The first reason why I decided to apply for this visit to Kansas City was because I wanted to be able to speak English. However, when I went there, I found that in addition to everyday English conversation, there were many other things that attracted my attention. Among them, these three were very impressive to me.
The first is about food. Things like hamburgers and pizza, which you would only eat occasionally in Japan, came out almost every day after arriving in America, and at first I really struggled with the quantity. However, my body got used to it, and I was able to enjoy American food that was different from Japanese food.
Second, I was able to experience the rich nature of Kansas with my own body. During my stay in America, I went to a ranch twice, went to the Prairie, and saw a lot of nature.
Among them, I had a lot of new experiences, such as seeing a large amount of corn fields that I had never seen before and seeing rare animals that I had never seen before.
And watching MLB games is something I will never forget. I've always been interested in baseball, and I've always looked up to MLB games on the other side of the TV screen. However, that dream finally came true during this homestay. And two gamestoo. American stadiums are much bigger than Japanese stadiums, and the atmosphere was very different from Japanese stadiums. It was a lot of fun to see the American side, such as showing a couple kissing on the screen during the game.
I can't tell you all about my experiences here.
But in the end, what I felt the most about America was the warmth of the people around me. This was my first time abroad, and I was only learning English in school classes, so I wasn't able to use it on a daily basis. My host family, shop clerks, and people in the town were all very kind and cheerful, and made my homestay enjoyable.
And as a token of my gratitude to everyone who helped me, I strongly felt that I wanted to pursue a course that would allow me to make the most of this wonderful experience.
Thank you for the most intense 17 days of my life.
一生の財産
私が今回、カンザスシティ訪問に応募しようと思った最初のきっかけは、英語を話せるようになりたいという一心だった。しかし、いざ行ってみると、現地の方との活きた会話はもちろん、そのほかにもたくさん心惹かれるものがあった。その中でも次に挙げる三つが自分にとってたいへん印象的だった。
まず一つ目は、「食」。ハンバーガーやピザなどといった日本ではたまにしか食べないものがアメリカでは毎日のように出てきて、食文化の違いに驚いた。最初は量の多さに驚き、また苦しんだ。しかし、日が経つに連れ、身体も慣れて、日本食とは異なったアメリカの味を楽しむことができた。
二つ目は、「カンザスの自然」。滞在中に2か所の牧場やプレーリーに行ったりと、たくさん自然に触れた。見たことのない量のトウモロコシ畑や動物園ではお目にかかれない珍しい動物を見て、日本とは違う広大な地、豊かな自然の中で育まれる生命を、身をもって感じられたと思う。
そしてなんといっても忘れられないのが「MLB観戦」。
私はずっと野球に興味があって、MLBはテレビの向こう側の憧れの存在で、試合観戦なんて到底できないと思っていた。しかし、その夢が叶ったのだ。アメリカの球場は日本よりもとても大きく、選手のプレーもスケールが違うように感じられた。試合の途中には、スクリーンにカップルのキスを映すなど、アメリカらしい一面もあって驚いたが、憧れのMLBを満喫した。
まだまだ語りつくせないほどたくさんの経験をしたが、今回の訪問で最も自分の財産になったと思うことは、たくさんの人との出会いだ。私は初の海外旅行で期待と不安が入り混じりながらの参加だったが、ホストファミリーをはじめ、現地で出会った方々、そして派遣団のメンバーや引率者の方の温かい心遣いがあったからこそ、最高の経験ができたと思う。そして、お世話になった皆さんへの感謝のしるしとして、この素晴らしい経験を活かせる進路に進みたいと強く思った。
これまでの人生の中で一番濃い17日間をありかとうございました。