I’d like to write about myself concerning English study. The first time I studied English was when I was in the first year of a junior high school just as many Japanse do.

After I entered a high school, the homeroom teacher was an English teacher and one day he suggested me that I would go to Osaka University for foreign languages. Since then, somehow I blieved that I could enter the university. I took the examination for that university, but unfortunately I didn’t pass it. Instead, I entered Kansai University majoring English literature.

After I entered a university, my goal was to get the ticket to study in America. Kansai university had a sister’s relationship with George Washington university in Washington D.C.. I tried the exam that was held at the university when I was in the third year and failed it and I tried it again when I was in the fourth year and I passed it. How happy I was when I was told that on the phone by the professor I studied for graduation thesis.

Three months later, I was in D.C. and studied English literature. I took 5 classes except English as a second foreign language during two semesters. Studying there was much more difficult than I expected but I was satisfed with the way American professors taught. It was quite different from the way in Japanese universities. Students in a class are supposed to express their thoughts so they don’t just listen to the professor’s lecture. Every class I took was exciting. I’m not sure "exciting" is a proper word but anyway, I really had a wonderful time at George Washington university.

I stayed in a dormitory and had an American roommate named Jennifer. We became very good friends. Her father was from Philippine and he was a good cook. When I visited Jennifer’s home in Philadelphia, her father cooked delicious Filipino dishes. Her mother was a minister at church.

On weekends, I used to go to Smithsonian museums. Those museums are all free. I love pictures by the Impressionists. Most of all I love Monet. I was so happy surrounded by his "Water lilies".

I have to go now. I will write a sequel in the next blog.

I was born and raised at a small village named Yasumatsu in Izumisano near the Kansai International Airport. It’s near both the sea and mountains.

There are a lot of farms near my parents’ house and it’s very quiet and peaceful around the area. You can see a cabbage butterfly and a swallow-tailed butterfly around the farms. When we visit my parents, my children play in the front garden and the back garden of the house. My mother plants a lot of beautiful flowers. There is also an orange tree and other trees. The environment is quite different from the place I live now. So for my children to visit their grandparents means a lot.

People live in Yasumatsu put importance on keeping Japanese traditional customs. They are very religious and respect neighbors. If someone dies neighbors help the "Otsuya" and the funeral. Usually women prepare meals for the people who come to the "Otsuya". They cook plenty of dishes. I respect those women. I’m pround of my hometown.

I’ve just come back home after spending 6 days in Izumisano, my hometown, with my children. I spent a very relaxing time. Yesterday, we went to Shirahama with my parents and my sister’s family. It was a very windy day but the seashore in Shirahama was very beautiful. We went to "Adventure World", too. Both my children and my sister’s children were very pleased to watch Pandas and dolphins. I think that they will keep remembering that trip as a good memory in a spring vacation.