Hilde has long been fascinated with Japan and Japanese culture, and this fascination led her to take up Japanology at university in her homeland of Belgium. Part of the curriculum involves a year's stay in Japan, and she's currently studying at Kansai University in Osaka. Hilde shares with us some of her experiences there and her thoughts on what it's like to study and live in Japan.	Hilde Medaer

March 12 2007

-Where were you born?
In Tienen, Belgium

-In which country and city are you living now?
Now, I live in the city Suita, which is part of the Osaka prefecture in Japan.

-Are you living alone or with your family?
I came to Japan to become a student at Kansai University. My family still lives in Belgium, but I came here with 5 other students of the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium). I live in the girls’ dorm of Kansai University, called ‘Dormitory Tsukigaoka.’ In the dormitory, Japanese girls share their rooms with foreigners, like me.

-How long have you been living in Japan?
Since 13 September 2006.

-What is your age?
I’m 20 years old.

-When did you come up with the idea of living in Japan?
I have had a big interest in Japan since I was in high school. I think it all began when I started with martial arts training. That time, I was thinking about going to Japan for a year after high school. I had no knowledge of the Japanese language and when I was in my last year of high school, I realized that it would probably be better to start studying at the university and go to Japan later. Since I had studied languages in high school, it seemed a logical choice to continue languages at university and I chose Japanese! So I started studying Japanology in Leuven, because I knew that the University of Leuven gives students a lot of chances to go and study abroad in Japan.

-Was it hard to get a visa or a working permit?
For me, most of the paperwork was done by the university, so I only needed to go to the Japanese embassy in Belgium twice to receive a student visa for one year.

-Was it difficult for you to get medical insurance before you went there or when you first arrived?
No, I had insurance in Belgium, but Kansai University wants every (foreign) student to get the (Japanese) National Health Insurance. I just applied and got it.

-How do you make your living in Japan? Do you have any type of income generated?
I get a scholarship from my home university, but unfortunately, that is not enough to live in a land like Japan.

-Do you speak Japanese and do you think it's important to speak the local language?
As I said, my major is Japanese. I’m very sure that being able to speak the local language is the only way to integrate in another country’s society. Communication is very important and knowing the language helps to make friends and to understand the cultural aspects of Japan. There are a lot of differences between English and Japanese. Since English can be very direct and Japanese is very indirect, knowing the Japanese language can be very useful in a lot of situations.

Since most Japanese people’s English is not sufficient for a daily conversation, I think knowledge of Japanese is necessary, if you really want to live in Japan.

-Do you miss home and family sometimes?
Of course, I miss my family! But there are different levels of missing people. Before I came to Japan, I thought I would miss them more than I actually do. Since we don’t live in the prehistoric age, I have the opportunity to e-mail them and call them a lot, using Skype. When I really miss them--for example, when I’m traveling--I can even e-mail them with my Japanese mobile phone.

I also miss home food, but luckily I like Japanese food a lot too!

-Do you have other plans for the future?
The next semester here will start in April. Up to now, I’ve been taking classes in English and Japanese especially for foreign students, but next semester I will try to take a few classes with Japanese people. I think that’s important to experience the real way of teaching in Japan and to be surrounded more often by Japanese people.

Long term plans will be to return to Belgium in August, and finish my 3rd year of Japanology there.

-What about housing, have you bought, or are you renting a home? How much do you pay for it?
Since I’m a foreign student at Kansai University, I was offered a room in the girls’ dormitory of the university. In this dorm, all the foreign girls share a room with a Japanese girl. This is good for both to learn each other’s language, at least, that’s the ‘official’ reason for this. However, we always speak Japanese, which is very good for my Japanese, but not really improving for her English.

I realized that having a room for one’s self is a luxury, which I really enjoyed! Housing is very expensive in Japan. I pay about 260 euros a month for a shared room, electricity and water. Gas (for cooking) is not included. Living in a dorm is one of the cheaper solutions.

-What is the cost of living in Japan?
Living in Japan is very expensive. I get a scholarship from my home university that covers half of my expenses.

I spend most of my money on housing and food. But if you compare restaurant prices in Japan and restaurant prices in Belgium, I must say it’s cheaper in Japan. I live in the student area and here, you can get a very decent meal for about 4 euros. Very cheap, I think and you can always get water for free. Since I’ll only be here for a year, I try to get the most out of my year, and I spend a lot on traveling as well. But I’m sure if you work here, living will be cheaper.

-What do you think about the Japanese?
I like the locals! Japanese people are very friendly. I noticed the difference from European customer service, especially in shops. The sentence they use all the time must be: “It’s service.”

It may be a stupid example, but when I go to the butcher in Belgium and ask for 100g of meat, I will probably get a little bit more, because it’s impossible to give me exactly 100g. Here, they will give you a little bit more and never ask to pay more, because that’s service. This friendliness can also be found here, when you ask people for road directions. A lot of Osaka-people will just take you by the hand and help you as much as they can.

But when it comes to making friends, I find it difficult. The Japanese are very friendly, but their relationships seem very shallow to me. There are people I meet quite often, but I cannot say if this is real friendship. I think it is true that it’s difficult to tell what Japanese people really think.

-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in Japan?
I love okonomiyaki and takoyaki. Osaka is known all over Japan for its okonomiyaki, and I became a big fan!

Living in Japan is great, as a student. I don’t have a lot of classes and since I live in the center of Japan, I can travel around easily. I really enjoy my student life here, but I think the Japanese working environment is very hard (maybe even harder for foreigners). Japanese people work really hard and I don’t think that I, as a foreigner could ever adapt to their working system. Besides that, I am a foreigner and will be considered a foreigner as long as I’m here. People are indeed very friendly, but I will never become Japanese and will always be considered one of the few foreigners.

-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in Japan?
I didn’t arrange my ‘living in Japan’ plans myself. I got help from my home university and I think any help from an organization is needed to go and live in Japan.

Another thing is living expenses, do not underestimate the living costs in a land like Japan!

-Do you have any favorite Web sites or blogs about Japan?
Het leven zoals het is: Japan: This is the blog I’m writing about living in Japan. It is in Dutch, but maybe it can help!

japan-guide.com: As the website is called, I think it really is a Japan Travel and Living Guide.

Japanese Studies K.U. Leuven: The website of Japanology at the Catholic University of Leuven