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STUDENT INTERVIEW: Cristina Elia (Italy, SILAC)

Cristina Elia

Euan: What made you come to Yamasa?
Cristina: I found the page on the Internet - well, a friend told me to look for it. She studied here a few months ago. Also, last time I came to Japan about 4 years ago to Tokyo I wasn't happy - I spent one and a half hours on the train going to school every morning; it got very expensive. That was for one month, so at first I didn't want to repeat that experience but she recommended that I come.

E: So how does Okazaki compare to that?
C: It's different! Well, obviously there is a lot more to do in Tokyo, but Okazaki is a lot cheaper, and I only have to get up one hour before lessons start because I can walk to school in a few minutes. Also although I don't speak a lot of Japanese in my apartment, I have met a Japanese family and they are taking me to the mountains this weekend, and they take me out to dinner a lot too. A friend of mine met them actually - she asked them for directions to a restaurant, and they took us there - now we meet up a lot! I couldn't imagine this happening in Tokyo!

E: What do you think of the course so far?
C: Very good - at the moment there are only two of us in the class, so there is a lot of conversation. Also, if there is anything that we don't understand, we can ask the teacher to go back over it again. We definitely speak a lot more than we did in the other course I did. In Italy, I also studied at university, but mostly grammar. My grammar was okay, but there is no other way to learn conversation than in Japan.

E: How is the Villa accommodation?
C: The apartments are fine, and I get to cook my own meals, do as I like, and it's near the school. You would use more Japanese in a homestay, but I have met people here so it's no problem.

E: Any comments at all?
C: I'm really happy that I've become friends with a lot of the teachers - we'll definitely email later when I go back to Italy and I'll meet up with them when they come to visit.