My name is Lucy Pollock, and during the summer holidays I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go on a three month exchange to Hiroshima, Japan.

During my time in Japan, I  went to school at Yasuda Girls’ School, (Otago Girls’ sister school) in Hiroshima. As there are not many exchange students that go to Japan, the reaction was sometimes overwhelming but never boring, and everyone was very willing to learn more about New Zealand and the differences between New Zealand and Japan, providing many opportunities for conversation.

While it did take some time to adjust to school life in Japan having up to seven classes a day and fortnightly school on Saturday, I eventually did get used to the busy life of a Japanese high schooler and enjoyed spending time with my classmates and host family. While at school I also had the opportunity to study many things about Japanese culture taking part in calligraphy class and having koto lessons twice a week, and I also took part in school clubs such as tea ceremony and flower arrangement meaning that I could make many new friends. Being surrounded in Japanese and taking the Japanese equivalent of ESOL class enabled me to really improve all areas of my Japanese.

While Christmas in Japan was a bit lonely as it is not really celebrated there, my host family was amazing and always made me feel at home, also taking me to many places around Japan. While there are definitely times when it is difficult being an exchange student, going on an exchange to a foreign country is something that enables you to learn about a different culture and meet many different people  and is something that I recommend everyone should experience.

「失敗は成功のもと」“Failure is the foundation of success”