Voice From Alumni

I am Maithilee, a 2nd year student of the Global Studies Major based in the College of International Relations at Ritsumeikan University. The College of International Relations is based in Kinugasa Campus which is located in the northern part of Kyoto City, only 10minutes walk away from the Golden Pavilion which is a world heritage site.
I am originally from Gujarat but have studied in south India for most of my life.

In India I was in a boarding school for 8 years and hadn’t had the chance to be part of the society or even go on public transportation but when I came to Japan I could do that. I started doing a lot of things by myself which I couldn’t have done so much in India. For example, I tried lots of different part-time jobs. I’ve taught English to Japanese children and adults, I’ve done some hotel management, and now I’m working as a research assistant at my University. It’s really exciting that I can do so many things and earn for myself. Managing studies, work and everything by myself has made me more independent which I think will be rewarding at the end.

The Global Studies Major is wide in its scope. It has things to do with international relations and development sustainability but it also has the aspect of culture and society which is what I’m interested in. I am going to do a Major in culture and society within this program.
The faculty diversity is one of the highlights of this program. I am here in Japan learning a little bit about the world with teachers who come bringing their own sense of the world from different parts of the world. This has brought the program to be really diverse. The program is taught in English which is a relief because I’m not so good at Japanese yet, although I am learning. Through the program I have learnt to be with people from different places because the Global Studies program has students from all around the world. We have people from around the world in our classrooms to discuss and interact with. In addition, the course structures are different in each class. We are not just doing textbook and reading but having a lot of discussions, projects and presentations. The classes are very exciting and so far I have enjoyed being part of the Global Studies Major and Ritsumeikan University.

I immersed myself to the Japanese environment and tried to be part of the society as much as possible. For example, I’ve tried different part-time jobs and even shifted my house by myself. Conversing with people in Japanese I gradually learned how things work here like how to pay the rent and so on. All these experiences have helped me learn how things work in Japan which is very different from how things work in India.