Avainsana: application process

Entrance Ceremony and choosing classes

We had Entrance Ceremony on Monday and it was a lot less painful than I thought it would be. You know how in Finland the ceremonies just seems to go on and on and on because the headmaster just refuses to shut up? Not here. His speech was maybe 5 minutes and entirely on point. Then we took pictures that are going to appear on magazine somewhere (I will try to find in later) and then we were done! So efficient, I like it!

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Dressed up nice and fancy for the ceremony. On the left we have Agné from Lithuania, Franziska from Germany in the middle, and me on the right. Just amazing. Look at all that European beauty and grace…

I finally found out about my Japanese classes and reached a decision about the HUSTEP core classes. Kinda. I’ve decided to go for Japanese Politics, Japanese Political History, Gender&Sexuality in post-war Japan, and Contemporary Japanese society for sure. I’m still kind of hesitating between Roadmap to UN with special reference to WHO and Introduction to Japanese Studies I (History). I’ll need to decide between those two by next week.

For the Japanese I have three different courses: Introduction to Japanese Grammar 2, Japanese Communication 2, and Kanji&Vocabulary 1C. Japanese Grammar is three times a week, Japanese Communication two times a week, and Kanji&Vocabulary class also two times a week. So much Japanese! Learning a completely different writing system… my poor brain.

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All in all we have four different level Japanese courses: Introductory, Introductory&Pre-intermediate, Intermediate, and Advanced. We also have different levels inside the levels (levelception, whoa). For example, in the Introductory level we have levels from 1A-4B and I got to level 2 in Grammar and Communication classes. I’m still a total beginner with Kanjis so I’m quite happy with my placement in level 1C on that class.

There were some communication problems with the placement test though, I’m just warning you guys in advance if someone is planning on applying for HUSTEP. Before the placement test you have to choose which Japanese classes you would like to take, as in, what level do you think you are. Then you take the test and it determines which level you actually are, however – and this is the fun part – unless you have also ticked the boxes for the levels underneath the one you think you are, and your results for placement test don’t quite reach to that specific level, then you’re not gonna get any classes. Which is ridiculous. One would think that if you don’t get the results that would be enough for the level you wanted to go to, then you would be automatically placed on level that fits you the best.

But nah, let’s just leave people without classes, shall we? Yes, that sounds perfect. Japanese bureaucracy, just what? Why? Why must you do this to us?

Visa

Such imaginative titles I have for these blog entries. Like wow. Much thought. So creative.

I posted the visa application today. It has been a hassle but mostly because of things that have nothing to do with me and all to do with Embassy of Japan in Finland. I e-mailed them twice and called them twice: first time they told me they would sent me the info-package right now, and the second time they told me to contact them via e-mail and ask for the info-package, so I did. Nothing. Nada. Complete radio silence both times. It wasn’t until the third time I called (and I was mildly annoyed, I’m not gonna lie) they actually send me the info. Like jeez, let’s all give them a slow clap, shall we?

For the visa-application you need:

  • visa-application form: filled on computer, then printed and signed, and with a passport-picture glued on top
  • photocopy of Certificate of Eligibility (the certificate was automatically send to me from Hokudai)
  • photocopy of passport (remember to check it’s not going to expire during your stay!)

Now, that was all the info-package required but there was a note that in some cases they might ask for further information. Since Hokudai had actually send me a Certificate of Admission and Certificate for Jasso-scholarship as well, I photocopied those and added them into the bunch. I mean, hey, what’s the harm, right? Hokudai info claimed they might be needed, so there we go. If the embassy doesn’t need them, then so what? The copies just end up in the trash. No harm done, I thought.

All the applications in Finland are required to be posted to the embassy. The info package said it would take a few days for them to go through the documents and they would inform me immediately when I could go and get it. On some website they said that with the Certificate of Eligibility the time required for procession is 5 working days. On the embassy’s page it said 1-3 weeks. Info-package said few days.

…yeah, I don’t know. We’ll just have to wait and see how long it takes.

Even though the documents are posted, you have to personally go and get the visa from the embassy. Easier said than done when you live on the other side of the country. And because I’m just about the unluckiest person on earth, the embassy is closed on the exact Monday I’m supposed to leave for Japan because of Respect for the Aged Day. And of course, it’s also closed on weekends. This means it’s cheaper for me to just go and get it from Helsinki a week before I leave. With Norwegian the flights were 58 euros there and back with just hand-luggage, and my wonderful friend from high-school very graciously promised to house me for one night (thank you, sweetheart! xoxo).

