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田辺 大智 -米国留学便り-

Happy New Year 2008!! (2008/01/18)

During the holidays, I went to one of my friend's house and his relative's house to celebrate the holidays. I realized that Christmas in the States is like new year's day in Japan. I had some really good traditional foods there and had a great time with them.

Actually, I just got back here from Hawaii and LA. I stayed in Hawaii for about two weeks and in LA for a couple of days. I am happy I was able to meet many people I already knew and make new friends both in Hawaii and LA!!

I expected there are so many Japanese in Hawaii but there are more Japanese than I expected. I felt like I am in Japan. I met Ellen sensei and Greg there!! They are doing well!! Also I hanged out with some friends from OGU. I really had a great time there.

Although I stayed in LA for a few days, I could visit the places I wanted to go to. Fortunately, my friends took me around LA so I saw almost all of LA.

Both Hawaii and LA were pretty hot for me. Needless to say, especially in Hawaii, it was so hot for me. It was about 75°F-80°F. Even in LA, it was about 70°F-75°F. I was glad I stayed in hot places and avoided the severe cold weather in MN.

But after I got here it was like hell. I am getting use to it but its still cold. It is about 7°F now. This weekend the weather report calls for -14° F... I cannot stand the change in weather and temperature. It is around a 90°F difference between Hawaii and MN. Hope I will be able to stand this crazy weather.

Take care,　 Daichi


The End of the Semester (2008/04/30)

I am doing well even though classes are keeping me very busy. Since the past two weeks, the temperature became warmer, 70° F (21° C), so it made me kind of lazy because we are finally able to go outside to talk to friends and play catch.... It was too nice to study... But last night, we got little bit of snow again... I cannot believe how suddenly the weather changes here. THIS IS MINNESOTA. I really hope the trees will become a lot greener soon. Since the semester is about to end, actually two more weeks left, I have many papers and group projects to finish. One of my classes, "Public Relations," is very busy, but interesting. I have to work with Americans on group projects. It is fun but at the same time, I have to work harder to complete our work. This is the first time for me to learn Public Relations in my entire life, so I am still struggling with it. However, I realized that Public Relations is what I would love to do in the future as a career.

Let me talk about the weekends. I recently discovered an interesting thing. One Thursday night, the library was almost empty. I was curious to know why only a few people were in the library because there are usually many people studying until midnight from Sunday to Wednesday. The reason why there were only a few people Thursday night is because almost all bars and clubs in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the two largest cities in Minnesota, also called the “Twin Cities,” allow people who are under 21 years old (they have to be at least 18 years old) to enter. They can't order alcohol, though. For Americans, drinking and having parties are part of their student life. Every weekend I receive invitations to attend birthday parties or some kind of parties. Lastly, I do not really want to return to Japan. But I have to ... The remaining days here will be spent on studying hard and partying hard.

Daichi


Snowfall (2007/12/07)



We finally got a lot of snow about a week ago. This is the real Minnesota.

My New Life (2007/12/02)

I have been busy since I got here. I am still struggling with English, so I still have a hard time in my classes. So usually I do not have time to hang out with my friends during weekdays but in weekends I go to somewhere to have fun!! It is already the end of November. Time flys so fast but I think that means I have a good life here at st thomas. I have been here for about three months but I have never had homesick. Anyway I am doing well and I do not want to go back to Japan!!


Leaving Japan (2007/09/02)

I have been in the States for about two weeks. My flight took about 28 hours including waiting time. After I arrived in Indiana, I had jet lag for a few days. But I am ok now. During this semester, I intend to take ESL courses but according to my placement test, I am able to take regular classes at St Thomas. I registered for three classes. School will start on September 5. During summer break, I have been to many places such as MLB games, Mall of America, and Downtown. Everything is very new for me so these places are interesting.