🌸Hirodai Ambassador [Study Abroad News] Ayano Kawase, 4th year student, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences No.5

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! Time passes really quickly, and my classmates are leaving Hirosaki one after another. I miss you so much.
I never thought that the season of farewell would come without us being able to meet each other while we were still in Japan. I will do my best in the hope that we will meet again someday.

Now that the period of corona infection has passed, I continue to deal with a painful dry cough every day. Now that I'm here, the Ryukakusan throat lozenges and Nodonuru spray I brought with me from Japan have been helpful.
My sense of taste and smell has almost completely returned! Once my cough gets a little better, I will start training for the next marathon.

This time, I would like to introduce you to my class and day trips to Oahu.

Classes have become filled with assignments, tests, and quizzes one after another. In the comprehension class for non-native speakers called ENG100E, essays are assigned as assignments.

The work I submitted the other day was 2-3 pages about people who have had an impact on my life, and I focused on giving it a sense of dynamism and humanity.

You can follow the process carefully in class and during assignments, so it's not too difficult.
In the ESL7B Speaking & Listening class, there were quizzes on consonants and a 2-6 minute presentation on best friends. It's easy to do if you practice.

In the Hawaiian culture and history class HWST107, an overseas style (?) quiz called Information Festival was held. Submit the notes you have written so far, Kumu (teacher) will check them, and then answer multiple-choice and short-answer questions using your notes as hints.
I studied quite a bit before going into this, but...hmm. For me, there wasn't enough time. And to be honest, I was confused by the Hawaiian spirit that I encountered in the quiz for the first time.

Group work has begun in HWST281, Hoʻo.kele (Polynesian Navigation). I'm giving a presentation about constellations, but it's quite chaotic and unsettling.
In my case, I have to memorize the Hawaiian and English words for each star without using Japanese, so my head is a mess.
However, I am sure that the environment I have finally found where I can concentrate solely on my studies is incredibly enjoyable. I feel that my listening skills have improved as well. Although there is a lag.

Lately, my daily life has included going to parties to watch Super Bowl games on TV, and going to Kailua Beach, which is so beautiful that it is regularly ranked as the best beach in America, to get mana (power in Hawaiian). , Chill with acai in hand at Waikiki Beach.

Of particular note is Kailua Beach. It is located over the mountains from Honolulu and is quite far away.
Moreover, it tends to be cloudy, perhaps because it is blocked by mountains. On a cloudy day, I decided to take a chance and head there to see if it might be sunny!
When I walked up the beach and saw the sea line, I felt like I was surrounded by something very special.
The ocean in Hawaii doesn't smell like the ocean. Even though I don't feel the boundaries of the sea breeze, I feel the presence of something big. It's a strange thing.

The weather was so windy that it was too chilly to wear a T-shirt, but I was alone and carried a suitable tote bag just in case anything happened, and I spread out my leisure sheet and took it easy.

As always, I love traveling alone, so I spent about an hour there, struggling to take photos because I was alone.
I felt so fulfilled.

While studying Hawaii, I learned that Hawaiians and the people who live in Hawaii value the wisdom of their ancestors, and that everything is rooted in the land and sea of ​​Hawaii.
The way I think about the ocean has changed. For some reason, I was able to get up at 6 a.m. and decide to head to the sea even though I was sleepy and wanted to go to bed on this outing.For some reason, I may have been looking for a source of energy in the sea.
The sea is so generous. I love the ocean in Hawaii.
The beauty of Kailua Beach was far beyond my imagination. No, I want to see it a few more times.