It’s hard to imagine my classes are done! Honestly it felt like it was yesterday when I was preparing for school. Even though classes only lasted 10 weeks, I definitely learned a lot this semester and I’m grateful that I met some wonderful classmates and teachers during this time.

Initially when I was put into Level 7 I was really worried that I wouldn’t be able to handle the workload. Everyone had been in Japan longer than I have, and some of my classmates had been taking classes since Level 1. I felt like I was trailing behind them the whole time. It definitely took a little adjusting the first couple weeks.

It was also the first time I was in class with students from different backgrounds. I was the only native English speaker in my class, so everyone’s common language was actually Japanese. I think from the second half of the semester onwards I started getting more comfortable speaking to my classmates in Japanese, so it was great practice.

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Last week our entire class went on an excursion to Arimatsu for our 校外学習. It took us weeks to decide on a spot but I was happy we got to do some hands-on activity. Arimatsu is famous for its shibori techniques, which is a form of tie-dying. I initially thought it was simply dipping cloths into ink to form patterns, but it was definitely a lot more intricate than that. There’s actually a lot of sewing involved, so if you’re not skillful with your fingers, it would be impossible to finish even the simplest designs.

For our school field trip, all the classes went on a day trip to Kyoto together. I’m pretty sure we were on the bus longer than we were in Kyoto, but the 3-hours we spent at Kiyomizudera was definitely worth it. The fall colours were gorgeous and I think all of us spent more time taking/posing for photos than anything else. Haha. Towards the end I pretty much had to rush to fit in some souvenir shopping and lunch before boarding the bus back.

Later that evening our entire class went out for dinner at a Thai restaurant close to the school where one of my classmates works. The food was super yummy and it was fun hanging out with everyone outside of the classroom.

Yesterday was finally the last day of classes. All of us were split into different groups and the levels were mixed together for our 発表会. It was really interesting seeing what students from the other levels presented. I also managed to present my storytelling without much trouble. =P

Finally when we got back to our own classrooms, everyone gave their reflection on the term. All of us expressed how difficult the grammar lessons were but we were happy with how fun the class was. Since I’m the only one who is not returning in the New Year, I was the last person to speak. Reflecting on the semester, I feel like I have improved a lot since the first day of school. I’m still not 100% comfortable using the language yet, but it was definitely a worthwhile experience and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. =)

P.S. I passed Level 7!