英米　２年
First of all I was surprised to hear her opinion about mixtures of religions in Japan. As she said in her presentation, religion in Japan is “Champon” and sometimes even criticized. I had been thinking that it is not good to mix up many kinds of culture in Japan, but she said “Champon tastes good”, which was impressive.

スペイン　２年
I was really impressed by her story especially her decision to be a priest even though she was harassed at that. If I were in a situation like that, I wouldn’t want to get a job like a priest because I would have to communicate with the people who harass me. However, she did and found happiness in Japan. I would like to be a decisive like her.

ドイツ　２年
Japanese people are generally not good at expressing their feelings to other people because they are shy and fear quarreling with other people. So they often think something just in their mind. But I think it’s not good for both sides (the speaker and other people). I stayed in Germany for one summer, and things my faults were pointed out to me. I was shocked because Japanese people never say like that. However I felt that it’s much better because I can change my mind and attitude. And also expressing gratitude and love to other people is important. So I think we, the Japanese people should tell our feeling to the important people in our lives.

フランス　１年
I was impressed by Victoria’s speech. She told us so many important things. I was happy to hear that her parents have always encouraged her and told her to follow her own dreams and that they didn’t mind her marrying with a man who is from another country. There must be some differences like race, religion and so on, but I was glad to know that she and her husband have got over them and are enjoying their lives together.  Also, I really liked what she said “our lives are like a cherry blossom”. I agree with that. We don’t know when we are going to die, so I would like to use my time carefully and tell my friends and my family my appreciation. I learned that believing in “the now” is important.

フランス　１年
Ttoday’s speech was so interesting to me and I love her speaking style. One thing that I was moved and impressed by is the words: “We should do just something if we want to do it”, “nothing is permanent”. I konow that. But sometimes we forget it. I think it is so important for us. When I was an elementary school student, I lost my great grandfather. The day before, he smiled as usual. So, I couldn’t have expressed it. I remember this experience when I heared her speaking. Nothing is eternal. So, we must treasure every day and be grateful to people around us all the time.  Finally, sexual harassment is one of the biggest problems in the world. We should all think about it and I hope such a thing will disappear quickly as possible.

スペイン　１年
The speech was very interesting and I was able to learn a lot from it. “Our lives are lie cherry blossoms.” This phrase made me realize that we don’t have all the time we want. I tend to do things that I have to do later and save them until the limit comes. But now, I understand that I should do things right away because we don’t know what’s going to happen next. Time is very important, and also making an effort is important, too. Today’s speech made me realize that very much, so I want to thank Mrs. Victoria for a wonderful speech.

スペイン　１年
I love her character as she has a great sense of humor, she made the strongest impact on me of anyone I’ve ever met. I think many religions should have a wide view. “The core of the beliefs is the same”. Although there are many wars because of their beliefs, I think they fight for their own justice. As japan is an island, Japanese haven’t recently experienced a serious war or revolution, so we have a narrow perspective toward the world. Even in Japan, we can get many different opinions. What I have to do is to talk to many people and go to Taka!

交換留学生　３年
Today I’m so happy to hear such interesting presentation from Victoria Yoshimura. The deepest impression she to me is that she often asks her husband “Do you love me?” But her husband is always speechless and says “It’s not necessary to say it. You know it.” And then Victoria is mad at him. Haha, so interesting. It’s true that women sometimes want to hear “I love you.” I agree that if you love someone, tell him or her when they’re alive, your lover or your family. I realized this problem after one of my relative’s death. Now I kiss my family members or say “I love you” to them sometimes. Not so many Chinese do that.

フランス　２年
I was absolutely overwhelmed and impressed by today’s presentation. Mrs. Yoshimura is a fascinating woman with a good sense of humor. I liked her personality so much! I thought that her life story was not easy. But I was shocked hearing how many obstacles she and her family had to cope with— society’s opposition to Mrs. Yoshimura and her husband’s relationship, a long fight with cancer for Mr. Yoshimura’s life, sexual harassment because of her gender and origin… And here she is happily smiling and making jokes. Secretly, I dream of becoming one day one of these wise, strong and kind-hearted wives, mothers and just wonderful women like Mrs. Victoria or Mrs. Andrea.

留学生
In my opinion, this is the best seminar that I have heared so far. I enjoyed the content and also the speaker’s delivery, she was so funny, but indirectly also shared an important lesson. In my country, I am a Buddhist too, but there were many differences between the religion despite having the same meaning or purpose. For example, in my country, buddhist people always go to a temple when a child is born and also for marriages, we are also not allowed to drink alcohol. Her quote at the end was so beautiful “life is like a cherry blossom, which is beautiful, but if a storm comes there will be a mess and it is the end of the life of the cherry blossoms, we don’t know what will happen in the future. Maybe it could be the end of our life”. This quote is amazing, but also makes me a little bit sad and lonely. I live far away from my family now and the internet connection in my country is very slow, so I find it difficult to call or skype my family. Perhaps, I can only have small chats with them to express my feelings.