Preparation for your new student life

 Right now, we cannot eat at the main cafeteria, “Kawauchi Daiichi Shokudo,” on Kawauchi North Campus. It is a very spacious place and usually many people from students to professors to staff take time at the lunch time there, but there are only a few students at the moment thanks to the spring vacation. So it is being used as a support center for freshmen entering in April!

 If you enter the room, various desks can be seen: near the entrance is the housing section for those who are looking for apartments. Staff explain about the areas suitable for students and the price range of apartments. Lately, according to reports by the media, more students prefer sharing an apartment or living in a dorm, so you can ask about the choices there.

 Then, on the left side there computers are displayed. In some afternoons, there are only a few people there, but it gets more crowded by the hour. Both laptops and usual computers are available, so it might be a good idea to buy new one before the sales tax rises on April 1st. 

 In front of the computer section, the staff invites students to join the university co-op. You need to pay 25,000JPY, but it will be refunded when you graduate from Tohoku University (necessary procedures must be conducted). If you become a member, you will be provided a membership card: it allows you to buy books at discounted prices, and can be used as a prepaid card. You will also have a meal card (chargeable prepaid card), so there is no need to pay with cash for lunch and supper. 

 Having walked around, you can see many bikes at the exit of the cafeteria. Many Tohoku University students commute by bike, and say that it is difficult to live without one. Just don’t ride too fast since a lot of accidents have happened!

All these support systems are the fruit of efforts by the university coop: in April, they will hold a bazaar in aid of international students. More details will be given in the next blog!

Library offers great service!

  The main building of the Tohoku University library is now under construction, and the annex building is the only one that you can enter. But the library continues to provide service for the students and will be even better from April.
 The most popular service is a concierge desk for international students. There, you can receive help in four languages—English, Chinese, Korean and Indonesian. Each concierge is a native speaker of each language, and they are all fluent in Japanese too. A Japanese concierge also exists for the Japanese students. According to Ms. Mika Yokoyama, a librarian, the number of Indonesians utilizing the library is rapidly increasing. 

 “Inquiries by students vary extremely,” Ms. Yokoyama said. They are from how to find books suitable for a certain theme to how to utilize the library. Some students actually ask about how to write papers for assignments, or about unclear points in some lectures, etc. Whatever the question is, the concierge tries to relieve students’ concerns. On the third floor, you can find a section of displayed books recommended by the concierge.

 On the second floor, you will find shelves of English books on the left side. That place is called the “Extensive English Reading and Readers Corner.” It was founded based on the idea that reading as many books in English as possible naturally improves English proficiency. Each book is color-coded. Red is the easiest level. The next level is orange then yellow, green, and finally blue—the most difficult. As the difficulty level increases, the amount of reading increases too. At the beginning of the school year, this corner got so crowded with students that the library staff was very surprised.
 The fourth floor is an archive where books from the Edo and Meiji Periods are stored. Many hand scrolls are preserved in good condition too. There is another room there for “The Kano Collection.” It is the private collection of the educationist Kokichi Kano who was a president of Kyoto University, and active in the Meiji Period. A limited number of graduate students were able to view the materials, and according to Ms. Yokoyama, “they always gasp in pleasure, feeling as though they time-traveled!” 

 The library offers a wireless internet access service, so you can bring your own laptop, or your smartphone. When the construction is completed in October, the whole library will be renewed, including the annex building. Tohoku University’s library is free from fixed concepts (e.g. that a library is just for quietly studying), and aims at being a space for spending enriching time. There is a lot to look forward to at the library.

Student interview: Lailatul Binti of IMAC-U

 Lailatul Binti from Malaysia used to go to a different university where she was majoring in a different subject. However, she decided to get back to her original dream one year ago, and applied for universities which have aeronautical engineering faculties. 
“I found that there were two such universities in Japan, Tohoku and Kyushu, but eventually I chose Tohoku University because of its character,” she said. By character, she meant the “research-oriented” aspect of the university. “I was attracted by that so I submitted application materials, and thanks to God I’m here!” she laughed.

  After graduating from a local high school, Lailatul went on to the matriculation course of the University of Malaya (UM) in Kuala Lumpur. There, she studied hard to prepare for university education for one year, and later became a student of UM majoring in actuarial science. When asked about the reaction of her parents to her change of mind, she said “they were not surprised. Now I am in the same grade as my younger brother, but it’s good. We share a lot of talk since he majors in electrical engineering, another faculty of engineering.”
 She has always made much effort when it comes to studying her favorite subjects, such as mathematics, from an early age. This way, she figured out what suits and does not suit her. So now Lailatul has a picture of the days ahead: she wants to continue her research at Tohoku University until acquiring a Ph.D, and become an engineer in the field of aeronautics.

 She saw snow for the first time in her life in Sendai. “When I saw snow in the light at night, it was so beautiful.” In fact, it snowed so much in many Japanese places in February that it set an all-time high record since observations began. Sendai was not an exception: the city awoke to more than 35cm of snow on the morning of February 9th. Sendai is famous for having snow every year but it had never snowed so much all at once. So this year’s snow is unusual. She is now enjoying her spring vacation in Malaysia, but must bring a lot of winter clothes to Sendai!

 The FGL students so far are from 13 countries, but Lailatul is the first Malaysian student to be accepted to the FGL program. Having been in Sendai for six months, she really wants to recommend Malaysian students apply for Tohoku University. She said with a smile that, “Sendai is so beautiful and safe. I love this city. The area damaged by the earthquake is limited now. If not, why are there people here? Be positive!”

Indonesian Festival on this Saturday!

Tomorrow, our Indonesian students will join "FESTINA 2014" which will be held in the evening at Sendai Fukushi Plaza.
For those who can, please visit the venue and enjoy the Indonesian culture!