By Elias Lovos

My time spent with the two exchange groups was filled with laughter and meaningful connections; this time around compared to the other groups we have met, I was less shy throughout the exchange and I did a whole lot better speaking Japanese instead of only relying on English. The students in both exchanges understood my words most of the times and I felt like I also had an easier time understanding their words as well. After the lunch we had at the library, we went to the Smithsonian Museum of American History with the exchange group and I felt like I had a better time speaking to some of the students there. It was a very chilled environment where we could simply talk about any of our personal interests and even talking about what was being displayed inside the museum. My group really liked the pop culture section of the museum with Prince’s guitar and the display of protests and riots at the back. But sadly the time came to an end and we had a nice goodbye to all of the students as both groups went our separate ways.