My CIP this semester was attending a crochet/knitting workshop at Yokoso Cafe. Once a week, I meet with a bunch of other women, and we’d work on our own individual projects with the guidance of a teacher.

It was an absolutely phenomenal experience; all the other women were so kind and warm and eager to talk to me. I definitely believe that my discussion and conversation skills improved, and I’m very grateful that they were so open to help me out or teach me new things in Japanese.

My main advice would be have in mind what you want to accomplish during you CIP and try to choose an activity where you can accomplish that. This semester I wanted to practice my speaking skills, so by choosing an activity where I’d be able to practice it a lot, it definitely felt more rewarding in the end.