Iryo Sosei Universtiy Zoom Meeting 1

Reflection:

When Sensei mentioned to the class the opportunity to participate in a Zoom meeting with students from Iryo Sosei University I was filled with both excitement and dread. I knew that if my classes would allow me the time, I was going to participate, but I was scared to death about the possibility of embarrassing myself in front of my Japanese peers and their teacher. Still, I knew that if I wanted to get better, I needed to do this.

For the meeting itself, Tim-sensei, in Japanese, called on students and asked them simple questions. We then did our best to answer them; some students were able to understand and answer without help while others needed additional guidance. Tim-sensei used variations of language, gestures, and facial expressions to get his meaning across and the other students also tried to help. It was also funny to see our own Sensei mouthing answers excitedly in her screen.

In the end, I feel that it was such an enriching experience. While I did feel like my heart was going to escape from my chest at times, and when I was first called on I forgot the confused the word for 'study' and 'textbook' and ended up giving everyone a good laugh, it was all worth it. I will definitely be doing it again if given the chance. I feel like it was a great ice breaker for my first time actually speaking to people outside of the classroom. I'm excited to try it again.