My neighbours were all, like me, foreign students from countries like Belgium, Mexico and Korea. I had my own apartment, complete with kitchen, bathroom, washing machine and balcony. All this meant that we got to know each other very quickly. A typical day would be to get up at 8am, into school for 9am and have lessons through till 5pm. However, you would be very wrong if you thought that a year abroad was simply about studying.
Japan is obsessed with festivals and Kyoto is no exception.
This was perhaps one of the highlights of my year. I was even on Japanese television. The Japanese, as a nation, put great emphasis on international relations and understanding. During the year I went on two homestays, staying with Japanese families. The second time I did this was during a weeklong event that involved 350 foreign students.