After 4 semesters of Japanese language classes, I decided to apply to the study abroad program that my professor, Naoko Komura, was in charge of. The program would include 5 weeks of language study depending on one's level of proficiency (I took what was later transferred over to FIU as credit for Advanced Japanese 1), as well as a course called Foreign Study: Japan (which is one of the GL courses I took). 

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During lunchtime, Ritsumeikan University students who had volunteered to be "buddies" would come by a room that had been set aside for us. They were instructed to only communicate with us in Japanese, even if they knew English or any other languages. This was meant as further study and practice for us even outside of the classroom. After lunch, they would accompany us on our excursions, too. 

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Our excursions included:

• Visiting Kinkakuji, a Buddhist temple painted gold and built in 1397 (and rebuilt in 1955)

• Attending a Folding Fan Kyo-Yuzen Dyeing Workshop, which taught a cloth painting technique invented in the Edo period

• Attending a Kiyomizu-yaki Pottery Workshop, which was taught at a pottery market down the hill where the famous Kiyomizu-dera temple is

• Visiting Nijojo Castle, built by the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate

• Attending a taiko drum demonstration and class, which interestingly is not just a music class, but also a workout!

• Visiting Kitano Tenmangu, a Shinto shrine dedicated to the god of study, and the location of a monthly flea market

• Visiting a yukata shop, where we learned how to put on these traditional summer clothes and later were allowed to keep our own!

• Attending a lecture on chado - the Way of Tea - which demonstrated a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, as well as taught us how to prepare matcha

• Attending a lecture on geiko and maiko, where we were also given the opportunity to play traditional games 

• Visiting Shunko-in temple, where everyone participated in zen mediation

• Attending a washoku demonstration at Minokichi in Hotel New Hankyu Kyoto, in which we learned to prepare kaiseki-ryori, a traditional Japanese multi-course dinner associated with luxury, aesthetics, and outstanding culinary skills

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By the end of the program, I had made two presentations - one on Japanese social trust, and another on the American gun control debate in Japanese - as well as performed a comedic skit in Japanese for the buddies and Ritsumeikan staff.