【GSP】2019大学合格速報＋2019ターム留学生の近況報告２

【GSP】２０１９大学合格速報はこちらから

１月２７日（日）にオーストラリアに向けて出発した、ターム留学第９期生（１６名）からのメールレポート第２弾を掲載します。現地校での学習がスタートしてから１ヶ月弱が経ちました。最初のうちはだいぶ苦労していた留学生たちですが、各種イベントや授業、昼休みなどを通して、友人も増えたようです。コミュニケーションも随分とれるようになり、それにともなって気持ちもポジティブになってきました。豪州特有の授業科目を楽しんでいる生徒もいるようです。これからがどんどん吸収できる時期に入ります。留学生の健闘に期待しています。 　

ターム留学担当へのメールを英語の原文のまま掲載しますので、ぜひお読み下さい（留学生の氏名はイニシャルに変えています）。

Hi! Mr. Kamakura,
I'm going to report on the events of the past two weeks.
First of all, I went to a temple to pray on Saturday. It was a precious experience for me because I had not prayed before. Next I had a meal in the temple. Surprisingly, there was no knife, spoon, folk or chopsticks. Therefore, I had to eat with hands. It was also a precious experience. That is why I was able to learn not only Christianity but also Buddhism.
On Sunday, I went to a shopping mall. Shopping malls in Australia are much bigger than the ones in Japan. So I was surprised. I did not buy anything because I could not find what I wanted.
This week was another good week for me. I want to enjoy more.
Y.I.

Dear Mr. Kamakura,
Hello, Mr. Kamakura. How are you? This is my second report about my term in Australia. I’m starting to get used to my surroundings.
I’ve started to talk to my classmates more frequently and I’ve even been invited to play football with them. Although there are some times when their behaviors and actions surprise me but I feel a connection with them and I hope I can get closer to them. Another development is that I’ve also been talking to people who are not my classmates. Sometimes people come around while lunch and ask questions. Some questions are about Japan and some just make me realize that teenagers are pretty much the same anywhere. I’m starting to feel less alienated and I think I can really be a part of this school, even though it’s only for a short time. I even managed to borrow some books at the school library. They were the newest volumes of some of my favorite series, so I’m really happy.
Classes are going well too. I’ve been enjoying religious education the most. In this class we try to think about ethical values and modern problems using texts from the Bible. I’ve always wanted to study religion in detail and the ability to be able to connect religion and human behavior is a crucial skill to fulfill my dream of studying the origin of religions and the future of religion. However I haven’t really been able to talk to my classmates in this class, so that’s something I need to work on.
A class that still amazes me is well being. I’ve only been in this class three times but I don’t know what to think of it. It seems to be close to the “doutoku” classes we have in Japan, but the way the class is run is different. In the first class we spent a whole class introducing ourselves to our classmates. In the second class we suddenly started talking about what makes us stressed and what kind of symptoms we have when we are stressed. In the third class we put our stress for the day into a graph. The class has been a good chance to sort out my emotions and thoughts and look over myself. It’s both enlightening and bitter. Sometimes I’m gaining confidence or a sense of clarity and sometimes I just find something nasty or worrying about myself and getting a bit depressed. It was a lot more difficult than I had thought.
Things have been okay with my host family. I’ve tried helping out with chores. I went cycling with my host brother. He is a BMX rider so he was really good at riding a bicycle. On one day we went to a local water park called “Gumbuya World.” I’ve never been a good swimmer but I really enjoyed it. I tried to conquer my fear of heights on the waterslides but it didn’t go so well. I think I blacked out for an instant. There was a zoo in the park so I had to see some Australian animals like koalas and kangaroos. Although they weren’t in the wild I still felt a pang of admiration for their prowess as a lifeform.
I’m having a lot of fun. I hope I can progress even further. See you next time.
From K.S.

Dear Mr. Kamakura
Good evening. 3 weeks have passed and I have gotten many experiences with my host family. At first, I was worried about what would happen to me, but many people here are very kind and friendly. So, I am happy.
There are 2 impressive events. The first thing is going to church every Sunday. My host family are Christians, so in the church, they sing and pray to the God. I thought it was very interesting. Second, my host family took me to the beach that is in Geelog. It was very very beautiful. Some boats were floating in the beautiful sea. Then we rode Ferris wheel. The Ferris wheel was crazy. It went around 12 times! There were actually too many surprising things to tell you. They are very different from the things in Japan, so I was confused at first. However, these days, I’ve become used to these things.
Thanks to my host family, I can lead a full life.
T.N.

Dear Mr. Kamakura,
How are you, Mr. Kamakura? Now it has been 3 weeks since I got to Australia.
There are lots of differences! About traffic signal, here, there are signals for bicycles!
At school, I found that using oxydol is not common in Australia when my finger was injured. Also there is recess, when we have the time to eat snacks. It is helpful for me because I’m always hungry during the school days.
Before I arrived here, I was worried about if I could make friends... But luckily, now I have a friend! He always talks to us and tells us about what we do, differences between Australia and Japan, our senpai who’d been here last year, and so on. He also gave us English nicknames. Mine became Teddy!
About my host family, there are 6 family members, including me. Due to the family rules, we can’t eat sea foods and meats except for chicken. When I back to Japan, I’d really like to eat Katsu-don...sushi....or any Japanese food! But dishes my host mother makes are really good!
I’m enjoying my home staying and schools!
See you in Japan!
T.S.

Hello, Mr. Kamakura. How are you?
It has been three weeks since I got here. By the way I'll write about my life at school. In the school, I talked with some students and my buddy, Alex. I made friends with some of them. I felt really anxious in the first week. But now, I get used to living here and being in my class and I enjoy staying here.
I'll write about how I spend the weekends.
Last week I went somewhere to see kangaroos. It was my first time to see them in my life.
I'll talk about my new host family and how I spend here.
I changed my host family this week. My host family is from Singapore. It was Chinese New Year, So my host family's relatives got together and ate Chinese food on Saturday. I met my host brothers who came to my host house on Friday at that time. We talked about the differences between Japan and Australia. After that, my host brother asked me "Do you have places you want to go?" I answered I wanna go to a beach. He said “I'll take you a beach and teach you surfing in 2 weeks.” I'm looking forward to going to the beach.
I will write to you again soon.
R.N.

Dear Mr. Kamakura,
How are you? I am gradually accustomed to the life in Melbourne. On the weekends, I went to the host sister's house, an amusement park, fireworks, and so on.
At school, I now talk with local students and have a few conversations. However, I can't keep up with daily conversations. Because I'd like to talk naturally, I make a lot of effort. I am facing the wall of language right now. One Japanese student doesn't use Japanese at all. He talks English much more than I do. I want to be like him, so I thought I would make him my model. From that day on, I stopped using Japanese. But other Japanese students talk to me in Japanese. Australian students look at us with strange eyes. Anyways, I want to succeed in this program so I will do my best and won’t be shy.
H.S.

Hi, Mr. Kamakura!

I’ll talk about the past 2 weeks. I'm getting used to the life in
Australia. February 15 was my birthday. So my host family celebrated my
birthday. I was very happy. I got a kangaroo-stuffed doll and an Australian
hat. I thought that I was having a great time with this host family.

I went to a pool with my host family the other day. I played with younger
host sister, host older host sister and brother. I competed in a swimming
race. It was very fun!

I can now communicate with my host family so I want make some Japanese food
and teach calligraphy to them.

If I can take some pictures, I’ll send you some.

K.H.