My life in New Paltz in this semester!!

Sayo Kato

My life in New Paltz was full of wishes, dreams and happiness. Staying in another country was the first experience for me. I could experience a lot of new things and I could feel many emotions like happiness, sadness and loneliness here. New meetings made me strong and happy. New Paltz has taught me a lot of valuable things.

When I came to the United States, I felt nervous and missed my country. I didn’t know what would happen in the future here. I worried and didn't know if I could make friends and improve English skills or if I can communicate with foreigners. However, NP’s life gave me a lot of stimulations!

After arriving in NP, we had to take TOEFL test to decide ESL class. After finishing TOEFL test, we found which class we are. When I saw the class members for the first time, I was surprised because Japanese are only me! I worried about if I can get on well with the classmates at first, but I reconsidered that this is the chance because I can’t use Japanese in this class. So, it’s very good circumstance to practice English. Besides, they are very kind, so I was surrounded by wonderful people. I could get along with them easily.

In addition to this, I could touch with real American culture in this semester. NP professors took us to various places like Woodbury Commons, NYC and West Point. They gave us some opportunities to touch with American culture. I could enjoy them! I also enjoyed American traditional events like Halloween , Thanksgiving and Columbus Day etc. It was very fun for me. In Halloween, I could learn the origin of these events and enjoy them with my friends! I could not only study, but also I could play with my friends.

I could spend a happy life in this semester because I could make friends from around the world. I could know various cultures here and study English very much. Above all, I like to talk with ESL friends and professors because they are all kind and I could learn new things about their countries’ culture. Besides, I could teach them about Japanese. New Palt’s life in was my special life! I sometimes thought that I am in a dream because study abroad was my dream since I was a high school student. My dream came true! I was so happy. I will go back to Japan this month, so I will miss all friends in NP. I’m sad because I will not able to see you if I will go back to Japan. However, I never forget this wonderful life, my friends and NP’s professors. Thank you everyone, thank you America! I will never forget this wonderful life!