Four students will present stories on studying abroad and being an exchange student at the Global Café today at 5 p.m. in the Andersen Library.
Global Café is a student run event with a purpose to inform students about the culture and economy of other countries by students who have traveled to those countries or are even from those countries, adviser Mikaela Auerbach said.
UW-Whitewater seniors Krista Lehman and John Moore, as well as Yamato Kanzaki and Tadahiko Nakamura, exchange students from Sophia University in Japan will be speaking at the event today.
The students’ presentations will last 10-15 minutes with a 5-10 minute question and answer session.
UW-Whitewater offers three study abroad programs that count toward college credit.
Auerbach said they are the travel study, the exchange program and the study abroad program.
Lehman’s trip to London
Lehman’s presentation will focus on her study abroad trip to England through UW-Platteville for her spring 2012 semester.
Lehman attended St. Mary’s University College in London, England, while living with a host family in the town of Twickenham, which is a 40 minute train ride from downtown London.
One of the differences from America that Lehman found in London was the words they used.
“When someone holds a door open for you, they say ‘cheers’ instead of ‘thank you,’” Lehman said.
While in London, Lehman traveled to see 12 other countries.
“There’s so much history and you can’t even do London within the time I was there,” Lehman said.
Moore’s adventures in Japan
Moore will focus on his study abroad trip in Osaka, Japan, which is Japan’s second largest city.
“I wanted to stay out in the city the whole time,” Moore said. “Japan isn’t what everyone thinks it is. I think when Americans think Japan, they think video games, anime, and people who are not into Japan assume they are the typical nerds or geeks, but that is not the case when you go there.”
There was endless shopping and karaoke everywhere, Moore said.
While in Osaka, Moore attended Kansai Gaidai University, where he took classes in both English and Japanese, and was in a living situation similar to dormitories close to campus, Moore said.
While in Osaka, Moore traveled to 11 other countries.
Nakamura and Kanzaki to discuss classroom differences
Nakamura and Kanzaki will base their presentations on the differences between their lives in America and Japan.
“In class, American students [are] more aggressive. Many students ask questions, and in Japan, professors don’t even ask for questions,” Kanzaki said. “Class is more fun in America.”
Nakamura said the classes in America are much different from those in Japan. In Japan, he would only have one exam for a class, here there are many exams per class.
Nakamura and Kanzaki will remain at UW-Whitewater for the entire school year.
The next Global Café session will be 5 p.m. on Nov. 7 in the Anderson Library.
