The reason why I decided to study abroad in France was to learn the language and broaden my knowledge.

I am currently in a department where all classes are taught in English, but to be honest, I am not very confident that my English language level has improved. This is because I have been neglecting independent study because I have been taking advantage of the situation where I am immersed in English every day.
However, in the first semester of my sophomore year, I began studying French as a subject and was able to reaffirm the joy of learning a language. From there, I gradually began to think that I wanted to learn to speak French as well as English, and that I wanted to go to France. I decided that if I could do an exchange to France, I would try to learn French, English, and many other new things, and if not, I would try to master English in Japan. As a result, I was successfully selected as an exchange student.

In addition to French, art is another reason why I want to study in France. Last year, I read a book by Maha Harada titled "Tayutaedomo shizumanu," which sparked my interest in art. I had never been involved in art before, but when I started visiting art museums in Japan, I was fascinated by many works by French painters, which made me want to experience and learn more about painting in Europe.

I am sure that the 10 months I will spend in France will be a short time, but I am sure that it will be an irreplaceable part of my life, and I hope to come back with a lot of experience and knowledge in addition to what I learn in the language.

What I realized when I came to France to study was the importance of taking action on my own. I decided to study in France with the goal of learning French as well as English, but since my course at the university is taught in English and many of the students are international, I use English overwhelmingly in my daily life. I have French classes once a week, but it is impossible to improve my French only in those classes, so I thought it was important to study on my own and go out on the town and have conversations in French, even if only a little. It has been about 6 months since I started living in France, and although it is still difficult to speak French, I am very happy that I am starting to understand a little more and I like French more than I did before I came to France.

As an exchange student, I can choose the classes I want to take, and since I have fewer classes than regular students, I go to other countries in Europe to have fun during my free time. Even though various countries in Europe are within a short train or flight distance, each country has a completely different city atmosphere and national character, which makes traveling very enjoyable and I feel lucky to be able to experience so many different countries.

There are many things I want to do and places I want to visit in the remaining months of my study abroad program, so I hope to enjoy it without regrets.

My nine months in France were awesome. I was able to meet very dear friends whom I can call my best friends beyond nationality differences. Also, during my stay in France, I visited many European countries and got to know many new worlds. I am truly grateful to have had this precious opportunity to study abroad.

Through this exchange program, I learned the joy of being in a completely new environment. I often faced language and cultural barriers, but the joy I felt when I overcame these obstacles and was able to communicate with others was priceless, and I realized how fun it is to interact with people.

After returning to Japan, I have continued to study French and hope to live in France again someday. I started my exchange program in France because I was fascinated by the French language, but now I am a captive of France itself.