By Juhi Mandhare, From Indore, Hosted in Japan
“I have started my school and it has in all been a wonderful experience for the past month. I live in Noguchi Hirakata prefecture of Osaka. My host family is very nice and welcoming. I have three sisters who are all elder than me. They are very fun to be around and also very relatable as two of them are AFS returnees.My host mother is very sweet and kind. She prepares a lunch box for me everyday even though she has a lot of work to do. She also took time from her busy schedule and came to see my performance in the Sorts Festival held at our school. My host father and I talk about sports and other current affairs during dinner. I go out with my family for dinner and other events like racing.
My school is Called Doshisha Kori and it take about 40 minutes to reach there everyday. My Japanese teacher is Ms. Forbes who is originally an American so it is easy to communicate with her and also she is my homeroom teacher which helps me a lot. I met most of the AFS members and fellow students during the end of the last month when we went together for a hiking trip and Japanese lessons. To cover up with others I have taken special lessons with our AFS teacher Tange-san. So far I have learnt Hiraganna Adjectives Verbs (past, present, negative) and numbers in Japanese and my teachers are also very happy with my progress.
I am very thankful to all for this wonderful opportunity and I certainly will make the most of it. ARIGATO GOZAYIMASU (Thank you very much)”