animangiac

I took three years of Japanese classes at my college, one semester while actually in Japan, until I ran out of classes to take. I didn't find learning too hard, but now that it's been a couple years, I'm rusty. Listening and reading I can do okay with, but speaking or writing skills have become minimal. It definitely helps to have other people around to practice with.

I participated in my university's study abroad program so I have a little experience as well. First, figure out if you college has any type of international studies office or study abroad programs. That will probably be the easiest way for you to start applying and they can offer a lot of help with things. You might even get lucky and have your tuition waived for that semester, as my school did. For choosing your program, there's probably quite a few options. My college offered three different Japanese universities in different areas. One was an international school where classes would be taught in English and there was less required knowledge of the language. The others taught classes in Japanese and you were more immersed in the language and culture. Either way, it is definitely best to take a few classes in Japanese. Some areas may be more English language friendly than others.