The diary was completely stopped this week. It is partly because this week was really hard for me. I had much homework such as an essay, a presentation, classes, meetings, readings. In addition, I got a cold, so that I couldn窶冲 have enough energy to keep this journal. I still have a headache and coughs, but it comes to an end of the week, it is firmly getting better. I will try to keep good way of life. Today窶冱 diary is the brief summary of this week.

On Monday, I had a reception party for the new international students. About 40 to 50 international came here to study this year from various countries, but most of the attendants were Japanese students. Some of the faculties and other students came, and after having some conversation and food, ceremony started.
At first, on behalf of the faculty, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty made a speech. It was so impressive. He said that to know the different culture, to make friends with someone here, and to speak second language, will be indispensable experience for our life. These kinds of new experiences will open up our possibilities more.
So far, I focused on too much about English, and I didn窶冲 enjoy the life in the United States so much. It is because I came here to study English. But it should not be the only purpose of this study. Not only do study in the class room, but also are there many good chances to know about the United States. I thought I should get the most out of everything as possible as I can.

Tuesday and Wednesday passed so fast to attend the class and do homework, the preparation for the discussion.

Thursday was my 22nd birthday. Many people celebrated me, it was so impressive. In the class, we had a discussion over the stereotype of the African American people. I devoted this week for the preparation of this class to make it chairperson jobs.
At first, I felt so nervous. I had to lead the discussion, but I couldn窶冲 speak out the words, it was so bad. But gradually, I got accustomed to the role, and in addition, my fellow classmates state the opinion freely one after another. It was really good help for me. The teacher also helped me. I had some unexpected sudden questions or unexpected answers, but overall, I was able to have done the role well. I want to try again.
In the evening, I watched the presidential debate with my friend, Masato. It was not the discussion, but the debate. Therefore, both stated own opinion in accordance with the tight rules of the debate. It started at 8pm, broadcasted all over the United States, and many people watched it. It is a big difference. In Japan, it is true that the political leader窶冱 have a debate, and it is broadcasted all over the Japan, but it is daytime, and in addition, only very few people watch it such as college students. I once watched it, but it was so boring. This would be one of the reasons that the people in Japan lost their interests about the politics. The presidential debate is held three times by the election. Today窶冱 topic was foreign policy and homeland security. They mainly talked about the Iraq, Afghanistan, war on terror, and North Korea. The debate made us more clear the difference of both opinions. It was really interesting, although English was somewhat difficult. (I watched it with the subtitle. It was very helpful.) After that, I wrote the impression of the debate as an assignment.

On Friday, in the 1st period of the class, we had a presentation. The topic was an important event or experience that I have had until now. I introduced my part-time job. I talked about the payment, difficult and easy aspects, and the lessons that I learned from the job. I was the first person to make a presentation, so that I felt so nervous, but I could do it better. Other students talked about the travel, volunteer work, part-time job, or homestay. It was interesting.
In the evening, I watched the movie with my conversation partner and some friends. The movie was 窶廴ean Girl,窶� which was a story of one high school窶冱 students. It was amusing. We watched with the English subtitles, so I could figure out most of the contents.

In weekend, I spent time to do homework. It was good rest for next week.