It is when I was a junior high school student that I decided to study abroad. In those days, I was a huge fan of a British boys band and I started to study English because I wanted to understand what they say. At the same time, I started to turn my eyes to the world from Japan, rather only situations around me. While I was studying English, I decided that I would like to go abroad alone instead of traveling with someone. Therefore, I went to Ireland as my language training when I was a high school student. For the first time, I experienced the situation that I lived surrounded by people who cannot speak Japanese. Through this experience, I thought that my world would spread if I could speak foreign languages as well as English fluently, and I think so too now. My language training in Ireland gave me the feeling that I want to stay abroad alone longer and interact with foreign people whose everything such as their mother tongue and culture are different clearly from mine. According to it, I decided to study abroad for a year and I would achieve this goal. In this Australia study abroad, I would like to change myself. I think that I will enjoy the utmost as much as possible as well as studying seriously and desperately because I can realize finally the study abroad that I was aiming at from a junior high school student.

I have one thing that I feel during my exchange period, that speaking other languages including English leads to change our world in a positive way. I have had this opinion since before and felt it again this time because there are a number of people who become my friends thanks to my poor knowledge about French and Chinese language. I have studied French since a high school student. As for Chinese, I wanted to learn it for a long time and had chance to do so here in Australia, so I learnt it for a year. Of course, it is not enough to say I can speak both French and Chinese, on the other hand, it is true my poor knowledge gave me some chances to know other people. If I did not speak English, I would not experience those things in the first place. Therefore, I deeply appreciate for English which allowed to communicate with a lot of English speakers. I re-recognized the power of languages.

One of the things I learnt through my study abroad in Australia for a year is the importance of relationships with others. It was the first time for me to stay abroad which made me feel homesick many times. Every time I feel so, my family and friends in Japan who lived far away from me for a year comforted me as well as my friends in Australia. To be honest, I scarcely realized the thankfulness toward who worried about me and the happiness of it before this study abroad. However, the experience in Australia allowed me to notice the great power of relationships with others. It is true that messages from them made me happy. In addition, my friends in Australia helped me to be fine by chatting in my room anytime or hanging out with me. I know I have to get me fine by myself, but it was good for me to be able to realize the thankfulness toward people who thought of me.