This immersive journey was made even more memorable by the incredible dedication of the professors and student leaders. Throughout the entire program, their kindness, guidance, and genuine care for the students were evident in every detail. Whether assisting with academic inquiries or facilitating daily logistics, their constant support created a safe, encouraging atmosphere where every participant felt valued.
The cultural experience made me appreciate Japanese culture even more, I truly enjoyed learning about Noh Theater but what I liked the most was the hands-on experience of Kumihimo, one I will always remember and carry with me as a souvenir. To conclude, I want to say that each and every single one of the student leaders and KU students that participated in this program has done an amazing job at guiding us and teaching us about their culture, they were all very kind and friendly and have shown a great image of KU.
京都大学での2週間、私は日本について新しい知識を学んだだけではありません。いつもの学習環境から一歩外に出て、さまざまな国から来た学生と出会い、これまでとは違う勉強の仕方や考え方を経験することができました。一緒に話したり、勉強したりする中で、どこから来た人でも、それぞれ違った経験や文化的な価値観を持っていることに気づきました。同じ問題についても、人によって考え方が大きく違うことがあります。しかし、その違いがあるからこそ、自分一人では気づかなかったことを学ぶことができました。
KSPでは多くの研究者や教授による講義を受け、日本で行われている研究の幅広さを知ることができました。特に、ノーベル賞受賞者の北川進先生による講義など、普段の大学の授業では触れる機会の少ない分野について学べたことは貴重でした。また、日本語の授業では、日本のニュースを読んだり聞いたりするだけでなく、統計やグラフを日本語で説明したり、発表したりする練習も行いました。これを通して、学術的や実践的な場面でも日本語を使う力を身につけました。
The most vivid impression I got from KSP program is that although students’ opinions seem to be different from the situation in which they lead their daily lives, which vary greatly from country to country, their underlying thoughts are sometimes very similar. I noticed this mainly during Discussion in English session and farewell party and through daily conversations.
This program gave me the opportunity to explore unfamiliar disciplines such as agriculture and whaling, which are subjects I had never previously considered. To my surprise, I found many of the lectures engaging even without prior knowledge in the field.
One of my most favorite experiences, however, was living with my fellow students at the hotel. The mixture of all the different nationalities, ages, majors, and personalities made every single night so special and enabled us to connect on a much deeper level. Onsen, meals, and just talking activities really made us into a tight community and helped us connect. They all really enriched my time in Kyoto so much and showed me what cultural coexistence and cultural exchange really mean. All of this really supported me in my decision to continue learning Japanese and improving my language skills so that I may come back and connect with these people further.
印象的だったのは、日本語でのディスカッション授業です。自分の意見とは異なる立場でも、一生懸命ディベートを行う姿勢に感心しました。また、ルームメートと予想以上に仲良くなれたことも大きな思い出です。夜はまるで修学旅行のようで、笑いの絶えない時間を過ごしました。文化体験では和菓子作りや能、落語に触れ、フィールドトリップでは滋賀県を訪れ、美しい自然や歴史の魅力を感じました。
幸せな経験をたくさん得られましたが、少し後悔していることもあります。私は内向的な性格で、出会ったばかりの人と話すときには、時々言葉がうまく口から出てきませんでした。そのせいで、毎日、特に日本語の授業や発表の準備のときに「私は他の人に迷惑をかけているのではないか」と考えてしまいました。それでも、最後まで皆が優しくて、友達になってくれたことが本当に嬉しかったです。これは少し大げさかもしれませんが、たくさん友達ができるのは、私にとって大きな幸せです。いつか機会があれば、また日本に行き、みんなと一緒に時間を過ごしたいです。将来は修士課程への進学を目指しており、もし機会があれば、京都大学に進学したいと考えています。
My favourite part of the program was being able to talk to lots of new people who are in my age group.
What I love most about this program is the warm welcome I've received from the professors and students at Kyoto University. The professors are always willing to help me whenever I have questions, and they actively participate in all program activities. Additionally, the Kyodai students have left a great impression on me. They are always patient in listening to me, and they diligently teach me Japanese. We have also created many happy memories together.
京都サマープログラムのおかげで、英語を話すことへの抵抗がほとんどなくなった。私の英語はまだ拙いが、積極的に英語を話し、精進しようと思う。 また、住んでいる国が違っても、英語で意思疎通することができ、友達になっている留学生たちを見て、英語を話せるようになりたいと強く感じた。
I liked that it offered us various experiences so that we could make use of the 2 weeks to the fullest. The free days, field trip and cultural experience made the whole experience richer and I loved that we could travel in Kyoto when we didn't have class. Also, the student leaders accompanying us to the summer festival then hanging out with us for suika wari was really nice because it allowed us to do things that we would not have known if we had just been left to ourselves. For the actual program activities, I enjoyed English discussions because I it stimulated my learning and motivation for studying, and I learned a lot about various topics and viewpoints by talking with other students. I also liked the Japanese classes. They were very compact and fun.
京大生や留学生は皆、独自の考えを持っていて、親しみやすかったです。プログラムが終わったら、また台湾で会おうと約束もできました。
興味がある授業を自由に選択できたことと、リーダーさんたちが積極的にさまざまなイベントを開催してくれたことが良かった。またディスカッションを英語で沢山経験できたのが有意義だった。
Once of the best thing I liked about the program is definitely the interaction that we had with the Kyoto Students and definitely the bonding that we developed during these two weeks. I think what we don't notice the most is the effort that the KU students made to ensure that we feel comfortable and not left out. A lot of us didn't come with our friends and majority of us have almost no knowledge of Japan, so it was really heartwarming to see that the KU students wanted to interact with us even outside of school and on our free days!
日本人と外国人の友達ができた。色々なことを一緒にやって、とても楽しかった。 あとはたくさん日本語話せること。初めてこんなに日本語を話すチャンスがあるので。 とてもうれしかった。
What is effective as an academic program is the combination of lectures and student activities. Especially, ILAS Discussion is completely up to students, and they can join it actively.
I liked the interaction between international and japanese students very much. The lab visits were a lot of fun. The japanese language classes also were very nice. I liked the kamogawa :).
I think the interaction and conversation with other international students and Japanese students (both KU students and KU leaders) were the aspects that I liked the most. I think I learned a lot from different cultures which help me to gain more well-rounded perspectives from the world. Also, I really love when we as a group going out to do some activities together, whether its part of the program (field trip) or held by the leader (hiking in Daimonji Mountain). We had so much fun and so many wonderful memories.
