FAQs for Southeast Asia Program
How safe are these countries?
Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore are fully as safe as the Western countries to which students often travel. Past participants have not felt concerned about their personal safety. The program has been offered since 1991 so has a considerable record of safe operation.
Are visas required?
Japanese students do not require visas. Taiwanese and Myanmar students do; however, there has been no problem in obtaining them.
Do I need to get any inoculations or take any other health precautions?
No.
What about additional costs?
Besides the program fee, there are the following: airline fuel surcharge and tax (this charge is not included because it changes from month to month—last year it was about ¥14,000); travel health insurance (several levels of coverage are available); and some meals. Note that meals in Southeast Asia are rather low in cost. In this program you are not paying a lot of additional expense every day.
What kind of hotels do we stay in?
Our hotels are chosen on the basis of safety, location and cost. All of the hotels have been used by past groups and have been found to be safe; they also are excellently located in terms of public transportation. Typically, they are older hotels which have been well-maintained. In Ta Kha village (Thailand), the group stays in large traditional farm houses which have modern bath/toilet facilities.
Who will be participating in the program?
Most participants will be Japanese undergraduates (typically from Keio and the University of Tokyo, though students from other universities are welcomed). Each year, the group usually includes one or more graduate students or interested people who graduated some time ago and are now working. The program seeks a diverse group of participants since so much of the learning takes place within the group.
What level of English is required?
The entire program will be conducted in English since this will be the only common language of everyone we’ll be talking with. Thus, the program requires students who feel comfortable (or brave!) in speaking in English. Perfect grammar is not important—but the willingness to communicate with others and participate in discussions is important. The program attracts students who want to improve their English ability through a total immersion in English; thus, it is not unusual to find a Japanese speaking privately with another Japanese in English.
Who provides Learning Across Borders (LAB) leadership?
Dwight Clark continues to lead each LAB program. He began his career as Dean of Freshmen at Stanford University and then founded Volunteers in Asia (now called VIA) which is based at Stanford. Upon retirement from VIA, he created LAB as a means of promoting cross-cultural education and understanding.
LAB also relies on the leadership of Shugo Yanaka (Keio) who participates in many programs and organizes its alumni activities. His career includes roles in consulting/business management, media and education. Max Erdstein (Stanford), former Google executive and now scholar/practitioner of Buddhism, has served as faculty on several programs.
LAB also calls on the advice and service of many active members, including Yukiko Imanaka (Keio), Asumi Nonomiya (Keio), Daichi Hirose (Keio), Yasumasa Yamamoto (Keio), Kenta Minami (Oxford/Cambridge), Sotaro Hata (Keio), Shun Ito (Keio) and Takafumi Yamada (Tokyo).