On the info-package that I got, they also said that when you go get your visa from the embassy you are going to need your passport, original Certificate of Eligibility, and (exactly) 22 euros in cash.

Lastly, I want to tell you guys this tip I learned from my co-worker. When you are booking you flight to Norwegian, there is this box called ”kampanjakoodi” or ”campaign code”. Put a code ”ALLE26” into it and you get the youth prices for those who are under 26 years old. Neat, right?

Vaccinations

I’ve never been scared of needles. Especially in hospitals, those people know what they’re doing. Why is everyone freaking out because of a teensy-tiny needle? I don’t get it.

Anyway, for my exchange year I needed to get four different vaccinations:

  • tetanus (jäykkökouristusrokote): must be renewed every 10 years. In Finland you get this free from your school’s health clinic.
  • twinrix (hepatiitti/hepatitis A&B): protect you from liver infections caused by viruses. You need to be given 3 vaccinations, the second a month after the first, and third after a year. The liquid from pharmacy costs about 50e per one shot but injecting it was free at my uni’s health clinic. Altogether, I’ll be paying about 150 euros.
  • ixiaro (japanin aivotulehdus/japanese brain-fever): Two shots, the second one 28 days after the first one. One shot is about 125 euros from my local pharmacy. Totally costs me about 250 euros.
  • nimerix (aivokalvon ja selkäytimen tulehdus, sekä veren infektio/meningnitis and spinal infection, and blood infection): One shot, about 60 euros from local pharmacy.

Staying healthy is proving costly, man. Sigh. But I’m staying in Japan for a year so this was a must. Totally all vaccinations cost me around 460 euros. I did save some money by going to my uni’s health clinic for the injections because they are free there. In the pharmacy they would have asked 15 euros per injection but in a rush that would have been one option.

If you’re staying in Japan less than 4 weeks, you usually need only hepatitis injections. Always talk to your doctor and hear their recommendations because they vary on the length of your stay, location and travel plans. Please stay healthy and safe, everyone! Don’t take unnecessary risks that might prove even more costly in the future because you didn’t take any precautions.

”Money won’t make you happy.”

I call bullshit. Like yeah, financial stability is just horrible, isn’t it? Why that title you might ask yourself. My friend, I have news for you regarding that exact subject.

I AM THE CHOSEN ONE.

Just kidding! Well, kinda. I have been chosen to be one of the lucky ones to receive the JASSO-scholarship and on the outside I’m cool as a cucumber but on the inside I’m freaking out. For those of you who don’t know:

”Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) offers scholarship for qualified international students who are accepted by a Japanese university, graduate school, junior college, college of technology (3rd grade or upper) or professional training college under a student exchange agreement or other student exchange arrangement on a short-term basis from 8 days to one year between Japanese school and their home higher educational institution outside Japan.”

Basically it’s the mother of all scholarships and I got the full thing. This year (2016-2017) the scholarship’s monthly stipend is 80,000 JPY which converted into euros is around 700 euros. It will cover my rent, bills and most of my food-spendings. Along with the normal student-support from KELA, I’m all good to go. I had been mentally prepared to be declined and having to take a student loan but apparently it shall no longer be necessary.

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”Money won’t make you happy”? Clearly you’ve never received a scholarship before.

My exciting May Day

See how excited me and Nemo were about vappu? Can you see the excitement basically oozing from us? Apparently we’re getting old together. We enjoyed our nap very much, thanks.

There hasn’t been much to be done about the exchange for now. I renewed my passport because it would have otherwise expired in the middle of my exchange, and before the new passport arrives my hands are pretty much tied. Not much to be done before Hokudai contacts me with further inquires or information.

For now I still need to:

  • apply for soleGrant
  • make a study grant change to Kela
  • apply for visa
  • get the proper vaccination
  • buy flight tickets
  • rent a storage for my stuff

However, my bachelor’s thesis is finally done, yay! Just a few more essays, swedish written exam and one learning diary to complete and then I am officially done studying for this spring. After that my time is going to be spend preparing for the exchange, working, then two weeks at Malaga, properly preparing to leave, and then in August it is time to go. I swear to god it was January just a second ago… where does all the time go?

This is it. I’m in.

