Crystal Woo: I Never Want To Leave

I’ve been in Japan for a little over a month now, and I’ve already fallen in love with this city and the people. The city is beautiful and spotlessly clean. The mountains make me feel right at home. Everyone—from my dorm manager, to my classmates, to strangers on the street—is incredibly helpful and friendly. One of my favourite aspects of Sapporo is how bicycle friendly the city is. Nearly half the people on the streets are riding bicycles and you’ll encounter entire street blocks lined with bicycles. When I first arrived, I was shocked to see people leave their bicycles wherever they pleased without so much as a lock. My teacher was equally surprised as I told him the risk of having your bicycle stolen in Vancouver is fairly high.





I love taking a bicycle out and exploring the city, with my friends and on my own. My school and friends have taken me to a historic clock building, the TV Tower, to parks and we’ve had multiple barbeques. There is so much to do and see. There is currently an international food festival and ramen festival at Odori Park, which is in the downtown area. I’ve made friends with people in my class, in other classes, and at my dorm. I’ve also been able to meet up with Airi, whom I haven’t seen since she came to Capilano last year.




 
School is great so far. I’m trying and learning completely new things. Flower design turned out to be much more difficult than I would have imagined. I accidentally crushed some of my orchids while arranging my bouquet. Pottery is exceptionally fun and my teacher, Shimozawa sensei, makes it look incredibly easy. I’m very excited about copperplate engraving and I’d love to be able to continue doing it when I get back to Canada. However, it is the most difficult class to understand because although my Japanese is improving and my teacher speaks a little English, copperplate engraving involves words and terms that even in English I am not familiar with. So far, however, the language barrier has not been too bad.







I really can’t wait for the rest of the semester and I can’t believe it’s already been a month. I wish I could stay for longer.          
 
Crystal Woo is a  Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication (IDEA) student at Capilano University. Crystal is currently studying abroad at Hokkaido College of Art & Design (Bisen) in Sapporo, Japan

 

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