What is the most precious thing in my life

I think one of the most precious things in my life is the experience in Toronto, Canada.
I went to Toronto as SEA program last summer. Because I wanted to go to Toronto university, I was so happy that I was determine to go there by lot. I wanted to go Toronto by these two reasons;the first reason was that the fee to study and to live in Toronto was the cheapest of the all SEA program, and the second reason was that during my stay on Toronto, I can experience life in dormitory and also the life in homestay. So that I was very excited to go Toronto. Also, it was the first time for me to go abroad.

However, the reality is not so easy as I thought. First of all, it was so hard for me to listen to the talks of native speakers especially the clerks in fast food restaurants. I always had to say "Pardon?" to the clerks. Second, the way to do anything made me confused. For example, to pay money in the shop or to take a bus and train or to take off the bus and so on. None of these things are same as Japan.Even though I know that the cultures of Canada and Japan are not similar at all, I was so confused and shocked by the differences. Also, I was shocked by the different values between me and others. In Toronto, I met a Chinese lady. She had come to my host house and we lived together for two weeks. She was about 40 years old and because the program to come Toronto was paid by the company she had worked, the fee was totally free for her. One day, she said that she did not like the food here, so she bought foods in China town in Toronto and did not eat so much during the meal time with our host mother. Also she said how great China was. For me, even though the purpose to come here is different, the attitude for other cultures is not appropriate. However, I could not say that to her and also I thought I had to consider her opinion as one of the way to feel about the other cultures.

Although it was hard for me to survive six weeks in Toronto, I also had great experiences. One of them is that I made a lot of friends from other countries. It became one of my motivation to study English now.