東北工業大学

国際交流International Exchange Activities

HOME > Campus Life > International Exchange > Voices of International Students

Voices of International Students

Pachara Vananupong
(Kingdom of Thailand)

Gerard Jimmy Paraison
(Republic of Haiti)

Thanaporn Lertpagornkit
(Kingdom of Thailand)

Thanaphop Threethipthikoon
(Kingdom of Thailand)

Duan Shaopei
(People's Republic of China)

Herlina Hardisetiawati
(Republic of Indonesia)

Watcharavit Jiemjaisawanglerk
(Kingdom of Thailand)

Arthinsha Shinvoranont
(Kingdom of Thailand)

Nicanor Leynes Peril Jr.
(Republic of the Philippines)

John Michael Mugas
(Republic of the Philippines)

Peerawit Theerakarn
(Kingdom of Thailand)

Natnari Smitthimedhin
(Kingdom of Thailand)

Zhou Tao
(People's Republic of China)

Gu Zheng
(People's Republic of China)

Qu Siyuan
(People's Republic of China)

Sajja Maneesh Karthik
(India)

Pavel Peña
(Republic of Peru)

Xiong Yi
(People's Republic of China)

Pachara Vananupong

Pachara Vananupong

タイ

(Kingdom of Thailand)

Master of Engineering, Tohoku Institute of Technology.
March 2016

Studying abroad Life in Japan

My name is Pachara Vananupong. I came from Bangkok, Thailand. After graduating from Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Interior Architecture I worked for an architectural design firm in Bangkok for 4 years. The assignments I undertook there included mainly residential architecture and interior architecture design. During my stay at the company, I began to develop an interest in the livelihood of the elderly as a number of customers of the company sought to build homes suitable for their aging loved ones. I came to realize that many upper middle-aged people are becoming more concerned about how to live a comfortable life in their post-retirement.

What deeply impresses me is the way in which Japan, a country which is also coming to terms with becoming an ageing society, features living environmental and residential designs suited to supporting people after their retirement. What is very much striking is Japanese architects’ sense of space and the uniqueness and refinement of their architecture.

In 2014, was accepted as a graduate student at The Graduate school of Architecture in ISHII Satoshi’s laboratory, which researches Architectural Planning Research and Design especially the Environment for the Elderly. My graduate project focuses on observations of various types of elderly facilities, namely: elderly housing, long-term care homes and group homes. I am looking to analyze how social systems, culture, climate, the merit and identity of techniques, system, and design issues are employed in the creation of Japan’s elderly facilities, and how they can be emulated and implemented in Thailand.

Thanks to the help of the University’s student affairs office and my professor, I received an international students’ scholarship provided by Kamei Memorial Foundation and Tohoku Institute of Technology, which helped me a lot with my daily life expenses and with payment for the University’s tuition fees.

During the University period, either together with my laboratory’s members or alone, I took every opportunity to travel around Japan to see, to touch and to be inside the space of Japanese architecture. During my stay, I also had the chance to complete internships at architectural design firms in Sendai and Tokyo. From these invaluable experiences, I gained more passion and motivation in Architectural design by being part of hard working teams.

During my two years study period in Japan, besides gaining practical and theoretical knowledge through my graduate class, I have learned much about Japanese society and culture in my daily life, especially thanks to the Japanese people that I’ve met. Also, doing a part time job and joining volunteer activities has given me the chance to make a lot of Japanese friends. Even though being abroad has not been so easy, thanks to a lot of help from the Japanese people around me, especially my professor and my classmates who have always supported me in every way, I have had a great time during my graduate student life in Sendai. Beyond my expectations, I have become stronger and have gained more confidence.

After graduating, I wish to achieve my humble plan to contribute, even in a small way, to help support improvements to the living environment for Thailand’s people, especially the wellbeing of the elderly in Thailand.

Gerard Jimmy Paraison

Gerard Jimmy Paraison

ハイチ共和国

(Republic of Haiti)

Doctor of Engineering Tohoku Institute of Technology.
March 2015

Sendai, the green city, what a beautiful city to study in! I am Gerard Jimmy Paraison, a former student at Tohoku Institute of Technology.

In 2009, I was a recipient of a scholarship to study in Japan by the Japanese Ministry of Education. Every year, in order to encourage research and the advancement of science, the Japanese government offers multiple scholarships to well-rounded and studious students from around the world. After receiving the scholarship I decided to study at Tohoku Institute of Technology in Sendai because of the attractiveness of the city and the opportunity to interact with many Japanese students.

The Tohoku Institute of Technology has some great professors such as Prof. Eisuke Kudoh who was my supervisor during my masters and my PhD courses.

I lived in Japan for five-and-a-half years. It was the greatest experience that I have ever had in my life. The opportunities to meet, interact, and become friends with students from diverse countries and backgrounds are endless. I love nature and Sendai has offered me the greatest chance to blend nature with my study while enjoying the courteous Japanese culture. I think that studying in a foreign country like Japan is a wonderful experience that no one should miss. I would encourage anyone reading this to start researching now about the Monbukagakusho scholarship and apply as soon as you can to enjoy this unforgettable experience.

Thanaporn Lertpagornkit

Thanaporn Lertpagornkit

タイ

(Kingdom of Thailand)

Department of Electronics and Intelligent Systems
Exchange Student, Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology

My name is Thanaporn Lertpagornkit. My nickname is Fon. I study production engineering at Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology. I was delighted to have the chance to study at the Yagiyama Campus of Tohoku Institute of Technology for about 2 months with my friend.

