I embarked on the World Odyssey, a 700-person ship in Antwerp, Belgium, bidding farewell to land, service and the familiarity of daily life. Thus began my life at sea school, Semester At Sea. In an unconventional classroom setting, we find ourselves aboard a cruise ship where lounging by the pool between classes is the norm, and running on the treadmills offered breathtaking ocean views instead … Continue reading Semester at Sea by Chase Hirshorn
Hello, my name is Maikalani Peterson. I am majoring in Arts Management with a music concentration, and I am minoring in Film Studies. I am a junior who is currently studying abroad this semester in Hirakata, Japan at Kansai Gaidai University. I chose to do this program because I took two years of Japanese at the College of Charleston with Chikuma Sensei and Yamaji. They … Continue reading Introduction by Maikalani Peterson
Whenever we learn about World War II, Hiroshima is also mentioned due to what occurred there. I love learning about history and visiting historic places, so Hiroshima was on my list of Prefectures that I wanted to visit. When the opportunity arose, we made it happen. We went on the Shinkansen (bullet train) from Osaka which was bound for Hiroshima. After about an hour and … Continue reading Trip to Hiroshima by Salina Saini
Hi! My name is Salina, and I am a junior. I am currently double majoring in International Business and International Studies. My concentration is Asian Studies. I am studying abroad at Kansai Gaidai University in Japan. I love learning languages, so when I got the opportunity to take Japanese at the College of Charleston I was so excited. As I learned the language and was … Continue reading Introduction by Salina Saini
Konnichiwa, my name is Aidan Stout and I am a Junior at the College of Charleston. I am studying Computing in the Arts, with a Game Development concentration and I have decided to spend the fall 2023 semester in Japan attending Kansai Gaidai University, located in Hirakata, Osaka. I have taken four semesters of Japanese at CofC, so when I heard about this program, I … Continue reading Introduction by Aidan Stout
If you’re thinking about coming to KGU to study, statistics suggest that you’re also a super nerd (it’s okay, we all are too). If you frequently delve into nerdy endeavors, you will be delighted to hear that there are lots of video game and hobby stores within walking distance from KGU! One of my favorite stores to go to is called Book-Off, which is a … Continue reading A Tour Through a Local Hobby Store in Hirakata By Jackson Bass
My first few weeks at Kansai Gaidai flew by! Immediately after I arrived, I met up with some other CofC students, some students from other universities, and Japanese students, and went on a day trip to Osaka. We went to Osaka Castle, a maid cafe that received extremely high praise from one of my friends, and ate a bunch of good food. I was surprised … Continue reading First Few Weeks in Japan by Jackson Bass
こんにちは！My name is Jackson Bass. Right now I am a sophomore at CofC, and I’m majoring in International Studies with an Asian concentration. The program I have chosen is the Asian Studies Program at Kansai Gaidai University, located in Osaka, Japan. I have a strong desire to work in Japan after graduation, so naturally the ASP at Kansai Gaidai was a good pick for me! … Continue reading Introduction by Jackson Bass
This past weekend our university hosted a sports festival called Yui Cup, which was a competition between all the floors in the Yui international dorm. Sports days at schools in Japan are a very common competition to raise morale and bring the school closer together. Kansai Gaidai’s sports day consisted of dodgeball, scavenger hunt, ball toss, and a relay race. I had a lot of … Continue reading Kansai Gaidai Sports Festival by Aidan Stout
When I first signed up for a semester abroad in Japan, I was filled with various emotions. One part of me was nervous and sad, while another part of me was excited. One of my fears before coming to Japan was not finding my people. My nervousness came from the fact that I felt I would immediately be hit with a wave of homesickness and … Continue reading Approaching the End of the Semester By Salina Saini
