One Thing Stands Out In APU Orientation Week

Finally, for the next two years, I’ll live in a place where I used to see/watch it only on YouTube, the beautiful and green campus of Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU). We’re already in the middle of the orientation week for the new students (including me and six of my friends from Africa).

The only thing that got my attention was the AP House Disaster Drill. Japan is an earthquake-prone country, so everyone should get prepared for it. So the best way to get prepared is to get involved with the drill. Resident Assistants (RAs) would take us from our floors like if a real earthquake struck. Then, we're evacuated to a nearby evacuation center. Later, we're shown how to use the Fire Extinguisher. In sum, we're now ready for an earthquake.



We’re here for only a week, but now we truly understand why APU keeps on repeating that they offer an international environment for the students. That claim is real and I can prove it. With less than a week, I have friends from USA, Switzerland, China, Germany, Samoa, and Japan. This is in addition to my friends from Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Burkino Faso. This friendship was unimaginable two weeks ago. This university is really one-of-its-kind.

I’m impressed so far, and I hope this will only increase during my stay in APU for the next two years. Thank you, everyone, who’s part of APU’s history.

First Two Weeks in Japan: ABE Initiative Orientation

I arrived in Japan on August 26, 2016, as a participant of the African Business Education Initiative for Youth (ABE Initiative). ABE Initiative offers opportunities for young and eligible African men and women to study at Master's courses in Japanese universities as international students and to experience internships at Japanese enterprises in order to develop effective skills and knowledge in various fields for contributing the development of industries in Africa. At the 5th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V), it is recognized that there is a need for human resource development in both private and public sectors of Africa in order to cultivate a strong human network between Japan and Africa.