{"id":2034,"date":"2024-07-20T12:00:28","date_gmt":"2024-07-20T12:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiiglobal.org\/?p=2034"},"modified":"2024-07-21T04:01:22","modified_gmt":"2024-07-21T04:01:22","slug":"studying-abroad-in-japan-a-meaningful-experience-for-uh-west-o%ca%bbahu-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiiglobal.org\/en\/studying-abroad-in-japan-a-meaningful-experience-for-uh-west-o%ca%bbahu-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Studying abroad in Japan a meaningful experience for UH West O\u02bbahu students"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Link to original article at Ka Puna O Kalo\u02bbi)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"UH

UH West O\u02bbahu students spent a week in June in Japan as part of a summer study abroad program with Kyushu Sangyo University. Image courtesy of Office of Global Engagement<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Zenaida Serrano Arvman
\n-July 17, 2024<\/p>\n

University of Hawai\u2018i\u2013West O\u2018ahu student Bayli Shimokihara \u2014 who studied Japanese in high school and previously traveled to Fukuoka, Japan \u2014 said she has always wanted to study abroad in Japan. So when she learned she could do so through a UH West O\u2018ahu program, she applied for the opportunity.<\/p>\n

Shimokihara, 20, of Mililani, was one of 12 UH West O\u2018ahu students who participated in a summer study abroad program June 10-15 at partner institution Kyushu Sangyo University (KSU) in Fukuoka. The program was offered by the Office of Global Engagement<\/a> at UH West O\u2018ahu.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe highlight of this program for me was getting to interact with the Kyushu Sangyo University students,\u201d said Shimokihara, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences with a concentration in Political Science. \u201cIt was really nice to see how even though there was a language barrier at times, we could still communicate and understand each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

During their one-week stay, students in the program participated in Japanese language and culture classes at KSU while staying at a dormitory across campus. The students also went on field trips and tours.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that studying abroad is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience that any UH West O\u02bbahu student should do during their college career,\u201d said Gian Otoman, International Programs Coordinator with the Office of Global Engagement. \u201cStudying abroad can give you the opportunity to experience new cultures, learn new languages, and create life-long partnerships with people from around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

UH West O\u2018ahu student Bayli Shimokihara (far right) recently took part in a summer study abroad program at Kyushu Sangyo University in Fukuoka, Japan.<\/p><\/div>\n

Strengthening relationships between schools<\/h3>\n

UH West O\u2018ahu student Kaitlin Lee, 37, of Honolulu, also took part in the program. Like Shimokihara, Lee liked spending time with the participating students from Hawai\u2018i and Japan. She also enjoyed a group excursion to Dazaifu Tenmangu, a Shinto shrine in Dazaifu, Fukuoka.<\/p>\n

\u201cI loved exploring Dazaifu,\u201d said Lee, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with concentrations in Hospitality and Tourism, and Marketing, as well as a Certificate in Asian Studies. \u201cIt was so pretty and it was so much fun learning about the temple itself. It was so unique.\u201d<\/p>\n

While this was the first time UH West O\u2018ahu students had the opportunity to visit KSU, KSU has been sending its students to UH West O\u2018ahu since 2022. UH West O\u2018ahu will again welcome KSU students in September.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese 14 KSU students are coming to UH West O\u2018ahu on our international short-term program for fall 2024,\u201d Otoman said. \u201cThe students will participate in ESL classes and have the opportunity to meet local UH West O\u2018ahu students in different cultural exchanges and activities set up by the International Social Club, one of our student-run clubs on campus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Otoman said a delegation from Kyushu Sangyo University will also accompany the KSU students and is scheduled to renew its Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation and Exchange with UH West O\u2018ahu.<\/p>\n

Otoman added that the KSU study abroad program would not have been possible without the help of Hawaii Global Education Foundation<\/a> (HGEF), which assisted the Office of Global Engagement in planning the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis summer program was designed to provide a safe and meaningful exchange opportunity with KSU students and gain mutual understanding,\u201d said HGEF Executive Director Mayumi Miyahara. \u201cI trust this type of program helped strengthen the relationship between the two schools as well as among students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miyahara continued, \u201cOverall, it was an invaluable opportunity for the UH West O\u2018ahu participants to experience and learn different viewpoints and to communicate with the KSU students.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Definitely a great opportunity\u2019<\/h3>\n

Otoman said the Office of Global Engagement at UH West O\u2018ahu hopes to continue to work with the Hawai\u2018i Global Education Foundation and Kyushu Sangyo University in the future to create more study abroad programs like the one with KSU.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are still talking to KSU about how next year\u2019s program will turn out, but based on the success of this past summer program, our office feels optimistic we will be able to send another group of UH West O\u2018ahu students to KSU next year,\u201d Otoman said.<\/p>\n

The KSU study abroad program is just one of others offered by the Office of Global Engagement. Currently, there are also summer programs with Tokai University Sapporo in Japan and Jinju Health College based in Korea, and an upcoming fall program with Eulji University also in Korea.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would definitely encourage students to participate in some of the other study abroad opportunities that UH West O\u2018ahu offers,\u201d Shimokihara said. \u201cI am actually going to be going on the Korea study abroad program this fall, so the Kyushu Sangyo program was a really nice way to get a little taste of the study abroad experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee also encourages others to take part in one of the study abroad programs available to UH West O\u2018ahu students.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is definitely a great opportunity to meet new people, make new friends, and experience a new culture,\u201d Lee said.<\/p>\n

To learn more about upcoming study abroad programs offered by the Office of Global Engagement at UH West O\u2018ahu, click here<\/a> or email uhwointl@hawaii.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"

UH West O\u2018ahu student Kaitlin Lee (far left) recently participated in a summer study abroad program at Kyushu Sangyo University in Japan.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Link to original article at Ka Puna O Kalo\u02bbi)   By Zenaida Serrano Arvman -July 17, 2024 University of Hawai\u2018i\u2013West O\u2018ahu student Bayli Shimokihara \u2014 who studied Japanese in high school and previously traveled to Fukuoka, Japan \u2014 said she has always wanted to study abroad in Japan. So when she learned she could do … Continue reading “Studying abroad in Japan a meaningful experience for UH West O\u02bbahu students”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":2064,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiiglobal.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiiglobal.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiiglobal.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiiglobal.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiiglobal.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2034"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiiglobal.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2034\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2068,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiiglobal.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2034\/revisions\/2068"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiiglobal.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiiglobal.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiiglobal.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiiglobal.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}