I'll just add a bit here, if I may, Zunu-buchou.
The video icon text is amusing.
GOT NO MATERIAL
Lately it's been all serious study abroad student talk - sowwy*.
This is me, as an individual, looking back on my 1 year in NZ.
I shot this right after getting out of the shower, so also apologies for the wet hair.
* she says "gomenna-i"(?), like she skipped/forgot the "sa" in gomennasai. If someone more expert can correct that would be cool.
Chiichan got hosed down constantly in her last video, well, 2 can play at that game!
I think mostly she is apologetic, I think she's enjoying her life there. She says that every day after dinner she hangs out with her host family to chat and watch TV together. I can imagine her doing some insane stretches on the floor in a nonchalant way
She's a bit tired from a party yesterday.
She really enjoys the process of gradually leveling up her ability to express herself in English.
In Hawaii she thought that the expressions "pardon" and "pardon me" were silly and useless, but in NZ they are frequently used.
Somebody suggested she listen to the radio in English. It was difficult, with the intonations sounding like music, but lately she has started being able to enjoy it. She has started listening to English podcasts while going to bed, using automatic shutoff timer.
She is the type of person who likes listening to new information. The information doesn't necessarily all sink in (she wishes!) but she enjoys the discovery process. She listens to Science Weekly -
Stuff You Should Know recently (I'm trying out
this one right now - sounds like a good podcast).
On Instagram she enjoys getting info in English about hiking and hiking gear, etc.
At the beginning she was like "however I can: I just need to be in contact with English!". But now after 1 year she's more like "if I like it I'll view it".
15'
Recently the host family son came home, and the host dad's older brother's family came by, so they had a big party. Everyone was listening very politely when she spoke, which made her think that she has to try to her best to speak smoothly.
Looking back at how she was when she first went to Hawaii, and basically had no English, the progress she's made, gradually, gradually over that period amazes her.
She gives thanks to her brain, tapping her head with both hands