Kobe University is regarded in Japan as one of the most prestigious universities in the country. One of the perks of going to such a highly regarded university is the reaction you get from the Japanese people when you tell them where you study. Usually they react by making a strange “wow”-like noise, followed by “you must be really smart” and it actually makes you feel like you are, in fact, maybe somewhat clever.

The downside of attending Kobe University is its location. As if it isn’t hard enough feeling motivated to go to uni some days, the founders of Kobe University decided to build it on a mountain called Mt. Rokko. Everyday I endure a 10 minute hike before reaching my destination. Thankfully, my faculty and the Exchange Student Centre is at the bottom of the university campus requiring less mountain-climbing than other faculties. The upside of being on a mountain is the breathtaking panoramic view of the city of Kobe you can feast your eyes on.

View from Kobe University

I’m part of the Faculty of Letters (Bungakubu in Japanese) so I have the privilege of studying the following courses: American Literature - Short Stories, American Literature - The Catcher in the Rye, English Linguistics (Studied in Japanese), Psychology (Memory studies), French Culture and Second Language Acquisition Studies. Apart from these courses, I also take Japanese language courses (reading, composition and kanji). Every fortnight I have a summative kanji test so my mind is constantly filled with random characters that begin to make very little sense after a while. The courses are all really interesting and challenging. Thankfully I haven’t had any assessments due yet so study has not yet fully taken over my life. I’m sure that this is due to change as the semester progresses.

I am also quite in love with the university cafeterias. Not only do you have a wide range of Japanese cuisine at your fingertips, but they are ridiculously inexpensive. A bowl of Japanese noodles (ramen) will only set you back about 280 yen (about $3.50) and you have access to unlimited complementary hot Japanese tea. The university timetable is set out so that everybody is guaranteed a lunchbreak (no classes between 12.10 and 1.20) so we all get to enjoy lunch together.

This is what I had the other day:

Lunch of the Day

The best part is, it only cost me about $4.

And here are some random photos from uni (as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words…)

This is a couple of us exchangies sitting on “The Steps” - this is where all the exchange students seem to congregate. (We get the best view on campus!)

Being a judge for a English Speaking Competition

An extracurricular activity… My fellow Australian exchange student friend Andrew (from University of WA) and I being judges for an English speaking competition where English language students presented their well written (and some not so well written) English speeches. We were treated like royalty (we got a big round of applause everytime we entered and left the room where the competition was held) and got rewarded with chocolate for being Kyle and Marcia of the English language for the day.

Although I am only in week six of my semester here, so many things have happened already. I can’t wait to se what else is in store for me at Kobe Uni over the next couple of months!

It’s been nearly a month since my semester of exchange began and I am finally able to blog! Lack of internet made it difficult for me to sit down and document my experiences but now that things are finally settling down, I can properly collect my thoughts and share it with you all.

Unfortunately, so much has happened in the past few weeks that I don’t really know where to begin! So, over the next few days I will put up several posts split into three categories: International Residence, Kobe University and Life in Kobe to make things a little easier for me.

All I can say right now is that I am having an amazing time and I’m cherishing every moment. I’m always excited about what the day may bring (and believe me, days have brought weird/wacky/crazy/amazing things already!) and I’m happy to be sharing it with my new exchange friends who come from all over the world.

But right now I’m off to bed as I have a rather large hike up a mountain tomorrow… (more about why later…).

Just as I was ready to leave for Japan on 7 September, tragedy struck my knee… resulting in postponing my great adventure for a short period of time.

The moral of the story is, don’t party too hard two days before you’re due to leave because something is bound to happen when you’re as clumsy as me as you will end up popping out your kneecap somehow…

So I have spent the past week in crutches with a very swollen knee (thankfully no dislocations or fractures) wishing I was watching Japanese TV and eating takoyaki or some other tasty cuisine while lying in bed putting up with day time reruns of the Biggest Loser.

Good news is, resting has paid off and I have rebooked my ticket for Japan for this Thursday so let’s hope I stay out of trouble until I arrive at my final destination.

Thankfully my semester at Kobe doesn’t actually begin until 1 October… phew.

Above: Brissy friends (I’ll miss them all!)

I only have two months to go before I begin my official exchange experience and like everyone else going on exchange this semester, I am absolutely thrilled. I received my acceptance letter last week so I will be applying for my student visa shortly so that I can finally make way to my exchange destination - Kobe, Japan.

Kobe is probably not very well known to foreigners and most tourists probably do not even check out Kobe when visiting Japan. It’s probably most famous for Kobe Beef (who Kobe Bryant the basketballer is apparently named after) and the Great Hanshin earthquake which killed thousands in 1995. According to Wikipedia and Wikitravel (reliable resources, but lecturers will probably tell you otherwise…), although Kobe is regarded as one of Japan’s under appreciated cities, it is actually a very cosmopolitan port city with an international flavour, one of the most liveable cities in Japan, AND there is apparently a massive beer garden somewhere … (which is always an important attribute to any city in my books).

So why Kobe? Firstly, my grandparents live in the neighbouring city of Osaka. Studying in Kobe would allow me to spend some quality time with them, something which I haven’t been able to do too much of in the past as I live in Australia. Secondly, Kobe University is one of Japan’s top universities and is very reputable. Thirdly, I found the city of Kobe itself to be appealing (and yes, Wikitravel did help a fair bit in convincing me).

Being half-Japanese, I have lived in Japan when I was very little. Since then, I have only visited Japan a couple of times for few weeks at a time. I’m really looking forward to immersing myself in the Japanese lifestyle as a proper member of the society rather than as a mere tourist. I’m also really looking forward to studying in Japan and improving my Japanese reading and writing skills. I also can’t wait to meet other exchange students and local Japanese students! My accommodation isn’t finalised yet but I’m hoping to stay at one of the university’s international residences which should be lots of fun and a new experience as I have never lived in a college before.

I haven’t started packing yet although I have started stocking up on shoes as it is impossible to find shoes in Japan when you have size 10 feet! And I’m thinking maybe I ought to practice on Singstar in preparation for many nights out in karaoke joints…

I’ll be arriving in Japan early next month so watch this space for the next instalment of my exchange adventures…