Waseda SILS 2009-2010

[spiderpig]

For any of you who might have stumbled upon this blog after searching for information about Waseda and/or the SILS programme, I'll be updating this blog with my adventures in Japan :) I'm from Singapore and will be taking part in the one year exchange that Waseda has, from September 2009 - August 2010.

However, this blog is still rather personal so most of my posts will go onto my weblog In Your Basment.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Hii,

I'm Lynne from USP (Er, the girl who did the buddy thingy with Waseda DDP peeps?) I'm going over to Waseda this September and I was just wondering about the average monthly expenses over there. (I knoww, typical Singaporean Heh.) I mean not scrimp and save and be all miserable and unable to travel around (or watch concerts) but not decadent lifestyle as well... How much do you think will be a safe amount? If its too private, you can choose to not answer me, really! Just doing a little research~

[spiderpig.livejournal.com]

Hello!

I'm not sure where else to reply you because you didn't leave an e-mail address but hopefully you check back here! :)

Average monthly expenses -- most months I survive on about 700SGD, but this can go up to 900SGD --> this is not including rent.

With 700-800SGD, you SHOULD be able to eat decently, go to concerts (either one 'expensive' one or a few cheaper ones in the 2000yen range), and also travel! I've managed to do all these, and have rarely hit the red with the exception of my 2-3week long trip back in Spring break where I broke the bank. T___T There are also times when I go a bit crazy and shop -- so far my allowance has been able to cover it (then I start eating ramen....)

Most of the time for transport, I use a maximum of 6000yen a month. If you stay in the dorms near the campus, then it's around 4000-6000yen.

[(Anonymous)]

Yes hihi I do check back :D

JE concerts are going to bleed a VERY big hole in my pocket. D8 And i actually wanna travel quite so a bit.

But thanks for giving me a tangible amount! People keep telling me "it depends" and I know they are right but that is really not very helpful an answer. But now I have an actual number to work with! Thankss!

Pity we aren't there at the same time :(

Oh yes, you know I am not small. Is it hard to get clothes for my size there?

[spiderpig.livejournal.com]

Yeah! I had the same problem when I was trying to ask around for how much I would need. I've been traveling lots on my allowance so you should be able to do fine :) Of course, the more money you can get, the better it is ;)

If you can not pay rent/have a scholarship that pays rent, a lot of your problems will be solved already XD If you need anymore advice or help, feel free to e-mail me at spiderpig @ gmail.com! Have fun in September!!!

[spiderpig.livejournal.com]

ALSO CLOTHES! I forgot about that.

Be mentally prepared that most of the lovely clothes you see will not fit you/us/sob. :( That's the general outlook of clothes that sell at places like Harajuku etc -- WHERE THE TRENDY STUFF IS, :(

But! I buy most of my clothes from Uniqlo which is a godsend for larger sized clothes at cheap/reasonable prices. My advice is get your bottoms (JEANS. ESPEICALLY, in SG. Cheaper too!) Tops shouldn't be a problem. Shoes might be a bit of a bother if you're on the LL size (that's like 24.5cm and above). There's also a lot more foreign (read: gaijin) brands opening up here, so finding clothes shouldn't be hard. The main problem would be finding clothes that don't burn your wallet! LOL