Letters from Overseas No. 7:　

Wonderful Time as an Exchange Student in Vermont

By Yukako Shimono, English Dept. Senior

Now I am studying at Saint Michael's College in Vermont as an exchange student. Saint Michael's College is one of our sister universities. Every year one SU student can come here without paying the tuition. I only have to pay for my residential fees, textbooks, and so on. It is a very good experience if you are interested in living and studying abroad while you are in university. You can improve your English skills as well as meet many people from other countries and experience a different culture. Unfortunately, time passes so quickly and I have only three months more left. I have to go back to Japan in May and find a job. I hope I can help students who are thinking about studying abroad by giving some information.

First, I want to tell you about Vermont. Vermont is in the Northeast part of the U.S. and very close to Canada and also close to Boston and New York. Vermont is in part of New England, and African-Americans are a small minority here. The pronunciation and culture are also different from other parts of the U.S. because there are many regional differences. They say that it is much colder here than in Sapporo and that it gets a lot of snow. Some people told me that when you go outside in winter the inside of your nose might freeze. However, this winter is pretty warm and we don't have much snow. Last weekend I went snowboarding (we had a snowboarding and skiing trip), but it was so warm and I was even able to see the grass through the part of melted snow. February is the coldest month, so it could get much colder.

Besides the weather, what is Vermont like? It has many trees and in the fall the leaves change color. It is so pretty. There is also Ben and Jerry's factory (ice cream) because they started running their business from here. From Saint Mike's (as students call the school) we can take a bus to go to downtown. It takes about 20 minutes. Most students have their own cars here, so for students who don't have their own cars, living here is less convenient than living in Sapporo. The downtown is not so big but you can usually get what you need. There are also bars and restaurants.

What is Saint Mike's like? Students study hard and every weekend they usually have a drinking party! Many students say their opinions in classes and ask questions by raising their hands. It is normal not only for Saint Mike's students to do this, but also for most students in the U.S. My dorm is different from what you might imagine when you hear the word dorm. I live in a townhouse with five housemates. International students usually live in this townhouse. Each of us has a private bedroom and we have a common living room. Students who live with international students are usually so nice because they have to apply to live with international students.

My housemates include four American students and one Korean student. The Korean student came here at the same time as me and she is going back to Korea in May, too. I can say my housemates get along very well with each other and are very close. We usually do homework together in the common room. Also, when we are in our rooms, we usually keep the doors open so that we can talk to each other easily. Sometimes, we just chat and don't do homework. I really enjoy living here because now I have close friends. In some other townhouses, even if they live in the same house, they don't see each other everyday or for a few days. In my house that rarely happens, so I'm very glad to live with these housemates.

Taking the same classes as American students was very hard during the first semester. Of course, it is difficult to understand what the teachers say and especially students who talk so fast. Not only that, but I took classes where I didn't have any knowledge of the subject, so it was hard and I didn't say my opinion. And I had to read so many pages for each class, especially journalism class. In any case, I learned having your own opinion is very important and it is also very important to choose classes carefully.

Finding good friends might be hard, too. Firstly, it depends on your English skills, because if you can't speak well you canﾕt communicate. Secondly, you are an international student, so some students seem to see you differently even here in the U.S. You might also think that being an international student is special, so you automatically think people care about you. However, I thought even if I were to go to another university in Japan just for 10 months, finding close friends would not be easy. I think if you can find a few good friends, it will be very nice.

I believe that if you study abroad, you can have wonderful experiences although you might have a hard time at first. It is most important that you experience various things that you can't experience in Japan. You can form new ideas and see things from different viewpoints, and you can mature as a person. It is also important to improve your English skills even if it is just learning to communicate. I focused on improving my English skills too much at first and I sometimes felt bad about my progress. Of course I'm still learning and focusing on improving my English skills, but I think the most important thing is to try various things and have a fun time because you have only a limited time here. It will be a very good experience for your life.