I’m Kobayashi Nana. I’m from Chiba. I’m in the third year of junior high school.

The reason I came to CIJ this time is because my friend came to CIJ last year and invited me to go again this year. Just when I was planning to go to study abroad in the summer, my friend invited me out, so I decided to go.

I was reassured because I came with four of my school friends.
When I came here on the first day, I didn’t really know what kind of place it was, but I began to know it from the middle.
I was surprised by the difference in taste when I ate meal immediately, but after a week I could eat deliciously.
However, I wanted to eat Japanese food. But, I was happy to be able to eat cup ramen during movie on Saturday and Sunday.
Also, I didn’t feel so lonely because I could call my parents during the movie on Saturday.

I used to listen to English and Australian English at school in Japan, but it was my first time to listen to Filipino English.

Life at CIJ was more fun than I was worried about in Japan.
The textbook I used here had difficult words, but there were exact meaning in English, so it was a good study.

 

At my Japanese school, my class planned not to speak Japanese in classes using English, but at that time everyone in the class spoke Japanese English.

 

However, I had a very good experience here because roommate can only communicate in English with proper pronunciation.
All the students in CIJ were kind and enjoyed being together.
I also learned a lot because I hadn’t spent a month with friends from other countries.

I learned a lot about how to deal with CIJ since there are a lot of people ranging from young children who are about the third grade of elementary school to seniors who are about the third grade of high school.

I was able to study a lot because it was the first time I had man to man class. There are only me and the teacher, so it’s a good speaking practice. All the teachers here were kind and enjoyed class. My favorite teacher was Mr. Julie. It was very easy to talk and fun.

I used to define Chinese and Korean children only by imagining them, but when I first spoke to Koreans and Chinese, I learned a lot of things because of cultural differences.

In activity, I was able to go to the pool, go to the big mall, go to City Tour, and enjoy the Philippines. When I was active, I also learned to shop in English.

In the end, Korean friends, Japanese friends, Chinese friends and Taiwanese friends went back to their home. I was sad.

At CIJ, I was able to experience a lot of things that I couldn’t experience just by studying in Japan, and I was able to meet a lot of good people.
I was able to make many good memories.