A progress report from Calgary – a mind-blowing experience

Dear Dr. Tanabe,

To begin with, I am very sorry that I have been out of touch lately. I hope this finds all well. Let me tell you about my life here in Canada so far.

Autumn is here, however, it has been an extraordinary weather since Calgary had its snowiest day in more than three decades and broke October record. It seems to me that winter IS Calgary. Besides, the first half of my study abroad is about to go by out of nowhere. It has been going well without a hitch thanks to a lot of supports from my Canadian friends, great teachers, and others I have ever met. They are amazing people with wonderful personalities, and I cannot thank them enough for what they have done for me. They are my rocks indeed. Also, I had been in homestay for about five months and had a great, productive time with my host family. I, indeed, would like to appreciate their kindness, hospitality, and help since they had been treating me in a very friendly way. Again, a massive thanks to all of people who has always supported and taken care of me, I cannot express how grateful I am.

As you may already know, Calgary is quite famous for Stampede festival, which is, on a large scale, taken place every July. It is said that millions of visitors around the globe visit the Calgary Stampede since it produces and hosts a variety of events and shows, such as rock concerts and rodeos. Now this is why it is referred to as the greatest outdoor show on earth. I went downtown with my companions and saw what was going on there. What made me excited the most was that on the main street in downtown, there were quite a few groups, buskers, and performers with an eye-catching costume on, and their performances just left nothing to be desired. I pretty much entertained by such an awesome parade.

As for dormitories on campus, I moved in to Aurora Hall, which is one of the newest residence buildings. Furthermore, I have a roommate from China, and he is pretty much polite more than I am. Though we have been busy all the time recently because of school, I would spend more time having a chat and hanging out with him in order to build a rapport.

About fall semester: frankly speaking, I have been overwhelmed by the rigor of my regular class, it is because that I strongly felt how hard it is to keep pace with classes that native English speakers are in. What I mean by ‘hard’ is not about communicating with them, but getting on with the assignments, such as an essay and a reading homework. Even though I tried to adapt myself to the new semester as best I can, I think I still have to learn a better technique for juggling things. Having said that, being able to make new friends and meet the locals in Canada are, among other things, something extra and special to me. This really motivates me to move forward with my life here and give nothing away, I think.

On a final note, I heard that some of my fellow members of the seminar would sit EIKEN soon. I so hope they can give their best shot. Actually, I am stimulated to improve myself and enhance my English skills every time they tell me that they keenly keep doing their best for achieving goals and working together every single day. As well, I will desperately try to produce my own results and hold on to my dream being an interpreter no matter what brick walls lie ahead.

Warm regards,

brotaro