「Volunteering」カテゴリーアーカイブ

Sunny Snell: Volunteering at Preschool

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For my CIP, I volunteered with Mitsuba Preschool twice a week as an English teacher and more general participant in daily activities. On Mondays, I joined the preschool for lunchtime, eating and playing outside, and on Thursdays I would come during after-hours, which was mainly indoor play.

Mitsuba is organized into three classes oldest to youngest: yurigumi (lily class, kindergarten-age), baragumi (rose class, pre-kindergarten), and momogumi (peach class, very pre-kindergarten). Although this was explained to me early on, it took a while to sink in. Similarly, there were other elements to the preschool, such as when and where we clean up, when it is appropriate to play, and how to dispose of a plastic bento box, that it felt like I struggled to learn. In general, I felt a lot of concern at first about fitting in and figuring out where I should be at any given time. However, the sensei’s and children were welcoming, it wasn’t long before I found myself more comfortable and invested, albeit not the most aware of every detail. Despite my lower level in the language, through smaller attempts at memorizing names or bringing proper supplies, I did my best to show the principal and teachers how much I wanted to be there, and they were hugely supportive. I also began to notice really interesting points about the preschool. For example, after playtime each day (which included activities like knitting, coloring, or construction using toys like Legos), the teachers would call up a few students to show the others what they had made. This was a fun way to see playtime being used for more specifically creative purposes, and I could tell the students loved the chance to see their effort validated. And the items that the students created truly were impressive: I watched a boy make a fully functioning (if not motorized) merry-go-round from a plastic construction-type playset.

Towards the beginning of the semester, I did activities like reading and singing in English, even singing “Let it Go” karaoke-style for all the kids during after-hours playtime. While that was a lot of fun and I hope the students enjoyed it, the most rewarding part of this semester was probably getting to know one particular student. During playtime, I noticed a student whose family more recently immigrated to Japan spent more time on the sidelines, so I approached him and we began to play together, most often communicating through gestures since neither of us could speak to each other in Japanese that well, let alone the other’s native language. Eventually he started to open up and seek me out, and I had the opportunity to see firsthand his work to adjust to the pace of the preschool. Just this week I spoke with another teacher about how much he has worked to learn Japanese: when I first arrived he was hardly speaking at all, but last week I watched him get through whole sentences. Being close enough to watch him improve alone made me feel the time I invested in the preschool was worthwhile.

Overall, I enjoyed the time I spent at Mitsuba and feel very grateful to have had the opportunity to get so uniquely involved in the community immediately surrounding Doshisha. If there is anything I have taken from the experience, it is gratefulness for the warm welcome of the teachers and students, and excitement for the future of the preschool, even if I cannot be there for it.

Meghan Gibbons: Volunteering at Kenryu Kindergarten

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I worked as a Kindergarten “teacher” at the nearby kindergarten. I would come in the afternoons, and play with the kids, until either I went home, or their parents came and picked them up. Whatever came first. Usually I’d try and incorporate some English into the play- weather that was doing bad renditions of the hokey pokey- or reading books in English and doing my best on the fly translation from the English book into Japanese.

For a country that’s struggling to meet the demand for child care it was interesting to see how the kindergarten was set up. The one I volunteered at was different from what I had seen in America, where school typically starts with preschool, and classes are arranged by age.

This kindergarten wasn’t just five-year old’s, but children ranging from ages 3-6.  More like a combination of American preschool and kindergarten, rather than just a kindergarten. The kids would typically be in “classes” for the morning, these were divided by age. For the afternoon all the kids whose parents couldn’t come and grab them quite yet, would pile into the play room, where there were a plentiful crafts and toys awaiting. They hung out there until one of their parents came to get them, and they would either go home- or play on the outside playground with parent supervision.  I remember being struck with how independent and cleanly they were. Maybe my elementary school was full of degenerates, but coat racks, and craft supplies were always an utter mess, and were prone to housing ants.  However, for this kindergarten, children were trusted with tape and scissors. One of the more popular crafts was to wrap string around a plastic device, then cut along the edge of it to make small yarn pom-poms. Kids had tons of these little pom poms tied to their bags, which were orderly put away in small cubbies, along with their coats and yellow hats. They were also trusted with puzzles, which miraculously had all of their pieces. A rare find in my preschool days.

It was also interesting how kids would play differently than how I remembered playing as a kid. The biggest one was how play didn’t seem particularly gendered. Meaning the boys would gladly take the big blocks and build towering structures, but then would all sit down and play teacher, or house together. Girls would either play and build along with them, or would wander off to color, or use the blocks to build small police station, and play cops. There were several times I would come in and be labeled a criminal, and a small girl tied string around my ankles as makeshift handcuffs.

It was also interesting how kids would intermingle despite the age difference. Both of my parents worked when I was a kid, so I would routinely go to after school care, where we had kids ages 5-12, and kids would always clump by age group. However, at this kindergarten, kids age 6 would be playing store, or cops, or princess with kids who were 3 or 4.

It was also interesting to see, not only how things had changes since I was young, but also to remind me of how children think. Ultimately. I understand, regardless of how different the age gap is or how different the cultural context is, children will ultimately be children. I think ultimately regardless of where children are raised there’s something fundamental to how the world is viewed. Seeing as I’m no longer a child, I don’t understand that as well as I once did, but I think I might’ve been able to understand that better, after this experience.

I’m hesitant to draw any sweeping conclusions about Japan or Japanese culture, based on this one kindergarten, or by the experiences I had there, but overall it was fun experience, and I wouldn’t change it.

