As soon as I arrived Rose Hulman, the winter quarter started. Because of this I didn't have enough time to hand in papers to the school and, to receive my laptop. Also, the climate was different from Japan causing me to get a cold. In addition, the classes in Rose Hulman gave students many homework that has to be finished by the next class. As a result of these facts, the first 2 weeks were very hard for me. I thought if this keeps on going, I will be dead by the end of the quarter, so I joined the "Secret Santa" event and the "White Elephant" that was held in the dorm. After these events, I met students who had interest in Japan or who took the same classes as me, which helped me calm down. They helped me have confidence in myself and I started participating that was held in the school.

I've met one person who was nice enough to invite me to a Christmas party. After the winter break, we've started working on a group project. At first, I had trouble trying to tell my thoughts to other people but after a while I was finally able to talk confidently to the member of my group. In the end, we were able to wrap up the project and managed to do a presentation in front of our professor.

This exchange program taught me the importance of communicating with others and it helped me to broaden my vision. I'll make use of the experience I've learned during this stay and use it to help with my study.

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