To tell the truth, when I read your essay, I did get a feeling that we're very different. I assume you're not the kind of person to choose Japanese lit as your major... Maybe it's a bit crazy to categorize both of us under the name of "kikoku shijo.
Shijo-Tsushin #15 April, 1998
I am a college student in Japan. I attended jr high and high school in other country than Japan. (I was in California, actually.) When I was a high school student, I had to go to Juku every Saturday to work on math, vocab for TOEFL & SAT, and shoronbun for juken. I felt exactly the same way you felt. For me, it was kind of fun to hang around with Japanese kids. I also enjoyed my life with my American friends and I often didn't want to go to Juku. Actually, I've always wanted to go to an American university. But I've decided to come back to Japan for college. It was my decision.
I do think it's rediculous to bring juken-sensou to other countries. However,the system has not changed yet and I had to follow the system. So, in my senior year, I finally accepted the condition which was juken-sensou.
I decided to come back to Japan. Because I am Japanese. I thought there were big problems in Japanese educational system, legal system, etc etc. There are so many, or too many problems!! So, I wanted to change that. I wanted to contribute to make Japan a better country. To do that, I thought, I should go to a Japanese college to learn about Japan. Also, I wanted to become friends with many Japanese people who are going to lead this country. And I thought such people would choose better universities.
Fortunately, I got accepted to a college where your activities in another country was rather evaluated. And I've met so many wonderful people. I know I didn't make a wrong decision. And since I am a returnee and know about other cultures and systems, I think I can see this country from a unique point of view.
Maybe you are really frustrated about your present situation. I really understand your feelings, too!!! Because I experienced it. But if you think about your future, or Japan's future, you may have different ideas. Maybe you think different from the way I think. And I think it is natural. This is just my opinion & my experience.
First of all, I took my entrance exams during the past fall, and I got into the college of my choice. From my experience of the "juken-sensou," it wasn't as bad as you think. The professors were very understanding of our situations. Well yes, they may have to look at us by our test scores, but that's inevitable considering the difference in academic standards by country/school. But that's only part of the admission process. They do have interviews, where they ask you what things you learned abroad, what sets you apart from the high school students in Japan, etc. They do give us a chance to present the "real" us. By the way, I applied as a Japanese literature major, which is rare among "kikoku shijo," but they said they don't expect from me the same knowledge or "kanji" skills as the regular applicants. Rather, they said they happily welcome students like me, who can influence others greatly, who can bring new perspective to a conservative faculty.
Secondly, you say you could be having a great time if you didn't have to worry about the "nyuushi." But what if you were going to a college in Netherland? Or even England/USA? You would most probably have to go through the same things; good recommenda-tions, good test scores, high GPA..... Well, I can't say much about the Dutch colleges, but living in the US, I see my classmates stressing over applications and rushing to teachers for recommendations. Since the colleges are sending out replies at this time of year, I hear rumors everyday about who got into where, who got waitlisted, etc. I guess it's what high school students everywhere have to go through.
To tell the truth, when I read your essay, I did get a feeling that we're very different. I assume you're not the kind of person to choose Japanese lit as your major... Maybe it's a bit crazy to categorize both of us under the name of "kikoku shijo.
I wish you the best of luck in your "nyuushi."