Hello!　I have been at Daito only for three months now, but maybe I can say something about studying here.　First of all, I think it is very important that you have at least some knowledge in Japanese before coming here, because otherwise getting things going might be a little difficult (but not impossible). Still there is no need to worry because other exchange students are always willing to help if there are problems... Also to get better at Japanese, it would be good to join some club or circle as soon as possible in order to learn the spoken Japanese used among young people. Especially when you live in a dormitory with other exchange students you might rely too much on English. Japanese life is also quite expensive so the financial side of the exchange should be in order like having some savings etc. or getting a job here…

I would like to suggest to exchange students to take part in traditional Japanese events that the Kokusai Center organizes and to try to attend classes with japanese people (expecially the English ones) in order to make new friends (it's not so hard) and to understand spoken Japanese better. Try also to find a part time job because life is expensive and don't worry if at the beginning you don't understand anything of what is going on, you can always rely on other exchange students, on the Kokusai Center members and on Daito students who befriend us.