Tokyo and Taipei: A look into a graduate student’s experience with studying abroad
One of the best things to come out of my time at UNC Charlotte has been the opportunity to study abroad.
Traveling the world was a persistent dream of mine, though one that always appeared distant. Before going halfway across the globe to study architecture for a summer, I had never even stepped on a plane. A far trip for me was Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, a whopping three-hour drive. Fast forward to summer 2024. I was getting ready to hop on a 13-hour flight to Tokyo, Japan.
When I first heard of the opportunity, I was very excited. Tokyo: the most populated city in the world, with bullet trains and mega-screens. An ultra-modern city, the likes of which I had never experienced. Plus, all the delicious food I would get to try!
However, I became worried about financing it all. Then there was the issue of being an inexperienced traveler. The whole trip was set for one month, which seemed to me a long time to be in a foreign country.
My program was faculty-led, meaning that a professor from the class for which I would earn credit was leading the trip. This was one of the great parts because it meant my teacher would make most of the necessary preparations for us. He was responsible for finding our accommodation, booking tickets to activities, securing transportation and other logistics. It made for an easy travel experience. Of course, there were things we had to take care of, such as locating our flights and ensuring our passports were ready; it was very beginner-traveler-friendly.
The school offers financial aid for summer terms, which is when this program was offered. The application was straightforward, and the remainder of the process was smooth.
And then it was time to take off to Japan. Since other students from my cohort were also going on the trip, we traveled together. Some of us were also able to stay in the same share house in a charming neighborhood called Sendagaya, a 15-minute walk from Shibuya.
A typical day involved meeting with our class in Shibuya to receive lectures and complete work. Then, we would be guided around various parts of Tokyo to see significant pieces of architecture, as well as become familiar with the site of our project. We would then have afternoons off to do our own exploring, as well as to finish our homework.
One of my favorite parts of the program was travel week, which allowed us to explore beyond Tokyo. We got to look into Sendai to see innovations in earthquake design. We visited the Art Islands of Naoshima, Teshima, and Inujima to see world-renowned architecture. Then, we had the weekend to explore anywhere in Japan using the bullet train system. In terms of academics, we participated in a workshop with architecture students from Tokyo. We saw firsthand the work of great thinkers in architecture with the many tours we took. And all our work culminated in a presentation on our intervention for a neighborhood in Tokyo.
I enjoyed traveling so much as part of my education that I decided to go on another study abroad trip this past summer to Taipei, Taiwan. This experience was just as rewarding and allowed me to explore a country I may never have had the opportunity to visit.
All in all, if you have the opportunity to study abroad as a graduate student, I highly recommend it. These programs are culturally and academically enriching, which will expand your worldview — benefiting everyone during their academic careers.