International Symposium at Tohoku University

On Saturday December 15th the international symposium titled “The Great East Japan Earthquake’s Lesson on International Cooperation” was held at the Multimedia Education and Research Complex on Kawauchi Campus.  Eight presenters from five different countries delivered lectures, and about 130 people took part in the symposium.  The opening address was made by President Susumu Satomi, followed by Ms. Emiko Okuyama, the Mayor of Sendai, conveying her congratulations to Tohoku University.
http://www.tohoku.ac.jp/english/2012/12/news20121226-01.html 

The first presenter was Dr. Nobuyoshi Hara, Executive Vice President of Tohoku University.  Dr. Hara discussed how various institutions and research teams from Tohoku University contributed to disaster reconstruction and regeneration in the affected areas.  

Next was Dr. Holger Finken of DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) in Tokyo.  Dr. Finken stressed the importance of academic mobility between Japanese and German universities, intensive and careful communication required in consideration of legal and societal conditions, and sustainable funding secured by both sides.

Professor Cheng-Hung Hang of National Cheng Kung University (国立成功大学) in Taiwan not only talked about the responses of the university after the earthquake on March 11^th, but also about concern over the future of nuclear power and alternative forms of energy.

Ms. Kumiko Tsukamoto is a senior education manager at the Australian Embassy in Japan.  She introduced the strong bonds in the field of education between both countries, and Australian governmental support for the areas affected by the earthquake.

Dr. Lalit Acharya, director of international relations of Riverside City, California, explained about his energetic activities so far as a liaison between his city and its many sister cities (Sendai is one of them), universities and high schools.  Riverside City is one of the strongest supporters of Sendai City.

Mr. William McMichael of Fukushima University reported on the situation in Fukushima then and afterward.  Many foreigners left Fukushima out of fear over radioactivity. Mr. McMichael did his best to ensure foreign students’ security and took part in community projects to support students as well as Fukushima itself.  He showed various photos of his vigorous activities.

Prof. Onaka of Iwate University and Prof. Suematsu of Tohoku University presented results of surveys conducted at each university.  From the results of each, we could see how students at both universities assessed the situation, what actions they took, their thoughts, and so on.

A panel discussion followed the presentations, and the audience asked many questions even after the symposium.  This was a good opportunity to face the tough reality of the disaster as well as to recognize the fact that countless people battled and overcame difficulties.

In the venue, a giant cloth, produced through group effort, was exhibited. It was a gift from Riverside City of California, USA, sent to Tohoku University just after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.

Sendai's Pageant of Starlight

Christmas is almost here. In Japan, as in many other countries, Christmas is a secular event. Bustling areas are usually illuminated with decorative lights during this season, and Sendai is no exception.

Decorated with bright lights in Christmas colors, Sendai's parks and streets become busy with people who look forward to this annual event every night during this season. This illumination event is called the “Pageant Of Starlight,” and has been carried out here by volunteer and civil groups for the last 26 years.

Every year, groups of international students take to the streets for this occasion, and feel embraced by the warm glow of this special time of year.





School visit in Turkey 2012

So far, the FGL program has been presented at many high schools all over the world.  In November, our visit extended to Istanbul and Ankara, Turkey.

We presented at two schools in each city this time.

At Istanbul Lisesi, we were welcomed by 50 students who sincerely listened to our presentation.  

One-day trip to Hiraizumi, Iwate

On November 3^rd, FGL students, both freshmen and sophomores, took a one-day trip to Iwate prefecture to enjoy the beautiful autumn in the northern part of Japan.

The first place we visited was Genbikei Gorge.  With the gorge's mysteriously blue river and rough stones, students had to totter forward, but were fascinated by the grandeur of nature.

Tohoku University Student Festival! (Nov. 2 & 3, 2012)

Tohoku University is holding a festival today (Nov. 2) and tomorrow (Nov. 3).  Student organizations from extra-curricular activities show their achievements or run a booth to sell food and goods.  This festival is an important opportunity for the students to show what they do at their club activities and also to raise funds to manage their organizations.

Imonikai: A Tohoku Tradition

Today, I would like to talk about a specialty of Sendai: imoni. This literally means “cooked potato.”  That is, imoni actually means to enjoy cooking somewhere outdoors, such as along a river, to promote friendship among a group of people.  The main dish in Miyagi is a bowl of stewed pork, taros, scallions and konjak, which are cooked on a stove.  People help themselves to it, and relax and chat with friends, family members, neighbors and so on.

