Looking for Experience During Winter Season in City “The Land of Sunshine”

Heri Asriyadi 5th grade at Hasanuddin University (Indonesia) January 15th, 2018 ~ February 6th, 2018

Its an excellent opportunity to participate in this ODAPUS Program. So many people who apply on this program but in this year is my opportunity to become a delegate of my university. The initial expectation of this program is to know the technology of dentistry in which has been famous for its technological progress and also a very interesting Japanese culture. We start our journey from Makassar, Indonesia in the morning of January, 14th 2018 and arrived in Osaka on afternoon January 15th 2018. After our arrival in the airport, we can feel the Japanese environment which is famous for its orderly. And for the first time we felt a very cold temperature of -2 degrees. Of course that temperature is a cold temperature for Indonesians who have a long dry season and relatively hot. In airport many things very different from our country, like purchasing bus ticket by machine. And this is quite difficult for us who do not know japanese language at all, but the airport officer kindly helped us. We had to use bus to get to okayama. And travels approximately 3 hours. Although we feel very tired because of the long journey from Indonesia to Osaka, but during the journey to okayama my eyes can’t stop impressed the beauty of the night of the city. After 3 hours drive, finally we arrived at okayama station. feeling so happy beacuse we have been waited by sensei and professors from Okayama University, as well as friends who have followed ODAPUS to Indonesia. Then we were escorted to the Tshusima Lodging to take rest after a very long journey from our home.

EXPERIENCE IN OKAYAMA DAIGAKU DENTAL SCHOOL Our activity during the dental school is divided into 3 main activities : 1. Clinical Visitation During the ODAPUS Program, we have schedule for clinical visitations every Monday from 9am till 11pm. On this occasion we are entering departments prosthodontic, periodontic, and conservative. We were very impressed with the hours of service that always start and finish on time. The entire hospitals components are very concerned about the duties and responsibilities each other which is make the service done very satisfaction. Dentist and dental hygienist are very friendly with patients. The equipment and materials needed during the treatment are very complete and up to date. Equipment and materials used answered all my curiosity towards my initial expectations to Okayama. Sterility tools and working areas are well maintained during service hours. The most striking difference between Hasanuddin University and Okayama University is Student being the operator for patients who come in Hasanuddin University education hospitals. While lecturers or general dentists become operators for patients who come to the hospital and student only become assistants for the treatment. While following a visit at the prosthodontic department, we found many cases of implants that we rarely meet in Hasanuddin university education hospitals. And the case made us very interested to see and observe. And for the periodontics department we get an opportunity to see minor surgical procedures where the process is very sterile. The preparation of operators, dental hygienist, assistants and sterile working areas is as interesting as the major operations. On the conservation department we see a fairly fast operative dentistry procedure due to highly skilled operators. During this clinic visit, we have many experiences that we can apply in our campus life. Especially for the service to patient treatment.

2. English Lecture We have schedule for the English Lecture every Monday till Friday on 12.50 pm - 03.00 pm. But I cannot attend the class on Friday because I have to go to Tshusima campus to take a pray in Islamic Centre. I have to stand by on that place before 12pm and then finished on 1pm. but I still have to biking to Shikata campus about 30 minutes. That’s why I cannot attend the class. Every day we get different lectures from each department. Each department is presenting the research they have been doing. The presentation was delivered by professors or assistant professors. The research or the material presented is really interesting because everything is new for us. This program is followed by many countries so during our lectures, we have a lot of sharing about the material that we have obtained in each country. After the lecture we have to complete a resume about the material we have been following.

3. Pre-Clinical Class We attend Preclinical Class only 2 times. And this class is not very effective for us because we cannot understand the lectures that are delivered in Japanese. But the classroom situation is very orderly and there are interaction between lecturer and students so we can feel the scientific atmosphere.

