Ore monogatari wa Owarimasu
If you're reading this, I suspect you're a prospective student to IPE Study Abroads in general or interested in the NUSIP program. My tl;dr for you is to apply as earnestly as you can. The experience is one-of-a-kind and I'm certain it'll be something you'll fondly look at for the rest of your life, just like I will. Because tumblr is weird, you'll have to go to the last page to see my first post.
This is my last blog post, T-minus 0. I meant to post yesterday, but my flight was so chaotic it wasn't fair; my landing was delayed by 6 hours. As of writing this, I haven't slept properly in almost 40 hours, but I'll persevere. First I'll talk about how classes went and then give my overall thoughts on my journey and its end.
The classes taken were beginners Japanese language and a 300-level automotive engineering class which should count towards tech elective credit. Both classes were fun and unique in their own way; it is perhaps better to compare classes to high school rather than college: daily homework, people you see everyday, projects you work on together, etc. Japanese language class was pretty standard, it was the Automotive lectures that were the meat of work.
Automotive lectures required a short report per presentation, your own presentation at the end of the program, and a final report due in August. The topics were interesting and things that I wouldn't have thought about on my own. As an aerospace major, I also feel like I could apply what I've learned here to what I could end up doing as a job. The final presentations were really fun. Coming from someone who hates giving presentations, I felt that mine went well and enjoyed everyone else's as well. You shouldn't think of these presentations as something very formal, definitely not like ENGR100 presentations; you're in a room of people you've gotten to know over five weeks, you're all friends and that brings the presentations to a more personal level.
I didn't cover the factory visits of the program very much. Mostly due to the request of no photos, I felt that just talking about them would've been boring every week. It was cool to see the inside of factories and visit the museums that cover the history of companies. Seeing the progression of where a company started to where they are now brings the realization that the future truly is limitless; you can't tell what'll happen next. And although some factories are loud, I also believe that seeing the different processes of manufacturing will aide in engineering in the future.
With that out of the way, I can talk about the journey's end. The farewell party was really nice. It terms of format, it was very similar to our welcome party with spreads of foods and speeches.
However, the feel of it was vastly different. I didn't convey it well in the previous post about the welcome party, but I barely talked to anyone; a shy boy with not only anxiety but an ankle in pain which made me leave early. This farewell party truly showed how far forward I've moved: I could name everyone, could make conversation with anyone, and my ankle felt great. And as unsentimental as I am, I must admit it was sad to see this time end.
Although this journey is ending, it doesn't mean it is the end. I'm sure I'll have opportunities to see everyone again. The friends made, the experiences gained, and this journey traveled has made this an experience to treasure. I wrote in my application about wanting something to take my first step forward and with this program I’m sure I’ve done more than just one. I thank IPE for making this possible and strongly encourage any prospective students that have read this far to apply. Japan is a fantastic country to visit and I'm sure you'll learn and experience even more than me.
My name is Jesse Yang and this marks the end of my Japan experience.
Lajlim Jesse Yang
Aerospace Engineering
Nagoya University Automotive Summer Program (NUSIP), Nagoya, Japan








