Hej everyone! Now that I have finally graduated, I have time (and energy) to write some more about the opportunities I received during the past two years as a student at Lund University. Last January till March I resided in Japan for a short period of time to gather data for my thesis project. I wrote about religion in Japan, specifically new religions and the usage of the term ‘cult’ at Japanese universities. Lund University and specifically my programme MSc Asian Studies offered fieldwork courses at universities in Asia. One of these was at Waseda University. In this blog, I will share a bit more about this experience, how I worked towards it and how I planned my stay abroad.
How it started
When I started the programme in 2022, I was already aware of the several opportunities offered at Lund University. The programme offered a study abroad during the third semester as part of the curriculum. However, I had already done a study abroad in 2019 at Shinshu University in Nagano prefecture. Hence, I thought it would not be a suitable time or financial investment to go again on a study abroad. Furthermore, I thoroughly enjoyed my life in Sweden and the idea of relocating again was painstaking to me. Yet, the fieldwork course provided the perfect opportunity for a meaningful short-term stay in Japan, which provided a different experience as it was research focussed. On top of that, the two-and a half month stay would cost me significantly less in comparison to a full-semester. The procedure was also less complicated. I only had to submit my thesis proposal and apply for the research course through my programme at the beginning of the 3rd semester.
Funding
The part which was most time-consuming and stressful was applying for funding. Normally, the thesis proposal had to be submitted by November, but because I wanted to apply for funding I had to submit it earlier. I managed to establish the Crafoord Foundation Travel Grant which covered my flights and part of the accommodation costs.
There is not really some kind of secret when it comes to applying for funding. I focussed on getting good grades, spent a large portion of my time in summer preparing my research proposal and applied to several grants (which I did not get). I have received so many rejections for scholarships and grants during my time as an undergrad and graduate student that it doesn't really throw me off anymore. It's just a matter of stubbornly applying if you believe in yourself, your ideas and that they will benefit others in some way. It's moreover important to keep in mind that a wide array of factors are involved. It's never really personal. Maybe they already funded a project on your topic, maybe someone else was slighlty better, or maybe the project was simply just not a fit for the foundation.
A cost overview
When it comes to studying abroad most people seem to brush finances under the carpet or are just unwilling to talk about it. I understand because it's kind of personal but at the same time more transparency on this topic could help out a lot of people. Hence, I will here provide an overview of some of the main costs during my stay abroad in Japan and how I covered them.
First, the plane tickets to and from to Japan were quite expensive, I think I spent about a 1000 euros for a retour Amsterdam – Tokyo. The accommodation was arranged by Waseda University. This was exceptional as they normally did not have fieldwork students in their dorms and the people from the previous year had to arrange their own housing. The costs of this were quite high as well, around 1000 euros as it was in central Tokyo, Shinjuku. Furthermore, I did not spent a lot of money on entertainment as I was busy working on my thesis. The majority of my living expenses consisted of groceries, books, gifts for my friends, the occasional lunch at Matsuya and late night ice cream at 7-Eleven with my Swedish classmates. This just mainly depends on what kind of lifestyle you have. Finally, Lund University insured us during our stay at Waseda University. I also got my own insurance which was around a 100 euros for a year including 45 days of travel insurance to cover the period after my Waseda stay.
An important financial note to make regarding my personal situation was that at the time the euro stood very strong against the yen. Therefore, everything was cheaper for me in comparison to my classmates who used different currencies. To cover the costs, I combined my grant, money from my part-time job and my other scholarship.
The stay at Waseda University
I have to start off by saying that my stay at Waseda University was absolutely amazing and enabled me to lift up my thesis to the next level. The Global Department Staff and professors went out of their way to support us personally and academically, which I am incredibly grateful for.
Waseda University had created a tailored course for us. It mainly consisted of two meetings and individual supervising by an assigned professor during the 4-5 week period. During the initial meeting we presented our thesis topics and at the final meeting we presented how we had spent our time at Waseda University. I was assigned a wonderful supervisor with whom I had weekly meetings. Through our discussion I was able to reflect, develop and reconsider some of my work in the initial research stages and data collection process. It helped me to sharpen my focus and conduct my research in a strategic and coherent way.
Next, Waseda University allowed us to use their facilities such as their library which included, their archives and several books I could not get my hands on in Sweden. I wanted to use both English and Japanese literature and combine the two in a manner which laid out some of the gaps in research in both languages. I am deeply grateful that this was made possible through the programme they offered as this was vital to my thesis. I moreover learned that probably the most underestimated resource are your peers. It were really the conversations I had with both my classmates from Lund, other students I met at Waseda and friends in Japan that instigated me to reflect on my work, what this work meant to me and to place it in the grand scheme of things in relation to Japanese society as a whole.
Finally, something I wish I’d known…
It soon became evident to me that being an exchange student and doing fieldwork, which is mostly independent research, are two different things. Especially being awarded funding (which I am incredibly grateful for) enhances the pressure and responsibility. When something did not go according to plan (which is more likely to happen than you think during research) I was often worried and concerned. Obviously, I wanted to live up to the standard and show my sponsor that my work would be worthwhile their investment. On top of that, I got sick due to food poisoning which put me behind on schedule for around a week. So, definitetly make sure to keep in mind that these kinds of things can happen.
I hope this blog was helpful. As you can tell, the main reason I received this wonderful opportunity was through the collaboration of Lund University and Waseda University. Therefore, make sure to check with your university what opportunities they offer within your programme.
If you like to see what I am up to you can follow me on instagram. I have recently moved to Japan on the JET Programme so stay tuned for updates about my life in Japan.
Tack! - Mai
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