Sophia Magazine vol.3 / SUMMER 2016

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from “SOPHIA” to“GERMANY”Students gather from all over the world to extend their network to the rest of the globe.Sophia University offers a wide variety of learning opportunities for students from both Japan and abroad.Here are some examples of students who face challenges daily while gaining precious experiences.Junna Nittas I became interested in environmental issues when I was in high school I learned about an environmental program in Germany, renowned for its progress. I found out that Freiburg is one of the most advanced environmentally friendly cities, indeed, it is called the Green City, and it became my dream to visit it one day. One of the reasons why I selected Sophia University is because the University of Freiburg was one of its afliates and I feel very fortunate to have an opportunity for a study exchange. At the University of Freiburg, Ger-man language courses were very instructive and many extracurricular activities were offered outside the university as well. For example, on a tour to see the habitat of beavers conducted by an envi-ronmental conservation group called NABU, I was able to immerse myself in the German language by communicating with the local people who do not know much about Japan. I would like to continue my undergraduate studies again in Germany after having more experience in Japan. I would like to further study environmental preservation at the Department of Forest Economy and Environmen-tal Science at the University of Freiburg because the people are environmentally conscious and their systems are advanced.A➣ DEPARTMENT: German Studies, Faculty of Foreign Studies➣ YEAR: Senior➣ DESTINATION: University of Freiburg➣ LOCATION: Freiburg, Germany➣ PERIOD: From March 2015 to March 2016 The University of Freiburg, founded in 1457 by Albert IV of Austria and now one of Sophia University’s afliates, is a historic university in Germany. The University of Freiburg has an exchange program agreement with Sophia Univer-sity that offers undergraduate as well as Ph.D. programs.BACKGROUNDRahat Kabir Ali➣ UNIVERSITY: University of Edinburgh➣ DEPARTMENT: Literature, Languages and Culture➣ YEAR: Junior➣ MAJOR: Japanese ➣ PERIOD OF STAY AT SOPHIA: From September 2015 to September 2016 f Bangladeshi descent and born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland, I was brought up with multiple cultures. For that reason I became empa-thetic to cultures other than my own. While major-ing in French and Spanish in my freshman and sophmore years, my interest in the Japanese lan-guage grew. My initial interest in Japan started with typical gateways, anime and manga. Since I felt I had reached my target level in my double major, French and Spanish, after eight years of studying, I decided to challenge learning another language, Japanese. It was a recommendation from an older classmate that brought me here to Sophia Univer-sity. My time here at Sophia University has been exceptional; the professors and the faculty admin-istrators here have gone above and beyond for me. I was truly grateful when it was made possible for me, an international student, to take a Japanese lit-erature course usually reserved for native Japanese students. I feel blessed for some of the encounters here which have made my experience at Sophia a very positive one. Also, living at Wakejuku, a dormi-tory with an immersive environment, has been very interesting. After returning to Edinburgh University, I am planning to work on my dissertation regard-ing the Japanese language and minority groups in Japan. In the future, I think that I would like to come back to Japan.OThe University of Edinburgh is located in the capital of Scotland and is one of the seven “ancient universities” in the U.K. as well as one the world’s highest-ranking universities. It was established in 1583 and is famous for the numerous Nobel laureates that it counts among its graduates. It has nine schools within its three colleges: College of Humanities & Social Science, College of Science & Engineering, and College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine.BACKGROUNDfrom “SCOTLAND” to“SOPHIA”25Voice

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