Sailing into a Great Exchange Year
From subtropical Japan to the Heartland
Hi, everyone! My name is Aki and I'm from Japan. I'm staying in Indiana. I’ve already felt the differences between America and Japan in the last two months. It always entertains me!
First of all, the climate is completely different. My hometown is on a tiny tropical island in Japan. It’s always hot and humid there, and it doesn’t snow at all. It is really like Hawaii. However, Indiana is dry and cold, and it has been as cold as my hometown winter since around September. That’s why I’m worried about the cold weather ahead, but I’m looking forward to winter, because I might be able to see a lot of snow that I can’t see in my hometown this year!
The lake was as big as the sea, and I felt the size of America.
Schools are also very different. There are only about 800 people in my school in Japan, but there are over 3,000 people in my Indiana high school. School facilities are bigger and better than in my Japanese school. I wish my school at home was like an American school. There is a football game every Friday. And there is a theme for it, so I look forward to it every time!
I recently went sailing for the time in my life! I did it on the lake, and the lake was as big as the sea, and I felt the size of America. I am grateful to my host father who took me sailing! There are many opportunities to try new things in America, and it’s fun! I want to try many more new things before I finish my study abroad.
In the last two months in America, I actively engaged with people. Friends bring us new friends and experiences! I want to make a lot of friends and enjoy America for the next eight months. Thank you.
—Aki (Japan), hosted by the Sanders family (IN)