AFTER SCHOOL HOURS After school hours we usually meet our lecturers to tell them about our activities on that day. After that we explore the okayama city. Okayama has a lot of public transportation that can be easily used so that access to anywhere is not too difficult. In every corner of the city there is map also so we can easily find the place where we want to go. We are very happy to learn using the train and buses in Japan. However, the most interesting public transportation for me is the "momochari" rental bike. Its small shape makes it easy for us to use it. And there are also many bicycle rental stations. Using bicycles in okayama is very safe because there is enough space for bicycle and pedestrian users. It is also supported by very orderly traffic. It only took a week for us to understand the transportation system in okayama. After 3 days staying in Okayama, we were invited by Prof. Minagi sensei to come to his house for dinner. his family make a lot of japanese food and we like it. we sharing each other about our country and our self. Our first week, we spent it to looking for a place that sells halal food because we are muslim. There are some places that we could visit after the class finished like Aeon Mall, Ario Mall, Korakuen Garden, Okayam Castle, and some typical Japanese eating places. aeon and Ario mall is a large mall and provides almost all we needs. We go to mall to buy some souvenirs for family and friends. We had time to visit Korakuen Garden and Okayama Castle. Okayama Daigaku gave us a temporary student card so we could get into Okayama Castle cheaper than usual and did not have to pay for Korakuen Garden. Okayama Castle shows the royal history in okayama so we learn a lot about the okayama history there. At Okayama Castle we were given the opportunity to use traditional Japanese clothes. and we are very happy with it. Korakuen Garden is a vast expanse of gardens and presents beautiful scenery. From this garden we can see the big Okayama Castle. But in my opinion, winter is not the right time to visit the korakuen garden because it does not show the true beautyness of the garden.

WEEKEND ACTIVITIES We had a great weekend during the odapus program. First weekend, we have one day trip on Saturday to Kurashiki Bikan Historical District, Yugasan Renunda Temple, and Big Seto Bridge. On sunday we went to Okudaisen. I am very happy with the atmosphere in Kurashiki bikan historical district that can make us comfort. This place was formerly only I can see through Samurai X movie and on that day I visited it directly. There is a museum there which is showed arts The district has many Japanese souvenirs so we feel satisfied to see the area.

I have never visited temple before until finally I arrived at Yugasan Rendai Temple. Just like the other places of worship, these place feel so peaceful. People around us believe by visiting this temple will avoid bad luck.

Great Seto Bridge is the longest bridge I have ever seen. Because it is too long so I can not see the end oh the bridge. But from the higher place of this bridge, its looks very interesting. Especially for people looking for photo spots. Okudaisen is the place I admire most during my stay in Japan. This is because I can see the mountains covered with snow directly. The scenery is entirely white and the temperature is very cold. This is a great spot for skiing and snowboarding. However, i never been skiing or snowboarding so I can only try to play “shori”. Sensei said that this shori is only for children but I do not mind it because it still feels good and challenging.

Second weekend I stayed with hostfamily. They were so kind during my stay there and I knew more closely the Japanese home culture. On Weekends we visit some historical places like Kokubunji 5th Floor Pagoda which is very tall and historical, Shrine, and Castle. The most interesting thing is when I visited Himeji castle with my hostfamily. We left from Kurashiki to Okayama Eki. after arrive at Okayama Eki, my hostfamily surprised me by saying that we were going to Himeji castle using a very fast train known as Shinkansen. this is my first and most valuable experience because I have dreamed to use this train someday. According to what people told, this train is so fast that the distance to Himeji feels very close. Arriving at Himeji, actually we can take a bus to Himeji castle, but I decided to walk to enjoy the city of Himeji. This castle is very large and spacious. This castle is one of the largest castle in Japan. This place is very crowded by local and foreign tourists. And everyone who visits this place is satisfied and happy. Finally we went home using shinkansen again. what a very pleasant experience.

Our last weekend we spent time traveling around the city of okayama to find souvenirs for us to take back to Indonesia to our nearest people.

LIVING WITH HOSTFAMILY We stayed with our Japanese hostfamily for 7 days. During that time they taught me the culture of Japanese people daily. Otosan (Yukioh Yokomi) and Okasan (Kazuko Yokomi) is very kind to me. Every morning we always share stories and laugh together during breakfast hours. The food served is very tasty, and I like it. At night after I got home, they waited for me to come and went to dinner. We teach each other languages, play video games together, and certainly share stories. They also took me to their dental clinic and I really liked the atmosphere of their clinic. And on the weekend we went to Himeji as I told you before. The moment I like the most is when I come home from campus activities, okasan has prepared Indonesian food that she learned through youtube. The taste of the food is very good and makes me very touched. They are very kind and I will always miss them.

Overall, every single activity that I've done during the program is very interisting. i like the athmosphere of the education systems. Japan always innovate to facilitate human life. The environment feels very orderly. And the environment that I lived for 23 days in Japan made me grow into a better person. I hope in the future I can return to that place to continue my studies.