I flew to Vancouver, Canada right after I entered my high school in Japan.

That was my first time to stay at homestay family. The family was of 4, brothers Cooper and Griffin, mother Georgia, and father Sydney. They were very kind and polite at first, but gradually became extremely casual and got along right away. They really like working out and there was boxing bags in the garage. Every meal Georgia served was very good and always made me full. My younger brother Cooper was pretty naughty but older brother Griffin was kind of grown-up and adult ish. They taught a lot of things not only English but also about Canada and their customs which was very interesting.

School starts
First thing I was surprised is there are too many Japanese people. I determined that I was going to reject all of the Japanese because my English wouldn’t improve if I talk to them in Japanese. I was on an English program that’s for international students before attending to the school and I initially joined the group of Spanish people. They knew a little bit of based English but still talking in Spanish among them and I couldn’t even understand what they talked about. I felt like I was got rid of the group and that was when exactly I gritted for learning languages. I was totally on momentum and I also started studying French somehow. I’m pretty sure I thought French is the coolest languages. Gradually I started talking to more students and hanging out with them.

Basketball enrollment
I took a tryout to join the basketball team and I made it easily even though about 100 participants were there and only 20 would be taken. There’s literally no asian and I was the only one who was actually not fluent in English. I got discriminated for sure and my English is very immature, but I showed them my play and discrimination was gone. They were being kinda to me and made my English levels raised a lot. I was selected as a starter if I’m short. I proved that height doesn’t matter. Eventually, we became 6th rank in the province, British Columbia.

Sneaker business
I’m really into sneakers like Jordans, Nikes, and Converses. I found the demand was incredibly high and all of the students wanted some rare sneakers and took them as a status apparently. One of my Canadian friends showed me selling sneakers and clothes on market place in Facebook and I got interested instantly. I started from selling my shoes brought from Japan and made some money. I was also interested in the environmental problem, so I decided to ask to the manager of Nike in outlet mall if I can buy some of the sneakers that were almost abandoned as a left over and re-sell them online. I got the permission and started seeing. In total, I sold like 40 pair of shoes and sold them perfectly with a little bit of profits. However, I really wanted to do something good like a charity. So I took about 80% of the profit and donated the rest of it for WWF even though it’s a small donation.

Rock band
I was taking a Rock band class and I’d been playing drums and keyboards. When the semester starts, we made a band team and practiced some songs which were famous one and minor one. Our band was formed by 5 people and had a great time. Rarely, we held a concert in the town like in a park, restaurant and concert hall. There were many people to come listen to our musical and having fun. I have no opportunities to form the band and play instrument in Japan, so I really enjoyed it.

Two-thirds past of the time in Canada

I was studying English and Spanish in the class, and also French. So I was able to have a little conversation with a bunch of people. I found new perspectives with the curiosity for language learning. In the process of learning them, I could see the cultural background behind languages and how they express their thoughts. I met two best friends Quentin and Yuita from France and Japan. I solidly determined not to make Japanese friends but I did, we basically talked in English and Spanish so i’ll be fine. We three are always be together and hanging around the city, mountain, lakes, etc…. We all workout a lot so that was fun training with them and they’re tough-heart mates that always helped me pumping my muscle.

Overall

Being confident to say, I had the richest year in Canada and disciplined myself a lot. I broadened my horizons and raised my language levels for sure, achieving all of the goals I set. I sincerely appreciated everything and everyone.