Study Abroad Adventures: 2015-2016 Monthly Report from Dunedin, New Zealand【No.3】

From Kazuki Maekawa

 I had my summer vacation until 4th, January. I went to many places by myself (not with my Japanese friends) during the summer vacation because I wanted to get to know new people. I realized that I have spent too much time with Japanese friends between last October and December and that is not good for improving my English.
 In the first month after I got here, I was able to go to a variety of places because of my Japanese friends. They came here earlier and knew more about here than me. They helped me a lot in socializing and getting used to the new life here. So, my advice for those students who are going to study abroad is that they should join the Japanese group in the initial months. However, after 2 months, I think it is better to act independently because our purpose is to study English.
 My class started on January 5th. When I entered the classroom, I was surprised because the number of students decreased a lot. There were only 5 students including me. I thought new students would join my class. So, I was a little disappointed. But the present learning environment is very comfortable for me because it is easy to focus on taking the class. I think it is very helpful for me to learn more.

 I started to go to church since last December. I didn’t believe in God before. I found it is a good way to get to know new people. I made a good friend there whose name is Jordan. He is from the U.S., and he is very kind. I always talk with him every weekend.
 Next time I will write about the final exam which will be in next week. My grade was not so good in the mid-term test, so I want to get better grade. If I can get high grade, I will be able to go to a higher level class. I will go for it.