O’Connor: Please introduce yourself. Zarah: My name is Zarah Sobania and I’m from Germany. I live in Berlin and I’m 16 years old. O’C: What is Berlin famous for? Zarah: It’s famous for the Berlin Wall, of course. Also, between East and West Berlin there is a gate called the Brandenberg Gate. Berlin is famous for that - if you see postcards you’ll often see that. O’C: Why did you decide to come to Japan? Zarah: Because I thought, and I still think, it’s amazing. I’ve wanted to come to Japan since I was 12 years old. O’C: What culture did you know or like before you came here? Zarah: I guess, Japanese culture like temples or shrines. I like the traditional culture. I also like manga but I wouldn’t say that’s my reason. I also did kendo in Germany so my sensei and sempai always talked about Japan so I’ve wanted to go since then. O’C: What do you like about Japanese culture now? Zarah: The food. I love everything!! Osechi was really good - I liked the datemaki and the kamaboko. Also sushi and tempura. It’s so good. O’C: Did you experience any culture shock? Zarah: A lot, actually. Schools are completely different. Like, the girls here say boys are kowai. I was thinking “huh? human janai?” I guess that was the biggest culture shock. O’C: What was your favourite event here at school? Zarah: Maybe the chorus contest. We practiced a lot - after school, lunch time and that. But the day of the performance was just beautiful. I forgot the name but it was a Japanese sone and was so nice The chuyasai was so good too. Everyone was so happy any had fun it was nice to see everyone having fun O’C: What did you like about daily life here at school? Zarah: Lunch time - because that’s time with friends because we talked about so much. I always ate with friends in my classroom. O’C: How did you make friends? Zarah: I don’t know, I guess I just talked with them. When we walked to reihai we talked and the girl I sit next to in reihai she’s now my best friend. We have a lot on common so it’s good. O’C: Was if difficult to be an exchange student? Zarah: If you don’t like something you cat just go back home because home is so far. You have to gaman. O’C: How did you get so good at Japanese? Zarah: Just talking a lot. Yeah, that’s the only reason. I didn’t really study much. O’C: Do you have a favourite word or phrase? Zarah: Hmm…I don’t know. Maybeこころ- it sounds cute. O’C: What did you learn about yourself while being on exchange? Zarah: I got to know some sides of myself I didn’t know. I found that I can change. O’C: Do you have a message for the students here at FGS? Zarah: Go your own way! That’s what I would say!