Before we came here, we had just had the hottest day of the year in Thailand. When we arrived at Tokyo I felt happy with the cool weather. But when we arrived in Sendai it suddenly felt like coming to the ice age! It was too cold for me. Fortunately, a couple of days after our arrival, the weather begin warmer. Moreover that time is a period to be able to see the cherry blossoms in Sendai. I felt very lucky.

At Tohoku Institute of Technology, we had to study Applied Mathematics, Physics, Basic Algorithms, Electric Circuitry and English Conversation A. I studied with second year students except for the English Conversation A class of that was made up of mostly first year students. We made some Japanese friends from The English class. This class always interesting for me because we could take part in speaking activities every week. In the other classes we studied with my friend’s tutor who is a second-year student like us. All of these other classes were taught in Japanese. This sometimes made it difficult to study, especially for the physics classes that had a mini-test every week!

As for my research, , my advisor assigned me to build 2 robots. The students who had the same advisor as me seemed shy and didn’t talk with me so much for talking with me because they’re not good at English and I was shy too because I couldn’t speak Japanese a lot. Fortunately I have a good tutor who always had a talking with me.

Living in Sendai was very comfortable. Both my friend and I lived at a Host Family’s house. The owners name was Goto. They let me call them mother (Okaa-san) and father (Otousan). They were elderly but very healthy and so kind. Their house had tatami mats, ofuro (bathtub), warm beds and blankets. Moreover we ate delicious food every day. The helped me to feel just like it was my real home.

Japan has many things that you cannot see in or can only see on rare occasions Thailand. For example: aautomatic vending machines, lockers at many train stations or an item that I like the most ‘kairo’ (a small heating patch or packet). The kairo was a life-saver for me!. Regarding food that I ate during the stay, I liked Tendon the most. I want to bring my family to eat it too. In our holidays, we traveled to many places. The first of our trips was to Tokyo and the other was around Sendai. Tokyo had many interesting places but I preferred Sendai.

I’ve has been a great experience coming here. If I have the opportunity to come to Japan again, I’m sure Sendai will be my first choice.

Thanaphop Threethipthikoon

Thanaphop Threethipthikoon

タイ

(Kingdom of Thailand)

Department of Electronics and Intelligent Systems
Exchange Student, Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology

Life at Japan This past 2 month

My name is Thanaphop Threethipthikoon. My nickname is Aom. I’m a sophomore student in the Faculty of Engineering at Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology (TNI). My major is Computer Engineering. Ever since I began attending university I always wanted to study abroad in Japan. I was delighted to get the opportunity to come to study at Tohoku

When I first arrived here, I was happy to find that Sendai has very good weather. It was pretty cold for me at first but comfortable. I saw beautiful Sakura and other trees around the city. I knew why, with so many trees it is called the “City of Trees”. I thought that Sendai was very clean. The trash separation system here is excellent. I was confused about how to throw away the trash at first because Thailand doesn’t have this system. I wish we did!

Since coming to T.I.T., I have had many good experiences. I have seen many places in the university that look very nice, for example classrooms, research labs, the library and the cafeteria. The cafeteria is big. The food here is varied, delicious and cheap. At lunch time this place is very energetic. I like the vending machines very much. There are a lot of them in the university.

On the first couple days, Mr. Barella and Meguro-san helped me with many things, such as picking me up from Sendai Station and introducing me to my host family. They also introduced me to the Professors took care of me at his research lab. I appreciate their help very much.

The name of the Professor that took care of me is Prof. KOBAYASHI. His research lab field of study is the Analysis of Bio Photon and Biophotonics Measurement Techniques. It’s rather different from my major. But it’s not a big problem. The topic that I am interested in studying is about heartbeat sensors. So, I studied about the sensor and about micro-controller board. In summary, it wasn’t completely 100 percent compatible, but I gained a lot of experience from joining the lab. Everybody from the lab helped me a lot. I feel sorry that I could not do much in return. Thank you for helping me with everything.

Besides studying in the research lab, there were classes to attend with other Japanese students. I studied 5+1 subjects. These were Electric Circuit 2, Algorithm, Applied Mathematics and English Conversation. Another subject is Japanese language. This subject I studied at the Yagiyama shimin center. The Japanese language class was one for beginners. The teacher was very kind. The class was fun. I made friends with a Korean student who was studying in Japan and was also enjoying the chance to experience another culture.

My host family was very kind to me. Their house had a really traditional Japanese design. They taught me how to use some of the things in their house that I had never seen in Thailand.. The thing I liked most was the “Kotatsu”. It is brilliant innovation. It can keep you warm while you study. It was very comfortable. My Host Family also took me to have real sushi. We also ate Thai food! all of the food I ate was very delicious. Whenever I encountered a problem they kindly helped me. They also introduced me to a Thai person living in Sendai. His name was Yos. Yos also was very kind. He helped me a lot. I am so grateful to them all.

When I had no classes, I had a chance to visit many places. I went to Tokyo. I visited Yushima Tenjin Temple, Tsukiji fish market and Shibuya. I met my father’s old Japanese friends . They gave me a warm welcome. I also went to Ishinomaki city. This city is in Miyagi Prefecture, same as Sendai. I went to the Manga Museum there and went sightseeing in the city. Four years ago this city was badly affected by the tsunami. Now the city has fully recovered. Japanese people are great!

In conclusion, I’ve experienced many things in Japan that I could not in Thailand. I have met many fascinating people. I deeply am grateful for their help. I would like to thank Muraguchi-san for her everyday concern since before I arrived in Japan. She took care of me from the first day to the last day. Thank you to Prof. Kobayashi and every one at the lab for their time spent helping me. Thank you Otousan and Okaasan. They are the nicest host family that anyone could ever get. Thank you to all the Thai people that I met here. Thank you to my tutor Shoko-san and to the many others that I didn’t mention. Thank you Sendai for a once in a lifetime experience. If there’s a chance, I would like to come here again.

