I spent a semester in Tokyo, Japan in Fall 2019. I was the only one from my college and state going on this IES Abroad program. I wasn't sure if my Japanese was sufficient to navigate around in the city or to ask for specific help whenever I needed it.

It was the first time I would be away from home for so long. So I was excited to see how it would turn out, and I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to adjust to life in Japan because Japan and Georgia, USA are entirely different. However, IES Abroad allowed me to make a Japanese friend through email (e-pal) and meet my future classmates through Facebook so I would have someone I know meet me at the airport. There were 40 international students and 20 E-pals that would grow to be some lifelong friends. All of us were so unique and came from different backgrounds, majors, and language levels. The staff that worked at the IES Center were like family to a lot of us. They really looked out for us and helped us learn how to adjust and cope with occasional homesickness. The program had trips to Nikko and Hokkaido that allowed us to explore the differences that exist in various prefectures of Japan. I lived with a host family, and they helped me adjust to the lifestyle and practice my Japanese. Every morning my host mom would say, "what is today? What is the date? What will you do today?" in Japanese, and I would have to respond in Japanese. In the evening times, my host parents would ask me: "how was my day? What did I eat for lunch? What did I learn?" and so on. It was great and not at all as overwhelming as one may think. They were patient with me and waited for me to think out my response and would gently correct me when my grammar was wrong. My host family would also go on family excursions and show me new, fun things. I truly felt like I had a new family and hope to keep in contact with them now that I have returned to America. Before this program, I would say that I was an extreme introvert. I was shy and unsure if I was going to be able to fit in and make friends while in Japan. However, everyone was so welcoming and helped me get accustomed to Japanese daily life. I made so many friends from the trips, classes, and activities I took part in. The friends I made while in Japan are ones I will have for a lifetime. This experience helped me grow academically, socially, and personally. I hope in the future I can come back to work and live in Japan.

I had such an amazing time studying with IES Abroad in Tokyo! The administrators were so encouraging when I expressed interest in getting involved with the local community. The traveling opportunities were so much fun, and I enjoyed our excursions a lot.

The coursework was a little light, but it allowed me time to really get out and explore Japan, and most of the Japanese learning I did occurred when I interacted with other students at Kanda University of International Studies. The KUIS campus is absolutely gorgeous - a wonderful place to spend a semester.

Having been to Japan before, I more or less knew what to expect. Still, with getting to explore new areas of Japan through IES field trips, cultural activities, and getting used to my housing area, I gained a lot of new experiences! The IES Tokyo staff

and E-Pals (students from the partner university who help out IES students) are incredible--the E-Pals really helped us navigate the "official" side of things, like getting commuter passes for the trains and buses and helping us fill out paperwork at the city office. The campus itself has lots of different clubs (one of my friends did taiko!), and they have a specific building for encouraging students to speak English. Even with classes, my friends still had time to do things like go to cat cafes, visit Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, and explore all the popular spots in Tokyo. The IES field trips and cultural activities made it so that we learned about Japan THROUGH Japan, not just by being in a classroom, so it was a really great fall semester!

IES Abroad - Tokyo Language intensive program is a fantastic program all around. At least is was for me. I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful host family who was very loving and experienced in hosting foreign students. I know that not everyone may

end up with such a scenario but the staff at the Tokyo center really works hard to ensure that every student is given a kind and considerate host family to live with, and I did not hear any major complaints from other students regarding their host families during my time there. Students living in the dorms also had a pleasant experience in them. The program lives up to its name with language. 3 hours in class of language study and practice every day, all in Japanese. The professors are well experienced and you will learn very quickly. If your hope is to greatly improve your kanji and writing skills, this class will definitely help, but I would say that its focus is in speaking skills and fluency. We practiced mostly in polite form and casual, not so much on keigo, though the professors will be happy to help you with keigo if you wish to improve in it. This program is meant for students who already have had several semesters of Japanese under their belt, at least a year of Japanese, though most students had two years of Japanese before starting this program. One thing I really liked about this program was the internship opportunity. I worked in an anime art gallery in the Aoyama district of Tokyo, and I loved working there. None of my coworkers knew English, so I really had to rely on my Japanese skills to get by, which could be challenging at times, but very rewarding. In addition to the language course and internship, the culture classes are fun and interesting, but are not slack off courses by any means. You do have to work hard, but I had no trouble going out every weekend to explore the city. There are lots to do in Tokyo, and the staff does a great job during orientation to teach you how to use the trains and get adjusted, but there are many things you simply have to learn on your own. One of the best parts about the IES programs are the group outings and big field trips. Every month we took several group outings to various cultural sites in the city, such as the Asakusa temple, where we made paper lanterns, or a trip to a sumo match. We also took two big field trips that last a week or so, staying in traditional rokan hotels with public baths. I could write a mini novel to describe everything wonderful about this program, but I'll leave it at this: this is a great program for people who seriously want to improve their Japanese language skills and learn to navigate life through one of the world's largest cities, all while having a blast doing it.