My First Semester Recap - Abroad in Nagoya, Japan

I'll start this off with a brief self-introduction. 

    Hello, to those who may find this post, my name is Ma'ila Kambel. I am from Oahu, Hawaii and as of writing this post, I am a Junior  / 3rd year student at Hawaii Pacific University. I started my journey abroad on August 24th, 2023 (technically the 25th given the timezone changes), heading to Nagoya, Japan, where I'd be attending Nagoya University of Foreign Studies [名古屋外国語大学], or NUFS for short.

Dorming - NUFS International House

    At NUfS, for study abroad students, there are 3 dorms to choose from, that of which are NUFS Global Village, NUFS-NUAS Residence, and the dorm I happen to be staying at, NUFS International House (referred to as "I-House").

    The other two dorms are more apartment-style, in the sense that it's less communal, whereas I-House is more of a shared space. We have a central courtyard (seen above), and a common room / spacious lobby area in the dorm. Additionally, there are also two study rooms or kotatsu (炬燵 / こたつ) rooms, which are amazing to hang out in, especially when it's cold. One of them even has a projector you can hook your laptop up to.

    Truth be told, I was pretty skeptical about having been given this dorm, as my original choice was the NUFS-NUAS Residence. However, after being here and meeting the then-current residents from the previous semester, and everyone else who arrived around the same time as me, I wouldn't give it up for anything now. Much like at HPU, I was able to make further connections with people from all over the world, rather seamlessly given how communal the dorm is. I was actually a little worried about how I'd be making friends here, but literally the night of my arrival, I met some truly amazing people.

Classes at NUFS - Fall Semester

    Here at NUFS, the semester here was very enjoyable. The schedule is pretty flexible, whereas much like HPU and many other places, it comes down to the classes you pick and how you format your own schedule upon registration day. The only gripe I had with picking my classes is that it is a lottery-based system when they are, or get close to being full, I think. I unfortunately didn't get two of the classes I had chosen originally and had to swap them with something else, but it was super easy as you just do it all online through the school website like how you pick classes at HPU. 

NUFS Class Timetable (as of Fall 2023):

For the Fall semester, my schedule looked like this:

Monday - Period 3 - Japanese Literature

Tuesday - Period 1 / 2 - Japanese Langauge

Wednesday - Period 1 / 2 - Japanese Language

Thursday - Period 2 - Japanese Culture and Hospitality; Period 3 - Japanese Film

Friday - OFF

    So, all around, my schedule was super manageable for this previous semester. Additionally, they also had a paid language tutoring program, (I had to pre-register for it, due to the need to declare it at customs), which was a very convenient way to connect with domestic students here at NUFS. I had signed up to work for two days, Tuesdays/Wednesdays, during the lunch period. Also, with the Langauge Lounge program, I was able to hop in with the Japanese language tutors inversely, to practice, well, my Japanese. There were quite a lot of domestic students who wanted to join the English Language Lounge, it was like a 1:4-5 tutor-to-student ratio. The most I had was seven people at the same time, still enjoyable nonetheless. It was genuinely fun, and overall an overall great experience. I made a lot of new friends that I currently talk to and also tend to hang out with on an almost daily basis.

In Summary

    Other than that, I've been trying to travel and go out with friends as much as possible during the three-and-a-half-month winter break, since I was more preoccupied during the actual semester. It was crazy to actually be in a foreign country for many holidays, especially the New Year. I aspire to continue to meet new people, make new friends, and build lasting connections while I'm here until July 2024. Should choose NUFS when studying abroad in Japan, I look forward to possibly seeing you next semester, or if you happen to see this when I've already left, just know that you are in good hands, and with good folk. It may seem pretty crazy at first, but it'll pass a lot faster than you think. So, enjoy your time here, and live life to the fullest; make the most of it. If you have any further questions about my time here, shoot me a message on Instagram @mr.alxha, or email me @mkambel1@my.hpu.edu.