Happy New Year! I wish everyone happiness this year.
First, Christmas day is quite different from that of Japan. I visited one host family of my friend, then we passed a Christmas card which is like happy new year card in Japan. The family made great dishes for us. We ate a lot, after that we ate homemade cookies. Finally, we watched a Christmas movie. It was a very quiet and relaxing time. Christmas day in America is very similar to Happy New Year’s day in Japan. Usually, university students in Japan spend time with boyfriends, girlfriends, and friends, not with family. Then, they eat salad, meat, sushi and so on. Finally, they eat a Christmas cake. I hear that people in America do not spend time with partners or friends and eat cake as last dish. I had taken for granted that these Japanese cultures were normal. I learned I need to look for information about different cultures.
As a final event for my winter break, I went to Niagara Falls by car. It was one of my best memories in my life. First of all, to drive in foreign countries, you need to get international license in Japan. It is not a hard process. You just bring your Japanese license to Driver and Vehicle Licensing Center. It takes about 30 minutes to issue international license. Lastly, you need to pay about 3000 yen, and you can get it. When driving in America, you just need to be careful on turning right in red. In Japan, drivers cannot turn right in red. However, in America it is not illegal to turn right in red. Except this rule, you do not have to be worried about anything, though road and driver’s seat are opposite in America. Now, let’s talk about the trip of Niagara Falls. The distance is about 1000km, and it takes about 10 hours to go there. It was very long trip, but I really like to drive, so I enjoyed driving. I left Naperville at 9 am and arrived my hotel around 8 pm. As I arrived there, I fell asleep without doing anything. On second day, I went to Niagara Falls. It was rainy day and a little bit cold. Also, I could not go to the place nearest to the fall, so I should have been there other season. Even if the condition was not good, I was really satisfied for being there. In addition, I recommend you go to Canada side. To go to Canada, you need to get a signature from staff in NCC because of VISA. I could not go to Canada side because I forgot to get signature. You must be able to see awesome falls from Canada side and there are more sightseeing places in Canada. So, if you have a chance to go there, please get a signature of the staff. On the second evening, I went to back to NCC. I mean I was driving at midnight. Many people might have thought it was dangerous. Of course, it was very dangerous. I was super drowsy because I was alone. What was worse, it started snowing. Usually, people in America do not change tires for winter because road will be cleaned as soon as possible. But there is snow in highway. I drove very carefully, but I slipped several times. On the next morning, I could come back to NCC finally!!! It was wonderful trip, and I suggest you go there not winter and get signature.
After winter break, winter term had started. I am taking an education class, an environment class and a sport class. I wanted to try new subjects other than education, and I was very interested in sustainability problems in NCC and Iwate university. So, I tried this environment class. I will try my best so that I can get out from my classes and daily life.