Field Study of
Economics Department
経済学科のフィールドスタディ

Report from Student 1, Australia, 2018

Unforgettable experience.

In this trip to Queensland, Australia from August 17th to August 30th, I could see the world that I’ve never seen before traveling to Australia.
I think if I didn’t visit Australia, I would have never known what I was capable of. I can feel that we need to come up with an improvement plan in comparison with other countries. I think it is the original meaning of the “Field Study”.
In this trip to Australia, I saw the effect of drought. I have never thought or felt about the bad effects of droughts until I saw with my own eyes. Japan has strong connection with Australia for importing their beef and wheat. The drought in Australia will therefore affect Japan’s economy through increased price and decreased import from Australia. Through this field study in Australia, I believe Japanese people should not ignore the drought in Australia but to think and act about ways to prevent possible damage of drought that could cause to the economy and the environment to be bad.

During the homestay in Australia, I was very nervous in the beginning as this was the first time I did homestay. I also did not stay with friends but stayed alone with the host family so I was more nervous. However, the closer I got to leaving Australia, my feeling towards the host family got stronger and felt very sad to leave the family. I could experience the food and daily routines in Australia was very different from Japan through this trip. The weather was very nice, and I went out into the city and enjoyed the time relaxing with friends during the weekends.

I cannot thank more to Ms. Omura and friends from the university who went to this trip together, the host family, and everyone who was involved in this trip. I am very glad I joined this trip.