Q1.	Hi Chantelle.
A1.	Hi Brian
Q2.	Can you tell us where you¹re from?
A2.	Australia.
Q3.	Where abouts in Australia
A3.	Uhh... BetweenŠ Sidney and Brisbane, on the coast.
Q4.	OK, so what brings you to Japan?
A4.	Umm... Just kind of a spontaneous thing, had one day to decide, and wanted a break, wanted to challenge myself. Wanted to do something different.
Q5.	So you basically wanted to go abroad, or you thought it would be...?
A5.	Yeah, yeah... and travel, see something different.
Q6.	And this opportunity just came to you pretty much?
A6.	Yeah
Q7.	ŠAnd how long have you been here.
A7.	Uhh, since October... So... I don¹t know how long that is.
Q8.	How long is that?
A8.	October, November, December, January, February, March, April, May... Eight months.
Q9.	Was this your first time to Japan?
A9.	Uhh, no I¹ve been here when I was seventeen, yeah just a school trip, for I think about twenty days.
Q10.	How about your impression of Japan when you came this time?
A10.	OK, well it was different because I was coming here for a year and not just the three weeks like before when I was a school kid. And I had no school friends here, I came with Sky and I only just knew here face, nothing else about her, whether we would have anything in common. And... so we flew over here and I landed and kind of freaked out. I felt very intimidated, isolated, I really stood out and I felt that. And we got picked up from Hiroshima Airport, and... with the other international students we would be studying with we were told, who were Korean and Chinese, and when they were asked to introduce themselves on the bus ride, chose to speak in Japanese because their English ability was not that good. So I looked to Sky and thought, OK your my only friend and I don¹t know you at all and I cannot communicate with these girls because my language abilities not what I thought it would be. When I saw these Korean girls and I envied them, so... yeah.
Q11.	Did you study Japanese before you came here?
A11.	Yeah, but not enough, not enough...
Q12.	Have youŠ done any traveling?
A12.	OK, Well I¹ve done two major trips. One with a group of friends in winter break and one by myself later on in Spring break.
Q13.	Where did you go?
A13.	In winter break with my friends we went to Himeji in the Kansai area and I guess more historical Japan. And by myself I explored Kyushu, which I guess is more isolated, more... they¹re not so use to gaijin... So it was just interesting to see how I¹d get received.
Q14.	So tell me a little about your trip to Himeji and Kansai?
A14.	Uh-huhŠ That was good because I¹d never traveled... we...in Japan so much, with having to make decisions, and figure out the trains and what the signs meant, and how to book accommodation or when you turn up at accommodation how to ask for rooms, andŠ yeah...
Q15.	So on your trip with your friends, what did you like most about that trip?
A15.	OK, yeah... I like Kyoto, umm, but I¹ve... I¹ve been back there just for two days, Umm, during cherry blossom season, so it was different seeing it during winter when everything was dead and cold and lifeless, and then Spring when everything was just alive and... yeah. So it was good just seeing it two different times of the year.
Q16.	So what about the next trip you took by yourself? That sounds very exciting...
A16.	Yeah... It was, I was a... I was completely confident going into it, then had people asking me ³Oh, you really think you should be doing that?² and then it kind of got me thinking, ³Oh maybe I shouldn¹t maybe I should just stay at home and be boring.² But i did it, and I had a great time, Umm... I learned a lot more about myself and what I was capable of doing. And I met a lot more people because I was by myself, because I guess some people might be a bit more intimidated coming up to a group of people, a group of Gaijin. But... and I got to use my Japanese a lot more and it improved a lot more. Yeah... yeahŠ
Q17.	OK, so where did you go no that trip?
A17.	I went to Fukuoka, and went there on white day so that was interesting, so I got to see everyone happy and all these couples and... it was just good seeing that city. And then ³capsule hoteled² that night, went to Nagasaki and then across... stayed in Nagasaki two nights, across to Kumamoto then to Aso San the volcano, saw thatŠ
Q18.	Is there any must-sees in Kyushu?
A18.	Umm... I enjoyed Beppu, and I think Fukuoka, just to see the city and you definitely have to go there I think on a weekend and go out. Yeah, the people there are a lot different. I... I found them... I got them on White day so that was a very happy day for them all, but... so they all seemed happy and smiling and very friendly.
Q19.	SoŠ did you travel any other wayŠ besides trains?
A19.	UhŠ had a few helpful Japanese give me a few rides. UmŠ I was at this national park in Kyushu, and it was very isolated, and it was torrential rain, and I was waiting for the bus, but wasn¹t sure if it was going to come, because it was so isolated the buses weren¹t very reliable, and there was a bus strike as well, so they weren¹t sure whether the bus would turn upŠ and yeah, this, uh, van drove past and slowed down, and I had my huge backpack on, and raincoat, and was fairly wet, and the guy asked me where I was going, and how I was getting there, and I explained the situation, and he was like ³hop in and I¹ll take you there,² and soŠ umŠ me and my luggage took up two seats, and it was him and his four boys who were aboutŠ all under about 6-7 years oldŠ So they were all young, inquisitive, but scared at the same time, so I gave them lollies, and the guy did a quick u-turn and took me completely out of his wayŠ um, yeah, and hour, to and hour-and-a-half out of his wayŠ Yeah, soŠ
Q20.	So people were pretty friendly?
A20.	Very friendly down there, veryŠ
Q21.	Well it¹s been nice talking with you.
A21.	Ok it¹s been nice chatting with you too. Thanks a lot. Yep, thanks.