🌸Hirodai Ambassador [Study Abroad News] Ayano Kawase, 4th year student, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences No.4

Hirodai Ambassador Activity Report

4rd year, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences 　Ayano Kawase  San

[Study abroad destination] University of Hawaii Community College (USA)
[Study abroad period] August 2023 to January 8.
[Type of study abroad] Long-term study abroad at a partner university

Aloha! This is Ayano Kawase, who has finished recovering from coronavirus.

No, even though COCOA (an old coronavirus contact app) in Hirosaki said, ``You have spent over 1,000 minutes with a positive person!'', I was not infected at all...I wonder where you got it from? I never thought it would be in Hawaii! It was hard! I have been living with a cough, headache, and some aftereffects of taste disturbance.

Well, without further ado, I'd like to talk about the year-end and New Year holidays in Hawaii, my exploration of Oahu, and the new semester's classes.

It was a festive period of eating, eating, and eating, from Thank Giving to Christmas and New Year Eve.

On New Year's Eve, I accompanied my host family to a party night at a family friend's house.
New Year's Eve in Hawaii has a reputation for being full of fireworks.
Even before the sun goes down, fireworks begin to appear from every household. According to Rocco, what's interesting is that fireworks are illegal, but they're so big that no one can stop them! Apparently it's even more noisy and chaotic after the sun goes down. It was a lively night.

I forgot to count down to 2024, but before I knew it, by the time the new year had passed, things were going crazy all over the place.
The drive back was filled with smoke and was a thrilling ride.

By the way, there didn't seem to be any host family events on New Year's Day, so I went to Ala Moana Center first thing in the morning to look at the lucky bags.
As expected from Hawaii! Japanese Style Lucky Bag! People are lining up to get their lucky bags. And it was full of Japanese people.

I took advantage of the winter break of just under a month to spread my wings in various places. It's a breather.

Lion Coffee factory tour...TOBE visited the other day, so some of you may know about it.

Visited Izumo Taisha Shrine in Hawaii, bought the famous Smash Burger at Kakaako Farmers Market, had Korean Yakiniku with my classmates, had a long-awaited lomilomi massage, visited the Manoa Chocolate Factory... It was all fun.
Well, Izumo Taisha Shrine is located between Chinatown and downtown, and there are many homeless people, so I was quite worried about safety until I arrived there.
We received an amulet with a pattern unique to Hawaii and a stamp, and then enjoyed some sacred sake. I was finally able to feel the new year.

New semester! From the spring semester, you will not only take ESL classes, but also regular classes! I chose two Hawaiian Studies classes, which are completely face-to-face classes.

One is about Polynesian culture and its history, including Hawaii, and the other is about the historical background of navigators in Polynesian countries and the celestial bodies of Hawaii.
The environment around me is all native speakers. Hmm, I'm desperate now.

It's been a complete turnaround from my busy fall semester, and I'm excited to be so busy.

I am in a very warm environment where all the students on the same campus, including Kumu (Hawaiian word for teacher), treat me as an equal and help me out.

The homework is surprisingly hard, as it is filled with specialized English and Hawaiian words that I have never seen before. It's terribly time consuming.
When I take classes among students who have been raised with the spirit of aloha, I feel an overwhelming difference in knowledge and a sense of Hawaiian identity.
On top of that, I had to listen to the lectures while following the slides that changed quickly, and when I received questions from kumu, I had to listen (and try to) listen to the free opinions of students coming from all directions, and I was under a lot of pressure. Masu.

I was unable to adapt to classes at the beginning of the new semester and was in a state of panic. Well, let's get ready! Ask now! When I continued to take it with the same spirit, I was able to calm down and even tell my friends who had missed the keywords.
There are just so many things I don't understand! Cherish the feeling of enjoying new discoveries and knowledge! I vow to keep learning.

Today we had a unit test about Hawaiian celestial bodies.
6 team with 1 or 1 people! Comparing it to Hawaiian canoe culture, it is a style in which the life and death of the crew in a single canoe is together.
It was quite chaotic with so many people and so many different opinions. it was fun.
The test results are questionable.