The University of Nagano has exchange students from Italy, the Czech Republic, China and Taiwan. We welcomed them in April. All first-year students must live in the university dormitories. We hosted a cooking event because many of the students are interested in foreign cultures, and we wanted to encourage integration between the exchange students and the Japanese students. Zozan dormitory has rental kitchens, which is a great way to experience different cultures. So, on 6 May, we held a cooking event.

The menu featured tomato pasta from Italy, cola chicken, and braised beef with potatoes from China. As Zozan dormitory has two kitchens, we cooked each dish in a different kitchen.

A first-year student who had lived in Italy joined the Italian group at the event. They sometimes spoke in Italian. They taught us the Italian word for 'tomato pasta', but some of us found it too difficult to pronounce.

The braised beef with potatoes was different to beef stew with potatoes. Japanese-style beef is sliced, but Chinese-style beef is cut into cubes. They put star anise in the dish. This made the dish smell good.

All the exchange students study Japanese. Everyone enjoyed the event, even first-year students who lacked confidence in their English, because the exchange students spoke in Japanese. One exchange student brought a notebook of Japanese vocabulary to help them communicate. We were impressed by that.

Many people from the dormitory and exchange students joined the event. We were grateful to them for joining us.