Sendai’s weather might be cold, but the hearts of the people here are so warm.

Best Regards,

Thanaphop Threethipthikoon

Duan Shaopei

Duan Shaopei

中国

(People's Republic of China)

Graduate School of Engineering
Graduate Department of Architecture, April 2013 - March 2015

My name is Duan Shaopei, I come from Shenyang, Liaoning. After graduating from university in China, I came to Tohoku Institute of Technology in Sendai to study for my Masters Course, after being told about it by my university teacher.
Before I came to Sendai, I had studied some basic Japanese language for 1 year in Tokyo. The life in Tokyo was busy and stressful. As the biggest city of Asia, I found Tokyo to be luxuriant and prosperous. But for me, my ideal environment is one which is simply clean and comfortable.
As I arrived in Sendai, I fell in love with this clean, quiet and comfortable city immediately. What I felt and still feel is that this city provides everything I need: clear rivers, an abundance of trees, clean streets and a safe social environment; a city with delicious food and a real character of its own..
Of course, in key to enjoying a happy school life is not only having a beautiful surrounding environment, but also a supportive network of people. The most important thing for any foreign student is the help and encouragement from teachers and classmates. On the day I reached Sendai, seniors from my laboratory of welcomed me warmly. They showed me the layout of the university and around the business zone of Sendai. Thanks to them, I was able to adapt to life in Sendai fast. The professors and assistants patiently answered every single question that I had, despite my halting Japanese. The other Chinese speaking professors and students also came to see me frequently and helped me a lot.
The first year of the master’s course was very hard for me to understand. Professors had to explain almost every single word to me many times, this cost both me and them a lot of time. However, my friends’ and professors` understanding and help encouraged me greatly and made me more confident about my future learning. The Laboratory seminars had a lively atmosphere. We were able to express our ideas and thoughts actively, and the professors and assistant teachers always responded patiently. These seminars also helped to alleviate my nervousness. The life of the sophomore master’s student in Japan is different from that in China. Because of preconceptions regarding ways of learning, I was often confused when assigned tasks which required reflection, such as being tasked with “thinking about the way of thinking”. Despite my initial confusion, gradually, thanks to my teacher’s patience and, help I found my way to achieve my research aims. Whenever I had questions, I would ask the teacher and we would share opinions about the problems. In this way, my research progressed smoothly.
With professors and classmates` guide and help, I was awarded the Japanese Monbukagakusho Honors Scholarship for Privately Financed International Students. I benefited very much from this scholarship as I could have more time to spend on my research and I could buy some books to strengthen my understanding. All these combined to make a great contribution to my graduation thesis.
During the period that I was writing my graduation thesis, I was faced with many problems as I came to understand the limits of my knowledge. But thanks to the help of teachers and students both past and present, the various problems were solved. I was truly able to understand the famous expression: If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.
I greatly benefited from my life in Japan. Here, in Sendai, while studying hard, I experienced a harmonious social environment, and a liberal academic atmosphere. I believe that the knowledge I learned here can be applied in my future careers, and that with that knowledge, I can make a valuable contribution to my homeland.

Herlina Hardisetiawati

Herlina Hardisetiawati

インドネシア

(Republic of Indonesia)

Head of Subdivision for Analysis on Involvement in International Organization
Jenesys 2.0

It’s already been a while since our visit to Japan,
But it still feels likes yesterday …

The JENESYS 2.0 is a youth exchange programme between Japan and Indonesia, among other countries. It aims towards the revitalization of the Japanese economy, increasing visitors to Japan, and at the same time, promoting global understanding on Japanese values. Approximately 30,000 youths from the Asian/Oceanian region will have an opportunity to participate in the programme. And we, 100 Indonesians (consisting of 96 students and 4 supervisors) were very lucky to be a part of the programme. One of the highlights of the Programme was of course the visit to Tohoku Institute of Technology (TohTech).

We were scheduled to visit TohTech on the second day of the Programme (on the 23rd of April, 2014), to learn more about Urban Engineering and City Planning. We took the Shinkansen from Tokyo to get to Sendai. The bullet-train trip itself already gave us a sense of amazement. It felt pretty amazing to experience by ourselves the swiftness of the famous Shinkansen. As we continued our trip from Sendai Station to Tohtech, we were fascinated by the scenery of the beautiful Sakura trees along the road. For many of us, it was really exciting to see the cherry blossoms for the very first time.

The Yagiyama campus of TohTech is located on the mountainside, consequently it has a beautiful surroundings and a very fine weather. From the initial overview of the campus buildings and surroundings, I can instantly see that TohTech provides a favorable environment for its students. The combination of the peaceful atmosphere and the advanced education facilities showed by its building layouts will certainly facilitate a conducive environment to learning.

When entering the classroom, we were astounded to find “Selamat datang ke T.I.T, Tohoku Institute of Technology” written beautifully on the chalkboard. The writing is a greeting in Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian language), which means “Welcome to T.I.T”. As simple as it seems, it really expressed the warm welcome from TohTech. And what was even more surprising was for us to find out that the President of TohTech himself was actually there to welcome all of us, along with the Professors, Staffs and Students of TohTech. The very humble yet charismatic Mitsunobu Miyagi-san gave a very cordial welcoming remark.

