Above is a portrait drawn for me by one of the students at Mitsuba!

For my CIP I decided to volunteer at Mitsuba kindergarten. Each week I went to Mitsuba and for two hours I played with the kids and helped them out with small tasks. I feel like I learned so much from this experience, both in my language skills and my cultural understanding of Japanese schools. The kids were all so sweet, curious, and friendly, welcoming me into their classroom with open arms. The teachers were also very generous, something I was very grateful for whenever I was confused or stuck! Anyone who is interested in this CIP, I would say give it a shot – especially if you enjoy working with little kids and want to work on your speaking or listening skills.