Hiroi Nakayama is an exchange student from Keio University (Japan), who came to the Netherlands in September 2018. We chatted with Hiroi about his experience at EUC.
Hello, Hiroi. Thank you for coming. Glad to have you here. Let’s talk about your life in the Netherlands. You chose EUC for your exchange. How did you come to this decision?
I wanted to study in English so I had two options – the US or Europe. I have been to the US as a high school student and I wanted to come to Europe. The reason why I chose the Netherlands is that most people can speak in English. It is a small country but is has very liberal and modern regulations. That was very interesting because I am studying politics, especially the regulation by government. So I thought it would be interesting for me. Also, not many people go to the Netherlands from Japan. I wanted to be different.
You found the political system and the culture of the country interesting by itself?
Yes. Also, even though the Netherlands is such a small country, it exports agricultural production to other countries. Second in the world, next to the US. And the US is huge. Impressive facts.
You’ve been here almost six months. How did you like it so far?
The first five months, it was very interesting but not an impressive level of interesting. After travelling to other countries in Europe, I rediscovered how unique the Netherlands is. The Netherlands is my first country to visit in Europe.
The starting point.
By visiting other European countries I could compare the Netherlands with them – [the Netherlands is] a very organized and a very clean country. That was what I realized after coming back here.
You feel like you’ve made a good choice by coming to the Netherlands.
Yes. (Smiling)
If you had to summarize your experience in one sentence, what would it be?
Well… the first few months were, honestly, very challenging, very tough, because of the many differences, but now I feel very comfortable. I am really enjoying it here.
What has been the biggest challenge so far?
Studying here. My university and EUC have very different teaching methods and, of course, the workload. The quad system is different from what you typically find in Japan. We have only two semester of fifteen weeks, very long. The dynamics is different. [Here] we have to be very speedy to catch up with the class and the material. It took some time to get used to this system.
Now that you feel more comfortable with this teaching system, the so called active learning, what do you think about PBL (N.B.: problem-based learning)?
I feel with PBL I can memorize it all, what I’ve learned. I can actually apply what I learned. The content stays in my mind much better that it usually does.
Yes, maybe you will convince more people to have this active type of learning. Tell us more about your home university Keio.
There are many things to be said about Keio but let’s focus on the educational system. In Japan the universities are usually four years. School [university] in Japan does not have that much workload. It is up to the students if they want to study or if they want to spend those four years on other things like clubs, internships, volunteer work. Especially Keio has many student entrepreneurs. Start-ups. It is considered that a student who studies a lot is less attractive than a student who has a start-up.
The studying period is a time for you to experiment and discover new passions rather than only focus on academics.
We think university students should do more practical, real-life things, so this is a very different thing. That’s why, universities require a minimum workload for students. If you want to study, universities can offer you professors and good facilities but if you want to study as little as you want, you can spend your time on other things. And this is something we have. It is more flexible. Some people call university the summer vacation of your life because you can do whatever you want.
Which would be your best memory of EUC?
From last quad I mostly have memories of reading materials. Going back to the topic before, reading, input and output in English, is very difficult for me, memorizing, summarizing and writing reports was very time-consuming. I always felt like, if this was Japanese, I could do that in a fraction of the time but now I spend several hours. I think my English reading speed and writing skills have improved.
Have you been to any of the EUC events? Any of the student association events, for instance?
When I first arrived, I went to some dancing parties. But after a few weeks, I was like… oh no, I don’t have time. I wish I could go more.
Which is your favourite place in Rotterdam?
The other side of the Cube houses [NB.: Oudehaven] Bars and cafes on the old port. It is beautiful with the water. I enjoy the atmosphere there. I especially like the Witte huis.
If EUC had a mascot, what would it be?
Maybe, a lion. Or a sea bird. Because Rotterdam is a big port, so a water animal or a bird. A seagull.
Photo credits: Hiroi Nakayama
