Kenji Kanazawa

Yokohama National University, Japan
Exchange to University of Technology, Sydney, Australia

The exchange programme to Australia has given me opportunities to experience heaps of things which I had never done before.

When I arrived in Sydney, I was surprised at it being such a multicultural society. I found all kinds of people, buildings and shops. I didn’t expect that Sydney would be such a diverse city. In Japan, most people are Japanese and it is difficult to find foreigners so the life in Sydney excited me a lot. Through getting along with and talking to people here, I learned that Australia has people with various backgrounds such as British, German, Chinese, and Vietnamese. Some people are immigrants; the others were born here. When I walked around the middle of the city, I also found many sorts of restaurants and shops. Even though I have been to some other countries, I had never seen a city like Sydney.

I live in a flat shared with seven people in a student residence and I have experienced a lot of things. Actually, this is the first time for me to not only to live with foreigners, but also to live apart from my family, so I worried about whether I could live here for two semesters. However, I was able to get used to the life and within a few weeks enjoyed the daily life with my flat mates. Living with people from different countries is very enjoyable. Everyone cooks his or her own country’s cuisine, so I could try various foods. Sharing a flat caused some problems for me due to cultural differences, but at the same time, I learned the importance of compromising and cooperating with others, so it has been a good experience. There are also many events in my residence. Through them, I have made many friends from diverse countries since many exchange students live in my residence. Surprisingly, everybody seems interested in Japan so I really enjoy talking with them.

Student life is also memorable for me. Before I came here, I had never taken lectures with many people from different countries. In Japan, it seems as though more than 90% of students are Japanese, thus, everybody speaks Japanese in university. On the other hand, in Sydney, people speak their own languages, including English, Korean, Indian and so on. I did not expect that Sydney would have such a large number of international students. In particular, in one of my subjects, all of my group members were international students from different countries. I really enjoyed the group work because each group member had a different opinion about the topic because of their cultural differences.

Everything that I have experienced here has been new and challenging for me and the time I have spent here will have been my most memorable so far. I’m really grateful for the Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Awards scholarship – it has encouraged me to study harder and to enjoy my life in Sydney more.

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