This custom is widely seen in the Tohoku region, the northern part of the main island of Japan, and it is often considered to be one of the two most anticipated events: Hanami (cherry blossom viewing) in spring and Imonikai in autumn, every year. 

 The reason why it is carried out in autumn is that taros are perennially harvested in October, and the newly harvested taros are always the main ingredient for the dish. 

 On October 20^th, students of engineering department voluntarily planned an imoni party alongside the Hirose River, and many international students participated in the event.  In addition to imoni, various barbecue items—sausages, pork chops, vegetables and many others—were prepared there, and the participants truly felt full from the delicious feast.

Halal food at Tohoku University

Food—it is something that you cannot live without.  There is a proverb that says "you are what you eat."  You select food for various reasons: because you like it, or you enjoy it, or sometimes because of the customs you have kept for a long time.

I have visited many high schools abroad, and one of the memorable questions I was asked is about the availability of halal food.

First of all, what is halal food?

Halal foods mean meals that are allowed under Islamic dietary guidelines.  They strictly exclude alcohol, pork, carnivorous mammals, birds of prey and such.  There is meat such as chicken that is allowed for halal meals, but the animals have to be properly slaughtered according to the code of Islamic law.  Basically, Muslims cannot eat certain types of food since they are taught that all animals should be treated with respect and well cared for: animals that are not treated that way cannot be eaten by Muslims.  On the contrary, there is not that type of tradition in Japan, and most kinds of meat, such as beef, pork and lamb can be seen anywhere here.  So there may be an impression among Muslims that it is hard to find a place to eat in Japan.

Each time when I am asked about halal food, however, I feel happy to say that “at Tohoku University, halal food is available!” 

Today, I went to one of the cafeterias on campus, called Couleur.  Having entered the place, I immediately found the halal food logo. 

Today’s halal specialty was seafood curry and rice.  So I ordered it and filled my stomach with it.  The taste was very good!  While the main ingredients were not meat that I am so used to, it was just like the curry that I have eaten from my childhood, moderately spicy and steaming hot.

I was already full, but tried to find other items that are eatable among Muslims.

At Couleur, you can find various side dishes that include a nutritional balance of foods from meat and fish to fruit and vegetables, and they are sold by weight.  Fresh salad is definitely eatable, and the boiled, dressed, or vinegar-based dishes are also highly recommended.  I also found the halal logo at the corner of the deep-fried fish sausages and vegetables.



As you can see, Tohoku University is making various efforts for internationalization, and improvement of the food menu is one of them.  Recently students as well as professors of various backgrounds have been choosing to eat at Couleur, so it is worth stopping by when you have a chance to!



text and photos by
Ishida-san (Tohoku University Staff)

 

“Festina”: Tohoku University’s Indonesian Students’ Festival 2012

Konnichiwa! In this opportunity allow me to introduce Indonesian Students’ Festival called “Festina” that held on the last April at Sendai Fukushi Plaza Fureai Hall. This festival aim is to introduce the diversity of Indonesian culture. Hence, we hope that cooperation and relationship among Indonesian students and Japanese also other countries would be maintained even tighter as well.

This festival’s opening ceremony was chaired by Indonesian Ambassador, Mr. Muhammad Luthfi. After that, Prof. Kimura Toshiaki from Graduate School of Arts and Letters gave some experience when he stayed in Indonesia. He described a story about “how to learn local wisdom of Indonesia's society." Not forgotten by him to mention several Indonesian cuisines that “unforgettable” for him, because of its spicy taste.

Figure 1.    Opening ceremony by Indonesian Ambassador and some experiences by Toshiaki Sensei

Interview for Human Security Program’s Students in Indonesia

Dear all! Human Security Program of Tohoku University is a joint educational program organized by four Graduate Schools of the university, incorporating their rich experiences in academic researches and international cooperation. The program aims at contributing intellectually towards building an international society where people enjoy secure and stable life free from fear and want. Each graduate school offers its own program: Food & Agriculture for Human Security, Public Health Sciences for Human Security, Human Security and Society and Human Security and Environment respectively. Human Security Program also affiliated with Future Global Leadership as Graduate school English course. For more detail, please see this link http://human-security.jp/.

Anyway, since 2009, this program has been conducting the Linkage Course Program with Brawijaya University of Malang, Indonesia. The students are selected Indonesian Civil Servants who got a scholarship from the Indonesian Government. I want to take this opportunity to tell you a story of my journey assisting Prof. Hitoshi Yonekura and Assoc. Prof. Nina Takashino from Graduate School of Agricultural Science, to interview the Indonesian students who apply to Human Security Program.

Interview process.

