Chi-En Huang

STUDENT INTERVIEW: Chi-En Huang (SILAC)

This morning I had a bit of trouble finding Chi-En but luckily a member of the SILAC teaching faculty, Ms. Karasuyama, helped me locate her classroom and in the end I managed to set up an appointment with her.

Patty: Hi, Chi-En? I was wondering if you wouldn't mind doing an interview for this week's newsletter?
Chi-En: Sure, no problem.

P: So, where are you from?
C: I'm from New Zealand, but I was born in Taiwan and our family emigrated to New Zealand when I was 12 years old.
P: That sounds familiar. My family emigrated to the States when I was 11 years old.
C: Really! (Cue long chat about our experiences in a new country)
P: Okay, back to the subject. Have you studied any Japanese before?
C: Yes. I've studied Japanese in high school for 5 years.
P: 5 years in high school?
C: The school system is different in New Zealand. We have 5-years of 'high school'.
P: I see. And why are you interested in coming to Japan to study Japanese?
C: First of all, since I've studied Japanese for 5 years, I want to be able to speak it more fluently and coming to Japan is the best way to do that. Secondly, I think it's better to know more about Japan and Japanese culture if I want to communicate with Japanese people.

P: How did you find out about Yamasa?
C: Well, my older brother came to Yamasa for the AIJP summer quarter and he told me that if I want to come to Japan to study, I should come to Yamasa.
P: Right now you're in SILAC, why did you choose SILAC and not AIJP like your brother?
C: I'm on my summer break (southern hemisphere) from university right now, so due to the timing, I was only able to enroll in SILAC for 12 weeks instead of AIJP, which doesn't fit my university's schedule.

P: What did you think about the course so far?
C: The teachers are very nice and they explain everything clearly. In class we listen and practice what we've learnt, so it's alright. Personally, I think doing a homestay will help with speaking.
P: How about your classmates? Do you speak Japanese to them during breaks?
C: They are very friendly and we try to communicate in Japanese, but sometimes it gets frustrating so we occasionally speak in whatever language we know.

P: Where are you living at the moment?
C: Right now I'm staying at the Student Village.
P: How do you like it?
C: Good things about staying at the Village are that you have more freedom and you're able to make friends easily. On the other hand, the room is a bit smaller and during dinner time the kitchen can be very busy.

P: What do you do in your spare time?
C: I do homework and study vocabulary, it's more like a review for me, so right now I not spending too much time on it.
P: So, have you done any travelling so far?
C: Well, over the weekend I went to Feel News, Seiyu, and the Yamanaka supermarket, if you consider going to all the supermarkets in this area travelling (laugh). I've just been here for about a week and I didn't have a bicycle for the first few days. But I have one now, so I hope I can go to places a bit further away. Since I've come all the way here, I think it's better to go to as many places as I can.

P: What are your plans after you finish studying at Yamasa?
C: As I'm still in the university, I'm going back to New Zealand to complete my degree in pharmacy after finishing at Yamasa.

P: And finally, any suggestions for newcomers?
C: It might be a good idea to read or research things about Japan before you come. It's a good idea to know something about the place you're going to visit and stay for a while.

P: Thank you very much for your time.
C: You're welcome.

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