Gleesonに留学中のTさんからです。最後のブログとなります。中学の時にコロナ禍のため海外異文化体験研修が実施できなかった学年でした。今回、中学3年生が3月に同じAdelaideを訪れました。彼らに素敵なエールを送ってくれています。
Hello everyone, it’s been a while. It has been almost two months since I arrived here in Adelaide, Australia. However, my time here in Gleeson is coming to end. This will be our last blog. After this, our 3-month study abroad program in Australia will be finished.
People often say that "time goes by so fast", but here in Australia, Lesson topics in schools are divided in weeks. For example, for the first week in math class we would learn expansion while in the second week we would learn about factorization. In Japan, it is decided that we learn a certain area math for an entire semester. This made it easier to be aware of each week and even each day compared to when I was in Japan. It felt neither too short nor too long, but a reasonable length of time.
Now, to change the subject, our school, Junior & Senior High School of Kogakuin University, has an "Overseas Intercultural Experience Program" as a school year event instead of this voluntary 3-month study abroad program. This is a short-term study abroad program for junior high school students to go to an English-speaking country for about three weeks during their summer vacation. However, since the confirmation of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China in early December 2019, this overseas cross-cultural experience training program has been cancelled twice, in 2020 and 2021.
However, this year, the program was resumed for the first time in three years. The duration of the program ended up being shorter than three weeks, as it was held in March 2023, the same month as our current three-month study abroad program.
One of the main reasons I decided to participate in this 3-month study abroad program was because I was not able to participate in this cross-cultural experience program when I was a junior high school student.
So recently, I have been watching the junior high school’s visit to Australia on the school's official Instagram page, hoping that they will experience many things that I did not when I was in the third year of junior high school. I am really proud of them for their hard work.
Since I came to Adelaide I have come into contact with, seen, and experienced many people, nature, different cultures, animals, food, places, vehicles, religions, education methods, and many other things.
I can say that these memories and experiences will be unforgettable and precious to me and the other students who have studied in Australia, even when we grow up and become adults in the future.
If you look at the past 3-month study abroad blogs, including this one, you will see that all of them have said positive things such as "It was a great experience" and "I want to stay here longer.” Which is all true.
In fact, if there were 100 people who decided to study in Australia, I bet all 100 people would feel happy to have come.
I would like to express my gratitude to the teachers, parents, host families, local school staff, insurance companies, and others who provided us with the opportunity to spend 2 months (nominally 3 months, but still...) in Australia in a safe and enjoyable environment.
Thank you all for reading my blog!