Tohoku University's Aikido Circle

One of Tohoku University’s circles that has a long history is the “Gakuyukai Aikido” circle—the Student Union’s circle dedicated to the art of weaponless self-defense.

A Day in the Life of an Economics Department Student

Ms. Dan Li

Today, I want to show you one “day in my life” so that it may provide some direct information about an foreign student’s daily life in Tohoku University.

At first, I would like to show you my dorm. I live in the International House of Tohoku University, it is one of the students‘ dormitory. I strongly suggest you live here as there are lots of activities going on this place. You can always get information in time and keep contact with other students. 

Matsushima: a Beauty Rests in Miyagi

Hey guys! Here I will talk about one of the best scenery in Japan (actually 3^rd best scenery according to a survey): Matsushima. It is located on the seashore of the Miyagi Prefecture, a small lovely sea town.

Turkish breakfast and Palestinian lunch in Sendai!

Last Sunday was the most delicious weekend of the month as two events of Tohoku University student organizations coincided on May 27, 2012. 

First, Tohoku University Turkish Students Association (TUTSA) opened their doors for the Traditional Breakfast Party serving around 20 different dishes starting from exotic salads, different types of Turkish cheese and pastry to sweets and Turkish ice-cream for the dessert! The participants could enjoy delicious and authentic dishes prepared by the university's Turkish students. The party was accompanied by a slide-show presentation about Turkey and video materials about TUTSA activities. I doubt you could find such a luxurious breakfast buffet even at five-star hotels of Turkey. Top that up with a great company and friends, and you could totally say, “TUTSA, you made my day!!!”

Online Shopping for International Students!

In this post, I would like to summarize some of very useful web sites that I always use in Japan.They may contain plane tickets, traveling, eating, shopping and coupon.

1. Rakuten 

For daily life: http://www.rakuten.co.jp/

One of the largest shopping web site in Japan, there are all most everything you would like to buy.

I strongly suggest buying the bicycle there. Usually if you buy an second hand bicycle you will find the price will always around 6000yen to 8000yen(speed changeable) but sometimes the bicycle is not in good condition.

On the Air with Lily Noriko

Last month, I was invited for a radio talk by a very charming lady. Lily Noriko runs a weekly program for FM76.2 where she invites students from various parts of the world to come and speak about their countries. The radio show gave very interesting insight as to how radio show operations work here in Sendai, where people love Western Music although English is scarcely spoken. Students who would like to appear for the radio show can get in touch with her. She will be most happy to find out more about you. 


LILY Noriko is a resident of Sendai city Japan. After having graduated from university, she worked as a high school English teacher for six years, and then decided to change her job. Her aim was to become a professional Japanese/English interpreter. 


She gained experience as a freelance interpreter through working as secretariat of The EXPO 2005 in Aichi, international conference management, English office work, trade office work and in-house interpreting and translation. Finally, she has started her own enterprise from the year 2010 by the name “Lily’s TranSupport”. 


Most of her interpreting fields are related to administration of justice and computer. In addition to these, press related, lecture meeting of educational and linguistics course, business meetings. Besides, she works as a radio personality (FM76.2) and a part-time teacher of university. 


More information about  Lily-san can be found here:
http://www.lilys-transupport.jp/


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text by
Samantha Marbaniang

Sendai: A Special Place

The university in autumn

Sendai is a very special place. What makes Sendai a brilliant place to experience is that it does not have too much of everything or too little of anything. Just perfect and soothing for a good student life, and a good visit. It is for certain not in danger of radioactive upsets, a misconception which came into existence after the Fukushima nuclear leak. Getting to and around the city is not a problem even if your Japanese language skills are zilch. The buses make announcements in the English language too. To my surprise, unlike busy cosmopolitan cities like Tokyo where the people are more than uptight, the people in Sendai are exceedingly friendly and accommodating, which is what we know of the Japanese people in history. Attempt to learn the Japanese word for saying thank you before you arrive here. Arigatō gozaimasu. It will be very helpful. Although most locals prefer to communicate in the Japanese language, the irony is that I stumbled into many shops and restaurants playing western music in the background. If you ever find yourself lost someplace, ask for help, since the locals will go out of their way to direct you.