The title tells it all. Holy hell, I’ve been accepted to study for a year in Hokkaido! Holy crap on crackers, I can’t tell you in words what kind of a rollercoaster this whole thing has been but I also cannot quite express how amazing I feel right now. Words don’t do it any justice.

I was starting to feel worried when the first days of April went by and nobody contacted me. Of course I know Japanese are often very precise in everything they do and when the website said ”you will be notified on the first week of April” and yet nothing happened…. Well, a lot of nervous sweating happened on my part but lets not focus on that. Obviously I was beginning to think ”oh, the accepted probably get the notification first and then later those who weren’t accepted… bummer”.

In the end I was right. Japanese people are very precise. The acceptance letter came to my university e-mail on the 1st of April but I didn’t realize it arrived there because I had used my other e-mail during the applying process. But yeah, long story short, I have been accepted! Hooray!

For now they expect me to fill out a confirmation letter, another information sheet about me and add another picture in the bunch because apparently the size I used was wrong. Strange. Anyway, the deadline for those is 2nd of May.

I’m going to keep the blog posted about the process I’m going to struggle through before the exchange and then… and then. Afterwards. About the exchange. Aaaah! I’m so excited!

Utter confusion

Okay, it seems everything is finally coming together. All the application forms are filled and ready to be scanned and then slammed to form one big pdf-file. I feel dehydrated from all this nervous sweating.

The only thing still bothering me is the chest x-ray to which we have yet to receive answer to, and JASSO-scholarship. In the HUSTEP application there is one place where they ask if I would like to apply for it. Of course I do but is marking it as a ”yes” in one place all that is required? On other websites they require official report of income and another motivation letter. We’ll see how it goes.

Now, I’m off to scan these bad boys and hopefully after that I can finally focus on my bachelor’s thesis. Sigh.

EDIT// All documents send on February 25th. Now all I can do is wait.

Panic! at the international relations office

Right, switching to English for the sake of… every non-Finnish speaker ever. Which basically means the whole rest of the world and some remote parts of this god-forsaken country we do not wish to talk about. I’m looking at you Åland, you big Swedish-speaking traitor.

So back to the actual topic, let me tell you, the title reveals it all. When I confirmed my exchange from SoleMOVE in January I was given instructions not to do anything before I’ve been contacted by our international relations coordinator and given further instructions. Of course I was like Yeah, no problem! I trust you guys!

Big mistake. Never trust anyone to do anything for you if you want it done properly.

So there I was, calmly looking through Hokkaido University web-page out of general interest of a place where I’m going to spend my next year, and then I saw that the application deadline for the HUSTEP-program is February 19th. When I realized this, it was February 15th. At this point I was sweating, cursing and just generally hyperventilating because FUCK YOU international office for not doing your goddamn job. So after I went there and explained my situation to them in more or less frustrated manner, the coordinator send an email to Japan so that the deadline was pushed until 29th of February.

After this it has been a battle of wills between me and a staggering pile of papers. For the HUSTEP application you need:

  • HUSTEP application form (4 pages)
  • Recommendation letter from an academic supervisor
  • Certificate of Health
  • Certificate of Enrollment
  • Official transcript of academic records
  • Study plan
  • Statement of English skills
  • Photocopy of your passport
  • 3 passport-photographs (40mmX30mm)

It seems that Japan wants to know everything about me. In the application form there were questions about my studies (obviously) but also work and family. Why do they want to know the age of my mother? What’s that got to do with anything?

For the recommendation letter I asked my bachelor’s thesis supervisor to write it because I have worked with her the longest. I just hope she doesn’t secretly hate me.

I had to get a private doctor’s appointment for the Health Certificate because of course our school doctor was booked full until middle of March. Thanks international office for pointing out that I needed to make an appointment literally days before the deadline. Just couldn’t do it any later, now could you? I hope that messing with exchange students like makes you feel good about yourself. Moving on! So I had to pay 56 euros for a private doctor to sign me a paper that says I’m perfectly healthy. However, there was a part that asked the doctor to ”comment on the result of chest x-ray” which I obviously haven’t taken. I just had him write ”In Finland we don’t take chest x-rays unless we’re suspecting an illness”, so I hope that’s going to cover for it. Of course I have asked if I need the x-ray from my coordinator but she was none the wiser (what a fucking surprisé!) but promised to get back in touch in case I needed to have it. I’m certainly not the first person to apply to Japan from Lapland Uni, am I? What is up with this not-knowing-a-fucking-thing about anything?

