<p>I had this idea that it would be nice to get anonymous advice from a parent not your own.CC Kids-post a question for us moms and dads in CC land to ponder.Many of us have the time and might offer a unique insight from a different perspective .PLEASE ,NO CHANCE ME POSTS! Instead, perhaps a social dilemma or personal question .We adults out here are waiting for your questions-I sure you could get lots of suggestions !</p>
<p>Can we parents get answers from kids not our own? Our own won’t answer us when we ask…</p>
<p>Haha, I can try to answer… I get bored on other forums sometimes and like to check out the entertaining CC parents :)</p>
<p>YES-this thread is for random students to ask anonymous parents for any questions they have that they don’t feel comfortable asking their own parents !! Maybe students will want to post using a friend’s website in case parent’s are online! Com’on Banjo give us that first thing you have always wondered about-let’s get this party started Us grownups out here LOVE to respond! Maybe a grownup will post a question for college kids to answer! I ,fauxmaven started this post as an empty nest mom currently not working much,looking to respond to questions as a new hobby,I suppose .And the best part is, you don’t have to take any advice offered !! So try us out !</p>
<p>fauxmaven, most CC kids don’t hang out in the Parents Forum. Perhaps you should post a notice in the High School Life or College Life forums, directing the kids to this one in the Parents forum (otherwise parents won’t see it to answer). </p>
<p>But be aware, many of us parents are working full time and it’s the holiday season - which, lets face it, is like having a second part-time job for moms with all the shopping, wrapping, decorating, entertaining, baking, etc - you might not get as many parents answering questions as you’d like.</p>
<p>First question…! :)</p>
<p>Background:
I have a very strong desire to go to a college in Japan since I was 12 years old (16 now). I found my dream, Japanese college with an English curriculum located in Tokyo. I want to study the language, culture, etc. of Japan. Money will not be an issue (factoring in scholarships and such).</p>
<p>My dream job is a screenwriter/director in Japan. I think it would be more beneficial to attend a college in Japan than to attend one in my own country (America) because of the nature of my dream job. I love Japan’s history, language, etc. not just the modern day culture of anime, manga, j-pop, and such (although I do love the modern culture as well).</p>
<p>My parents know I have a strong interest in Japan. I am learning Japanese on my own, I buy history/culture books on Japan, and read biographies on Japanese directors. So it’s not like my decision came out of the blue.</p>
<p>Question:
How do I go about asking my parents? What would you do if your son or daughter asked you? What would you be worried about (financial, safety, etc.)?</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>Cool beans! Here’s another question from a college student:</p>
<p>How do you try to calm a parent’s fears about their child studying abroad? My mom is very supportive of me going abroad and is excited that I’m going to England next semester. My dad, on the other hand — goodness. I haven’t even called home for a while because everytime I talk to him, he brings up me studying abroad saying he does not approve. When he was driving me back to school after Thanksgiving Break was over, he spent practically the whole hour drive talking about how he thinks studying abroad is a dumb concept in American universities (he didn’t grow up here). I tried convincing him in a few ways:</p>
<p>(1) I told him I would Skype him once a week.
(2) I told him he could come and visit me during Easter break and we could travel to France and other countries.
(3) I told him he will be able to see me all the time in the fall since I will be commuting from home to a new school, so five months or so isn’t bad!</p>
<p>I think he is scared that I get lonely and feel depressed being away from home. How can I convince him that I will be fine? My mother has tried but he still refuses to accept it. I think he hates letting go of me.</p>
<p>Mushabloom, I had many of the same fears before my son went abroad. Of course, it all went well and he had potentially one of the most amazing experiences of his life. What convinced me was that his college was promoting study abroad as a valuable academic and life experience, and all of the colleges we had toured were emphasizing their study abroad programs. If the college thinks it’s a good idea, how can it be dumb? Also the sheer numbers of kids going abroad today helped too. At selective colleges, a very large percentage (often 50% or more) of the student body studies abroad at least once. You could point that out to him as well. At some point, a student who has not studied abroad may be at a disadvantage when applying for jobs - especially with large, international companies.</p>
<p>Here’s some college viewpoints on Study Abroad:
<a href=“http://studyabroad.lafayette.edu/[/url]”>http://studyabroad.lafayette.edu/</a>
<a href=“http://www.hamilton.edu/offcampusstudy[/url]”>http://www.hamilton.edu/offcampusstudy</a>
<a href=“Tufts University”>Tufts University;
<p>And from Harvard: <a href=“http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~oip/students/parents.html[/url]”>http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~oip/students/parents.html</a>
</p>
<p>rayna3, what spurred your interest in all things Japanese? Is that your ethnic background? I’m just curious why you are so focused on a specific career in a specific country.</p>
<p>How do you try to calm a parent’s fears about their child studying abroad?</p>
