2018 Activity Report

April Activity Report

1 May 2018
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Fumiya Saito

Hi there, my name is Fumiya Saito, I am a first-year student in the Tamkang University Japanese Literature Postgraduate Program, and from April I will be the new coordinator of the GJO. Nice to meet you all.

It’s April now in Tamkang University, Tamsui, and the weather has been rather unstable. Some days the rain makes your skin cold, and others are just as hot as summer. Taiwan around this time has spring days and summer days, so you have to watch your health and your wardrobe.

As for April’s events at Tamkang University, firstly, it was spring break from March 31st until April eighth/ninth. Students usually spend this period visiting home, going on vacations, and working part time. From The end of April until the start of May, mid-term exams are held. Because of this, I didn’t get many chances to meet with the students who often visit the GJO, and I couldn’t hold any big events. Despite this, I did get the chance to talk to students about going on exchange to Japan. Here at Tamkang University, a Japan Exchange Examination is held for second year Japanese department students in mid-March every year. Amongst the students who often visit the Tamkang GJO, one student’s host university has been decided. This student asked me about things to be careful of in Japan and tourist spots, so I used the internet and the guidebooks in the GJO to advise them on geography and things to watch out for. One thing we talked a lot about was train lines. The train lines in Tokyo are more complicated than Taiwan’s MRT, and so we talked about which stations were close to the student’s host university, and which lines can be used to reach tourist spots. I was also asked about the best place to work part-time while on exchange, and so I answered based on my own experiences. The student asked me a lot of questions, so I could tell that they were really excited to go to japan.

For May, I’m thinking of getting students to do self-introductions. I haven’t had the students that visit a lot do proper self-introductions yet, so I think I’ll get them to do that and also introduce their hometown or something so I can get to know them better.