Hello everyone! I’m Giulia from Group 15 ジェンダー, and I’d like to share my thoughts and feelings about the Virtual Exchange experience.

I can’t believe it’s April already! Time sure flies by. When I first started this project on February, I remember being very excited: the opportunity to discuss various topics with other students seemed really fun, and I wanted to challenge myself and improve my Japanese comprehension skills in an alternative way. On the other hand though, I couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious. Being a “Virtual Exchange”, it meant that I had to talk in Japanese all the time, and I wasn’t sure I was up to the task. Moreover, I tend to be quite shy, so I was very worried about the conversation lessons. I’d never tried to have a serious conversation in Japanese, let alone discussing a topic for over an hour, so I wondered whether I would’ve been able to do a good job.

I won’t lie, at first I had trouble keeping up with the others: everyone was really competent, while I struggled to express my thoughts in a clear way. But I think that being “forced” to speak in Japanese was a necessary measure: as more weeks went by, I noticed that I’d gotten better and more confident, and I’d learnt new words and expressions. My shyness has always been my biggest hurdle, but by talking to the same faces every week, I managed to feel less anxious. Being able to look up new words on the spot also really helped me speak more freely about new topics, without having to rely on my not-so-flawless memory or fearing that my performance would be evaluated, so I felt more at ease this way.

Speaking of which, I remember having trouble looking up new expressions: gender-related discussions almost always occur on social media, which means that its vocabulary is deeply rooted in the internet culture. I found it a bit problematic, since new words do not always appear in the dictionary, so I had to investigate further into the Web in order to find the right Japanese equivalents (did you know that transgender in Japanese is “x-gender”?). I really liked this challenge, and I found it very helpful not only for the sake of the project, but also for my own studies, since it led me to discover new terms that I can use in everyday talk, so I feel like I’ve improved a bit on the vocabulary side.

I also really liked researching about gender-related topics. When I first started this project, I didn’t really know much about gender issues. By reading new articles, papers and by discussing them with my colleagues and friends I feel like I’ve developed my own personal opinion regarding this matter, and now I understand how important it is to protect the right to be whoever you want to be, without having to fear discrimination or feeling misunderstood by other people. I’ll admit that talking about gender issues in Japanese was very hard for me, mainly because of its complexity, but I’m still satisfied because I did my best.

Lastly, I’m very glad I had the chance to talk with students from all over Japan. Discussing with my Japanese colleagues their everyday experiences gave me new insights, and thanks to this opportunity I can say I know a bit more about what’s going on within Japanese society. Furthermore, being able to interact with Japanese students and knowing that we were understanding each other was very thrilling. It felt like my efforts were really paying off, so I was proud of myself!

This journey is finally over, but I can’t help but feel a little sad. I really enjoyed this experience, and it really cemented my thoughts about doing a “real” exchange in Japan. I’m glad I participated to this exchange simulation, and I really admire how, in spite of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, everyone still tries to find a way to give us an alternative yet enjoyable experience. For now, I’ll keep doing my best at home, and I’ll keep on improving my Japanese skills!

That is all. ポストを読んでくれてありがとうございます！また会いましょう！