Hi everyone! I'm looking for tips, advices or just about anything you think might be helpful
I got selected for an exchange program to go to Hachioji from august 2025 to august 2026. here's what my situation will be like:
I'm in the tech field so i'm very very excited about everything i can learn there!
I don't speak japanese, just english fluently(which was the university's requirement), i'm trying my best but i currently work in the morning, and have college in the afternoon and have to write my thesis and care for my health in the night.
I tried learning the phonetic alphabet first but bc of said time constraint i figured it would be more productive to try and learn as much conversational and useful phrases and words as possible
I also come from a very different culture, i'm from Brazil and (from the few japanese people i know) they are polar opposites in this sense, however i'm very committed to make the most of this experience to blend with their culture as much as i can, and i'll get an immersion on japanese culture from my uni
My city is very very hot, and from my research japanese can go to every end of the celsius scale so i'm buying both warmer and fresh clothes so as to not rely on buying everything there bc i'm definitely not as thin as japanese girlies.
The japanese university is also very international, apparently it has more than a thousand exchange students so maybe i can hope to not be the only one so new to a different country.
Everyone is telling me to visit places and go out, and i'll know more once i'm there surely but financially this is my situation:
I'll get around 115,000JPY monthly from my scholarship, and the university will provide me with accomodation and breakfast and lunch with (i think) reasonable prices:
Dormitory: Average 35,000JP per month
Breakfast: Average 175JPY per day
Lunch: Average 450-650JPY per day
Health Insurance: 3,000JPY
As per other fixed expenses and living price based on what i have left i don't really know what to expect.
And of course, I'll miss my family and friends immensely and I hope i can make new friends there!
I think this is it, whatever you might think helpful or what not to do, i'd really appreciate it!
by MariMar14