In the classroom, there were several topics of presentations that were presented to us. The one which I personally thought was very fascinating is about the ‘ArchiAid’ Project. The project is a reconstruction support network of architects, and proposes a joint, cooperative effort toward the revival of disaster-stricken areas in Tohoku and Nothern Kanto regions of Japan. It was interesting to learn how the architecture students in TohTech (and other universities in Sendai) are able to apply what they learn in campus into the real life, to contribute to the welfare of the local community.

After the classroom session, we went on a tour around the campus. We visited several laboratories and also got to know that the school buildings of TohTech had undergone many retrofit works to enhance their stability towards strong ground motions. We were able to learn and observe how steel-cross-braces and oil-dampers can significantly improve the buildings’ strength.

After the Campus-tour, we went back again to the classroom and was again surprised to find that the wonderful TohTech students had decorated the room with origami cranes. After receiving a farewell remark from Hiroshi Konno-san, the Vice President of Tohtech, each and every one of us were given at least one origami crane. We understand that the Japanese refer to the crane as the “bird of happiness”, for that reason we were very touched by the gift.

The visit to TohTech is a very invaluable experience for myself and unquestionably also for all of the Indonesian delegation. And for that, we are really grateful. We will forever cherish this unforgettable visit.

We really look forward to having further cooperation with TohTech in the future, in the fields of Science, Technology and Innovation.

Watcharavit Jiemjaisawanglerk

Watcharavit Jiemjaisawanglerk

タイ

(Kingdom of Thailand)

Department of Creative Design <3rd Year>
Exchange Student, Automotive Engineering at Thai-Nhichi Institute of Technology <3rd Year>

I was so excited when I knew I had the chance to come to Japan. With such a warm welcome awaiting me when I took the plane from Bangkok to Tokyo, I became even more excited and interested in this amazing country – Japan.

From Tokyo to Sendai, I took the Shinkansen and felt asleep! The train was more comfortable and faster than I had thought it would be. I then went to my homestay house which was clean and had a very high speed internet connection. Afterward, Ms. Muraguchi, from Tohoku Institute of Technology, took me to see my new place of study. I was surprised by the surroundings which encourage studying in TWO campuses – one in Nagamachi and another in Yagiyama.

I met Prof. Umeda Hiroki and tutors Nagayama Motohiro and Eri Oikawa, and chose to major in Production Design. Then, I enrolled in the classes: History of Design, Material and Production Technology and Life & Technology. The classes were quite hard for me as they were taught in Japanese. Yet, it was a good experience. I also studied English and got the chance to get to know many international students from countries including America and the Philippines. We often exchanged thoughts and did activities together.

For the 6 days of Golden Week, I went to Kansai and had a very good time. I saw many unique facets of Japan including its culture, religion and architecture. The foods were amazing – a big shellfish, and delicious sushi.

I am very grateful to Tohoku Institute of Technology, Prof. Umeda and tutors for introducing me to this new way of life and for their help on many presentations. I am also grateful to the city of Sendai which is the place that helped me to have such a good experience. I will surely come back again.

Arthinsha Shinvoranont

Arthinsha Shinvoranont

タイ

(Kingdom of Thailand)

Department of Creative Desgin <3rd Year>
Exchange Student, Automotive Engineering at Thai-Nichi
Institute of Technology <3rd Year>

My name is Arthinsha Shinvoranont. My nick name is ‘Yong’. I am twenty one years old now and studying in the senior level in the field of automobile engineering at Thai-Nichi institute of technology in Bangkok. There, learned about the student exchange program to Japan and the possibility to stay there for 2 months. Having a strong desire to go to Japan, I soon decided to apply to this program.

This was the first time in my life to travel to Japan. On the first day of my arrival, I felt so glad because it was pretty fine weather. I felt that Sendai, my destination city is not too small or too big. People in Sendai are kind and compassionate. I got to make plenty of new friends. They were very supportive and assisted me in every detail. I was treated so warmly by my companions, my tutors and my super host family. They always assisted me whenever I asked them for help. I also had a chance to go on a trip to other towns during the long holiday of golden week. I visited Osaka, which is a big, crowded city. I visited a well-known Aquarium there. Osaka impressed me so much. I felt excited seeing and wandering around the city. Apart from Osaka, I visited the Kansai district which consists of many cities like Nara, Kobe, Kyoto and Hiroshima. I liked Hiroshima most because of its fascinating mountain scenery. I promised to myself that I will come back to Hiroshima for my next trip to Japan. It is pretty convenient to travel by public transportation in Japan. We can take a bus or catch a Shinkansen or even access many places by walking. There is plenty of window shopping along many streets for you to do. Let me talk about Japanese food. You can choose many delicious things to eat at an affordable price and their tastes are similar to those dishes I have eaten in Bangkok. The purpose of my visit this time was to join the exchange student program with Tohoku Institute of Technology. I attended classes of History of design, Material and production technology, English and also Japanese language. All the classes here were quite tough for me because all lectures were in Japanese while my Japanese language ability is just fair so it caused me sometimes get lost in the lessons. However I think the lectures and the trip overall gave me a good opportunity to improve my Japanese skill.

I learned many things and gained new experiences and of course enhanced both my perspective and my intellectual ability. Even though I spent just 2 months in Japan, I gained a lot of new experiences from new friends, new places, as well as new knowledge. If I have the chance to go back to Japan again, I will of course grab that chance without fail.

Last but not least, I would like to extend my sincere thank you and deep appreciation for all assistance given to me everyone that I met and who helped me to complete this program happily and smoothly. I am so happy to have joined this program.

Nicanor Leynes Peril Jr.

Nicanor Leynes Peril Jr.

