Hello, my name is Julia!
I’m from the state of Virginia in the USA. I am currently studying as an exchange student at Aoyama Gakuin University in Shibuya. My home university is the University of Virginia in the city of Charlottesville. Have you heard of the Dave Matthews Band? They are a pretty popular music group in the United States. My hometown is famous because the members of the Dave Matthews Band also live there. I arrived in Japan in April of this year and I’m having a wonderful time! At Aoyama Gakuin, I am studying Spanish, Japanese, and literature. At my university in America, my major is “comparative literature” (比較文学)　After I graduate in the States, I plan to return to Japan and teach English through the JET program. Right now, I am living in Eda（荏田）in the Kanagawa prefecture. Have you heard of Eda? You might not have heard of Eda because it’s a pretty small town. But dorm life in Eda is really fun. I live with Japanese students from many different universities and also 15 other international students from China, Korea, Malaysia, Russia and more! The dorm provides us with two meals a day, so I don’t have to cook very often. But actually cooking is one of my hobbies so I enjoy cooking for myself and my friends on Sundays. My hobbies include: cooking ethnic cuisine (such as Indian food and Italian food), painting, volunteering, and hiking. I love to go hiking in the woods and mountains near my hometown of Charlottesville. I am hoping to go hiking in Japan before I return to America. At Aoyama Gakuin, I am part of the art club and I’m currently working on some pieces of artwork to prepare for the school-wide exhibition. I also enjoy visiting all kinds of museums. Last week, I went to the Ghibli Art Museum (ジブリ美術館) in Mitaka city. It was great! My favorite Ghibli movie is My Neighbor Totoro. Do you have a favorite Ghibli movie? I’m really excited to see the newest movie ゲド戦記 when it comes out. I hope you will come to visit Leafcup soon so we can talk together!