<p>C & P the answer to me when you find out. My D has traveled through India & Africa & returned home safely- but now she wants to do her jr year in Australia & between her adventurous nature & crocodiles/sharks/heat/poisonous beasties, I am having a conniption.</p>
<p>EK, after India and Africa I would think Australia would be a relief!</p>
<p>The first suggestion is to find the most dangerous country that would be credible (Afghanistan probably isn’t credible - maybe Mexico, Venezuela, Iran, etc) and spend six months discussing why you want to go there. After that, Japan would be a relief. My husband’s roommate spent a year telling his parents about Afghanistan, and then when he spent a year in 1976-77 going to India, Pakistan, etc, they were relieved.</p>
<p>Seriously, our daughter spent 3 months in Sweden by herself on an organic farm she found online through WOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms) before her freshman year at college with no problems (that we have heard about). A son told us (after the fact) about being the first westerner to take a solo motorcycle trip through the Taklamakan desert in Western China, and how his helmet was ruined by a sandstorm and he had to ride without it to see. Another son told us about how he almost rolled off a cliff when he fell while solo hiking in New Zealand, and how a tree almost fell on him while hiking in Malaysia through a national park. Finally, yet another son recently told the story about slipping and catching a tree to stop falling while working on a water project in the Dominican Republic with Engineers without Borders.</p>
<p>Hopefully, your parents believe you are alert, competent, and reasonably cautious (or at least not reckless). There is risk in going abroad, especially by yourself. You want to convince yourself and then your parents that the value is worth the risks, and that you will be responsible about balancing the value of adventure with the value of self preservation.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>^ Haha, thanks! That’d be hilarious… I won’t be going abroad by myself, I plan on attending a regular university in Japan, so (hopefully) it’d be relatively safe. 
Thanks again!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I am Korean, actually. Born in S. Korea, but adopted to America. It was kind of a snowball effect. I used to love anime when I was little, then I became interested in the language, next the culture/history, and from there it was history. ^_^</p>
<p>I am also interested in Asia in general, so it’s not like I don’t love my birth country (S. Korea). Their entertainment scene is good, but is too idol-centered for my taste. (Not that Japan doesn’t have their idols, either. S. Korea just has a ton!)</p>
<p>I might have a question but I don’t want to post it publicly. It’s kind of a downer.</p>
<p>Emaheevul07</p>
<p>We’re a miserable bunch on this forum…give it your best shot kid.</p>
<p>rayna3:</p>
<p>Just be up front and discuss the idea of attending a Japanese college with them. Do your homework first (it seems that you have) so you can answer many oftheir questions. </p>
<ul>
<li>Make sure you understand how the financials work for the particular colleges. Don’t expect financial aod to be the same as here.</li>
<li>Make sure you know how a foreigner applies to the particular college and the chances of an international getting accepted.</li>
<li>Make sure you understand Japanese well enough to do well in college there. Unless you’re very fluent at speaking, listening, reading, writing Japanese to do well in the classes or that you know of a program at the college targeted towards internationals to help them come up to speed with the language.</li>
<li>Understand the logistics of going to a college so far away - hassle and cost of traveling back and forth for breaks, etc.</li>
</ul>
<p>I’ve been to Japan so safety wouldn’t be my concern - it’s a very safe country, safer than here. My biggest concerns, assuming the logistics above were workable, would be how much I’d miss my kid assuming I’d see the kid less than if attending college here, and the potential for the kid to get homesick.</p>
<p>^ Thank you so much! Be up front… hmm… okay! I know that I won’t be able to see them as often. If I didn’t go to Japan, I’d go to the east coast or west coast (and I live in TX). xD I hope to be able to see them about once a year though. I think I’d be okay, my mom would miss me terribly :/</p>
<p>I don’t need to be able to speak Japanese well, because all the classes are in English 
Thanks, grown ups! ahaha</p>
<p>Hi Rayna–Here’s a suggestion and a possible compromise that your parents might like–Take a look at the University of Washington, in Seattle. Get your language skills up to par, they have excellent Japanese language and literature or linguistics and Japan Studies (in the Jackson School, I believe). You could arrange to do your entire Junior year abroad. I think you will need excellent language preparation to pursue your dreams. Seattle would be great fun and a change of pace from Texas–sort of an interim approach. (My daughter is a Japanese language and literature major in her sophomore year.) Loves it.</p>
<p>I should also suggest that you check out the Concordia Language Villages summer camps for Immersion in Japanese. The Concordia programs have been frequently recommended on CC and my daughter had a great experience over several summers in the program. Really strengthened her language skills–and our family is not Asian! She also has a passion for the language and culture.</p>
<p>Thanks! NWMom2! Yes, I’ll have to be completely fluent to achieve my dreams. I’ve checked Concordia Language Village, I really want to go, but unfortunately it’s too expensive. 
Hopefully I’ll be able to immerse myself at home xD</p>
<p>I will make sure to check out U of Wash in Seattle! Thanks!</p>
<p>Glad I could help,
Concordia does have some scholarships available–give it try!!! Good luck!</p>