I attend the University of Orléans in France, and I am currently studying in the College of Intercultural Communication (CIC) at Rikkyo University, a partner university of the University of Orléans, as an international exchange student. I started learning Japanese in 2012 and wanted to study in Japan in order to improve my language skills. I chose CIC at Rikkyo University because my professor in France recommended it to me, the campus is beautiful, and the chance to attend lectures with Japanese students and other international students really appealed to me.

While living in Japan, I participated in various outside-of-class programs. The reason why I chose to participate in such programs is that I felt that actually using the language would help me to improve my language skills. In particular, Asian languages are very different from French and English, and it was difficult for me to learn the language. That’s why the these programs were a really special experience for me. For example, I got to speak to and play games with children in the Children’s Cafeteria event. The English Camp in Rikuzentakata was also a unique experience. Participating in the Japanese Speech Contest was nerve-racking, but after it was over, I felt really glad that I had decided to give it a go.

Going to a country that you are not familiar with and choosing to live there despite the language and cultural differences is something that requires courage. Japan’s teaching style is very different from that in France, but the CIC students and staff were warm and welcoming to me from the beginning, so I was able to quickly get used to it without feeling much stress or trepidation. Getting to know people of all sorts of nationalities and being able to learn so much about Japan and other countries really allowed me to get out of my comfort zone, and I felt that my self-confidence increased as well. My goal is to continue improving my Japanese language skills and further increase my knowledge of Japan.