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Ahmed, Sudan
- Campus
- Student Voices
Ahmed was the first student from Sudan to join NUCB, increasing our students from Middle East and Africa, where we have students from Libya, Ghana, Uganda, and Yemen. After studying in the first gr...
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Nadine, Swiss/Indonesia
We are joined today by Nadine, an international student who joined the Global BBA Program in 2019. Nadine came to NUCB after completing her IBDP in Thailand with Regents International Scool Pattaya.
Nadine (Swiss/Indonesia) Regent International School Pattaya Thailand
What attracted you to Japan and NUCB?
I’ve always really liked Japanese culture, Japanese food, and just the peaceful lifestyle that I would have here so when I was looking for universities, I found NUCB and I thought it would be a good fit for me.
One of the deciding factors for choosing NUCB was the opportunity for overseas exchange and the chance to meet students from all over the world.
What do your remember about the application process, was it quite straightforward from application through to visa and entrance to Japan?
I remember the process being very straightforward and the admissions staff were very kind and always willing to answer any questions or concerns. For the visa application in particular I remember being pleasantly surprised because immigration procedures in Thailand are usually extremely slow but the Japanese embassy had the fastest procedures I ever experienced while living in Thailand.
Did you have any trouble adapting to Japanese culture?
Not really. I’ve lived in Asia my whole life so I’m used to Asian culture and my Dad used to live in Japan so he told me a lot about what life is like here. Also, I have been here on holiday before so I am pretty familiar with the country. For myself, it was kind of a special case because I have a Japanese friend living here, who I met when I was still living in Thailand. Her and her family really helped me out a lot. Settling in can be difficult for some, but current Global BBA students will be willing to help you if needed.
I also go back home to Thailand whenever possible. I always talk to my family through messenger apps and we send each other photos so it’s alright. Also, I have never lived in my home country so I am used to living in a different culture.
How did the IB help you prepare for university life at NUCB and the Case Method?
The IB helped me with time management skills, especially towards the second year of IB. You are met with so many deadlines and it’s your own responsibility to make sure you are up to date with all your work and getting things done. Since the Global BBA program requires good time management skills, I feel that I have adapted quite well.
What do you do in your free time before or after class and on the weekends?
I love to travel around and try a lot of new Japanese food. I follow a lot of different food accounts on Instagram that help me find all these restaurants and cafes around Aichi that I go and check out.
My favorite is Japanese beef. There are so many ways to eat beef in Japan: gyudon, shabu-shabu, sukiyaki, yakiniku, gyutan and so on. My favorite experience has been eating yakiniku with my friends and having a robot serve our food to us. Another food I love is Japanese curry, you can never go wrong with eating at Coco Ichibanya. When it comes to dessert my favorite has been castella which is a sponge cake that comes from Nagasaki. In Nagoya, it might be hard to find authentic castella but I did recently find a shop called Haneru that sells butter castella balls the size of takoyaki, it was really delicious!
I’m also a big fan of anime so there are always events, movies, collaborations, or exhibitions that I can go to as well.
What has been one of your favorite classes so far and why?
Human Resource Management has been one of my favorite classes. I like how we go into a lot of different industries in different countries and have a lot of variety in the cases that we use. Each case is also accompanied by a relevant theory which we can use in future classes as well. Professor Ray was also very nice and supportive throughout the course and created a very comfortable learning environment.
What is your favorite thing about living in the dorms and in Greater Nagoya?
I love the fact that the area is peaceful and quiet, the rent is cheap and that you don't have to worry about usage of utilities. I think a budget of 80,000 JPY per month is more than enough to comfortably live as a student at NUCB. Nagoya is also great because it’s in Central Japan which makes travelling quite convenient because you can hop on the Shinkansen and travel to Tokyo or Osaka real quick. It’s also not as crowded as Tokyo so it’s not as stressful commuting around.
You have previously lived in China, has that helped your Japanese language?
Yes it helped me a lot because the two languages share a lot of similarities, especially with kanji. So I found learning how to read and write Japanese a lot easier than most of my classmates did. Even if my Japanese speaking skills aren’t great yet I have no problems living here because I can still read the signs, menus, etc.
