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.
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