Chika starts second year...

Hello, I’m Chika from Tokyo, Japan. It’s my second year in Ireland and I’m gonna be 18 years old this year. Nice to meet you!

I thought about studying abroad for about 2 years before I came here last year. It was my big dream to study abroad and I wanted to change myself. However, the most worrying thing for me was about friends.

I heard that there were no Japanese girls in the school and I would have a roommate in the boarding house. I thought about it so much but I’m really happy to be here.

Now, my roommate is my best friend and my neighbors are also good friends.

My school, Alexandra college, is a huge beautiful boarding house. There are the students who are studying abroad and local Irish girls living there.

It has about 160 people, so at dinner time, there is such a long queue there. It sometimes takes about 5 minutes to get dinner but we have a chat with friends while you wait.

The food here was different than I thought but I got used to it! Sometimes my friends and I eat dinner outside in the big garden on sunny days, or have a picnic on weekends. It refreshes us.

I’d love to do swimming and painting.

I’ve been swimming since I was 4 years old, but on the other hand, I had never learned painting before I chose art for my leaving certificate. As well as painting, I also love to go to museums and learn art history.

In conclusion, Art is such a perfect subject for me. In addition, my mother and I used to visit Europe a lot and watch their culture and spend valuable time. When I stayed at a hotel in Paris, I met a beautiful woman who was working in a hotel. She was always smiling and nice to everyone. Certainly, that is her job, I knew that but it was just lovely.

Overall I’m really enjoying my time here so far. It’s a valuable experience and I’m really happy to be here.

Chika