Galesburg High School Junior, Alice Greene, began the 2023-2024 school year 6,000 miles away from home. We are fortunate to have her send us monthly summaries of what life is like as a student across the Pacific Ocean in Japan.
Hello! I’m Alice, a student of Galesburg High School and I’m embarking on my journey of studying abroad in Japan for the 2023/2024 school year! I have been here for about a month, arriving on August 21st. Already, I feel so happy! I’ve been to so many wonderful and beautiful places. Seeing mountains and wildlife everywhere is just so mind-blowing to me. Each day I look out of the window, admiring how beautiful it really is here. My host family is so wonderful! They support me and bring me to all of these wonderful events. I’ve been to Gifu Castle, Gujo Odori, and many more fun places with my host family. I also got to witness cormorant fishing! Two weeks ago, I started school at Minokamo High School and already have many friends! The teachers are also very caring and supportive of me! Due to the language barrier, it can be a bit of a struggle to communicate. But I have been studying hard to overcome that challenge! I do miss my hometown and the activities I participated in, but I know this is good for me and will expand my “bubble” and knowledge. Of course, adjusting to this different environment after living in Galesburg for almost all of my life was a bit hard. But that only made me grow as a person, to be able to adapt to different environments.
I would like to thank my Rotary Club, family, friends, and teachers for supporting me throughout this journey,
Alice Greene, signing off!
