This semester I’m continuing to volunteer at the Elderly Activity Center. Similar to last semester, I go every Monday to help coordinate the 生きいきサロン. Most days I get ~20 minutes to lead a fun activity related to Chinese culture, but there are also days when I do more assistive work such as moving chairs, checking in on group activities, o just chatting with obachans. This semester I’m also taking advantage of my CIP to conduct independent research on aging in Japan, and I had the chance to talk more in-depth with several obachans participating in the 生きいきサロン. Partly because of that, I’m able to build deeper relationships at CIP and feel like I’m more welcomed and accepted there. I would highly recommend anyone interested in social work or working with elderly people to volunteer here. The staff are amazing and always supportive of my project, obachans are sweet and passionate about talking to young people, and the center seems to be pretty short of hand. For students who are not as nihongo jouzu yet, don’t be afraid of going out of your comfort zone, you will be surprised by welcoming and understandable people are. Even though talking to obachans with strong kansai accent felt so daunting initially, my mastery of the dialect has improved so much over the two semesters of interacting with them.