Welcome to the Student Voice Series. The series interviews students in our English-medium programs. Once a month, the International Admissions Office releases an interview with our students. We hope these interviews can be helpful to you when thinking about choosing to come to Ritsumeikan University (RU).
Post by International Admissions Office
I had a gap year after I graduated high school to prepare for my further studies, so I put a lot of thought and research into my decision. I chose Ritsumeikan University because I was very impressed by how international it is. Not only does it have many courses taught in English, RU also promotes a multicultural environment that really helps non-Japanese speakers. For instance, many resources are available in English, including the manuals on the application process. Since I didn't have any agent to help me with applying for universities, this aspect influenced my decision greatly.
As for my current course, Global Liberal Arts, I decided to take this major because I've always been more interested in areas that require critical thinking, intercultural fluency, and social reasoning. What better way to learn the way of the world than through the lens of humanities? Therefore, it was a no-brainer for me to choose GLA as my major after I browsed through the curriculum on the RU website. I was pleased with how the entire course is structured, with Cosmopolitan, Civilization, and Innovation Studies. As a science stream high school graduate, I was particularly drawn towards the Innovation Studies cluster, as it has a comparatively compact and comprehensive application of the natural sciences in the social sciences. More than that, GLA students have the opportunity to take on a dual degree program with the Australian National University, the best university in Australia, for the Asia-Pacific Affairs major. Overall, the curriculum and information offered on GLA immensely attracted me.
Since I was an April 2021 enrollee, I had many concerns regarding my moving to Japan, especially due to the many COVID-19 restrictions, including travel and moving restrictions imposed by my local government and the Japanese government. I took an entire year of online study, which is an experience that is understandably shared by most of my international peers in GLA, and many times, I've even thought of taking a break from university, as it felt like I wasn't living like how a university student should. It has never been easy for me to focus, and online learning made it worse.
Nevertheless, RU handled the whole issue with COVID-19 restrictions really well. My worries were gradually forgotten, since there were also many resources that were digitalized and made available online, including the Academic Advising Center and the library OPAC runners. Also, when the borders finally opened, the University was very quick in the response and making announcements when necessary. The GLA community is very tight-knit, so with the assistance of social media platforms, it wasn't hard to connect with these kind and helpful people. For international students like me who were still stranded in their home countries at that time, we connected through a Discord server, where we have different channels for different classes, as well as other miscellaneous channels for memes, events, and debates.
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Personally, I've always wanted a truly authentic and traditional experience of Japan, so whenever I think about living in Japan, I think about Kyoto. It is deeply ingrained in my curious self to explore extensively, so I was delighted to know that RU campuses are in the Kansai area. I could not be happier with the location of my current campus, the Osaka Ibaraki Campus (OIC), as it takes only a 20-minute train ride to Osaka Station and a 30-minute train ride to Kyoto Station.
During Golden Week, we went to Shiga's Lake Biwa. There were BBQs and fireworks!
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I would say that the most difficult part of studying in a dual degree program is time management. The program from ANU is slightly different than the program from RU. For example, ANU classes are comprised of 12 weeks of lecture and tutorials, while the RU courses normally last for 16 weeks. This means that there will be weeks where we will not have ANU classes, but then again, out of the two ANU classes, there is a possibility where one class is on for the week and the other off. This makes it confusing sometimes, and really requires students to have their own initiative to check the syllabus and emails frequently.
Another hard aspect is the travelling. For me, I spent my first year in my home country Indonesia, my second year in Japan, and I will have to go to Australia next year in February, then come back to Japan on my fourth year. It's really hard to find places to stay, and this means that we have to always live lightly. It always feels like a waste to shop for anything because I will not be able to bring too much when I move. This also makes it hard for us students to make deep connections with individuals outside GLA, because not only is the program structure different, we also had to leave for one whole year during our ANU program. How I deal with this is I try to connect with everyone on the same level, and to not be shy to talk to people outside of GLA - ask for their contacts, such as social media, and do not hesitate to reach out to when there are shared interests!
I've always disliked the notion that staying up at night is bad. Some people, including me, work better under pressure and under the light of the moon. We produce better results that way. If you're also a night owl like me, don't force yourself to change if it is not harming you in any way.
My sleeping schedule could be considered bad: I do house chores until around midnight, then study or do any homework until 2 am, before playing games with my best friend who's in Singapore until around 4 am. I'll wake up one hour before my class starts, which is around 10 am, and do my daily activities after class. Nevertheless, I'm still producing good results in my academics, and I'm always maintaining my social life. So, the balanced way is the way that you are most comfortable with. Don't force yourself to work in environments or circumstances that do not encourage your best outcome!
As someone who's of Chinese descent and is brought up in Indonesia, I am a fan of spicy food. Unfortunately, there really isn't much spicy food in Japan. Most of the time, when the menu says it's spicy, it's really not... for my tongue at least. So, instead of eating out, I love cooking on my own, because I can put as many spices and chili as I can into my cooking. My go-to recipe is spicy pork or beef stew. The university is really strategic for those who love grocery shopping like me. It's right next to the grocery store which I always go to, and there are 2 other grocery stores within a 10 minute walk. I still have some Indomie that I brought with me from Indonesia, so when I'm too lazy to cook, I'll just whip up the Indonesian instant noodles and enjoy my leisure time.
Don't be afraid to ask. Ask a senpai, senior, for tips, ask a kouhai, junior, to lunch, ask a professor for new knowledge, ask the many GLA faculty personnel and offices for more resources, ask your circle friends for a weekend trip to USJ. Just ask, and you will find that your university life is brilliant!
Jangan lupa istirahat, karena istirahat itu penting banget. Memang jalan-jalan dan main sama teman itu juga rekreasi, tapi sebagai anak rantau, waktu untuk diri sendiri tetap harus disisihkan ya~