CUC Buddies is a student group that supports new international students to help them quickly adapt to unfamiliar life in Japan and lead a fulfilling life abroad. CUC Buddies support new international students' lives on and off campus as good friends and confidants. Through interactions with international students, students can improve their intercultural communication skills and learn about Japan from an overseas perspective.
In addition to the exchange events with international students planned by International Division, CUC Buddies also hold events that they have planned themselves.
For information about recruiting CUC Buddies, please contact International Division.
Buddies and international students' comments
I applied for the buddy program because I wanted to interact with non-Japanese students at university.
I was able to learn about the culture and language of China, the home country of Shi, which was a very interesting experience. Not only did I learn Chinese vocabulary, but I also learned about pronunciation and accents. I also taught him Japanese culture and Japanese. Through these interactions, I went from being a buddy to being a friend. Now, Shi is one of my good friends. If I have the opportunity to go to China, I would like to be Shi's buddy and learn various things from him.
Takumi Matsuzaki, 2nd year, Department of Department of Commerce Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration
From the first time I met Mr. Matsuzaki, he was polite and gave me the impression of being very kind, so I knew we could become good friends. Mr. Matsuzaki is a really interesting person, and we had a common hobby, so we met up often and had lunch together. One time, there were so many types of soy sauce in Japan that I didn't know which brand to choose, so he went to the supermarket with me. He is a good cook, so he knows a lot about soy sauce and helped me choose a good one. I was interested in the life of Japanese students, and he kindly taught me about it, so I learned a lot about it.
2015 Fall semester exchange student Shi Jiyu
Since this is a new system and there was no precedent for it, I was a little nervous at first, but I was able to enjoy interacting with my supervisor, Ku, thanks to our shared hobbies and cheerful personality. My circle of friends has expanded greatly, not only to Ku, but also to his friends and international students from the same faculty. We were able to make fun memories by eating lunch together, shopping together, and participating in a table tennis tournament organized by International Center. This CUC New International Student Buddy System is a system that can remove the barriers of nationality. In the future, I would like to increase opportunities for interaction with international students and be the first to create an atmosphere where international students can feel at ease.
Yoshinori Kusunoki, 2nd year student Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
My most memorable experience was participating in a table tennis tournament and pairing up with my buddy, Mr. Kusunoki. Table tennis is famous in China, but I had hardly ever played it. However, we played well together and took first place in our group. In the final tournament, we were sadly defeated and ended up in fifth place, but I still had a really good time playing table tennis with Mr. Kusunoki.
Qingyen Ku, 3rd year student, School of Policy and Information Studies