September 2023 Report

The school schedule in Canada is entirely different from that in Japan. I have four classes a day, and we simply repeat the same ones each day. Each class is 80 minutes long, and the lunch break starts at 11:40, which helps me a lot because I am officially allowed to eat lunch one hour earlier than when I was in Japan. I’m taking ELL, Earth Science, Pre-Calculus and Yoga. The content of these classes is extremely easy compared to Japan. Earth Science requires me to look up terms I'm unfamiliar with, but my classmates, Ryca and Savanna, always lend me a hand. There's always help when I need it. My biggest problem is that my English has very little accent. The speed with which Canadians speak to me is too fast for me to understand. I inform them that I've just arrived in Canada and it's my first time living in an English-speaking country, but after three minutes, they forget and continue talking like a Shinkansen.

When it comes to ice hockey, this is a perfect environment. This is beyond anything I've ever seen before. There are so many rinks, and the hockey population is huge. The best example is that I can't grasp the number of people who use the same rink as me. When I go back to Okayama, Japan, I know everyone who plays hockey. I even know their parents. Here in Canada, when I see a hockey net in front of someone's house, it can be someone I've never met before.

I play for two teams this season. One is a girls’ hockey team, and the other is a school hockey team. In girls' hockey, I found myself to be the most experienced player, so sometimes I feel unsatisfied with the drills in the practice. However, it's fun that I can score in the games. Before school, school hockey practice starts at 7:30 on Mondays and 7:45 on Wednesdays. I hate getting up early in the morning, but I'm trying so hard. This year, I am the only girl player in the team, which means I have a whole changing room to myself.

When it comes to my host family, I can comfortably say that I am the luckiest international student ever. The food is always good, the house is very nice, the dog is super cute, and the people are wonderful. The youngest daughter, Elena, is thirteen years old. She is my go-to person because her taste is so good. The middle child, Kyle, is sixteen years old. He is nice and funny and has so many friends. My host mother, Sheri, is kind and elegant. She makes me feel comfortable. These days she sometimes says “itadakimasu” before meals and it sounds so cute. My host father, Jaret, is made of kindness, and he is the most capable dad I’ve ever seen. He cooks, cleans, does the laundry, and drives kids to school and hockey almost every day. The oldest brother, Nathan, is the same age as me, studying at a university in Vancouver. He didn’t talk to me at all when I first met him, which made me feel kind of sad, but he talked to me a little bit when he came home after a few weeks, so I was very happy. He is the shiest Canadian man I’ve ever met. Daisy the dog is a beautiful white girl, and she loves Sheri. Apparently, she likes me too and I can find her on my carpet in my room.

I don’t think I will get homesick because I could make sure that I was really loved by everyone around me before I left. However, I’m pretty sure that they’re missing me. Unfortunately, I’m not missing them at all so far because I know I will see them again when I go back. I’ve been blessed and fortunate since I was born in Japan, but now I’m blessed and fortunate in Canada too.

Moreover, I love Canada and the people in Canada so much. They close the stores and shops at four. Overall, they’re laid back in a good way. Canada has large land space and beautiful nature. As soon as I arrived, the first thing that came to mind was that it was impossible for Japan to win if a war started between the two countries. Most people have emotional leeway and are confident about themselves compared to people in Japan. Teachers at school are also brighter than those in Japan. What I love about teachers in Canada is that they tell students their own opinions. Teachers in Japan always say, “I’m in a position to say this, so you guys just shouldn’t do this” or “Generally speaking, high school students shouldn’t be like this” or “I’m okay with this, but for the school’s reputation, we can’t do this.”  It was all contradictory to me. However, teachers in Canada are totally different. They say, “I don’t like that” or “that’s not what I want you guys to do.” They can say what they think about the issues in school. This is an amazing thing to have in an education system. The only thing the principal said at the first all school assembly was “In school buildings, no alcohol, no drugs, no smoking, and no vaping. Just come to school every day. Respect each other. Be the person who can say sorry and thank you.”

I enjoy seeing people‘s great diversity. Their hair, makeup, outfits, and bodies are all different and all of them look perfect. I’m so embarrassed that my Japanese school has hair inspection every month. Savanna, a girl who always helps me in class, has many piercings on her face and many rings on her fingers. My first impression of her was kind of scary, but I found her very kind, and she gives me some help when I need it. All my friends tell me that my hair and skin look healthy and beautiful. I knew I looked good before I came to Canada, but I feel great that everyone around me agrees with that. Most of the students speak up about what they think in class. I can see students and teachers are equal. They try to respect each other, which makes school a more comfortable place to spend time. I rarely see students sleeping in class. Teachers are good at talking, and their stories are always interesting. We don’t have lots of homework, so that’s one of the reasons students are awake during the class. They don’t seem to care about being late for class. Teachers say, “I know life happens, but just try to be on time.” Being late doesn’t mean we don’t respect our teachers, or we are irresponsible. We are also allowed to eat food during class. It does make sense because it’s ridiculous that we’re not allowed to eat when we feel hungry. Teachers are eating something during class too. The difference between the Candian and Japanese school buildings is that in Canada we have so many rainbow stickers all around. Some students claim that they are LGBTQ. I saw one person who looked like a girl, but that student was telling their teacher to use ‘him’ and ‘his.’ Surprisingly, I haven’t heard a word: ‘SDGs’ since I arrived in Canada. I can’t find any ‘SDGs’ anywhere in the town or school, but they care about the environment, human rights and other issues. It’s ironic that if ‘SDGs’ disappears in Japan, a massive number of adults will be in trouble.

I’ve been through many cultural shocks, but I’m enjoying it so far!