Student interview: Yiwen Li of AMC

When asked about her student life, Yiwen Li cheerfully told us about every relevant topic. Since biochemistry was her research focus at high school, she was able to quickly decide to apply to AMC at Tohoku University. “As is known, Tohoku University’s chemistry department is prestigious!” she smiled. Then after she entered, she discovered more good sides of the department. First there was the equipment: there are many laboratories fully equipped with the latest tools. If you go to Katahira campus, you will find modern buildings such as the Laboratory for Nanoelectronics and Spintronics, and WPI- AIMR Main Building. The second is the personal side: she has already had a lot of chances to share time with the skilled staff and experience their assistance during her research and experiments. One of the university’s mottos is “Research First,” and her story was true to this motto.

Yiwen Li

 According to Yiwen, professors profoundly care about students, and there is a special program called the “Homeroom Section” which was started by the AMC course. There are three professors and two student mentors exclusively for AMC students, and they share time and talk with them at a special room prepared for them on Katahira. “The topics we chat about there have such a variety” she says, “about everyday life, questions that came up through lectures, scholarships, and even Japanese food culture… anything!” Taking time for communication nurtures the students' social nature and capability for problem-solving. For her, Sendai is quite international like Shanghai, her home town, and everyday life is full of discovery.

 Yiwen is truly a science girl, so she enjoys any subjects concerned with math and science. Asked about other fun classes, she named two—business management and health. “Particularly the subjects that Prof. Nagatomi deals with at health class tend to be hotly-debated among students since they are familiar subjects like sleeping, diseases and radiation,” Yiwen said.

 Recently she has been trying to learn foreign languages like Thai and Indonesian. Going out downtown with other students, sharing cultural food with them, tackling the tasks from the professors with classmates…her interests go beyond science, and all of them will, like a chemical reaction, interact with each other resulting in the creation of her own original research field.

Student Interview: Farsai Taemaitree, Advanced Molecular Chemistry

Taemaitree Farsai is a first year AMC student from Bangkok, Thailand.  Since her high school years, she has been accustomed to doing research with fine experimental tools.  So she always wanted to go to the university with the best chemistry department in Japan.  “Tohoku University’s motto ‘research first’ is exactly the same as that of my high school,” she says.  Her goal is now to become a chemist in the future.

Farsai participated in a three-week program at Ritsumeikan in Kyoto last year.  However, her encounter with the Japanese academic world happened earlier than that.  Tohoku University’s professors often visit high schools around the world to promote the FGL program, and professors from the chemistry department visited her high school.  This helped her learn about Tohoku University and the course, which lead her to decide to apply.

Now, four months have passed since the start of university life.  According to her, the lectures are tough and impressive at the same time, and her favorite class is Chemistry A by Professor Zhanpeisov.  

“Because I get to know about things that I had never known before,” she says.

Farsai hopes to join some student clubs to intermingle with Japanese students from next semester, but now she does not have time for anything thanks to the large amount of school work from each lecture.  She is, however, already concerned about missing her busy days when staying in her home country during the spring break.

Student Interview: Qiang Gu, International Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

The first-year student Qiang Gu from China had no hesitation about coming to Sendai to study at Tohoku University.  She knew from before that she wanted to study engineering at some excellent school, but her decision became firmer when Professor Ying Chen of IMAC-U gave a presentation on the FGL program at her high school and her school counselor recommended the program to her. 

Ever since she had entered, she has not become tired in most cases: she believes the reason for this is that she enjoys student life, from studying to leisure.  But one thing she admits is the great role of Professor Chen.  “She has been so helpful and encouraging,” Qiang said.  According to her, Professor Chen always tells students to contact her if any problems arise, so for a lot of students she is someone who understands the difficulty of living abroad and doing something at the same time.

In fact, Qiang already had trouble after her arrival from China: she had a small bike accident.  The one who helped her out was an older student at her dormitory.  “One senpai (an older student) fixed my bike, so thanks to him I can ride it to school,” she said.  Having been asked if she often comes to school by bike, she said: “if it snows, then no, but otherwise yes.”

Since she did not have many engineering classes in the first semester, she is looking forward to the later years.  The time when she finds her own special field must be not too far away.

Student interview: Chairul Akmal, Applied Marine Biology

The first year student Chairul Akmal came from Indonesia, which he calls “a marine country like Japan.”  So it was very natural for him to decide on studying marine biology in Japan.  He is now very busy with the Liberal Education classes, which all first year students have to go through.  He, however, has a vision of obtaining deep insights into the ocean, and is already absorbing knowledge from his professors.

“Gleadall Sensei is one of the best teachers whom I’ve met in my life,” Akmal says.  Professor Gleadall mainly teaches him marine biology as well as physiology.  Akmal especially enjoys his lectures about the future of the ocean and environmental issues.

Akmal mentions the wide range and availability of food both on campus and in Sendai City itself. At the cafeterias on campus, halal food is prepared, and grocery stores as well as restaurants for non-pork eaters are in walking distance to those living at the students’ dormitory. 

Even so, one of Japanese dishes he has been enjoying the most lately is Sushi.

Having lived in Sendai for four months, Akmal finds a major difference between Indonesian and Japanese culture—the reticence of the Japanese.  But he respects it, and regards it as a matter of custom.  His humbleness does and will let him enrich himself through new cultures anywhere he goes.

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.

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/


-----
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.


--
Text and photos by
Samantha Marbaniang

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!

--

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!

--

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#


--
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.

--

Text and Photos by Mustafa

FGL FB/Blog Team