New Year's Greetings

Dear Dr. Tanabe,

Happy New Year 2019. May you have good health, lots of happiness, and a great New Year. It’s been almost a year since I became a member of your seminar. Being part of your seminar is the first thing that happened to me last year. After three months, in April, I left Japan and now live in Calgary. I’ve spent about nine months in Calgary since then, and I have experienced a lot of things here, such as the campus life, living with a host family, and living on campus. If I had to decide a word to describe 2018, I would say “challenge”. It’s simple enough, but the best one as far as I'm concerned.

Now, the campus is so serene because some other exchange students who took the fall semester only have already left and gone back to their native countries. Canadian students spend respective holidays with their families. I’m lucky that there is a family in Canada who invites me to all of their family events, including Thanksgiving and Christmas. I can enjoy holidays in Canada to the fullest, thanks to them.

I saw out the year with them and their relatives. Before the new year, we had good food and played bingo and charades. At the moment the new year rung in, the light in a room was turned off, and the colorful light turned on. And then, people in the room started dancing or line dancing for a while. It made me feel like I was in a night club. It was so much fun. One thing I was disappointed was that I missed watching some new year’s special TV programs back in Japan.

And finally, I’d like to thank you all, Dr. Tanabe, my fellows, and my family members, who’ve been supporting me.

Best regards,
Kochi