Frequent Flyer

University of Arkansas “International Education Week” Essay Contest

Join the Study Abroad Student Association (SASA)

Apply For Your Passport

University of Arkansas “International Education Week” Essay Contest. The Office of International Students and Scholars, Office of Study Abroad & International Exchange, Spring International Language Center, and the Holcombe International Living Learning Community invite you to participate in an essay contest in honor of International Education Week, November 14-18. Opportunities for international education are all around us. Some are abroad while many other opportunities are right in our own backyard.

International Education Week essays should be about a personal experience that helped shape your international perspective and made you more globally aware.  This experience could come from a study abroad opportunity, a personal relationship with a friend/roommate, attending a cultural program, etc.  The writing competition deadline will be November 9, 2011. Entries should be submitted via email to issworld@uark.edu. For the official rules, click here.

How to Enter:

Submit an essay on the following topic:

“When you learn something from people, or from a culture, you accept it as a gift, and it is your lifelong commitment to preserve it and build on it.” – Yo Yo Ma

In light of this quotation, write an essay describing a personal experience that helped shape your character and international outlook.  Explain what the experience was, how it changed you, and how you intend to apply this lesson to your life.

Join the Study Abroad Student Association (SASA). SASA is a student organization open to everyone! SASA aims to create a community of returned study abroad students, introduce prospective study abroad students to study abroad alumni, assist the Office of Study Abroad & International Exchange in promoting study abroad programs, and provide opportunities for members to get involved with international activities. Join SASA and provide internationally minded leadership on our campus! Membership is $10/year, which comes with a free t-shirt! http://studyabroad.uark.edu/Forms%20&%20Apps/SASA%20application.pdf

Apply For Your Passport. One of the first steps towards studying abroad is to apply for your passport! To review the passport application requirements, visit: http://travel.state.gov/passport/. In Fayetteville, you can go to the Post Office on Dickson Street to apply for a passport, or visit your local post office.  Encourage your parents and friends to get their passports as well in case they would like to visit or in case of an emergency.

Living the Japanese Exchange Student Life

Sorry it has taken me so long to write in the blog! One of my excuses for not writing is that two or three weeks ago the home stay program started! My host family is so nice. My host family consists of my host mom and my host dad. Last weekend my host family took me to Mt. Fuji. It is beautiful from any angle you look at it.

Since it is fall i wasn't able to climb to the top because the mountain is closed but i did climb up one section of it. I can now see why it would take a couple days to climb it! 

This week all of us exchange students took a study tour to Nikko. I can't even try to explain how beautiful the nature is in Nikko. It looked like something out of a dream. At Nikko we got to stay at a ryokan, or a traditional Japanese inn. The first floor of the ryokan had an onsen. An onsen is a natural hot spring that people soak in. It was so ridiculously relaxing. I even got to wear a yukata or a summer kimono! The Japanese really know how to relax haha Recently, since the home stay has started, I have been really busy. It is getting harder to juggle doing school work and playing around haha Today I went to my first Aikido class in Japan!I have done a year of Aikido in Arkansas before coming to Japan. I really enjoyed the club.  I was worried before class started but once I started to do some familiar exercises I felt alot better. It was interesting how even though we couldn't understand each other completely we could still communicate through Aikido. I'm looking forward to the next meeting. Next week is fall break and some of us are planning on going to Kyoto! I am really excited about getting to see some more traditional culture there. In a few weeks I will write a blog post and tell you all about it!

Isaac Morgan

Frequent Flyer

Opportunities in Japan Info Session Wednesday, October 19 
Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program Informational Session Thursday, October 20

Born in the USA; Back from the (former) GSSR Thursday, October 20

NEW Grand Trunk Scholarship Contest

Opportunities in Japan Info Session Wednesday, October 19. Want to find out what study abroad opportunities there are for Japan? Come to this meeting and learn about the summer, semester and year-long options available to you, as well as more about all the funding sources. The info session will be held on Wednesday, October 19^th from 3:30-4:30pm in JBHT 146. See you there!

Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program Informational Session Thursday, October 20. Amazing opportunity to live and teach English in Japan! This program is sponsored by the government of Japan. Contracts are for a minimum of 1 year with opportunity to renew for an additional 1-2 years. Candidates must hold a bachelors degree by July 1, 2012 and demonstrate a strong interest in Japanese language and culture. Previous knowledge of Japanese is not required but applicants must have an excellent command of English. Application deadline is in mid-November. The informational session will be held on Thursday, October 20^th from 3:30-5:00pm in KIMP 301. Come learn more! http://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/JET/

Born in the USA; Back from the (former) GSSR Thursday, October 20. Chase Stoudenmire, a University of Arkansas alumnus and Fulbright Fellow, will deliver a one-hour interactive presentation reflecting on his experiences as a student in America and a teacher in the Caucasus region of Eurasia on Thursday, October 20^th from 1:00-2:00pm in the Graduate Education Building room 166. Stoudenmire spent the 2010-2011 academic year teaching English in the former Soviet republic  of Georgia as the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship from the U.S. Department of State. Our director DeDe Long will also be present to share information about international opportunities for current UofA students. For more information: http://newswire.uark.edu/article.aspx?id=16935

NEW Grand Trunk Scholarship Contest. Are you preparing to study abroad spring 2012? Here is a cool study abroad scholarship opportunity to check out. Filmmakers take note! Submit a 2-3 minute video that will be voted on by the public in order to determine six finalists, and then the final three contest winners will be chosen by Grand Trunk and its partners. Deadline for application and video submission is Monday, October 31^st. There are some great award packages! For more information: http://www.grandtrunkgoods.com/2011/10/study-abroad-scholarship-contest/

Rising Sun

 Hello,

The months have passed much faster than the days I have anticipated on coming here to Japan. During the past 2 months, I have to say that there have been many changes in me which I would have never had to experience in America.

 Besides going to school, and learning Japanese every single day, I also try to put myself out there as I have mentioned in my earlier posts. Traveling to new places, trying new things, and blending in with Japan's culture and aspects of their mundane lifestyles; beyond that, I learn about their history and how Japan came to be where it's standing right now.

I am a cool samurai~

Temple in Asakusa

Kabukki  Plays Display in Edo Museum, Tokyo

Loving our face imitations~

Zushi Sea with my Host parents!

Recently, I have moved in a Japanese household. They are really nice to me, and living with them helps me to experience what life is like living in a Japanese household. To tell the truth, it isn't much different from my own home. When I first got to Japan I had to say that I was so homesick, but now, I'm ok. I enjoy the new environment and I try to keep in touch with my family and friends back home. :) Living within a Japanese household is really nice because we always have family quality time together. The other day my Japanese Dad took me to school, and I was really astonished on the fact that we had a conversation for the past 20 minutes! I felt so accomplished, even if it was in broken Japanese. Later in the day, they even took me to the beach near their hometown. It was very scenic and beautiful~

 Well, the months are going by very fast. Pretty soon, I'll be home in America. Therefore, I'm going to try to absorb as much experiences if possible: Culture, history, fashion, food, people, you name it! :)

-Ai

With my older Host Sister!

Cafe by Zushi Sea