PEARL Student Voices

Q1: What makes PEARL stand out to you?
The small cozy setting with only 100 peers accepted per year. PEARL students are academically competitive for sure, but at the same time, everyone is so nice to each other. This peculiar, yet amazing characteristic makes PEARL a great place to learn. I also have to mention the wide variety of liberal arts classes available for PEARL students. Taking those classes while studying economics has helped me a lot to broaden my perspective.

Q2: What was your biggest struggle when you moved to Japan?
I would say the language. My Japanese was at very beginner level back then. I did not have anybody I knew living here or at PEARL, and my parents could not chaperone me because of the pandemic, so I came here all alone. I will never forget the overwhelming feeling when I got to Yokohama station for the first time. Everything seemed so different from Indonesia. The fact that there were only a few Indonesian students enrolled in my class made me a little sad as well. However, it turned out to be a good thing, as I have now become friends with people from all over the world.

Q3: Are you engaged in any extracurricular activities?
I am a member of one of the biggest dance clubs at the university. Even though I had had no experience in dancing, for some reason I was really keen to try it. Since I was such a beginner and Japanese was the language mainly spoken in the club, I was initially a bit scared to interact with other members. However, after going through a couple of big events together, I gradually started to blend in. My dancing is improving, and so is my Japanese.

Q4: What message or piece of advice would you have for prospective students?
Many of you must be wondering if university is really harder than high school. My answer is yes, absolutely. University classes are much more intense. But remember, university is not only a place where you study. There is absolutely still room for trying something new and having fun. In addition to dancing, I enjoy exploring Tokyo as well as traveling around Japan, Nagoya and Hokkaido for instance, with my friends from PEARL. In short, being a university student is all about being able to expand your bubble. Come on and join us at PEARL!