By Sarah Pfander
Gargoyle assistant editor
Posted Wednesday, June 7, 2006, The OG, features

It's hard to believe, but it's true. The school year has come to an end, and with that comes the end of the Japanese exchange students' stay here at Uni. Sayako Kanazumi and Masahiro Imamura arrived in Champaign-Urbana last August and lived with a number of Uni host families. Masahiro plans to remain in the United States for another month or so, but Sayako has already departed for her hometown of Kobe, Japan, where she and Masahiro attend Konan, Uni's sister school. Sayako enjoyed her stay here so much that she's considering attending college in the United States, according to Japanese teacher Hiroko Ito. Now informed of all things American, Sayako had a lot to say about this past year when she talked with the Gargoyle just a few days after her friends threw a surprise farewell party for her in late May.

Overall, would you say that living here and going to Uni was an enjoyable experience?
Definitely!

What, specifically, made it fun? Was it the kids, the teachers, something else?
Mainly Uni kids. Also, living here and speaking English was pretty fun for me.

Are Uni kids a lot different from your friends at home?
Yes, they are. Uni kids work really hard, and most of them enjoy being Uni students.

You mentioned that you enjoyed speaking English. Would you say that living abroad is the best way to learn a language?
Well, I found that it's impossible to learn a language perfectly unless you grow up speaking it with your family or actually live in a country where the language is spoken when you are little. But still, I think living abroad is the best way to learn because you can learn what people use, not like school English and stuff.

So what was your favorite English slang word that you learned while you were here?
“Awesome,” “cool,” and “suck,” because they are the words which I didn't learn anywhere before I came here to live a year. And also, even though you don't understand what people say exactly, most of the time if you say one of these words, you still make sense.

Now that you have lived here a year, what would you say is the biggest difference between Japan and the U.S.?
It won't be the biggest difference between “Japan and the U.S.,” but freedom could be the biggest difference between “my school and Uni.”

Like freedom to express your opinion?
Kind of, but more like freedom to talk to people the way you want to talk and freedom to decide what to do.

So, what would you say was the memory that most stands out from your time here? Whether it stands out as really bad or really good.
I guess the surprise farewell party which my friends held for me was the memory which stands out most.

Are you excited to go back to Japan and see all of your friends?
I like my Japanese friends but I just don't want to go back. I really don't want to go back because I can't learn what I want to at my school which I could at Uni for a year. Also I'm scared to go back because I can't imagine how much I will miss everything at Uni. Also I don't want to lose English.

Well, that's about it. Any last farewells?
Thank you to my host families and friends. I hope everyone has a good year this summer and next year.

[Note: Click here for Sarah Pfander's profile of Sayako Kanazumi that appeared in the Sept. 27, 2005, issue of the print Gargoyle. Another student from Konan is scheduled to spend next year at Uni, while new graduate Melisa “Mo” Kudeki will attend Konan.]

Gargoyle photo of Sayako Kanazumi & Masahiro Imamura by Yuzuko Nakamura, September 2005 (click to enlarge)