On November 29, Ms.Nanako Kojima (2rd year student) won the Seiken Central Committee Chairman Prize at the 49^th H.I.H. Prince Takamado Trophy Spanish Speech Competition, which includes a scholarship to study for a year at Universidad Intercontinental in Mexico City. She spoke about her cultural experience last summer on Taquile Island in Lake Titicaca, Peru.

Ms.Nanako Kojima: "I befriended two Mexicans when I studied abroad in my second year in senior high school. At that time I couldn't understand the Spanish they used between them so I was determined to study the language in college. I started right after I was accepted to ICU, and took World Languages courses from the autumn term of my freshman year. I heard about this competition from Sr. Daniel Quintero Garcia, my Spanish teacher at ICU, and decided to participate as a good opportunity to brush up my Spanish. I am so grateful for the help he provided with the text and pronunciation in the short time I had to prepare for the event. ICU has such as good environment for students learning languages. We have native speakers to teach us and the small classes provide ample opportunities for individual instruction. Visits to teachers during office hours also give us the chance to immerse ourselves in the language we are studying. I met my Mexican friends from high school during the summer: this time I talked with them in Spanish! I'm also looking forward to taking part in the exchange program at ICU to further enhance my language ability."