フィリピン共和国

(Republic of the Philippines)

Kizuna (Bond) Project
BA Business Operation and Management
De LaSalle University Dasmarinas Cavite

A visit in the Tsunami affected area, Yuriage

It was a very cold weather when we left the hotel to make a visit in Yuriage. We were all advised to be cautious in our acts and speeches because the place and the people there are still recovering from the devastation brought about by the tsunami that hit the area. From the past three days of our stay here in Japan, it was all excitement and fun that happened, fascinated by the very rich culture of the Japanese, the breathe-taking sceneries and the great technologies that we only see here. Now, riding the bus heading to Yuriage, we are a bit confused on the emotion that we should feel. We are all happy but we must show empathy to the people that are still staying in Yuriage and must not be disrespectful.

Upon arrival in the area, we never see any debris left by the tsunami. The place seems okay and the reconstruction efforts are now noticeable in the area. Sadly, as the debris of the tsunami was removed, houses of local residents were also gone because all of them were totally damaged by the strong tsunami. We all felt that even the tragedy happened almost two years now, there still the sad emotion and aura of the place. We felt the sentiments of the locals here, we realized how difficult it is for them to loose their homes, we all felt their suffers after hitting by the tsunami, we feel sorry for the lost of their loved ones. Most of us became emotional during the visit. Some of us hold back their tears after hearing the stories and seeing the things of the victims that were all soaked in the mud. We saw many pictures of the locals; beautiful families, bubbly children and a wonderful community. All of these were gone now, sadly most of them are afraid of coming back in their homes. The price of land here even depreciated very much.

Having all of these see in person, it gives us understanding of the significance of knowledge in disaster management. Moreover, the cooperation of each of us in our community is a key factor on how we could respond in disasters like this. Many bad things happened in Yuriage, but it is good to see that there are people who are still hopeful for their hometown. We commend Ms. Tano Yuko for her advocacy on bringing back the beauty of their area and preserving their culture and life.

In return, we will do our part when we get back in the Philippines. We will tell our countrymen the real story of the Great East Japan Earthquake. We will tell our people how good Japanese are in terms of disaster management and disaster prevention. We could apply the learning we acquire in our home country. We are all honored to be part of this program and we are all happy to have new friends.

Visit at Tohoku Institute of Technology

Our visit at the Tohoku Institute of Technology was remarkable. The students, faculty members and administrators here are warm and very accommodating. I personally felt at home because of their hospitality and kindness. The campus tour and lectures were fun and educational.

We want to extend our gratitude to Dr. Sawada Yasuji for giving us significant learning about Earthquake and Atomic Energy, and for sharing us information about the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake. It gives us realization on how huge the damage was so that we could give attention and effort on how we could respond on calamities like this. We are also grateful to Professor Yoshimi Ishikawa for sharing their practices on responding to the Great East Japan Earthquake. Disaster reconstruction is a very significant topic especially for us Filipinos since we are also in a disaster-prone country. Tohoku Institute of Technology’s initiative on establishing a crisis management system that would help their community in times of earthquakes, tsunamis, and other disasters, is commendable. Moreover, disaster prevention of TIT is prevalent, it can be seen on their earthquake-resistant building and the models of houses and communities they have. We will also not forget the “Tsumikimetto”, the multi-functioned toy against disaster presented by Satomi Odauchi. This new innovation is simple yet very useful. We also appreciate the presentation made by Hiromasa Asano and Kanae Kobayashi on introducing Tohoku Institute of Technology and the cultural events in Sendai. We have known the beautiful and rich culture of Japanese people in Sendai because of that. We also enjoyed our visit in Fujita Laboratory where in we had a chance to see the Tracked Mobile Robot with Two Arms. We are looking forward for its further development and the benefits it would provide for humans in the future. Lastly, everyone had fun on lunch in the school cafeteria. We all had a great time bonding with the Japanese students, they are very friendly.

The whole visit in Tohoku Institute of Technology was really a great opportunity for all of us. We learned many things, we realized our responsibilities, we appreciated the rich Japanese culture, and we gained new friends. We admire the students, professors, and administrators of TIT for developing new ideas that are helpful in the community especially in times of emergencies and calamities.

【Movie】
◆ Kizuna (Bond) Project – The 1st Batch from the Philippines 2012 – Group A
※external website

John Michael Mugas

John Michael Mugas

フィリピン共和国

(Republic of the Philippines)

Kizuna (Bond) Project
BS BA Mariano Marcos State University

Miyagi Prefecture, I am your fan.

In these dark times that your country is still on the verge of coping up from the Great Disaster that happened for more than a year now, you have shown us what composure really is. While many people in my home country panic over simple things, your stoicism, your calmness to deal over things put me into realization that a country can stand and rise again given the proper discipline and unity of its people.

It has been more than a year since the disaster happened. It has been more than a year of recovery and I know very well that the feeling of losing someone unexpectedly is painful. There are no words that can explain how it is like to lose the people we value the most. The only thing that counts now is that the memories of those who already passed away become the reason to move on and serve as source of inspiration to get up from the rubble with fresh determination.

The disaster has brought the people of Miyagi together as one. As you face the damages the disaster left, I have seen that everyone has their own roles to play which is essential to the success of the recovery you are doing. Every single thing in your country right now is focused on recovery efforts in which I understand because we never know when it will happen again. It is always better to be prepared when a disaster strikes though we know that it is inevitable.

