Temple University, Japan Campus (TUJ) welcomed 19 National Taipei University (NTPU) students from August 10 to 14 for its first summer program at TUJ. The program was the initial implementation of the collaboration laid out in the Memorandum of Understanding signed between TUJ and NTPU in May 2014.
The NTPU student delegation consisted of both graduate and undergraduate students. They took various TUJ courses specially designed for this program including Japanese, economics, politics and sociology. The morning hours were dedicated to “Survival Japanese,” and every afternoon students studied different subjects taught by TUJ undergraduate faculty, such as Japanese politics in 2015, “Cool Japan,” race/ethnicity, contemporary pop culture, and basic economics. Students enjoyed extracurricular activities as well, including field trips to Yokohama and Akihabara, and an aizome (indigo dyeing) workshop.
Pang Shih-Chun, an NTPU delegation leader and a junior majoring in real estate, said “What I really like about Japan is its culture and traditional values. I truly respect the Japanese attitude represented in a word ‘一生懸命’ (doing everything right (and working hard)).” He enjoyed the lectures in English at TUJ, as well as shopping in Shinjuku and Shibuya.
Tsai Meng-Chin, an NTPU urban planning graduate student, Tseng Yi-Chi, a junior majoring in finance, and Lee Chueh-Ling, a junior majoring in business administration, all shared fond memories of their experience at TUJ. “Teachers were very nice, and we had such a great time taking classes all in English here. The Yokohama field trip was also one of the highlights, and we really liked walking around Yamashita Park, Yokohama Stadium, and other beautiful places.”
“This was the first time TUJ hosted this summer program for NTPU, and we enjoyed it. I believe NTPU students had a wonderful time while they were here. I hope this kind of exchange will continue between TUJ and NTPU,” said program coordinator Ryoko Osada. Osada is a TUJ professor and the Japanese Language Major Coordinator.