Living La Vida Loca

If you have decided on going abroad for studies, there are 3 ways of living life in that new foreign country...

1. Home stay,
2. Dormitories
3. Self rental apartments

Option 1 is for the adventurous people who love to meet new people and learn the culture & language of the people... Maximum style! It's great when you have a supplimentry family that may not be blood related, but can always be morally supportive. And home stays provides with plenty of opportunities to mix & mingle with the locals, and who knows, love might blossom... HAha.

Option 2 is actually a more recommended method if Home stay fails. In the dorm, you will always have chances to meet new people. But this is when you interpersonal skills must come in play. Don't shy away, if you need help ask and you shall receive. Not too sure in general, but some dorms (like mine) comes with a mix of local & foreigners and some are just for foreigners. If possible, I strongly recommend going to the dorm where you can mix with the locals.
Like in my case, while in this dorm, I get to observe the day to day manners that the locals do day to day. And as a friend who was once a foreign x-change student once told me, staying in a dorm is safer since you know you've got friends living together.

Option 3 is also for the adventurous type with a streak of rebelious nature. Staying in your own rented apartment is one of the options with the most freedom, but also the choice where you have to spend the most. When you rent your own place, you have to either do it in advance before you arrive, or hunt for a place while staying in a temperory hold up (e.g Hotel, friend's place etc).
I had my options pinned on this. But in the end, the odds were against me. Firstly, I hadn't looked for a place in advance and staying in a hotel even for 4days was very taxing on my wallet. And moreover in Japan, you need a guarantor who must either be local, or loaded. (in some cases, like mine, the school may also wish to be your guarantor) So be sure to check the terms & condition of rent.
Also, not that I wanna rain on your parade, but when you look for an apartment, be sure that it's furnished or you'll be finished. You wouldn't want to spend extra cash just on furnishing (unless you're dead rich) and certainly not the time & effort looking for them. Moreover, you've gotta clean and cook for yourself or spend more eating out... 1 thing I learned is that eating alone can be lonely and food gets really yucky...

Well I'll leave you guys to ponder over it. But if you should need anymore advice, feel free to comment, but I can't be certain when I'll ever get back.