Summer Japanese Immersion Program

I did the summer Tokyo exchange with LanguBridge and it was an unforgettable experience. The staff there took great care of everyone and made each part of the process smooth, from airport pickup to getting settled and everything along the way. My host family was amazing and we got along great, and I had so much fun in the classes. All the Japanese teachers put a bunch of effort into the lessons and came along on the trips/activities and they honestly did so much more than they needed to. Originally, the language class I was in was too easy for me and the school ended up making a higher level class for me and another girl, and I’m honestly still grateful that they went out of their way to do that! When planning my exchange, I went through a ton of programs, researched a lot and was so nervous about almost every aspect of the exchange but I can confidently say my experience was 100% perfect and I’m really happy I chose to go to Japan with Langubridge. You really won’t regret it if you go with them!

My time in Japan was the greatest time of my life. The application process was easy to understand and I had no difficulties of any sort during the program. The classes and material that we learned were helpful and fun. All of the teachers were so kind and energetic, they made the vocabulary and grammar very easy to understand. The activities/games we played during class were also very fun. Going out to get lunch with friends was always one of my favorite times of the day. There is a wide range of places to choose from to get meals, snacks, and drinks and they’re all easily accessible from the building. My host family were the absolute greatest. They taught me many things about Japanese culture. We bonded really well over the three weeks I stayed with them. The only minor complaint I have is that the field trips that we attended only lasted an hour or two. I wish that we could have had more time to explore the places we visited or the area. Also, during many of the field trips we were required to fill out vocabulary/grammar sheets and treasure map like sheets. Though they were informative and made us practice our Japanese skills, they were quite distracting. Instead of focusing on the places themselves we had to constantly keep looking for the answers. Overall, I had a wonderful time and made many memories with family and friends. This program has made a really big impact on my me. I now want to travel back to Japan and possible study abroad there in the future.

Overall I'd say the experience was pretty great. Just being able to go to Japan for relatively cheap. The host family experience in particular, was excellent and better than I could have ever imagined. On the other hand, some of the group excursions/field trips were notably underwhelming. It always felt like we didn't spend enough time in/around the places we went by just 1-1.5 hours. We always left just as it got into the afternoon/early evening too, so it felt kind of pointless that we never stayed longer. Just to reiterate, the whole thing was really enjoyable and I don't regret it at all.