by Terumi*

I enjoyed the interview session very much. Even though all of us felt nervous for the first few minutes, I could regain my composure during the icebreaking. We chatted about places in Japan we know well (e.g, Kyoto, Itabashi, etc.).

After the icebreaking, we talked about my own experiences of Japan under the pandemic. The interviewers asked me how the state of emergency has affected my life. We discussed many topics: the coronavirus and various changes it has brought to us, the slow return to normality, and our perceptions of these changes. Throughout the interview, special focus was placed upon our eating habits during this period, I was able to elaborate my own experiences, and felt extremely lively being able to talk so openly and naturally with someone I met for the first time.

It was nice to exchange our thoughts on, and to share our hardships under, this pandemic-related situation across the countries via Zoom. I hope that the interviewers will be able to make use of my comments for their research project.

* Terumi is a student at Seikei University

Students from Seikei University in their hybrid classroom
(Copyright © Yoko Kawamura 2021)