Statement of English skills has proven problematic as well. Because I’m reluctant to pay 100 euros to take the official test (not that I have enough time to get it done anyway… did I say I hate our international office already because I have this need to state it out loud again), so I’m going to need a statement from my English teacher confirming that my English skills are on C1-level, and I’m going to add my certificate of bilingualism in the bunch as well. Just for the heck of it. Maybe it makes a difference. I was told that the statement was going to be enough but I am still a bit edgy about trusting the coordinators…

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And of course, here are my new passport pictures. Yay! Japanese use this weird size that thankfully wasn’t difficult to order. I did ask the photographer if I needed to have my hair down for the picture or if it was okay to have it tied up, and he just gave me this look of you cannot possibly fathom the immensity of the fuck I do not give so I just decided to shut up and get the whole thing over with. It turned out pretty well but I am very confused as to why my other eyebrow is longer than the other and I have never noticed. Also, my hair has a mind of it’s own and apparently today was a clown-hair day. Charming.

So as all the documents are slowly but surely getting filled, the next few days are going to be all about running back and forth between my dad’s scanner and home. Awesome. I’ll try to keep the blog updated with the process, so I’m going to make a post again when the application has been send.

Ensiaskeleita kohti vaihtoa

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No niin… Ilmeisesti se on aika viimeinkin pistää blogi pystyyn vaihtoonlähdon kunniaksi. Olen tosiaan rovaniemeläinen 21-vuotias yliopisto-opiskelija, ja toivottavasti lähdössä syyskuussa 2016 Hokkaidoon, Japaniin vaihto-opiskelemaan. Tällä hetkellä hyväksytty vastaus on tullut omalta yliopistolta ja seuraavaksi odotellaankin sitten vastausta Japanin päästä, joten lähdön tulisi varmistua lopullisesti huhtikuun paikkeilla.

Tuntuu jotenkin pakolliselta antaa heti alussa tietopläjäys itsestäni, joten koettakaa kestää. Jos ei kiinnosta, niin olkaa hyvä ja skipatkaa.

Itselläni Japaniin lähtö on ollut haaveena jo yläasteelta lähtien, vaikka en koskaan ollut täysin varma miksi sinne lähtisin ja mitä tekemään, mutta suunnitelmat ovat onneksi selkiytyneet tässä vuosien varrella.

Rovaniemellä olen opiskellut nyt kolme vuotta politiikkatieteitä ja tarkoituksena olisi saada myös kanditaatintutkielma valmiiksi ennen vaihtoa. Neljännelle vuodelle eli vaihto-opiskelu vuodelle olen tarkoituksella jättänyt siis sivuainekokonaisuuden verran opiskeluja (n. 60 op). Koska Japanissa vaihto-opiskelijan tulee opiskella vähintään 25 op lukukautta kohden, tulee minulla toivottavasti olemaan vuoden jälkeen kasassa vähintään se 50 op, jotka tulevat muodostamaan sivuainekokonaisuuden ’Studies Abroad’. Vaihtovuosi tulee olemaan toivottavasti myös vähän rennompi opiskeluvuosi, sillä kaipaisin kyllä hengähdystaukoa. Suoritin IB-lukion kolmessa vuodessa, pääsin heti seuraavana syksynä yliopistoon, ja olen ollut nyt yliopistossa ja töissä yhtäaikaa kolmen vuoden ajan. Pikku breikki olisi paikallaan, jottei tämä elämä mene ihan pelkäksi suorittamiseksi.

Olen hakemassa Hokkaidoon HUSTEP-ohjelmaan, jossa opiskelu tapahtuu englanniksi ja josta olen valikoinut kursseja opintosuunnitelmaani Aasian politiikan ja sosiologian aihealueilta. Kerron kurssien sisällöstä ehkä tarkemmin myöhemmin. HUSTEP-kurssien lisäksi aion tietysti opiskella Japanin kieltä, jota osaan pelottavan vähän verrattuna siihen, että kohta tällä kielellä pitäisi selvitä jokapäiväisessä kanssakäymisessä. Apua. Mainitsemisen arvoisena voisi ehkä pitää sitä, että olen käynyt yliopiston tarjoamat japanin kurssit ennen kuin edes hain Hokkaidoon. Kielitaitoni on silti varmasti huonompi kuin japanilaisen tarhaikäisen muksun.

