Cultural Comparisons

     Between Japan and Italy, I found that there were a lot of cultural differences. First of all, people in Italy make a gesture a lot while talking to someone. They try to express how they feel by making a gesture more than talking. In Japan, most people don't make a gesture to express their feelings so that was interesting to me.
     Second, there are a lot of pickpockets in Italy. I heard some of my friends got pickpockets there. In Japan, people go to the bathroom in a restaurant even though they leave their wallet or phone on the table. You can see that People in Japan are less careful than tourists from other countries so they are likely to be targeted as a victim of pickpockets.
     Third, people in Italy drink coffee or espresso a lot more than we do like every day. We drink a cup of coffee in the morning to make ourself awake. In contrast, people in Italy drink espresso in the morning not coffee. Also, when we eat spaghetti, we use both a folk and a spoon. On the other hand, people in Italy use only a folk when they eat spaghetti.
     However, there are also some common points between Japan and Italy. They have four seasons in a year. Both of Japanese foods and Italian foods are known for one of the best foods in the world. They both have strong nation brands. Products made in Japan or made in Italy are supposed to be great and safe. In Italy, products such as clothes, bags, and food are main ones. In Japan, products such as cars, and technology product are main ones.
     These cultural differences make me more interested in knowing about other countries. I hope I can get to know other differences that I still do not know in the future.

Personal Excursions

     I am visiting Rome and Venice. In Venice and Rome, there were a lot of things that made me surprised.
     In venice, we use a water bus as a main transportation in Venice. In Milan, we used subways as a main transportation so that was a big difference. There were canals everywhere, and I could realize that this city is called "a lagoon city" by seeing the actual city.
     In Rome, I had wanted to go to Rome since a long time ago. I was learning world history when I was a high school student, and especially I was very interested in the history of Rome. Visiting the smallest country in the world, the Vatican city, and one of the world's largest churches, San Pietro, was absolutely priceless. Also, words cannot tell how amazing seeing the real Colosseo was. When I thought that a person and a beast was actually fighting inside of this field, I could not help getting exciting. I used to learn deeply about the history of Rome, which made me realize once again that it was a great thing to have learnt. Without well-known knowledges, I am sure that the trip could not have been that good.
     Both in Venice and Rome, there are a number of black people selling selfie sticks, luxurious bags, and toys like each 5 meters in streets. Also, there are some people who were wearing a costume and try to get money from tourists by taking pictures with them. They first said it is cheap or even free, and let tourists take a picture or buy something, and after that they drastically changed their attitudes and tried to make them pay money.
     I was not that victim, but I learnt that we have to be very careful, and we should not trust strangers so easily because big cities can be not only a great place but also a dangerous place.

Daily life in Milan

     I can say that I have lead a full life in Italy since I came here. In the morning, we go to Italian school and take classes. The professors are so good at teaching that I have found the class very interesting even though those classes are not my major. After school, we always have a plan such as going out to Duomo, doing something fun with Italian friends that I made friends with, going to a concert, museum and so on. Even not after school, we had a couple of field trips. That was very interesting. Even when we do not have any plan after school, it is not a big problem. We just search something that seems fun or interesting and take an adventure. It is so much fun to take classes with those people from the same university and hang out with them in a different country.
    Also, Italian foods are very good. I often go to the pizza restaurant that is close to our hotel and make friends with some staffs working at there. They suggested me to have the foods that I have never tried. I was kind of afraid at first, but I tried after all. The taste was actually very good and now that I eat it once in 2 days.
     I have been learning that even if I have never tried something, I do not have to be afraid. Even I feel it was a bad choice after trying, that is worth because I took a try no matter what. However, most of the times, I realized that it was a right choice for me to do this after I tried something that I had never tried. Therefore, I believe that spending time in Italy is not only a fun time, but also a great life lesson to me!

Language issues and Academic life in Milan

       This is my first time going to Europe and learning foreign languages other than English, so I was excited to learn Italian. On last Monday, we had a first Italian language class. There were 2 teachers who taught us Italian language and their first class was a lot of fun. I learnt how to introduce myself such as how to tell my name, where I live in, where I was born in, what hobby mine is and so on. 

       After school, we went to Duomo for sightseeing and having a dinner. There are a lot of things I find interesting. At some places we went to , I asked something to the stuffs who works there in English, but they did not understand what I said and asked me something in Italian. I was surprised because even though Duomo is a famous and big city, there were some people who do not speak English even in such a big city. I did not understand Italian, but they did not understand English either. Therefore, we found it very hard to communicate with each other. At that time, Mr Stopford came to me, and helped me. He told the stuffs what I wanted to tell in Italian, and then they easily understood it. I can not just forget that moment because I thought I just want to be like Mr Stopford. Even not in English, he could communicate with many people in Italian. That is wonderful. It makes me feel like I just can not wait for the next day's class.

       However, I suddenly got a terrible headache and had no choice but to miss the class. I was so sad because as I mentioned earlier, I was so excited to go to the class and learn new things in Italian. Even after school, since I was not feeling very well I stayed at the hotel all day. 

       I hope I am going to be able to most of the time in Italy in next two weeks!