JAY JOSHI
The university is an institution which provides students with the opportunity to gain global exposure. Apart from visits by intellectuals from different parts of the world, the students can also participate in exchange programmes, visiting different regions and countries to study. Goa University also offers such a programme titled ‘Study Japan Programme’. The University has signed Memorandum of Understanding with the Nihon University in the year 2003. Under this programme, students study modules on Japanese society, culture, business and communications.
This year, The fifth batch of five Study Japan Programme students successfully completed their one month assignment at College of International Relations, Nihon University, Mishima, Japan. Melina Lobo, Soma Pati and Puja Jhoti from the Department of Management Studies, and Deepika Fernandes and Priyanka Verekar from Department of English completed courses on Japanese culture, society, communication.
Speaking to TG Life about their experiences in Japan, the students noted that the land of rising sun possesses impressive discipline and cleanliness, but needs to be more spontaneous, stress-free, and perhaps add a little bit of spice to its food.
“Japan is a very good country, and the kind of exposure you get there is not available in India. This is not to say that India is in any way less than Japan. This country has its own standards, and Japan has its own,” said Priyanka Verekar from Department of English. “The people here are very helpful, and the teaching and learning methods too are very good. The teachers here were always there to assist us when we needed help.”
That said, there were indeed some difficulties in Japan, added Verekar on a lighter note. “Japan is an early-rising country in that the sun rises here at 4 am, and people are off to work at around 5:30. So, from waking up early and going to college, we used to work for far more hours than we do in India, but we weren’t tired because the environment here was positive,” she stated. “Lastly, India is a lot safer than Japan when it comes to natural calamities. During our time there, we faced two earthquakes, and wondered whether we would be able to make it back to India alive,” quipped Verekar.
For Deepika Fernandes, also from the Department of English, Japanese food was a topic of interest, with Japanese Ramen noodles being her favourite dish. “One thing I noticed is that the Japanese people are shy as compared to Indians. They don’t talk much, especially when they are having food. On the other hand, we Indians have good conversations over food,” said Fernandes, adding that the best way to strike a friendship with a Japanese person is to talk about spots, and animes.
Soma Pati, a student from the Department of Management Studies, notes that the Japanese are extremely well-mannered lot. “The people here are extremely well-behaved and helpful, and they follow traffic rules to the T,” said Pati. She confesses that she faced issues with Japanese food. “The Japanese mostly prefer raw food whereas Indians love cooked stuff. So, we had to adjust considerably to the food, which also lacks spices. Still, I liked the taste of miso soup,” stated Pati.
On the other hand MBA student Puja Jhoti expressed concern over lifestyle of the Japanese people. “The Japanese people are very serious and dedicated to work, and I feel that they do not give time to enjoying life. I stood in the guesthouse balcony sometimes, but I never saw people standing in doorways having casual conversations or enjoying free time. Everyone was busy rushing to work,” she said, adding that Japan needs to learn a thing or two from India when it comes to socialising. “The Japanese are non-vegetarians, and eat pretty much anything under the sun, so food was a challenge,” informed Jhoti. “I only have chicken. So, I asked my teacher to teach me how to say ‘I only want chicken’ in Japanese,” she stated.
One particular phenomenon the Goan students noted in Japan was the ubiquitous presence of vending machines. “From tickets to food and drink, there are vending machines for a lot of things in Japan. said Jhoti “We visited the Toyota factory and witnessed capable robots at work. We never got a chance to see this in India. It is as if the country has already reached the future!” Jhoti concluded.
