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It’s already been 3 months since I came to Victoria. My image of Canada was snowy and extremely cold, but Victoria was totally different. These days, the weather was comfortable and sunny, so downtown and Inner harbor are getting livelier.
One thing that I was surprised by was the cherry blossoms. Cherry blossoms are part of Japan’s national flowers, and I really love them. Victoria has many kinds of blossoms that I had never seen before, and also they flowered so early and for a long term. They came out in February to the end of March in Victoria. However, in Japan, we could see them for only 1 or 2 weeks in April. As I said, I really like cherry blossoms. Whenever I see it, I feel happy, and feel like singing.
In Japan, spring is the season for meeting and parting. It is because spring is the graduation season, and almost all schools and companies start as the new fiscal year. When I arrived in Victoria, I expected to meet many people, and make a lot of friends. My expectation was right! I met a lot of people, and 2 classmates became my best friends. We entered Stewart College on the same day. Actually, I’m not good at making friends, but their friendly personalities made me feel more open-minded. One day, I asked one of my best friends from Korea “do you like cherry blossoms?” I expected her to say she liked it. However, she just responded “cherry blossoms make me sad and lonely”. I couldn’t understand at all. Not only this story, but also almost all our opinions were totally different, for example, fashion, favorite buildings, sports (she doesn’t like sports) and even what kinds of men we like. But even though our opinions are thoroughly different, we were still best friends.
The three of us always stayed together in school, called each other almost every night, and went to many places: The Butchart Gardens, Sidney, The Rocky Mountains, sea cider farm etc. We also played tennis, went shopping, and ate at restaurants and pubs. Of course we helped each other to improve our English skill, but I also think it was the fate. It feels like we met long ago, and spend time together from now on. But the reality was different: After 3 months, two of my best friends graduated from the school, and unfortunately their graduation dates were same day!! However, I will stay for 2 months longer. This fact reminded me that spring was the season for meeting and PARTING. I couldn’t imagine my Victoria life without them. I’m not sure my Victoria life will be better than the last 3 months, but I’m sure even if our routes are different, we will continue to grow together.
If I see cherry blossoms next spring, I will feel happy, feel like singing, but I might feel a little sad.
Natsumi–Level 4 Stewart College student from Japan.
