Japan is a
country that have interesting culture and high technology. However it’s a small
country but the citizen have good work ethic and the best in team work. That
characters which had built Japan up, they never stop when their work haven’t
finished and it’s like we can say “An American professor easily can defeat a
Japanese professor, but ten American professor in team work can’t defeat ten Japanese
professor in team work”. The Character of Japanese are formed since in
childhood so it’s become a habit and then the way of life, whatever sector they
are struggling. The characters and habits of Japanese is one of reasons to
study overseas at Japan, so besides we get the knowledge (sciences and
technologies) we can get mind set (include characters and habits) of Japanese
too. So we can help to build Indonesia like Japan use it.
Certainly when
we want to study abroad at Japan mainly with scholarship, we must prepare many
things such as immigration documents (passport and visa etc. if you haven’t
before), academic documents (academic transcript, research proposals, and
recommendation letter), curriculums vitae, essay relate with study, certificate
of health, letter of acceptance, certificate of proficiency (TOEFL, IELTS, or
JLPT), and much more. Furthermore we should prepare how to communicate with our
supervisor or professor, adaptation with Japanese culture and food, adaptation
with weather and season, etc. The point is we must have qualify that university
and scholarship needed.
The
documents is surely we have to prepare and even on our hand after we have an idea
to study aboard. The first and the most important is language proficiency. When
we want to have language proficiency we must make the language as our habit
every day. For the example if we want to improve our English ability we must
use English everyday. We just try to listening English music, watch English
movies with English subtitles, play a game like RPG genre with English
conversations, write our love letters or messages in English, and the enjoyable
to do is I often listening VOA English Report from YouTube and try to speak as
the reporter. Although we can learn English with self-taught, it’s still to
learn in language center to make our English ability improve perfectly. Because
when we improve English ability with autodidact it’s only use to communicate in
English, and the listener is know everything what we mean without care about
the grammar. Even though besides we tell our ideas in oral to make the listener
understand, sometimes we have to write our idea and it’s important to care
about the grammar. So study English in language center is highly recommended
when we want to improve English perfectly. The point if we want fluent in
English make it as habit anywhere and everyday.
Study aboard to Japan is difficult but it’s
possible for common family. Scholarship is one of ways for everyone continue
their education in Japan. So we should to collect the information how to apply
study in Japanese University. The first, we can visit university’s website and
looking for the admission and scholarship. It’s better to compile the
information on our databases, what are general requirements and specific
requirements that university needed. The databases are very useful to prepare
ourselves with every university requirements.
LOA or
Letter of Acceptance is magic letter that we should to have it when we want
study aboard not only Japan but also anywhere. When we have it, 99% we will
continue our education because many scholarship need LOA when we want to apply
it, but depend on our effort to struggling too. How to get the LOA? It have
many way, the challenging way is we have to find a professor and communicate if
we have ideas and want to help his project that relate with our field. Usually
the professor will request us to make a research proposal, and certainly we
must create it. For example, your field in undergraduate is material physics
you can get LOA with find the professor that have or may be have projects in
material science, you can find it in the website of university. After that it’s
depend on our communication with the professor, something that we must remember
is the professor surly busy man so we must patient when contact the professor.
After we create good communication and the professor begin interest to our
ideas, create our research proposals however the professor isn’t request. At the
right time you should ask that you want to help professor’s project and to
become our supervisor. If the professor accept the ideas and proposals, we will
be given the LOA.
Knowledge of
Japanese culture is important to prepare. Because if we have it, it will be
easily after we arrive in Japan and have to adapt with the Japanese culture. We
can watch Japanese-themed movies and documentary videos, join to Japanese
cultural exhibition, listen Japanese radio, etc. to know the Japanese Culture.
It’s all
summary the story of my preparation to study in Japan. Ganbatte Kudasai!!!
Margi
Fitriawan, Department of Physics Semarang State University, Material Science
and Engineering Kyoto University 2017. ^_^
Youth Connection 2016 - MITI Kluster Mahasiswa
Youth Connection 2016 - MITI Kluster Mahasiswa
