In 2017, I spent several months in Japan as part of my student exchange at the University of Rikkyo. In the past, I had studied for a semester in England. However, this particular experience in the land of the rising sun was truly a unique one from beginning to end. That’s why I decided to dedicate some posts about my exchange and life in the bustling city known as Tokyo.
Before leaving
When applying for my exchange abroad, I knew Japan was going to be my top priority. Except applying for this opportunity wasn’t as easy as knowing where I wanted to go because the decision did not only depend on me. There was competition to face, as a dozen of students wanted to go to Tokyo… with only 2 place available. So until the announcement of the decision it felt like I was setting foot in a battlefield every time I entered my uni! 
It was during this period that I discovered my new talent: the art of deterrence. I have to admit this is not something I am very proud about 
. Amidst fierce competition between the students to gain their place and pushing others to abandon their applications, I witnessed the unthinkable. I saw and heard so much. It was just crazy! For my side, nothing bad… just an effective strategy. I didn’t hesitate to proclaim loud and clear that I had already done an Erasmus and consequently that I was a priority for other overseas exchanges. This was not entirely true, since the law on university exchanges was changing that year. In the past, a student was allowed to make only one Erasmus exchange throughout his/her academic career and was therefore a priority for other exchange programs. But it wasn’t me who was going to tell them about this change 
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I can tell you that this quickly made an impact, since the number of applications went from 10 to 3. Of course, all the credit shouldn’t be given to me.
After being selected by my university, I thought I would finally be able to have a rest. Well, I was wrong! It was Tokyo’s turn to show me all her colors. In the space of two weeks, I had to rush to provide all documents required, such as an English bank statement proving that I had €5,000 (the minimum amount required for a foreign student to live a semester in Japan), a lung radio, translate all my university transcripts and have them stamped by the institutions where I had studied (which meant from 2 institutions). Yes, all that! In case you didn’t understand, it was ironic . It may sound like an unrealistic amount of work in such a short amount of time, but to tell the truth, I have to blame my tendencies to procrastinate . Actually, I had been warned a month in advance by the service in charge.
On top of all that, I also had to respond to an online form whereby I was asked about elementary school. The questionnaire also included a part in which I had to support my application by explaining my motivations to go on exchange.
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