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Pros and cons of being a in an international school in Japan

An International life

Out of the 30 international schools in Japan, 10 of

hem are in Tokyo. About another 10 are in Nagoya

nd Osaka, the rest of the ten in other places, so

nternational schools have a wide range of areas.

With all these schools, foreigners in Japan may have

good access to international education.

happen to be a student that goes to Yokohama

nternational school, so I will talk about the daily

fe at this school.

have interviewed two students in this school, both

aying that their fathers company has transported

hem to Japan, so it looks like most international

oreigners come to Japan for business exchangenstead of self interest. According to their results,

he two interviewed people say that their advantage

f being in an international school is that they get to

meet other foreigners and Japanese people at the

ame time, which makes them feel more

omfortable than a public Japanese school, making a

etter environment for learning.

International schools in Japan provide a

ood experience of Japan, plus an n

unforgettable international experience for

most foreigners and Japanese people.

Although because of its

internationalism, different cultures can be

a little problem. The students have

different opinions, and they also come

from different nations which make the

opinions vary even more, so it may be

hard to work in groups and to agree with

other peoples opinions. There is a high

possibility of racism because of many

different cultures, but since most

International schools are private schools,there is less reliability on parents and the

rules are stricter, which is another

advantage despite complications between

different cultures. This could be a

problem from a Japanese persons point of

view and a foreigners point of view.

However, for a half Japanese and a half

foreign country person, it may be a

peculiar experience, hence they may not

feel like a Japanese person neither a

foreigner. Especially for me, I have been

living in Japan all my life and my first

language is Japanese, I happen to be

much more fluent in English because ofthe effect of English speaking schools and

also since I have never gone to a public

Japanese school.

For me, it feels perfectly normal to be in

an international school in Japan, though it

may feel peculiar and a little

uncomfortable for foreigners. The two

people that I have interviewed both say it

feels normal. That is probably because

Foreigners have visited Japan and explored its culture fromthe beginning of the century. But do the foreigners childrengo to to Japanese schools or international schools? What aretheir advantages and disadvantages? how would they compareit to other places?

There are approximately 30 international school in Japan, most of them

all bunched up in Tokyo and around the Kanto region. Some foreigners

are attracted to Japans beautiful nature and they may set foot on the

countryside, but in this article we will be concentration on the urban and

sub-urban areas of Japan.

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G O I N G I N T E R N A T I O N A L

y Joseph Yoji Brown Mr. Campbells english class

hey have lived in many places already.

ExperiencesThe first person I interviewed has lived

n China and South Africa, and the second

erson I interviewed has lived in Canada,

USA, Belgium, Germany and China. The

wo of them has already had a quite a lot

f international experiences, so it may feel

ormal to them.

For socialization, according to my

xperience, most foreigners socialize with

ther foreigners and most Japanese

tudents socialize with other Japanese

tudents. Even in international schools,

tudents can be one sided. I have had over

years of International experience, and I

ardly had any foreign friends. I dont

eally know why, but I guess we are

aturally born to be used to the people we

ecognize well even though after having a

ood international experience. Most

oreigners tend to group up with other

oreigners, not necessarily from the same

ation, but basically a similar group.

Maybe the visual similarity attracts

eople together.

Again, according to my experience, the

hysical attempts from foreigners were

ne most of the time. Generally, most

oreigners are doing fine in the school that

go to. I think that the physical approach

probably the same in most International

chools around the world, as well as in

apan.

Our school provides field trips and field

tudies, which are chances for foreigners

o experience Japan and its cultures. Also,

n Nishimachi International school, they

ave strict courses of Japanese language

classes so the school expects everyone

who graduates the school can speak

Japanese fluently. They also provide

events like Omochitsuki which is very

cultural, a fine experience for foreigners of

what it is like being in Japan.

.If the foreigner doesnt have close

access to a base or a certain place style

town, the foreigner may miss some of the

cultures, food and Nature from the

persons origination. For example, I have

heard some Australians like Mr.Robinson, my science teacher; he says that

he misses the juicy Mangos back in his

country. He tells the class that the ones

in Japan are from the Philippines and are

nothing.

Hokkaido International School, Japan(Google image search)

A life in an international school in Japan can be a great experience, gettingto meet new friends and relation shipswhich what I, myself is bad at eventhough I have had over 6 years ofinternational experience. The advantage

of being in Japan is to have a unique lifedifferent to the persons origination, tohave a cultural experience and learn alsoabout modern day Japan. The advantagesof being in an international is that thestudent can have and international pointof view experience, improve relationships with others around the world, tolearn to cope and respect other peoplescultures, and most of all, experience andimproving skills of social presentationsand speeches which they do not do veryoften in public Japanese schools.International schools also provide a wide

variety of school activities to theexperience of latest technology. Thedisadvantages may have to do withinconvenience and confusion withdifferent cultures, missing life in otherplaces, etc.

Another problem is that Japanesepeople may find it annoying that peoplehave different cultures, for example aChinese family may celebrate a loudparty during almost every night whichmay be a fact of life in China, but

Japanese neighbors complain from theloudness. These issues can be a very big

problem for foreigners living in Japan orany other country with culturaldifference.

Though I believe that most foreignersprobably enjoy it here, whether theywanted to move here or not, but wecannot run away from the truth. We allhave disadvantages.