Made it to Singapore! (Let’s ignore the fact that I’m writing this on June 19, 2026, after I’ve already finished the semester and returned home. I really need to be better about blogging during the semester, but either way, it’s been so cool to reflect on my time abroad and all the things I did and learned.) Ever since I got back to the U.S., people have been asking me what my favorite thing about my semester in Singapore was. I always reply, "I just loved my routine while I

IBEA Weekend 3/4! Every semester, we have a designated IBEA weekend. The previous ones have been to the Black Forest in Germany and North Myrtle Beach in the U.S. This semester, the ESSEC students organized an epic weekend trip to Pulau Besar Island in Malaysia. The experience was so amazing that I still have a hard time understanding how they secured such an incredible vacation spot for us. It literally felt like we had an entire island and resort to ourselves. That's why we

Singapore is conveniently just a ferry ride away from Indonesia, so one weekend in April, one of my roommates and I decided to take a little getaway to Bintan, Indonesia! After our Entrepreneurial Marketing class, we headed to the ferry terminal and took the hour and a half ferry over to Bintan. We stayed at this little beachfront resort called Ten Rooms (which literally has ten rooms, five upstairs and five downstairs that are all facing the beach). There was a little seatin

A Week in Japan! From April 18th-25th, six of my friends and I traveled from Tokyo to Mt. Fuji to Nara to Kyoto to Osaka and back to Tokyo. It was an absolutely incredible trip, and I know it's one I'll never forget. Since there are so many places to travel throughout Southeast Asia, it was honestly hard to decide where to go for spring break because there were endless options. It's actually kind of a funny story about how we ended up choosing Japan. One of my friends was sup

Hi everyone! In this blog, I’ll be sharing a bit about my experience interning in Japan during my study abroad semester. For the past two months, I interned at Intralink, a business development consultancy that also serves as the South Carolina Department of Commerce’s representative in Japan. As a University of South Carolina student, I worked exclusively on projects related to South Carolina-Japan business relations, making it a particularly meaningful experience. I think i

Hi everyone! Today, I’ll be talking about the time I spent in Fukuoka during Golden Week. Golden Week is a series of national holidays in Japan, so we ended up getting almost an entire week off from school. To take advantage of the break, a few friends and I decided to head south to Fukuoka! Popular destinations like Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto become incredibly crowded during Golden Week, so if you ever find yourself in Japan around this time, I’d definitely recommend visiting s

Education abroad goes by quickly. And when I say that, I mean it. It seems like a summer, full semester, or even a year abroad would last a lifetime, but your experience will go by like a flash. I’m still shocked that my semester abroad was already a year ago! It was such an amazing experience that went by in the blink of an eye. But, as they say, all good things must come to an end. So I think we ought to talk a bit about my experiences in my final weeks in Japan as well as

Hey guys!! I’m three weeks into coming to Japan and my class is starting tomorrow. I’m super excited to start my classes and meet my classmates but before that I wanted to share the best eats I had in Tokyo so far! One of my goals of studying abroad is to find hidden gems all around Japan! And for three weeks I have been going wandering around to find the best foods around Tokyo. First thing you have to try after coming is to go to any rotating sushi restaurant. If you have e

Hi everyone! I have officially been in Japan for three weeks now, and what a time it has been. The first two days after I arrived, I stayed with my friend and her family. It was great seeing familiar faces in such a new environment. I was practically running on adrenaline those first couple of days, and once they dropped me off at my dorm, everything really set in. The best way to describe it is like when your parents drop you off at college freshman year—everything feels new

Living abroad. We’ve talked a lot about the adventures, the school, the people, but a massive part of the experience is just living in a different country! Your bathroom might be in a different layout, you may not be able to find the foods you’re used to in stores, or you may not even be able to find clothes that fit you! (Such was my case… I’m too tall for Japan!) But no matter what roadblocks you must face, living abroad is a crucial and, honestly, quite exciting part of st

