Advisers

If you have ever gone to college, you have probably had to meet with an adviser at least once, either for your major or for a transfer or some other reason. What was your experience with them?

I have, in my experience, only had one adviser who actually read my e-mails. My study abroad adviser never answers all of my questions and he rarely knows anything. In fact, I went for an appointment because the deadline was moved up to Jan 16th as opposed to March 15th and he didn't even believe me. He went and checked and then apologized. To me, this is NOT a good sign of the person I have to work with for the next 6th months to make my study abroad real. I have had advisers totally misunderstand my e-mails and not answer any of my questions. I have had advisers e-mail me last minute accepting my appointment time (as in, within a half hour before). They've even answered my e-mail in depth and then at my appointment have no idea about anything they had e-mailed me about (leading my to suspect someone else wrote the e-mail).

I suppose one must simply fight through the idiocracy, eh?

More on Travel

I recently came across another packing tutorial for studying abroad in another country. He makes all the same points I did in a more condensed fashion, although I must say I disagree with the no iPod rule. In Japan, you're supposed to be quiet on trains, so when you're on a train for an hour with nothing to do, it can be pretty boring.

I will say that I also had the same feelings the first time I packed for myself. "Am I bringing too much?" Again, I'll reiterate my rule of thumb. If you cannot lift all of your bags simulataneously off the ground and walk easily, you have way too much. For men, a hiking backpack/sturdy suitcase and a laptop bag. For women, a handbag/laptop bag and a hiking backpack.

http://usac.unr.edu/information/packing-tips.aspx

This is a pre-departure list, also from USAC. You should be able to figure out if it applies to you (either your study abroad or your trip).

http://usac.unr.edu/information/know-before-you-go.aspx?display=115

Thoughts on Japan

A lot of people who know me personally know that I really do love Japan (and am slightly obsessed with getting my butt back over there). However, there are some issues that I'd like to address.

警察 (keisatsu)

The police system in Japan has issues. That goes for any authority, world wide. But Japan's issue revolves around a couple general themes. Raising questions and the cultural value of saving face are the two main problems and they kind of go hand-in-hand.

Article A
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fl20111101zg.html

Article A details the death of a man named Abubakar Awudu Suraj. He had lived in Japan for 20 years, had married and I would assume that he had a job. However, he was told that he was to be deported one morning. He struggled a bit, but it's obvious from the excessive and illegal force used that they probably didn't care whether he struggled or not from the beginning.

The reason this article was published was mainly because people, who had read the case, wondered why no one else was asking questions. The article mentions that a similar incident happened in the UK, but the government stepped in and apologize to the family for his death. In Japan, his wife wasn't even told he was to be deported. She was called in to identify his body later.

Anyone can see that this is a rather serious issue. It would bring race issues up in America. But no one even flinched in Japan because of the unquestioning attitude. "The police know what they're doing." "Just doing their job." I feel like those are the kind of thoughts that cause this case to float in one ear and out the other. But I'm glad that this view IS changing. Western influence along with the sadly decreasing youth of Japan find that this kind of thing is wrong.

Another thing I would like to mention is the low crime rates of Japan. While I do think it's true they have less crime in general, I feel like people get obsessed with this "fact". The most contributing factor toward the low crime rate of Japan is because a lot of crimes aren't reported or are reported as "accidents". Difficult murder cases get closed and deemed as suicides (a significant problem in Japan for the same reason I'm about to go into) or accidents. This is so the police force can "save face". It would look bad if they said it was a murder and couldn't solve it, right? This is something even the Japanese people have come to recognize. While no police force in "incompetent", shows like Bounty Hunters (a drama around 4 women) sort of further degrade the image of the police. Rapes are hardly reported in Japan. Marital rape doesn't "exist" over there because it's not considered rape.

But anyway, I'd like to make my strongest point. Foreigners in Japan are targeted. Not because they're hard working citizens who contribute to Japanese society but because they look funny. I feel it's a lot more scandalous if it's a foreigner who committed a murder (or gets convicted while innocent) or if a foreigner stole something as opposed to a Japanese person. This is my only fear while abroad in Japan. You must have your gaijin card or passport on you at all times; not having it is grounds for arrest. They CAN and WILL detain you for up to 27 days, without a lawyer and with extensive interrogation, even if you're just near a crime. The only way to get a lawyer is for a friend to pay for one from the outside. And if you plan on going alone, like me, that could be a serious problem. There is also an extremely high conviction rate, which is probably due to a judge only system. Corruption and laziness in finding the truth can easily result in false convictions. It can also be the "save-face" problem again where the prosecutors only bring the ones they know 100% to be true and leave the rest alone (leading to other problems).

I'll get off this topic for now, I just wanted to get that off my chest.