Bonjour!
It's been quite a long time since the last time I posted some stuff, though I changed some design on this blog, I added a new page called "Adventure" where you can follow my adventure through my favorite photos.
It's crazy to think that almost 3 months have passed, it seems so long and so short. Looking back, I've done so many things that it feels like my arrival in France was 3 centuries ago but at the same time, I feel like it was 3 days ago when I ate real French cheese and absolutely fell in love with it.
One huge change is the way I think. Back in Japan, everything was "I'll do it later" but in contrast, everything is "I'll do it now!" here because of the constant thought of not wanting to miss anything. My greatest fear at the moment is, surprisingly, not birds, but regretting things I could've done during my exchange year.
To sum up, I'm enjoying every single moment here.
Well, probably that is one of the reasons why I was at a loss for words when I heard the news that 3 exchange students in my district have made the decision to go back home. Though I respect their decision and I know that the most important thing for all of us is to be happy, I really don't want to say goodbye.
But as they say, "Don't be sad because it's over, be happy because it happened".
I really had a lot of fun with you guys, and you all are always be in our exchange family. Maybe this time did not end the way you wanted, but never stop challenging and exploring the world. I love you all.
This whole event made me realize something, which is the importance of your host family.
I bet all the exchange students out there would agree, that being hosted by nice and supportive family is crucial in order to have a good time.
Luckily I'm in such an amazing host family that I would like to stay with this family forever. Sadly, it's not possible though. Without my current host family, I wouldn't have had a wonderful time like I do now.
One of my favorite moments of the day is the dinner, where the whole family enjoy talking. Although on weekdays, I'm always a little bit tired at the end of the day, I love listening to the conversation and of course eating. (Why is all the food so good in France? I just keep gaining weight!)
And it will lead us to another thought that I'd like to share… To listen.
Since I started to understand more and more French but I'm still not able to express my feelings fluently in French, I always listen, listen and listen.
Like I said, I really like listening to the conversation of my family during dinner. They always talk about really fun stuff!
Okay, anyway, if it's in Japanese or English, I listen to the conversation to answer. In French, I listen to the conversation to understand. There's a tiny difference, but this tiny difference allows me to look into people deeply, appreciate what they say and finally, it offers me their way of seeing the world.
With the language I'm not used to, it requires a lot of energy and concentration to understand what they say to me. However, it enables me to pay particular attention to the story itself. It makes me really realize that… it's pretty obvious but... everyone has a story to tell because everyone lives differently and that's why everyone has different point of view.
I feel like if more people listen to "understand", not listen to "answer", the world will be a bit more better place.
When you understand, that means you respect the opinion no matter if it's the same or different from yours.
It's cool to be the one who listens.
So that will conclude my blog post today.
Thanks for reading my random thoughts.
See you soon!
It's been quite a long time since the last time I posted some stuff, though I changed some design on this blog, I added a new page called "Adventure" where you can follow my adventure through my favorite photos.
It's crazy to think that almost 3 months have passed, it seems so long and so short. Looking back, I've done so many things that it feels like my arrival in France was 3 centuries ago but at the same time, I feel like it was 3 days ago when I ate real French cheese and absolutely fell in love with it.
One huge change is the way I think. Back in Japan, everything was "I'll do it later" but in contrast, everything is "I'll do it now!" here because of the constant thought of not wanting to miss anything. My greatest fear at the moment is, surprisingly, not birds, but regretting things I could've done during my exchange year.
To sum up, I'm enjoying every single moment here.
Well, probably that is one of the reasons why I was at a loss for words when I heard the news that 3 exchange students in my district have made the decision to go back home. Though I respect their decision and I know that the most important thing for all of us is to be happy, I really don't want to say goodbye.
But as they say, "Don't be sad because it's over, be happy because it happened".
I really had a lot of fun with you guys, and you all are always be in our exchange family. Maybe this time did not end the way you wanted, but never stop challenging and exploring the world. I love you all.
This whole event made me realize something, which is the importance of your host family.
I bet all the exchange students out there would agree, that being hosted by nice and supportive family is crucial in order to have a good time.
Luckily I'm in such an amazing host family that I would like to stay with this family forever. Sadly, it's not possible though. Without my current host family, I wouldn't have had a wonderful time like I do now.
One of my favorite moments of the day is the dinner, where the whole family enjoy talking. Although on weekdays, I'm always a little bit tired at the end of the day, I love listening to the conversation and of course eating. (Why is all the food so good in France? I just keep gaining weight!)
And it will lead us to another thought that I'd like to share… To listen.
Since I started to understand more and more French but I'm still not able to express my feelings fluently in French, I always listen, listen and listen.
Like I said, I really like listening to the conversation of my family during dinner. They always talk about really fun stuff!
Okay, anyway, if it's in Japanese or English, I listen to the conversation to answer. In French, I listen to the conversation to understand. There's a tiny difference, but this tiny difference allows me to look into people deeply, appreciate what they say and finally, it offers me their way of seeing the world.
With the language I'm not used to, it requires a lot of energy and concentration to understand what they say to me. However, it enables me to pay particular attention to the story itself. It makes me really realize that… it's pretty obvious but... everyone has a story to tell because everyone lives differently and that's why everyone has different point of view.
I feel like if more people listen to "understand", not listen to "answer", the world will be a bit more better place.
When you understand, that means you respect the opinion no matter if it's the same or different from yours.
It's cool to be the one who listens.
So that will conclude my blog post today.
Thanks for reading my random thoughts.
See you soon!