The thing that was different from Japanese high school was that in Canada, we can take classes freely. The class you take depends on which university or college you want to go to. To enter university or college you must have 18 compulsory credits. The requirements for admission differ from university to university, so even if you can take class freely, you have to decide the subjects you want to take according to the university.

The total student number of Ridgemont high school was 850 people. It includes many people from many countries. There were many types of class, so in each class, there were only a few students. Classes that I took were very popular, so there were about 20 people on average. The thing that was different from Japanese high school was the time schedule. In Japan, we usually have 6 or 7 periods of class, but in Canada, we only had 4 periods, but the time that school ends doesn’t change a lot from Japan. Explaining the composition of the timetable, for each period we have a 75 minute lesson for Canada. In Japan, instead of having 6 or 7 periods, they only have 50 minute lessons for each period.

I was in grade 11, and I took arts, French, English, Math. I learned how to make sculpture in arts class. Taking French class in Canada was the most difficult and the biggest challenge for me because I still didn’t understand English perfectly, but the teacher made instructions in English and by understanding the instruction, we had to solve a French quiz, so in the class, I used google translate for French and English both, but the class speed was very fast, so sometimes I couldn’t reach the speed. At the time, I had to review it after I got home.

I was in grade 10 English class, so that wasn’t much difficult. We read a long novel called Percy Jackson and the Olympians that the story was about the Greek god. We had to summarize the story and present it, so I was able to summarize the story quickly. For math class, I took grade 9 class. Grade 9 math was like a little review for me. There were many things that I learned in Japan before I left Japan. I felt relieved because almost every math class in Japan felt complicated, but that was just a review.

In the second term, I took science, civics, English, and music classes. I had the same teacher for music and English, so it was easy to ask questions.

Music was the most difficult class for me in second term. In Japan, music was my bad subject. Thankfully for my kind classmate, I didn’t dislike the class. The class was for advanced people. I didn’t know anything about music, even about basic things. I had a little knowledge about music that I learned in Japanese school. The most troublesome thing is that everyone can play the music by looking at the score, even if it’s the first song they’ve seen, but I can’t read the score properly, so I always had to listen to the teacher’s instructions and look it up on my phone and write down at the same time. Like I said, I had the same teacher in English and music class, so sometimes I asked about music questions in English class. I also had many difficulties in English class.

The English class that I took in the first semester was grade 10, but the class I took in the second term was grade 11 class. I felt a big difference between grade 10 and 11 English class. In grade 11 class, I almost didn’t know all of the words that the teacher used. I don’t understand the word, so the google translate was my friend during the class. I had many difficulties in those two classes, but for science and civics class I had very good marks. I decided not to be late and not to skip the class since I was in Japan. I told the teacher about it, then they both praised me a lot, and I was very proud of myself. We didn’t have that many assignments in each class, but sometimes, if the student didn’t finish the work during class, they had to do it as an assignment.

I always finished my work during the class, so I have never had an assignment. I liked English class the most because I could learn new English vocabulary every day. I liked music class at least because I couldn’t understand everything quickly. I always wanted to understand everything quickly, but it was difficult in music class.

In school, I was in a dance club for half a month. For the rest of the half month, I was doing chores in the house. It was fun to do the chores. I couldn’t do any chores when I was in Japan, but after I came to Canada I became able to do the chores. I liked to clean the bathroom and do the laundry. Doing the laundry makes me feel excited because the cloth smells so good. I like smelling flower fragrance. For the softener, they used a flower smell, so I liked it. Cleaning the bathroom also makes me excited because looking at the cleaned up room, I feel a sense of accomplishment.

When I was in the dance club, we had a lot of fun. I taught them Japanese dance that I was practicing on my own in Japan. When I was in Japan, I was too embarrassed to show myself dancing, but I’m glad I was able to go to Canada and teach everyone the dance that I learned on my own. For the school trip, we went to an art museum to look for many works of art.

In my school, Teachers never give improper grades, they give us accurate grades. There are many teachers who are kind and serious, so students who are enthusiastic about studying appreciate it.

I only stayed with one family, but they were very nice. In my host family, there was a host sister, host brother, host mother, host father, niece, and other exchange students from Sri Lanka. I became very good friends with an exchange student from Sri Lanka, so when I returned home, I was sad. Even when I came back to Japan, I still kept in contact with them. I was planning to change the host family after a half month because that was my program, but I didn’t need to change the host home.

My host parents usually go to work, so in the house, there were only children. When we were only in the house, we used to play tennis in the park that was near to our house, or badminton or basketball. My host brother was 12 years old, but he was very good at playing sports. He was on the basketball and soccer teams. Sometimes, I watched him playing many sports. He became better at every sport. My host sister was very good at drawing. She taught me how to draw. I wasn’t good at drawing, but I liked to draw, so I was glad that she taught me. After she taught me, I improved my drawing skill. She liked Anime, so she watched many of them and started to draw. I respect her because she learned how to draw by herself. My niece was busy everyday because she had to work in two places, and she also had to go to university.

My host parents were busy, but me and their relationship was good. We had moderate conversation. We talked about school, friends and events that are happening in Ottawa. My host parents knew a lot about Ottawa, so I was able to get information such as when the event will be held and where it will be held. To school, I normally take the city bus, but when the bus was cancelled, my host father dropped me off at school. My home to my school takes about 45 minutes by bus. I had to ride two different buses, so at first, it was confusing, but after I got used to it, it became fun to ride the bus.

Adjusting myself to Canadian culture, it didn’t take long because I didn’t feel any big difference between Japan and Canada. One thing that I was surprised about was that I can’t flush toilet paper in the toilet seat. I knew this because the trouble happened one day. Another international student and I shared the bathroom, but one day, after the child finished using the restroom, she told me that the water wouldn’t flow properly. I thought she used too much toilet paper and told her. Then she told me she wasn’t stupid enough to flush toilet paper down the toilet. I wondered. It’s normal to flush toilet paper, so I was confused that she called me stupid. So I said, where’s the used toilet paper? I asked. From her point of view, it was a stupid question because she always put it in the garbage. I also was wondering why there were lots of toilet paper in the garbage bag. After we finished talking, I was told that it was because I had flushed the toilet paper.

It was a long homestay, but I didn’t get homesick ever once. The reason why I didn’t get homesick was because I didn’t have a problem with speaking. Also, my host family were Philipinoes, so I didn’ have trouble with food because we ate Asian food. Also, I’m not picky at all, so my host mother said she is thankful. I think Japanese and Canadians have completely different feelings about their country. On the other hand, I think it is similar to Japan in having four seasons. It’s also similar to not interfering too much with others. I didn’t face cultural challenges, so it was easy for me to live in Canada. I taught Anime to my host family. They liked to watch Anime, so they knew more than me. I learned from them too. When leaving Japan, I thought it would be beneficial to know the differences in manners such as restrooms.

After studying in Canada, I became able to see things more objectively. Through this experience, I learned that there are people who have experienced various things in their lives even though they are only 15 years old. I have grown to be able to think calmly even when things are bad. I would like to make use of this when I go out into society in the future. I will use my experience to convey a lot of information to my juniors and those who will study abroad from now.

Before going abroad, it helped me by knowing some slang. I regret that I should learn more how to cook Japanese food. Everyone in Canada loves Japanese food, especially Sushi, so it is convenient to have even just the ingredients. I should know that I should have known that just because it’s the capital doesn’t mean it’s a city.

If you can have a daily conversation, you don’t have to rush to prepare, but if you know slang and Japanese cuisine, there’s nothing to be afraid of. I will say even if you have trouble with conversation, everyone knows the translation, so don’t be shocked.