First snow of the year

The economics of the city habitually rotates around Sendai Eki, or Sendai Station. Most of the trains and buses start and end their journey from there. If you enjoy walking, this city is perfect. It has many coffee shops, book shops, beautiful gardens, lakes, and rivers within the city. Cycling is a common mode of transport. It is very easy to get away from the city to nearby places like Matsushima, where you get to see the most beautiful sunrise, Yamagata, to experience the onsens (hot springs), paragliding, and skiing. There are more beautiful regions around Tohoku to visit. Sendai is beautiful throughout the year, with the snowfall, cherry blossoms, and brown autumns. It also has the famous Minami Sanriku Kinkazan Quasi-National Park. You will barely encounter dustbins within Sendai, however you will barely encounter garbage too... the secret is to carry your garbage home and not to accidentally spill it on the road. :-). You will find the public bathrooms very enduring and shocking if you are not use to toilets with electronic buttons next to you. When you press any of them, they will perform your royal duties for you. Over all, if you do visit Japan, Tohoku (Northeast) of Japan is a region you should consider. You will find lots of information on the internet.


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Text and photos by
Samantha Marbaniang

Club Recruitment Week at T.U.

A lot of new students turned out for club recruitment!

  The Jazz club

A major part of college life in Japan is the variety of clubs and interest groups that students participate in. These range from sports such as tennis and soccer to cultural activities such as chorus and drama to traditional Japanese arts like tea ceremony and flower arranging. Tohoku University offers many clubs and “saakuru” (i.e. “circles”) through which international students can make friends and pursue their interests. You can find a list of culturally oriented clubs here. Sports clubs are listed here. Every spring, the clubs and circles conduct recruitment drives to attract new members. These often include on-campus demonstrations of club activities. Here are a few we saw this year.


If you need to get somewhere quickly, the Glider, Yacht and Equestrian Arts clubs offer you many options:

Many clubs also make eye-catching posters for recruitment week, such as these from the Orienteering club (left) and Magic/Juggling club (right).

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Photos and text by FGL Staff

Bunya Seminar at the Insittute of Fluid Science, Tohoku University


Hi there. I am Houken from the Institute of Fluid science, Tohoku university. Two years ago I applied for the IMAC-G program and entered the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The Research and study environment in Japan may be different from your country. Bunya-seminar is one of thing you might not experience in your country. Let me introduce it briefly first.



Houken Presenting at Bunya Seminar


 n  What is Bunya Seminar?

In the Tohoku university Department of Mechanical Engineering we have this special seminar for first year master degree students. Every student is asked to prepare a one-page printout to simply introduce his/her research and give a 10min presentation which is open to all master and doctor students. Especially in recent years, since the number of foreign students is increasing, presentations in English are very common and popular as you can see in the photo. Furthermore, many Japanese students start to prepare presentation and printout in English in order to enhance their English communicating skills.  

n  My experience during Bunya-seminar

Although foreign students can choose their presentation language freely, I chose to speak in Japanese. It was really hard to prepare because using technical language properly in Japanese is even more difficult than daily communication. However I believe it is especially meaningful for foreign students to learn how to communicate with Japanese not only in daily life but also in their work or research. Communication skill in Japanese is absolutely important to live and work in Japan. Bunya-seminar is just a wonderful chance to learn and practice!

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Text and photos by Houken

Short Trip Program for International Students of Tohoku Amamiya Campus: Tsuruoka Kamo Aquarium of “Jelly Fish”

Greet all! My name is Bayu, allow me to share one of our activities as an International student of Tohoku University. Obviously, as an International student we have opportunity and advantages to learn more about Japan, which is not only well-known for its interesting culture and landscape but also technology and nature conservation. Moreover, the Japanese has awareness of the environmental damage and the sustainable of natural resources. It made them seriously concern to the nature conservation.

Anyway, every year faculty of Agriculture and Graduate School of Agricultural Science invite us to a short trip program. The main aim is to provide the International Student, not only to know each other during our busy activities but also increase our knowledge about Japan. This year, the committee decided to visit the Kamo Aquarium (加茂(かも)水族館(すいぞくかん)) in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Pref., which exhibits the highest number of species for jelly fishes in the world.

The group departed from the Amamiya campus gate at 08:30 by bus. The first destination is Shonai Kanko Bussankan Furusato-Honpo (庄内(しょうない)観光(かんこう)物産館(ぶっさんかん)ふるさと本舗(ほんぽ)). The restaurants and fish market among its rest area, making it more interesting as a transit area.

Shonai Kanko Bussankan Furusato-Honpo rest area

From Shonai Kanko to Kamo Auqarium takes 30 minutes, and we arrive in second destination at 13:30. Mr. Kazuya Okuizumi as Sub-Director of Tsuruoka Kamo Aquarium welcomes us and gives us brief explanation at once. He explained that the number of visitors has been on the increase, particularly since Japanese scientist Osamu Shimomura, professor emeritus at Boston University got Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2008, for his discovery of the mysterious green glow of a jelly fish – the green fluorescent protein (GPF). Now, the aquarium displays around 40 varieties, claimed to be one of the biggest in the world.