Lapin yliopiston vaihtohaku hujahti kerralla päin näköä. Koska olin suurimman osan joulukuusta töissä, lähetin hakemuksen vasta ihan viimeisenä hakupäivänä 31.12.2015. Pieni vinkki? Älkää koskaan jättäkö hakua viimeiselle päivälle. Jos skannerini olisi päättänyt irtisanoa sopimuksensa, minulta olisi haku jäänyt kokonaan välistä. Onneksi kaikki sujui kuten pitikin ja paperit lähtivät ajoissa matkaan. Ensimmäisen vaiheen hakuun tarvittiin motivaatiokirje, opintosuunnitelma ja opintosuoritusote.

Olen tällä hetkellä hieman hukassa seuraavan hakuvaiheen kanssa, koska minulla on paljon kysymyksiä joiden kanssa tiedekuntani kv-vastaava ei osannut auttaa, joten odottelen tässä että pääsen henkilökohtaiselle tapaamiselle jonkun kanssa joka vastaa Japaniin lähtijöistä. Suurimpana huolena on tällä hetkellä kielitodistus. Todistukseksi kelpasi ensimmäisessä hakuvaiheessa opintosuoritusote, josta näkyy että olen suorittanut englanninkielen kurssit yliopistolla onnistuneesti ja B2 tasoa vastaavasti. Yleensä tässä vaiheessa varataan aika Helsingistä viralliseen kielitasotestiin, jonka tulokset lähetetään tietysti kohdeyliopistoon. Mutta koska olen vaikea tapaus haluaisin tehdä asiat erilailla: sain IB:ltä valmistuessani kaksikielisyys-todistuksen, mikä periaatteessa todistaa että olen täysin kykeneväinen kommunikoimaan ja opiskelemaan englanniksi, sekä kääntämään tekstejä. IB:n sivuilla myös lukee, että valmistuminen tarkoittaa sitä, että opiskelija puhuu, kirjoittaa ja ymmärtää englantia vähintään B2-tasoisesti. Mutta koska IB:ltä valmistuminen ei myöskään vapauttanut minua yliopiston englanninkursseista, pelkään pahoin ettei se auta minua tässäkään tilanteessa. Toisinsanoen: my degree is worthless.

Muita huolenaiheita minulla on esimerkiksi viisumin kanssa, koska en ole sellaista koskaan ennen hankkinut, sekä tietysti apurahojen hakemisen kanssa. Mistä haen? Mitä haen? Koska haen? Koska HUSTEP:in esittelysivuilla suositeltiin hakemaan JASSO-apurahaa, ajattelin hakea ainakin sitä. Muut apurahan hakupaikat ovat vielä auki, eikä niitä voida edes hakea ennen kuin Japanista tulee ilmoitus että minut on varmasti hyväksytty opiskelemaan. Lisäksi päässä pyörii paljon käytännönjärjestelyihin liittyviä kysymyksiä: Mihin poikaystäväni muuttaa sillä aikaa kun itse olen ulkomailla? Mihin kaikki tavarani laitetaan ja miksi helvetissä omistan näin paljon tavaraa? Mitä pakkaan mukaan? Koska voin ostaa lentoliput? Mihin menen asumaan Hokkaidossa ja paljonko vuokrani maksaa? Mitä jos kuolen siellä nälkään koska en osaa kokata japanilaisilla raaka-aineilla (ei sillä että osaisin muutenkaan laittaa ruokaa)?

Niin paljon kysymyksiä. Niin vähän vastauksia.

Nyt 5.2.2016 sain omalta yliopistoltani viestin, että hakemukseni on hyväksytty, mikä kuulemma tietää hyvää. Yleensä jos oma yliopisto hyväksyy hakemuksen, se tullaan mitä luultavimmin hyväksymään myös kohdeyliopistossa? Tällaista huhua olin kuulevinani. Sitä odotellessa päätin siis pistää tämän blogin pystyyn, jotta 1) en unohda sitä tehdä myöhemmin, ja koska 2) ajattelin että joku saattaisi olla kiinnostunut hakuprosessista kokonaisuutena.

Koetan päivitellä blogia kun hakuprosessissa tapahtuu jotain mainitsemisen arvoista, ja myöhemmin tietysti Japanissa siitä miltä maailma näyttää auringonnousun maassa.