3 great things MEXT students should do in Japan
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It took some time to put together this small list of accomplishments I’m proud of. In the beginning, only bad things came to my mind and I could only remember the most embarrassing situations, but then I remembered that there are some very good things I’m happy about. I believe all my experiences in Japan during the MEXT program were really educational, the good and the not so good.
No. 1: Get involved in school projects
First of all, you should get involved in anything from speech contests, symposiums, gasshuku (study camps), etc. Not only will this strengthen your relationship with your supervisor, but it will also help you when applying for the MEXT extension. In my case, I wrote in my application papers for scholarship extension all the school activities I had participated in. My supervisor approved of these and also mentioned some of the most important in my recommendation letter. This was very useful and got me the extension for the master. I applied the same strategy during the master course. I entered a double master program offered by my university, mentioned this in the extension and got the scholarship for PhD.
No. 2: Go on trips by yourself
Second, you should save money right from the beginning and start travelling by yourself. Japan is a very safe country. Also, you should use the travel agencies. They will plan everything for you, within your budget. Don’t follow the same home-school-home routine and don’t be afraid to try new things. As a consequence, you will feel you are in control of your own life, and you can accomplish anything.
I was a very shy person and I had never travelled alone before arriving in Japan. It took me almost a year after I first arrived in Japan to take life in my own hands and start travelling by myself. Nevertheless, I thought that I didn’t need anyone to travel with; I would just go alone and stop depending on others. And that’s what I did. I went to the travel agency, got a ticket for Sapporo, they arranged everything for me, flight ticket, hotel and I was on my way. After this, I started travelling all over Japan and I never depended on other people to do anything. Well, of course I enjoyed travelling with friends after that, but I did it because it was fun and we wanted to visit the same places, not because I was afraid to go there by myself.
No. 3: Apply for a part time job
Thirdly, sooner or later, you should get a part time job. But be careful not to overload so you still have time to study. Honestly, I was never very keen on having a job. However, at some point, I realized that I’m spending much more than my scholarship could sustain. Other students were just fine, they could save money, but I was spending more than my scholarship. I loved going out, eating at nice restaurants, going to the cinema, going to Joy Police or Disneyland, going to art museums. I liked being busy and enjoying life. And of course, I wanted to travel more and more. As a matter of fact, many students have at least one part time job or do some lucrative activity.
For this, you need to go to the immigration office and get a part time work visa. You don’t need a recommendation or approval for this. Also, this has really no consequence on the scholarship, because MEXT is granted by the Japanese Government and not by universities. Besides, having a part time job is a really good beginning if you want to apply for a full time job after you finish your studies. You get to know other people than those from your school or dormitory environment. You also get acquainted with work ethics and procedure in Japan. So yeah, I’m all in for it. I will write a more detailed article about making easy money and visas in a future article.
Conclusions
To sum up, these are the 3 things MEXT students should do in Japan: get involved in school projects, travel alone, and apply for a part time job.
– Don’t be afraid of failure, just go on and see what happens. I believe nobody is judging us for our failures more than we judge ourselves.
– Don’t depend on others to do anything. You can do it by yourself. Decide what you want, make a plan, visualize yourself doing it and then do it.
– Appreciate your friends but do not be dependent on them. If you do something together, do it because it is fun not because you are afraid to do it by yourself.
– Do not be afraid to hope and to believe that you can make it happen. With a positive attitude and an optimistic mindset, you can do wonders!
Hope you enjoyed this and you can read here about the 3 mistakes you should never make in Japan!
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