The World Campus - Get Unique Access to Japan!

World Campus is not a volunteer or study program in the strictest sence. I would call it more a 'cultural experience' program. When you would make a traditional visit, you would get to know Japan. With World Campus, you get to know the Japanese. I thoroughly enjoyed the activities and the interaction with all the Japanese people I met. From 2, 6 and 9 year old kids over teenagers, college students and grownups to even older people. I also enjoyed interacting with the other participants as there were 11 nationalities in total in my group. So because I got to experience so much culture it allowed me to expand my comfort zone and thus expand my horizon.

I went to Japan with World Campus and I must say, it was an amazing experience. When you just visit Japan you get to know Japan, however you don't get to know the Japanese (unless you're lucky). While traveling with World Campus you live in host families and through this, you get to know the Japanese. Also, it's a great opportunity to make lots of new friends as you obviously aren't going to be the only one joining the program. I for example met people from Mexico, the Netherlands and from the UK. I will definitely join the program again next year.

If you have any interest in going to Japan, you probably think that being able to live with a host family, visit schools and universities, working in a Japanese kitchen or doing Japanese archery sounds really cool, but what's the catch? There is no catch! Well... maybe. It all depends on your personality. World campus is everything they say they are, and more. But the more part is not all sunshine and roses. Many reviews of things of great quality focus on the positive, telling you all the greatness they experienced, but you always end up with the nagging feeling that there are some things they are not telling you. So I will. Here are some of the things that could be seen as negative to some, but if they don't to you then this program is something you should seriously consider as even those who had huge problems seem to really feel it was worth it in the end. Heat. Japan is hot, especially if you are from a country where 20C is considered warm. You are going to sweat a lot, and have to drink a lot as well because of it, and as this program is tightly packed with things happening all the time, you will not always get the chance to relax in the shade if you are tired. Luckily Japan has you covered with vending machines selling drinks on every corner. Exhaustion Like I mentioned earlier, the program is tightly packed. In general you do activities from early in the morning to the middle of the evening every day. Then you have to go home to your families and eat dinner, and spend time with them. You are supposed to be a part of the family while staying there, so just going to bed right after dinner(and you will want to some times) is very disrespectful to the people who has invited you to stay with them. It is not a hotel. Mental exhaustion If you are like me(introverted tendencies), interacting with people for long periods of time gets exhausting. You will want to spend some time alone, but the only time you have for yourself is before you sleep(unless you have a room-mate). Know however that the families you will stay with are very polite and will not bother you needlessly. The staff are great people persons and caring(mostly :P), and the culture within the group of travellers become very caring. Language The Japanese as a people are not the best at speaking English. But you will still be forced to speak with more of them than you can imagine. It is hard if you don't know Japanese, but I have not experienced a family without a modest level of vocabulary for daily use. You might be forced to speak with children(good luck). And elderly(you will learn the word for beautiful ^^). Young adults and students are usually quite good. Embarrassment There will be embarrassing moments. You will say things wrong, you will misunderstand what the bidet does. You will not understand how to turn on the water heater in the shower, or mistake Chinese tourists for Japanese... You will also have to speak in front of crowds, perform ..exotic performances.. be open about yourself, and hear others being open as well. Culture shock people will have very different views on things than you do. Not only the Japanese. You will have to reel yourself in every time someone says something you disagree strongly with(unless you have learned that they can tolerate it) You will experience people not saying what's really on their mind. And people pretending "embarrassments" didn't happen, rather than laugh them off. That's the worst I can think of. If these are things you can deal with. If these are challenges you wish to set for yourself. If your assumptions where way worse than this, then relax and forget about the downsides. And see if not the awesome sides are something you want to do(cause they're really awesome)