I am taking Japanese Studies at Sheffield University in England. I chose the course basically because I loved what I saw in Japan, and I really would seriously consider living over there post university. Throughout my entire year there, I felt restricted by the language barrier. I saw life in Japan in a way tourists don’t, but I still didn’t get as close to reality as I wanted to. I’m hoping this course, which includes lectures on religion, social issues and history, will get me one step closer to understanding some aspects of the enigma.

The Japanese Department at Sheffield have built up a great reputation, and it really is a privaledge to be studying here. But it’s also an incredibly intensive and demanding course. I would imagine that in termtime, updates to this blog may become sparse and I desperatly rush to cram in those last few symbols before Tuesday morning, when I am ruthlessly grilled on stroke order and reading.

I’m going to update this section more once I learn more about my university. I’ve only been here for a few weeks but I would definitly reccomend it to anyone interested in studying Japanese. If you would consider it, I advise you contact me with any questions you might have, and I’ll either answer them or pester fourth year students for you!