Thank you 

Hi, everyone. How is your study or internship going? My intern life is quite well as I am learning new things that are not tought at school and how Australian company works. This opportunity actually got me think not only about what I want to be but also about how I am supposed to spend the rest of university life to achieve the goals. I hope everything is going well.

Today's topic is really interesting but it is hard to tell you my experiences in Australia since I have got many amazing time which made what I am today. Cannot choose! Well...Okay let me  tell you a turning point in this study abroad. To be honest, I was really upset to make foreign friends in a few  months I arrived at Brisbane because I had much more free time than I thought. I hate having nothing to do so  I was kind of homesick at that time. I did joined all activities that ICTE provided and was willing to talk to new people. One day, I was going to join ICTE Friday sports which was volleyball but I got lost and end up going to the basketball court at UQ. This sponteneous plan brought me two awesome friends who were going to form my study abroad life.  One is Saki, who is from Japan and studies English at ICTE. She is so friendly and outgoing, inspiring me a lot. The first thing that I was suprised by her was she had a lot of friends although she had stayed in Australia for one month. I had kinda shocks... We fortunetly had a same wave length and eventually we are best friends and rivals in terms of study now.

The other one is Catriona, who is from Hong Kong and studies business at UQ. She is same hight as me and interedted in volleyball. We got along well as soon as we talked and she invited me to her society the other day. Yes! It is this society that brought me a lot of friends ranging from international to locals.  I am really greatful for her.

I would call this amazing meeting 'the miracle of basketball court'. Yes I am seriouse!!! Of course other friends also make my life full of color!!! Thank you!!!

 Conversation club. Ctriona, Jamie, Jesse, Nat

 Straddie.

 Saki

Final Post  30/11/2016

The Different Way of Studying

I found that how students in Australia study is completely different in comparison to Japan. For instance, I have more time on disccusion and group work with desk put together. This makes me contribute to the class of my own accord and also brings about high quality of the class. In my country, Japan, I hardly put desks together during the class because there is few group work which is required to talk to someone. Rather I just need to copy what my teacher write on the board. Furthermore, the classmates who come from other countries does not hesitate to ask any questions anytime even the teacher keep talking. Also, the teachers are so nice that explain more clearly and slowly as they see if their students understand with no hesitation. On the one hand, most Japanese students are unwilling to interrapt their teacher especially during the class. Because some are afraid of  asking the question which they do not understand and others hate being seen by other classmates. Culturally,  Japanese people are said to be shy so this is also one of the reasons. In western countiries, the students learn in a small group and are encouraged to ask any questions from the early age, while in Japan, they are trained to listen to teacher and take notes rather than thinking by themselves. This is the biggest difference between both countries.

I saw many students bring computer with them and dress casual clothes on the road. This is also the big difference. In Japan, few Japanese students have the table computer with them, let alone they do not have their own computers. This is because we are not required the computer in the class and basically, the teachers distribute handouts to the students. Besides, we put brand clothes on in daily life and bring expensive bag, which makes us pay attention to apperance athough we go to university. On the one hand, in Australia the students literally use them to take notes. They are neccessary for the students.  They seem to enjoy casual clothes in contrast to Japanese students. I prefer casual sporty clothes so I love Australian style.

The most interesting and surprising differences I have experienced between Australia and Japan

I have been here for five months already and got used to Australian life though, I am still surprised by unfamiliar culture sometimes. Today, I am going to tell you one of the most obvious differences I have experienced between Australia and Japan, which is punctuality.

Basically, Australian public bus does not arrive on time and the bus driver does not apologise for passengers, while Japanese transportation is so punctual that seldom delay. I tend to wait for the bus before five minutes but it always came late so I decided to be there on time. However, the bus started to launch early since then and moreover, the bus driver don't even apologise for it. Although I was surprised and got a little annoyed, I was more surprised to the locals for not getting mad about it. I would never be able to understand and accept the bus drivers rudeness though I thought how passengers always greet to the driver is a great concept.

Another interesting difference is time schedule of restaurants etc. Australia is very inconvenient. For example, shopping mall in Japan closes around 10 but in Australia it closes at 5. This is because Australian people tend to cherish the time with their family. On the other hand, most shoping mall in Japan opens until at least 8pm and when it comes to convenience store, it opens 24hours. Although I knew Japan is extremely convenient, I did not expect that the gap of work time between Japan and Australia is huge. 

Trip To ULURU

Hello, I was so lazy again that I could not post this....
Anyway, finally I went to Urulu, where is in centre of Australia, this a week-break. It is more spectacular and magnificent than I expected and I actually cannot describe how amazing it is.  I definitely would like to reccomend visiting there in your life. I was unwilling to go to Uluru at first because I heard there are a lot of flies seeking for water, and the sightseeing spot is only Uluru so it is a bit bring. Furthermore, I concerned about travel cost, which would be at least $1000. However, my mother storongly reccomended me going there without worrying anything so that I could make desition. I really appericiate my mother to get rid of my concerns and provide me such an unforgettable experience.

I visited Uluru with two lovely friends, Misaki and Saki. Although they drove to everywhere for long time each day, what I could do for them was just to give some words for you guys. Thank you and I want to say something similar to Otsukaresama in English but I cannot find suitable words...I promise that I would take you anywhere in Osaka when we back to Japan.

First Post

Hello, I am Nanase, from Japan. I am studying English in Brisbane for almost three months. To be honest, I should have posted this in April but I was too lazy to do it...lol  Anyway finally it is time to do it.  First of all, I describe how I feel about my life over the three months. Actually, I am very disappointed to know my poor English skills through IELTS test, which was taken yesterday. I could not use all knowledge I have on the test although I have been studying hard for three months... Unfortunetly, that was the last opportunity in being a UQ student and I missed. But what I should do now is to keep learning English not to look back the past. keep going!!!