i really want to be a foreign exchange student & study abroad in japan for a year or so. i want to experience the rich culture & eat delicious food. hahaha. i just find japan to be so intriguing, i've been wanting to go to japan since i was like in elementary school. i was wondering what it usually takes to attend a high school in japan, especially for foreign exchange students. do you need to speak, read & write fluently? also, what's daily life like in school? what're the kids like?
Japan - 4 Answers
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1 :
Students wear uniform in Japanese high schools. That's the biggest difference. There are many all-boys or all-girls high schools. School year starts in April. >what's daily life like in school? You have classes between like 8am and 2pm. Then, some of them attend extracurricular activity. Some others go home and spend time on having fun. Some of them go to cram schools to study for entrance exams of college. >what're the kids like? Kids are kids even in Japan. Boys and girls in Japan do not interact as often as Americans.
2 :
Most importantly to be a exchange student you must have excellent gpa average, and be in the 11th or 12th grade. Me, personally was born here in Japan in hokkaido. So i can read write and speak excellent Japanese, I was a exchange student in 2006 and is a great experience to enjoy. ^^ Daily life in school is typical. we go to school, then have quick lunch, then back to work. and we had to wear a uniform. The kids can differ from student to student. It usually depends on how they spend their time after school. Because during school you cannot dress freely. So you are unable to tell if some one is Goth, Harajuku, etc.. So if you become a exchange student in japan, I think you will have a great experience.
3 :
Typical high school life in Japan differs greatly from that of the West. School usually takes place on Saturdays besides the weekdays but not on Sundays. Extra-curricular activities are often mandatory, whether you decide to take up volleyball or join some club. Uniforms are most often (if not always) the case, and I know before a lot of schools used to be very strict about this - you wear your uniform and nothing else, no jewelry, hats, etc. Your bangs couldn't be too long and you couldn't dye your hair. Schools might be a little more slack about this rule now though. A bag is also given with the uniform. During PhysEd, everyone wears the same gear as well (school shorts and shirt or a track suit). You're mostly not allowed to bring anything but your educational necessities - no candy, mp3 player, makeup, etc. If teachers see this then they are confiscated until the end of the day (again, this was the case years ago so I'm not sure if many schools are still this strict). When you enter the school building, you have to go to your shoe cubby and take off the shoes you're wearing and wear your "indoor" shoes (usually white slip-ons for most schools). This is just to keep the school clean. At the end of the day you'd place your shoes back in the cubby and wear your original shoes out to head home. Instead of students moving from classroom to classroom, it is teachers who switch classrooms for different classes, so you have your own desk. There are no lockers but often cubbies at the back of your classroom. Classes usually consist of 30-40 students and cleaning the classroom is left to the students (so a small group of students every day/week would be in charge of sweeping, etc. and so everyone takes turns cleaning). The classes are divided by year and division, according to where you "rank" in terms of your grades. If you are in high school year 1 (grade 10) and you have top grades, you would be in class 1-A (and 1-B for middle, 1-C for the lower half, etc.) I believe all schools come with a swimming pool? Which is required to be used for PhysEd (everyone wears the same swimsuit) - and some schools I think require you to swim at the school pool on a regular basis during summer break (I guess this is the institution's way of insuring you're getting out regularly). You're free to bring your own lunch or buy and eat at the cafeteria. You're always given a load homework for Winter and Summer breaks. During the school year, there're always these annual sporting events where the different classes compete against each other in different events (baton-relay, sprinting, "tama nage" - where you throw small balls into a basket that sits atop a tall pole). There's probably a lot more - but that's the gist! =)
4 :
hello, I am japanese and moved to the usa when I was 18 for my husbands job. here is some school information. we all wore school uniforms we all ate the same exact thing as everyone else we go to school based on intelligence rather than lumping all high schoolers into one school. boys are really important in our culture esp the first born son . He is the one who ussually stay at home to care for aging parents . like he will live there with his wife and children and be one large household. he also is ussually the one who gets the bulk of the inheritence. mother in law and daughter in law ussually have many problesm ( not always but it is very common) tattoos are looked down upon in my culture ( not so much anymore but they used to be only on gangmembers like yakuza) but when I was 18 i got one when I came to the usa and when I came home not to many people cared but I did get kicked out of onsen (basically a natural spring "hot tub") my mother on my husbands side was so embarassed. We make children eat every grain of rice if you dont "your eyes will pop out" lol becuase growing rice takes a lot of work. its kind of the same when americans say if you make ugly face your face will get stuck that way. we bow instead of shaking hands ussually. We are not a very affectionate culture with kissing hgging and saying I love you Girlfriends and boyfriends not only husband and wife ussually call their SO parents mom and dad. I cringe now when I think of someone else (stupid sl*t lol) calling my inlaws mom and dad . you MUST know how ot speak and read and write you also will need to know that we are not a very accepting culture you must learn to be like us because we will not change for gaijin. good luck