Miyagi has two sides. In downtown Sendai, the prefecture’s capital, is a place of revelry; a place of lights and neon dancing on a cold winter night. It is a place of long queues of shopping stalls and people live through the normal courses of their lives. Walking on the streets of downtown Sendai feels like I am in a Japanese movie or a character in one of Haruki Murakami’s novels. It puts me into a state of oblivion, of being lost in the innate beauty of the place. It is my first time in Japan and that of Sendai yet it seems that every single part of the place is already familiar for me, as if I have been here before. With familiarity comes a sense of solace, as being shown by the people of Sendai. They radiate warmth of hospitality making us feel at home. Language barrier is not a hindrance in our understanding with one another. The people of Sendai have broken the barrier letting us feel their sincerity and genuine emotions to interact with us. For me, the sincerity and genuine emotions of people are more important than uttered words and because of the honest treatment they had given us we still understood one another.

While on the other side of the picture, Miyagi is a place of nothingness and sadness, a void and bitter memories of a once lovely place. Today, we have visited Yuriage Area, Natori City, the place which has been hit by the devastating tsunami. As we went down from the bus that transported us to the place, mental images of all the things I saw on television that happened there on March 11, 2011 engulfed me. It is disheartening to know that houses once stood there; that people used to live there and it was the place that they started to dream for a wonderful life. The place was once peppered by happiness but there is nothing left anymore but rubble and lifetime of pain and heartbreak. But where do these people have gone now? Where do these people’s dreams have taken them?

The place is filled with screaming silence. Being there today felt like I had heard and seen the rushing waves that swept away the whole area and which killed thousands of people while leaving others homeless. I was sad and devastated to hear the stories of those who survived the disaster because I know how hard it is to recount the stories without feeling a pang of pain. It is difficult and it will never be the same again for them. Even though the recovery will become successful, the miserable memories of the event will be clear on the minds of the survivors and they will have to live like this day by day. But I know they will get through this. I also know that by sharing their stories, they are saving the succeeding generation of this country. It is only by sharing that they will be able somehow to unburden themselves from the heaviness that they are carrying from the aftermath of the disaster.

I will always admire how calm and stoic the people of Japan are as they stand from the damages of the disaster.

Regardless of a nation’s advancement and resources, catastrophes affect everyone and it is important that not only the people of Japan should learn from what transpired from the disaster. This is the whole world’s battle against natural disasters and as a Filipino I share the same sentiment with each and every one of the Japanese people. Several environmental disasters had and will strike the Philippines and as much as we want to stop these, the only thing that we can do now is to be prepared once they take place and everyone is responsible and plays a vital role. As they say, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. This is one of the most important things that I have learned in Miyagi prefecture.

Long live Japan! You will rise again. You are, after all, the Land of the Rising Sun.

【Movie】
◆ Kizuna (Bond) Project – The 1st Batch from the Philippines 2012 – Group B
※external website

Peerawit Theerakarn

Peerawit Theerakarn

タイ

(Kingdom of Thailand)

Department of Electronics and Intelligent Systems <4th Year>
Exchanges Student, Computer Engineering at Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology <4th Year>

In Thailand, There are a lot of Japanese value, such as comics, animation, and computer games. I was a kid, who loves in Japanese comics, such as Ultraman, Kamenraider, Supersentai, and Doraemon. After I graduated from high school, I entranced to Thai-Nichi Intsitute of Technology in Computer Engineering Degrees. In my University, All of Students must learn Japanese Language. When I studied in this university, I had a dream to go to Japan by a scholarship. I missed the chance to go to Japan 2 Times. Teacher thanks for the chance.

After I came to Japan, I was added to Professor Fujita’s Laboratory, The Robotics Laboratory. I was the winner of robot contest in Thailand in 2010, and participated in International Design contest (IDC Robocon 2011) in Shanghai, China. Now, Professor Fujita tell me to learn in microcontroller, H8 3052F. The H8 3052F is a microcontroller that use in this laboratory. It uses for control motor for the robot movement. There are many friends in lab. They are a good guy because they take cares us every time. Last week, Professor Fujita and we went to picnic in Sakura garden. It is fun and very happy.

In classroom, I think it is very hard to understand because of Japanese languages. Some topic I have learned in my university, but now it difficult to understand it. In the future, I think I will learn Japanese languages too much and come to study in Japan again.

I have the opportunity to join the table tennis club, cheer club, judo club, Japanese style archer club, and Akido club. I was very interest. Moreover, I was a volunteer in Shichigahami, the tsunami place. I washed grand mother and father leg and foot in hot water. Then, massage their hands. After I was a volunteer in Shichigahami, I think Japanese has many spirit of life.

I think Sendai is a good city to live because it is cold and I like to live in cold place. Sendai has many beautiful place and shopping mall. If you want to choose somewhere to live, I think Sendai is an answer of you. In the future, if I have a chance, I will live in Yagiyama too because it is quiet. Sendai has some Thai people. Most of them are a student in Tohoku University. I met them in sakura party last month. Sendai has one Thai restaurant at Bansuisodo. The owner is Thai and has a good skill in Thai food. I want to invite you to taste it.

Everyone in Tohoku Institute of technology are a good mans. They take cared me so much. Tsuchiya san and Kurosawa san are good tutors. They checked our report every week. Masaru san, he translated Japanese to English in every class. Fujita sensei, he went to Narita to get us from airport to Sendai. Muraguchi san, she gives an interesting job to us and her child is very cute. My dad and mom in Sendai, They like to make food to us. Moreover, they made a birthday party for us. Finally, I want to talk to everyone “Thank you very much for everything.”

Natnari Smitthimedhin

Natnari Smitthimedhin

タイ

(Kingdom of Thailand)

Department of Electronics and Intelligent Systems <4th Year>
Exchange Student, Computer Engineering at Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology <4th Year>

My name is Natnari Smitthimedhin. My nickname is Beam. I am an exchange student from Thailand. In Thailand, I’m studying at Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology (TNI) so I have got many chance to come study in Japan. I have been to japan for three times, Osaka, Aomori and this time I have been granted the Japan Student Services Organization scholarship to study in Sendai for 2 months. In Sendai, I joined Tohoku Institute of Technology, Yagiyama campus where I am studying in department of electronics. This university located on the mountain so I can enjoy the beauty of nature and also enjoy my life with many stores and departments. The public transportation is very good so I think this place is very convenient one.

