Exeter, Devon UK • Mar 29, 2024 • VOL XII

Exeter, Devon UK • [date-today] • VOL XII
Home Multilingual My thoughts about Last Year’s Exchange in Kyoto

My thoughts about Last Year’s Exchange in Kyoto

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My Thoughts about Last Year’s Exchange in Kyoto

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Maddie Baker reflects upon her adventure in Kyoto and the people and places she encountered along the way.

2019年9九月から2020年2二月まで京都に住んでいました。今は、面白いコンセプト 「コロナウイルスのせいでからイギリスからのの旅行は難しくて、日本は遠い国」ですがけど、まだいい思い出があります。

初めての日は大変でした… イギリスの町に比べて、京都はとても大きいです。私はにとって、びっくりしました。道を迷ってしまいました。 「 運よく、優しい大学生は寮の位置を教えてくれました。」後で、百円ショップに行って、おもしろい複雑な商品を見つけました。材料レーベルの中にはで、難しい変な漢字があって、イギリスにはない違いの 食べ物もありました。私はホームシックでした。

次の日はでも、寮のフラットメイトに会って、ゆっくりできました。こんな週末は、友達と一緒に大阪に訪問しました。私の友達の多くは日本語を話せなかったので、少ない人は日本語を話せかったから 、私は日本語の練習をする必要がありました。出町柳駅とか、お寺とか、鉄板焼きレストランとか、日本語を話さしなければいけませんでしたなかった。チャレンジでしたてがけど、とても楽しかったですトリップでした。

普段日常生活は、京都大学の授業を受けたり、と鴨川の隣散歩をしたり、とスーパーで買い物をのトリップからしましできました。今、そのフラットメイトとは親友になって、よくエクセタからビデオコール(電話)します。最後の旅行は北海道に行きました。雪祭りを見たことがあって、札幌に観光できて、友達とたのしい 時間を過ごせました。

Japanese version by Maddie Baker


From September 2019 until February 2020, I was living in Kyoto, Japan. Today, it is a strange concept (since COVID-19, travelling in the UK has been difficult – let alone travelling to a country as far as Japan), but I still have memories of being in Japan.

My first day was tough to say the least… Kyoto is much bigger than a lot of British cities and I could not help but be surprised. And I unfortunately then proceeded to get lost (luckily though, a kind university student showed me how to get to my new dormitory).

After that, I went to a hundred-yen shop (hyakuen shop) for the first time and I was shocked by the confusing products I found. The labels were filled with difficult kanji (the characters used in the Japanese writing system) and there were all sorts of different foods being sold. All of that made me feel quite homesick.

…I went to a hundered-yen shop (hyakuen shop) for the first time and I was shocked by the confusing products I found.

But the day after that, I met my flatmates and started to be able to relax. That weekend, we all went on a day-trip to nearby Osaka. Not many of us spoke Japanese, so I found myself practising Japanese on-the-go. At Demachiyanagi station, when visiting temples and at the yakitori restaurant, I had to keep speaking Japanese. It was definitely a challenge, but that made it an even more fun first trip.

Everyday life, however, revolved around classes at Kyoto University, walks by the Kamogawa river and buying essentials at the local supermarket. Now, my dormitory flatmates have become close friends of mine and I often video call them, even from Exeter.

My dormitory flatmates have become close friends of mine and I often video call them, even in Exeter.

The last trip I made in Japan was to Hokkaido. I had the chance to see the yuki matsuri (snow festival), managed to tick off sightseeing in Sapporo and was able to spend more time with my friends before the end of the exchange.

English Translation by Maddie Baker

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