〔Living in London〕
Potatoes! It took me a little time to get used to the many kinds of potato dishes served: fried potatoes, steamed potatoes, sliced
potatoes, and different-colored potatoes. My host mother was a good cook. She made delicious pasta and chicken dishes and even
cooked rice for me.
Nadiege, a French girl, was another homestay student living with us, and we went around London together. On Saturdays, my
host family would have a party at home with friends or family. When we returned from touring London, Nadiege and I would join
the party. On Saturday evenings, Mr. and Mrs. Flannery would go to their favorite pub to spend time together.
Although I selected a school with few Japanese students, there were still at least two in each class. In class, I tried to speak a lot,
but many Japanese students didn't use their English very much (even if they had large vocabularies), and spoke only Japanese with
their friends
Sometimes, I asked other people their impressions of Japan. "Japanese people work too hard," said my French friend. My
teacher thought that Japanese people were very rich. I did not agree with these points, but I was interested in knowing what
foreign people thought. One month in London made me realize that speaking English was very important because it is the
language that people from many countries use the most. I would like to be more open-minded about people from different
countries, like my host family is.