Nicole Melton

According to Dresden resident Nicole Melton, when she left for Japan last August on a one-year Rotary exchange, she was a shy 16-year-old.

After her experience around the globe, the Lambton-Kent Composite School student now feels she's a changed person.

"Everything has changed... even my personality," Melton says.

"When I left to go over I was very shy.Now I consider myself more outgoing.It was amazing.If I could relive it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing."

Melton left for Japan at the end of last August and returned to her home in Canada on June 22.

When she arrived on Japanese soil last year, Melton could not speak a word of their native tongue.

"I'm pretty much fluent in Japanese now," she said.

"It took me about three months to understand it and speak it.I was reading and writing it after five months."

Melton said she was forced to learn the language quickly as the soccer club she joined communicated solely in Japanese.

Advertisement

>

"They would always text my phone for anything with the soccer club," Melton said.

"So I was forced to learn it for that, or I wouldn't know when we played or when our games were."

Melton stayed with three different host families while in Japan, one for five months and the other two for two months each.

Melton said she learned about some of the religions practices in Japan, including buddhism and shintoism.Having lived a considerable distance from her school at her second host family, she learned a lot about commuting in Japan as well.

Melton said she went on various trips with her host families, going site seeing and visiting Tokyo on a few occasions.She said her class went on a five-day trip as well, sight seeing more of the country.

Inspired by her experience, Melton already has plans to go back.

"I will be going back to Japan in March," Melton said.

"All my friends will be graduating, so I will be staying with a friend while I am over visiting."

Melton, who will be entering Grade 11 at LKCS, says her plans are to finish high school, university and relocate to Japan full-time.

"I would like to attend McGill University in Montreal, studying East Asian Studies and teaching English as a second language," she said.