From Shonai Kanko to Kamo Auqarium takes 30 minutes, and we arrive in second destination at 13:30. Mr. Kazuya Okuizumi as Sub-Director of Tsuruoka Kamo Aquarium welcomes us and gives us brief explanation at once. He explained that the number of visitors has been on the increase, particularly since Japanese scientist Osamu Shimomura, professor emeritus at Boston University got Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2008, for his discovery of the mysterious green glow of a jelly fish – the green fluorescent protein (GPF). Now, the aquarium displays around 40 varieties, claimed to be one of the biggest in the world.

Tsuruoka Kamo Aquarium of “Jelly Fish”

It was a good time for us, unfortunately we had limited time. It’s a new thing for many of us, and still we couldn’t figure yet about the Jelly Fish breeding. It has proven by so many questions that we asked during Okuisumi-san’s brief class of. Luckily, we still got an opportunity to observed jelly fish by the microscope. Hence, the field trip is very interesting, enjoyable and useful. We hope that this program could conduct frequently, not only once but at least twice a year. Mina-san, otsukaresamadeshita!

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Story and Photos by

Prasojo Bayu

Beauty and Talent Festa in the middle of February!

On February 12, Tohoku University Ko-Haku 2012 Winter Festival was the hottest event of the winter. The most talented and creative students of the University performed on the stage, singing, dancing, acting, and posing to celebrate the New Year, to heat up Sendai winter, dedicating their performances to everyone, who had gone through the tough year after the Great East Japan Earthquake, and, shouting out to the world, that we, in Tohoku, are here, living, studying, and having fun!

This is the second year of the Festival and the name of the event "Ko-Haku" is similar to one of the most popular New Year's TV Shows in Japan, a concert-battle between the brightest stars of Japanese show industry with the ladies performing in the Red Team (KO) and men performing in the White team (Haku). The Tohoku University Ko-Haku Festival was more than a singers battle, although it was also judged by the professional judges – the University professors (how much more professional could it get J ). It was a complete Talent Show, reflecting what the students of one of the top Universities in Japan can do besides studying. The show was spiced up by the traditional Japanese, Indonesian, Malay dances, street dance , musical shows, A-capella concert, crazy Vocaloid family cosplay, and finalized by the international fashion show, representing 15 countries and five continents.

The event was organized by the Tohoku University Graduate School of Economics and Management, Division of International Education and Exchange  (DIEE) and the Center for International Exchange, Global 30 office.

The pictures from the event are available at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/108223979894431885504/February122012?authkey=Gv1sRgCN3OutuSo-2c_QE#


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Text and Photos by Aysenem
FGL FB/Blog Team

Greetings, everyone!

Hello everyone! I’m Mustafa one of the members of FGL Facebook team and this is gonna be my first post about Sendai and Tohoku University. I came here 4 months and a half ago. It is a quite a long time ha :) Well first of all, I would like to talk about my decision of coming Japan.

A bird's eye view of Sendai!

As I said before, I came here after the Great East Japan Earthquake which happened on 11^th of March 2011. It has been nearly one year from that day. But there was an irony. The earthquake happened the day after my entrance exam and my presentation. At that time I was totally shocked.


After the earthquake, I was reading and was watching terrible news about both tsunami and Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. As all we know that media really likes sensational news. I know that but at that time you couldn’t be so sensible. So I was really confused. 
Anyway, 1 month later the results were announced and I was selected as a student for Tohoku University International Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Course for Graduate Education (IMAC-G), and the following month I was also selected as a scholarship student. But still I had that question “Is it safe for going Japan?”. With all that news, it was so hard to make a decision. I talked some people who were at Sendai. They said that it was okay to go Japan. Of course we talked a lot but in short they said like that. So with a long decision time :) I decided to come to Japan. By the way it was also one of my childhood dreams to go to Japan, because of Japanese cartoon and anime.
Now it has been more that 4 months since I came here. Up to now everything is really good. Of course there are some serious effects of earthquake and tsunami in Sendai. But I haven’t seen any building that collapsed during the earthquake. There are some buildings that are evacuated because these buildings have serious damage from earthquake, but nothing more, and I think it is just a safety procedure, and that’s all. Lastly, what I have seen that I can trust Japan :)

Red lanterns light up the Osaki Hachiman shrine in Sendai.

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Text and Photos by Mustafa

FGL FB/Blog Team