For various reasons, I ended up having two CIPs. The first was an origami club at Kyoto University that I participated in during October until autumn break. There were various origami tutorial magazines and paper provided, but I found some of the tutorials pretty difficult to follow so I ended up finding easier ones online. This was totally fine because most of the others were working on all sorts of cool and complicated looking origami projects that weren’t in the magazines.
I don’t think I could find the dedication to this craft that I saw in everyone there in American craft clubs. They were always chatting about something or other but they would still be working on these big, modular crafts that couldn’t be finished in one sitting. I think some of them were folding projects they wanted to submit to origami magazines like the ones the brought. That kind of craftsmanship was honestly impressive to see. Despite that, because of the gap from autumn break, scheduling, and because the location kept changing to rooms I wasn’t familiar with, I decided it would be better to look for a different club to join.
I was in a bit of CIP limbo for a bit after autumn break, but I eventually joined a craft circle that another student was a part of. She had also just recently joined it which made it a bit easier to jump into as well. At the club we have been crocheting which is honestly a skill I never thought I’d learn but so far it’s been fun. Receiving verbal instructions in Japanese is challenging but I’ve managed to figure things out with everyone’s help. Some of the members let me use some of their yarn and hooks which was extremely kind (I have since bought my own to practice a bit on my own time).
I don’t think these clubs were too different than those in America, but there were some differences that stood out. That these clubs were pretty popular was a bit surprising to me; the craft circle was also mostly men, which isn’t what I would have guessed. One thing I couldn’t help but notice was that in both clubs people were talking about anime they had seen recently and games they had played; I don’t hear that all that often as a smalltalk topic in America.
It looks like there are all sorts of CIPs, so if you look hard enough you’ll find something you enjoy. If the one you pick at first isn’t working out for you for whatever reason, I don’t think there’s any shame in looking for another one. Your time in this program is precious, so you should spend it on activities you’ll enjoy doing, not something you’ll trudge through out of obligation. There shouldn’t be any problems once you find something that works for you; both clubs that I attended had a very friendly, relaxed atmosphere. As someone who couldn’t speak Japanese very well there was always some sort of language barrier, but don’t let that stop you from trying your best to communicate. I found talking to the students was always very rewarding.
Things might be a little awkward at first, but if you make an effort you’ll have invaluable experiences to show for it.
It’s great to hear that you were able to effectively change your CIP! Although I’m not involved in clubs back in my home college, from what I hear from my friends, it’s interesting to hear the difference in the discourse and objectives in non-sport-oriented clubs. CIPs are designed to encourage overcoming the language barrier in theory, and I was wondering if you managed to make any close acquaintances in either of the clubs you’ve attended.
While you mentioned that you had difficulty following the origami tutorials, did other members attempt to help give you instruction? The same goes for the craft circle, were you able to understand the assumable specialized vocabulary involved in crocheting? I suppose that craft projects were generally individual and free-form, but did you notice any high level of quality in the other members’ creations?
Since I’ve only been studying Japanese for less than two year now, there was a language barrier that made it difficult to connect with people. With the origami instructions I was a bit too embarrassed to ask for help with something that seemed way below their level, but whenever I got stuck at the craft circle I was able to communicate well enough to get the help I needed
Since I’ve only been studying Japanese for less than two years now, the language barrier made it difficult to connect with people. For the origami circle, I was kind of embarrassed to ask for help with something that seemed way below their level. I did ask for help at the craft circle though, and managed to communicate well enough to figure things out.
It sounds like you had a hard time at first having to go between the two CIPs but it’s great that you were able to see how two different clubs operated. I found out the hard way that origami is actually not easy at all and takes a lot of patience. The craft circle must’ve been interesting, and what you mentioned about it surprised me as well! I just wonder if you plan on continuing the craft now that you’ve learned this skill, especially since you enjoyed it so much!
Since I’ve only been studying Japanese for less than two year now, there was a language barrier that made it difficult to connect with people. With the origami instructions I was a bit too embarrassed to ask for help with something that seemed way below their level, but whenever I got stuck at the craft circle I was able to communicate well enough to get the help I needed
I’ll probably stop crocheting once I run out of yarn, but it looks like I never will since I keep buying more. Honestly, I don’t know if I’d believe myself if I went back in time and told myself I learned how to crochet in Japan