アメリカ・シアトル留学のO.M.さんより、シアトルの8か月を振り返って、自身の成長について記してくれています。

About 8 months in Seattle made me a definitely different person that I was. When I was in Japan, I was super shy and so quiet in front of people who I don’t know much. Actually, I couldn’t even buy some stuff alone at convenience store when I was a child. However, now, I feel like I can go everywhere without people who support me mentally. When I became a university student, I thought I WAS independent. I think most Japanese think the year of becoming university students is one of the biggest moments as being adults. Also, I had the same thought. However, after I went there, I was shocked how green and naïve I was. I can’t do even basic housework by myself, I can’t manage my money correctly, I can’t even express myself. Therefore, my self-esteem, which was short from the beginning, had been decreased day by day.

On the other hand, teachers at school had helped me a lot. They praised me every single time. Even a small compliment meant a lot to me. Thanks to that, I could keep having a motivation for learning. The other students also helped me a lot. Almost all Japanese are afraid of making mistakes, but foreign students such as Saudi or Chinese are not. They don’t care about mistakes before they try. They always try to say something even a small thing that come up in their mind. There were many students inspiring each other to improve. There was such a great surrounding for learning English. I think I built one of the best friendships and got so many precious memories in my life at there.

I’ll never forget all thing happened on me. My experience and memory make my feeling stronger for my dream. I know and really feel my English is not good enough yet. I want to improve my English skill more and more. Then, if one day I made my dream come true, I want to go to Seattle again. (O.M.)