was alright.

To sum it up, my 3 weeks in Japan was the best trip I have ever had (this includes going to America, England, Fiji and Hong Kong) Hopefully by now you are fully jealous, mahaha. Are you planning on going?

 

[babydoll_]

Gah! I've only been to Vietnam and Singapore, they were both really nice, but hearing about Japan makes me wanna go there.

I study Japanese at uni so I want to go there on exchange, probably in 2006. I might even move there because besides family (for now), there isn't much keeping me in Australia in the future.

OK I'm jealous.. :/

 

[AcStyle*]

yenta, u do BBA/BA-JpnStudies @ MQ yeh? Did u do JPN195(in country unit) this yr? I wanna do this unit nxt yr so i can go to Japan again

Neways the last time i've been to Japan was in 2001. I went w/ my yr10 Jap class & we stayed in Kure, this town abt 1hr out of Hiroshima. It was a fantastic experience, we got to visit Miyajima, Peace Park, Mazda factory, watched Kabuki, etc. All of us stayed w/ host families as well, & since my kazoku couldnt really speak English that well i got to practice a lotta nihongo.

 

[yenta]

You should def. go, you'll have the time of your life. I might be going for a semester as part of my degree, in 2007. I'd be scared going by myself though :s

AcStyle, I didn't do JPN195 this yr, I'm thinking of doing it either next year or the year after, it sounds so bludgy, 4 credit points for 2 weeks in Japan

 

[AcStyle*]

lol yeh i know, jpn195 is probly the easiest 4cp u can do @ MQ

I called the uni last wk to see if they're gonna be running it nxt yr, & they said all they needed was 4 or 5ppl for the trip to go thru. Also, u apparently dont even hav to be doin ne JPN units at uni to do it, cos the lady i talked to said if u did Jap-Extn for the HSC thats probly good enuf. I did Continuers only so she said to better call back nxt yr just to make sure.
So basically if they're running 195 nxt yr i'm gonna do it

btw wot level Jap do u do @ uni yenta?

 

[yenta]

Nice, but I would want my Jap to be pretty good before I go, just to make things easier. I just did JPN154 this semester, and doing JPN221 next sem. What about u?

 

[It]

i went to japan in april this year with school...

it was absolutly awesome. we stayed in kyoto, hiroshima and tokyo. also had the chance of visiting miyajima island, nikko and some other places. i loved kyoto with all the temples and things and cherry blossoms! they were soo cool. hiroshima was also very very nice n i loved it. tokyo was just amazing. for 2 nights we stayed in this traditional hotel thing which sure was an interesting experience (considering the doors didnt lock and they had big open shower things). disneyland was brilliant even tho i had to wait in line for splash mountain for 2+ hrs. (btw, the waiting is def worth it and if ur with ur friends, doesnt seem that long).

anohter highlight was homestay for a week with a family in saitama. that was kinda intimidating at first but it was so sad when i had t leave. they took me to a theme park in the centre of tokyo near the tokyo dome called "tokyo dome city"..... there is nothing quite like the rollercoaster that goes thru buildings at a million miles n hr or n underground roller coaster in complete darkness!

gosh sooo many great things about japan- everywhere u go it is SPOTLESSLY clean (well not everywhere, i did see in asakusa a few homeless ppl pissing in the gutter) but other than that the place is so tidy. ppl are so friendly and willing to help wherever possible. there is so much to see, do and explore and it is an unforgettable place to visit.

sorry about my rambling post, i prob dont make much sense and i cld go on for hours and hours telling how great my time was.

 

[AcStyle*]

Nice, but I would want my Jap to be pretty good before I go, just to make things easier. I just did JPN154 this semester, and doing JPN221 next sem. What about u?

Actually i dont do Jap @ uni, i do chinese instead. Cos after lyk 5+yrs of learning Jap at high skool, i wanted to do something different...

But yeh if JPN195 goes ahead then i'd consider doin either Jpn at either 200 or 150 level. How do u find uni jap? muzukashii?

Since ur doing Jap @ 150 level i assume u did Jap-Beginners for ur HSC?

 

[theone123]

hehe, how come everyone's views about japan is so kool, any pessimistic views?

 

[jayz]

i noe this is completely irrelevant to japan, but what did it cost u guyz for the trip and how did you manage to afford it? from wat i've heard 1 semester of oversea studies cost at least 10000aud not including misc expenses of course

 

[yenta]

Actually i dont do Jap @ uni, i do chinese instead. Cos after lyk 5+yrs of learning Jap at high skool, i wanted to do something different...

But yeh if JPN195 goes ahead then i'd consider doin either Jpn at either 200 or 150 level. How do u find uni jap? muzukashii?

Since ur doing Jap @ 150 level i assume u did Jap-Beginners for ur HSC?

Oh right...yeah I did jap at high school for 5 years as well, I got a bit sick of it but I've kept going through uni because I really want to become fluent. I did 2U continuers, which is what they say you need to have done to do JPN153. However, I have not learnt one new grammar pattern all year, either in 153 or 154. I've only learnt new kanji. So this year has been pretty easy.

hehe, how come everyone's views about japan is so kool, any pessimistic views?

Yeah, everyone seems to paint Japan as a glossy magazine, and I think it is a really great country but there's a whole other side to the Japanese people that never gets mentioned. Like they appear really polite and kind, but apparently it's acceptable for men and women to go around cheating on their spouses, sleeping with many other people. Like they are open about it and don't mind...weird.

i noe this is completely irrelevant to japan, but what did it cost u guyz for the trip and how did you manage to afford it? from wat i've heard 1 semester of oversea studies cost at least 10000aud not including misc expenses of course

Well I only went for three weeks and we spent 2 of them staying for free with host families. I think our trip cost about $4000 altogether, we got a $1500 grant from the government and we did a bit of fundraising as well to get some money. Fundraising is good if you can do it for awhile and know heaps of people who would buy the stuff

 

[AcStyle*]

i noe this is completely irrelevant to japan, but what did it cost u guyz for the trip and how did you manage to afford it? from wat i've heard 1 semester of oversea studies cost at least 10000aud not including misc expenses of course

My trip went for 12 days and originally cost $2800, but we got a $1100 government subsidy so we ended up paying only $1700 plus personal spending money.

Oh right...yeah I did jap at high school for 5 years as well, I got a bit sick of it but I've kept going through uni because I really want to become fluent. I did 2U continuers, which is what they say you need to have done to do JPN153. However, I have not learnt one new grammar pattern all year, either in 153 or 154. I've only learnt new kanji. So this year has been pretty easy.

O ic...my friend did Beginners for HSC but he did 153 in first sem & even he said it was really basic stuff.

Hey u know the prereq for JPN195 is only 111 so the standard expected to go on the trip musn't be that high then....

 

[inasero]

hey why not korea? i mean...sure its not as high tech and all, but the culture is very unique and something that alot of people dont consider these days. hm...