Hey guys! Welcome to my very late Pre-departure blog post. My name is Temmi and I am a junior majoring in Accounting and International Business with a minor in Japanese. Starting from this mid April, I will be studying at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan!! The spring/summer semester in Japan doesn't start till April so It was a perfect opportunity to complete a busy season Accounting Internship from January to March in Chicago. After all this busy season work, I am very exci

I’ve been talking a whole lot about the trips and such of my time in Japan. I don’t want to say it isn’t all fun and games, but half of the title of “study abroad” is “study” , so, let’s talk about it! Broadly, classes abroad are structured quite similarly to how classes work here in the US. Yet, I have no doubt that you might find yourself with more free time to travel, enjoy your time in your host country, and do fun things! For me, Japan was an interesting change of pace,

Hi everyone! My name is Madelyn, and I am a junior International Business and Marketing major with a minor in Japanese. This semester, I’ll be studying abroad at Keio University in Tokyo, Japan. My semester doesn’t start until the beginning of April, so I’ve actually been on break since December! While it’s definitely been nice to have some extra time to relax, I am so excited to finally go abroad. A bunch of my friends are also studying in Japan this semester, which makes it

Last week, we scratched the surface of what is in store for you in the hot spring city of Japan: Beppu! From the Jigoku Beppu to the various hot springs available, there are countless things to do, but still, as I said, we only scratched the surface. Let’s dig a bit deeper shall we? Beppu has a very storied history and that is directly conveyed in the fact that much of the architecture and infrastructure is very old and well-maintained. Many of the bathhouses and onsens are h

Hey! It’s been a while! Last blog, we talked about Tottori. It’s amazing people, golden beaches, and amazing sights. I can’t emphasize just how amazing of a place it was. But there is another. A place equally as beautiful in its own special way. That place is called Beppu! Located right outside of the massive city of Oita, Beppu is a smaller city, but extremely well known for its hot springs. Every time I mentioned that I went to Beppu to any of my Japanese friends, they were

Welcome back to my blog! Before starting my next semester abroad in Singapore this time, I want to recap my fall semester at the University of South Carolina! 2025 felt like two separate years. January to June looked completely different from June to December. As soon as I arrived back in the States, I visited lots of family and went back to working as an undergraduate advising assistant at the Darla Moore School of Business. It took some time to adjust back to the U.S. pace

So we’ve covered some great tips for your initial weeks in Japan. From predeparture, your first week there, and even that “going through the motions” slump, which, believe me, is real. I hope that you found those tips at least useful. But how about we dive into some of the good stuff. My trips while abroad in Japan! I really emphasized making sure you travel - see the cool stuff in the country you’re studying abroad in. Not doing more of it was certainly one of my biggest reg

You made it to week three! You’ve probably gotten through orientation, gotten settled in your new place of living, and have hopefully made a few new friends. Routines have been set and you’ve probably gotten your first assignments. So what else is there to do? Have fun, of course! Keep in mind that you’re in a new country! New people to meet, new things to see, and new foods to try, so let’s jump start that initial week three slog (which is a thing, believe me) and set you up

In my last blog, I explored some things I wished I knew before I went abroad. And believe me, I wish I knew some of them. But let’s take a breather. You took your five hour, ten hour, fifteen hour (in my case) flight and you’re there. The air smells… different. You won’t expect that, but it is fresh, new, exciting, and honestly a bit scary. The people (probably) speak a language that you don’t (or maybe you do if you followed the tips from my last post!) So what now? The fun

Hey, there! My name is Mike and I studied abroad in Nishinomiya, Japan - a “small” (I use the word lightly when it comes to Japanese cities) city outside Osaka during the spring 2025 semester. What an experience that was. You’ll always experience some shock when going to a foreign country. That is a given. I’ve been fortunate to visit some awesome places! From the Scottish Highlands to Mexico, I like to think I’m pretty well travelled, but I never experienced culture shock qu