I have loved France since I was in elementary school, and when I was in high school I was self-taught to study French. I chose Teikyo University because it has a wide variety of French curriculums and many native teachers. I thought I could spend "4 years in French". Another reason for my aspiration was that there was a system of "study abroad for all" and "study abroad exchange", and support such as study abroad support funds and study abroad incentives.

In order to meet the criteria for long-term exchange study abroad, you must complete an interview with a French test level 3 or higher, as well as a self-introduction in French. However, I started preparing from the first semester of the first grade, saying, "If you go, you will definitely study abroad for a long time!"

Thanks to that, I passed the exam and will be studying abroad at the language school attached to University of Orleans from the end of August 2019 to the end of April 2020.

At the study abroad destination, I was able to learn French comprehensively by listening, speaking, and writing.

After all the study abroad students returned to Japan at the end of January, I had more opportunities to talk with my foreign classmates and my French skills improved dramatically. Classes are one class higher. It was hard, but I felt it was worthwhile.

That was when the new coronavirus became a problem.
Until then, Orleans had fewer infected people than in other areas, but the situation has changed day by day. The day before, "it's okay to stay in France", but the next day, "I should go back to Japan". In preparation for lockdown, I went back and forth to the post office to send unused luggage to Japan, so it was no longer a place to study.

I was supposed to make the decision to return to Japan, so I was really worried about whether to continue or return. I've always wanted to study abroad in France, so I wanted to stay until the end.

However, in mid-March, University of Orleans finally ordered me to wait at my homestay. International students from all over the world also began to return home one after another. Since I couldn't study the language just by staying at home, I decided to return home two days after the lockdown.

As soon as I told him I was going back to college, I got a reply. Two days later, I got an air ticket! It was so fast that I packed it in a hurry.

During the 14 days of self-restraint after returning to Japan, I was able to take online classes at University of Orleans until the end of my original study abroad period. After the self-restraint period ended and until mid-May, my classes at Teikyo University were also mostly online. After that, small-group face-to-face lectures were allowed, so I was able to live a life that mixed face-to-face and online classes.

It is a pity that the period of study abroad has been shortened. However, I think I got a lot of things. At the study abroad destination, as the situation changed every day in Corona, I decided and decided for myself whether to continue studying abroad. Procedures such as sending luggage had to be done alone in a foreign language.

So, of course, I have acquired the ability to speak and listen, but I also think that I have acquired spontaneity and action. I think it's very big and I'm feeling the growth.