At Tohoku Institute of Technology, I have learned about the earthquake and tsunami. Tsunami can be generated when earthquake occurs near the sea. On Friday March 11, 2011 The strong earthquake that hit off the north-eastern coast of Japan occurred beneath the sea. It generated a tsunami and caused one of the worst nuclear disasters in history. Nowadays, many people in northeastern Japan have to live in temporary house. I went to Shichigahama as volunteer and enjoy giving a foot massage to people who were staying in temporary house. They had a wonderful smile and after giving them a foot massage, I was glad when they said to me, ‘I want you to come again’, that made me feel really happy.

I am doing a home stay while I am studying in Sendai. My host family taught me a lot about the culture and way of life in Sendai. They were also concerned about me and help made my life so much easier. They made my experience wonderful and were truly a home away from home. I also made very great Japanese friends. They are very kind to me and always helped me anything. For example, they explained the lessons when I did not understand because of my poor Japanese until I understood.

There are full of good memory and happiness here in Sendai. If I have one more chance, I want to come to Tohoku Institute of Technology again.

Zhou Tao

Zhou Tao

中国

(People's Republic of China)

Wxchange Student. Department of Japanese School of Foreign Languages, Tongji University <3rd Year>

Unknowingly the present workshop is coming to the end. It’s my first visit to Sendai and left me a lot of deep memories, such as visit to Shinto shrine and power plant, but meeting those students of Tohoku Institute of Technology gave me the deepest impression in those days.

In fact, I felt a little shame when I made the self-introduction and I didn’t know how to communicate with each other. In a short time I was influenced by their warmth and we made friends. Although as a student majoring in Japanese, I still did my best to make communication with those students of architecture. Then we chatted around lots of topics, such as family and ideal. Language is not only a tool, but also a bridge what can break the gap between countries and connect each other. Perhaps it’s just the magical power of language.

A Chinese saying says “Seeing is believing”. And there is the same one in Japanese. (「百聞は一見に如かず」) It’s not my first time to visit Japan, but I get a new understanding of Japan, especially of Sendai through the workshop. I felt it my honor to take part in the meaningful workshop.

After hearing that the students of Tohoku Institute of Technology will also have a short study in my university, I decide to do my best to welcome my new friends,meanwhile, I hope that they can feel the unique charm of Shanghai! At last, I want to say thank you to everyone who has taken on my behalf and I will play a good host Shanghai!

Gu Zheng

Gu Zheng

中国

(People's Republic of China)

Department of Life Design for Safety and Amenity <2nd Year>

It is very convenient for living in Sendai. Stores and departments keep long hours and the public transportation is very good. A big advantage of Sendai is that the people are very friendly. The neighborhoods here are kindly enough to let me, a new comer feel at home. The Tohoku Institute of Technology is located in this convenient and friendly city.
Usually, the foreign students take a very long time to adapt the new environment, the unfamiliar rules, and teaching styles abroad. But the Tohoku Institute of Technology helps us not only to solve these problems, but also to be home here. Last year was the first year for me to study in this university, the professors help me come over the difficult adjustment period smoothly, and I was so lucky to get “Honors scholarship for Privately
Financed International Students” by Japan Student Service Organization with the recommendation of our university this year. I also have granted scholarship from Tohoku Institute of Technology for excellence in studies.
If I have one more chance, I will choose the Tohoku Institute of Technology again.

In the daily lives, we often faced many dangers, for example, the natural disasters like the earthquake.
This moment, the advice of others who have already experienced such as the Japanese could only help us.
Just as we can learn from the history, we can learn the past actions of those close to us. March 11th 2011 is an unforgettable date in all over the world.
The violent earthquake of East Japan made tens of thousands people die, and made tens of thousands people be homeless.
The earthquake came unexpectedly, and made us be thrown into a panic.
The matter for rejoicing, the Japanese who close to us kept calm, and conducted people take refuge in turn.
There were so many people taking refuge from buildings to streets, the traffic was terrible.
Worry about foods, water, I did not know how to live in the refuge, always; I did not know they will take notice of foreigners like us or not, I was feeling afraid.
I knew that is unnecessary to worry about them afterwards.
Because there is no nationality, no grudge, there are people who help each other, encourage each other, and console each other.
I once thought that Japanese are cold and detached, but now I know, I really know, at the back to be detached is strong.

Qu Siyuan

Qu Siyuan

中国

(People's Republic of China)

Department of Architecture <1st Year>

Before coming to Japan, I wanted to study computer graphics and animation. Then, the Sichuan Earthquake happened in China in 2008. When I saw the destroyed buildings of the primary school and hospitals and faced such an appalling situation, I wondered if there was anything I could do to help. In order to contribute to the secure and safe building designs in China, I decided to study Architecture.

I received the admission letter from the department of Architecture of Tohoku Institute of Technology in February 2011.

