At Nico Tomato, we usually gather around a table and make holiday cards for the children.  I wish that there had been more opportunities to interact directly with the children, but it’s also interesting to talk with the other volunteers and listen to their thoughts and opinions.  One day the subject of giongo and gitaigo came up in the volunteer’s conversation.  They asked us whether there was an English equivalent for chiinsuru, as “chiin” is the sound that the microwave makes when it is done heating up the food.  It’s interesting how there are so many commonly used giongo and gitaigo in Japanese, whereas onomatopoeia isn’t as often used in spoken English.  For example, in Japanese the act of tired being can be described with several different expressions such as, hetoheto, guttari, and kutakuta.  Depending on which one you chose, a slightly different nuance will be conveyed.  However, giongo and gitaigo can sometimes contribute to the language barrier.  Students typically learn several of the most commonly used ones but there’s a whole world of giongo and gitaigo that isn’t taught in the average Japanese class.  Because of this, giongo and gitaigo sometimes have the effect of confusing a non-native speaker.  It can also be harder for non-native speakers to conceptualize the various giongo and gitaigo and use them in the correct situations, as they haven’t grown up learning them like a native speaker.

In October we helped out with the Halloween party.  The children had fun dressing up, and there were several racks of costumes and shelves of accessories for them to choose from.  After they took pictures, everyone went on a mini parade down the corridor with orange balloons.  It reminded me of the Halloween parades that we had in preschool and kindergarten.  I was a bit surprised at the number of Halloween decorations and events in Japan, as I thought it wasn’t really observed here.  It seems that it’s been growing in popularity over years, but still isn’t a widely celebrated holiday.  Costumes and pumpkin flavored snacks are associated with Halloween, but the traditions of trick-or-treating and carving pumpkins haven’t appeared to have been carried over to Japan.  I think it’s interesting to see how foreign holidays are adapted in Japan.

Volunteering at Nico Tomato has been a great experience.  The other volunteers are all very friendly and they really made the effort to welcome us into the group.  The volunteers work very hard to plan events and make the children’s stay at the hospital more enjoyable. I’m glad that I was able to join Nico Tomato and participate in their activities.