お疲れ様です。

My name is Andrew and I will be writing the 13th new student self-introduction blog.

よろしくお願いします。

This post will be in English because my Japanese is not good enough (ごめんなさい ).

Name: Andrew Kuan

Faculty: Bachelor of Arts, Psychology (心理学), in the OSSEP exchange program

Specialty: Back

I will be studying at Osaka University for ~6 months (one semester) for my exchange program. I just recently turned 20 years old, and fun fact, I actually turned 20 years old when I landed in Japan! I am currently in my 3rd year of my Bachelor's program studying psychology at UBC, my home university. The full name of the university is: University of British Columbia. I have been studying Japanese at my home university, so one of my main goals from this exchange is to become a lot more fluent in Japanese. There is so much that I cannot understand, so I hope to learn a lot from everyone! I also really love 大阪弁, so please teach me some more phrases! (一番好きな大阪弁は「しらんけど」ですよ。)

I swam competitively for about 10 years until I finished high school. After I started university, I stopped doing competitive swimming and focused more on coaching. After so many years of being in the pool, I fell in love with the sport and wanted to pass down my knowledge to the newer generation of swimmers. I'm currently coaching for the Vancouver Super Sharks! I have not properly trained in a super long time, so please bare with me until I get back into shape.

Regarding hobbies and my likes, I like watching movies, anime, and TV shows and I also like playing video games. My favourite anime is 進撃の巨人 and/or 君の名は. I also really like running and hiking! If you have any hiking recommendations around Osaka, please let me know! Lastly, I have been listening to a lot of J-pop recently, and I discovered an artist named MIREI (Mirei Touyama) whom I really enjoy listening to. I also really like ZUTOMAYO, Fuji Kaze, Vaundy, and Leo Ieiri.

I am lucky enough to have travelled to many places in my lifetime, and Japan has definitely been one of the most amazing places that I have visited. Before school started, I was able to travel around Osaka and it has been the most fun I've had while discovering a new city. I hope to discover even more about Osaka (and Japan in general) and make unforgettable memories in the process. So far, I have been around the Dotonburi area, Minoh, Tsutenaku, and Sakai (my favourite place!).

This was at the viewing area on the top level of the Sakai City Hall!

The sunset at Katsuoji Temple!

Lastly, this photo was taken on the top floor of Hakuras 300!

As you can see, the sunset is my favourite time of the day. Just like when the sunset marks the end of the day, this is also where I will finish the blog. Sorry if the blog was too long . There is still so much to learn and experience, so let's get through this semester together! I look forward to getting to know everyone and spending time in and out of the pool with everyone!

読んでくれてありがとうございました。

P.S. - if you ever want any help with English, please feel free to ask me!

2025 New Student Introduction Blog 13