When the Great East Japan Earthquake happened on 11 March, I was in the Japanese Language School in Tokyo. When I saw the dire situation on TV about the people asking for help who were remaining in their houses, and the residential houses swept up by the Tsunami, I felt that I wanted to do some volunteering myself, and decided to go to Sendai as soon as possible. Worrying about my safety, my parents and friends insisted that I should go back to China. However, I came to Yagiyama, Taihaku-ward, Sendai-City, Miyagi-Prefecture where the Tohoku Institute of Technology is located just after the express bus service between Tokyo and Sendai was reopened on 5 April. With the help from Mr. Tanikuchi, chief of the student office, I managed to find an apartment in the Yagiyama area near our university on the day I arrived in Sendai. At that time in Yagiyama, lifelines such as gas and water supply were under repair, and only electricity was available. With an electric oven borrowed from the university, I heated a packed lunch and rice brought from the convenience store and managed to survive every day. Because there was no water, I had not taken a shower in two weeks. As the water supply was restored a week after I arrived in Yagiyama, I used an electric pot or an electric oven to make hot water and washed my hair somehow.

I planned to go to the coastal area for volunteering, where the Tsunami left its biggest damage, but there were no means of transportation to get there. So I started to look for what I could do near our university. At that time, Tohoku Institute of Technology was a temporary water station for Yagiyama district. I heard some eldery people in Midorigaoka 4-chome district had difficulty bringing water from the temporary water station to their homes; therefore I continued my volunteer job near our university for about a month, together with the students of the volunteer circle in our university. In the vicinity of the water station in Midorigaoka, the ground surface was torn and the ramp was raised up by about 1 meterat some of the severely damaged places. In the distance between the houses of the eldery people and the water station, we had to pass dangerous places such as steep slopes and sagging roads. Because we used two-wheeled carts to carry the water in containers such as pet bottles to the houses of the eldery people while detouring sagging roads, it took more than twice as much time as it usually did. We repeated this work about 6 times in half a day.

Sajja Maneesh Karthik

Sajja Maneesh Karthik

インド

(India)

Department of Electronics and Intelligent Systems
〈alumnus〉

After finishing my diploma at Osaka Electronics College, I transferred Tohoku Institute of Technology as a 3rd year undergraduate student. In this university I pursued my Bachelor degree in Intelligent Electronics Engineering.I had granted MEXT scholarship from the Japanese Government at that time.
As I came as a transferred student from a diploma college, there were lots of credits required to graduate. Hence my first year in this university was very busy. As there were not many foreigners in the starting I felt lonely, but I made very nice Japanese friends from my class who even introduced me to their club events. There were other events conducted by the university too, like going to Matsushima (one of the 3 scenic beauties of Japan). In this trip I met other Japanese student from different courses and had lots of fun conversing with them. As the months passed I made enough friends to hang out with and completed most of my subjects with excellent score.

In the senior year of the university I joined Prof. Abe Toshimi’s research laboratory, where we did research on new materials for the future.My lab mates and I even made Indian curry for the university festival and it was a big success. Everybody liked our food and it was a sold out. Though the last days in my university life were sad due to the Earthquake and Tsunami, I was really proud to say that my university staff did everything to make the students feel safe and secure. At the time when the water supply got cut off, they even supplied water to the surrounding residents for free.

As I wanted to pursue my Masters degree too, in Japan, my professor recommended me to Yamagata University, where I am researching on Terahertz technology right now.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my professors who helped me thru, when I was struggling to understand the lessons, which were conducted in Japanese. These professors helped me by lending English reference books or sometimes allowing me to have my examination in English. I will definitely cherish the time I spent in this university, where I studied, made great friends and had wonderful time.

Pavel Peña

Pavel Peña

ペルー共和国

(Republic of Peru)

Graduate Department of Architecture
〈alumnus〉

I am Dr. Pavel Pena, former student of Tohoku Institute of Technology. It has been almost two years since a graduated and I feel very pleased to have the opportunity to present myself and my experience as a former student of this great university.

For many years it had been my dream to study abroad, in 2004 I was awarded the prestigious MEXT scholarship from the Japanese Government. Tohoku Institute of Technology appeared very attractive to me because of its prestige but mainly because of Dr. Satoshi Ishii whose field of research was very compatible with my intended research. From the first time I got in touch with Dr. Ishii. He offered me full support, very much needed at that time for me. In TOHTECH I was able to develop my research very smoothly. I was given the tools and, the full support of professors and administrative staff not only for my very important academic objectives but help in my daily life matters as well; which gave me plenty of room to learn and enrich myself.

A relative small university like TOHTECH has the ability to offer proper education fitted each student and personalized technical training support. I witnessed the growth of its facilities and the constant effort to offer its students a safe and comfortable academic environment where you can find many other extracurricular activities that can enrich your life.

Definitely studying in Japan at TOHTECH has been the most relevant experience in my life, every of the 5 years I spend there, provided me with important knowledge and experiences that I can apply now in my professional career. Currently I work for a very important Engineering Company in USA – Texas. I Hope one day, I will be able to return and visit all the great friends I left in Japan.

Xiong Yi

Xiong Yi

中国

(People's Republic of China)

Department of Management and Communication <3rd Year>

Studying in Tohoku institute of Technology is very interesting; I have a very good chance to meet various friends coming from other countries around the world. Although we came from different places, we have the same purpose which is for studying Japanese and culture.

Exchange students not only spend time for studying in the university but also gain many new experiences from the world outside. For example, we can enjoy mountain climbing and firework in summer; we can see leaves changing color in autumn.

I think Tohoku institute of Technology gives me a lot of fantastic experiences that I haven’t experienced before .Definitely, when I came here in April 2009, I had to change my life style for surviving by myself in Japan. But I think it is advantageous for me that I can develop myself to be active and effective person. Nowadays,
I can communicate with Japanese people better than former. Furthermore, I have got a lot of memorable experiences while living here. Although I get back to my country, I will never forget the beautiful times here forever. I have to thank everyone who always support me and give me a chance for being an exchange student in Tohoku institute of Technology.