David Lee: Klexon Language Exchange

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Are you embarrassed to mess up speaking Japanese? Ever had a question that you were too shy to ask to a stranger? Do you know how to speak at least one language? These are pretty much the basic prerequisites of my CIP.

When I first came to Japan, I set a goal for myself to speak to as many Japanese people as possible before I leave. I’m not insane so I didn’t start talking to every stranger I either ran into or sat next to on the bus, so maybe the guidelines for this goal wasn’t as well established as I had thought. Regardless, when it came time to consider what my CIP should be, I still knew I wanted to (to the best of my ability) achieve this goal. When I found out about KLEXON, I realized this would fit my needs perfectly. I spent the majority of my time speaking in Japanese, though since the program is a “language exchange,” one could speak entirely in English. At KLEXON, you engage in a type of “speed dating” conversations, discussing anything from Japanese culture to favorite foods.

KLEXON is very much a “you get what you put in” kind of CIP. If you want to spend the entire time just having small talk, by all means. If you’d like to ask about the much more complex, cultural differences between the U.S. and Japan, you can do that too. One of the most interesting cultural differences that I’ve noticed between Japanese and English is the latter’s abundance of slang. When I asked what kind of slang Japanese had, many people struggled to give more than 3 examples. Although I don’t doubt that there isn’t slang in Japanese, it seems like most “slang” comes from the various dialects spoken throughout the country.

If I had to mention a failure, and unfortunately, I do, it’s my inability to speak Japanese. I’m only half joking, but in all seriousness speaking with people in Japanese for 2 hours straight, I’d find myself unable to convey certain thoughts without the help of Jisho.org-sama. Looking at it from a different lens, I think this kind of failure really motivates someone to do better, or to look up a certain grammar point that I may have forgotten. KLEXON really helps you learn your strong and weak points when it comes to speaking, which is admittedly a bit embarrassing, but helpful nonetheless.

For any of you considering studying abroad in Japan, you might have the notion that you’ll be spending most of your time with Japanese students. How I envy you. While certainly some students of KCJS do this, making friends with Japanese people is much more difficult than it might seem. This isn’t a dig at Japanese people, but rather more of a comment on the reality of studying abroad itself. Think about how hard it is to make friends normally, now add to that a language barrier.  Especially for those of you who haven’t studied Japanese for very long, this language barrier certainly hinders one’s ability to make friends with locals. Now, as to how this relates to KLEXON, the program makes it quite easy to meet new Japanese people on a daily basis. Over time, you’ll meet people you share a genuine connection to. KLEXON also hosts parties, making the whole friend making process a whole-lot easier. If making friends and talking incessantly sounds like your cup of tea, I would recommend this program.

Jared Hwang: Volunteering at a Children's Food Kitchen (子ども食堂）

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Throughout this semester, every Thursday, I’ve had the honor to volunteer at the Higashi Kujo Kodomo Shokudo (東九条子ども食堂), or Children’s Food Kitchen.  It is run on the third floor of the Kyoto Southern Church, by the pastor Baekke Heo, a third generation Korean born Japanese. The kitchen is open to anyone and everyone: adults, children, families, or anyone who is in need of a warm, cheap, homecooked meal (free for children, 300 yen for adults). Every Thursday, volunteers, mostly students, gather at the kitchen from the early afternoon to the evening to prepare, cook, and serve food in meals that have been prepared weeks in advance to both be healthy and appeal to the Japanese palate. The end result is a bustling kitchen filled with people from all walks of life: students getting work done, regulars chatting with the kitchen staff, kids running around having fun by the small designated area with toys, or even a national taekwondo champion.  For me, this was the first time I had volunteered at a food kitchen in any real capacity, so I didn’t really know what to expect. However, in just a short time after arriving there, I could truly sense the amount of passion and kindness that goes into the Kodomo Shokudo project, by both Baekke-san and all the rest of the staff. It truly is a kitchen run by the love that these volunteers have for their work, and the bond that’s created with the surrounding community is all the better for it.

During my time volunteering at the Kodomo Shokudo, I was also given a unique opportunity to observe the culture and spoken language in depth. I have to say, even coming into the experience as an official “beginner” at Japanese, I did not understand as much as I thought I would. As is the case with native speaker of any language I’m sure, the casual speech was spoken at a much faster pace than what I was used to. What’s more is that the Kansai dialect was often used, leaving me even more confused, albeit entertained. The kitchen was also extremely casual, which certainly was in opposition to my expectations: newcomers being treated with relatively polite speech, which would slowly transform into the casual style used amongst friends. This assumption was immediately destroyed after just the first day, where the entire staff was so incredibly kind and friendly, that polite form would just have been odd to use.  Throughout my time volunteering I was also able to pick up many Kansai-dialect words, which I am thankful for as Kansai-dialect is a wacky and unique style of Japanese that is great fun to use.

At the same time, I’m not sure how many comments I can make about what I learned about Japanese culture at the Kodomo Shokudo. What I can say is that everyone at the Shokudo, staff and customers alike, have treated me with such kindness and approached me with so much curiosity and interest in my background and where I’m from, and never turned down the opportunity to make conversation and be patient with my less-than-great Japanese. We often had the most fun when the staff would attempt to say something in English, and I would tell them how off they were with their pronunciation. There was a true curiosity and interest in my being foreign, while at the same time being wholly accepting of me into their small community. And, the same kindness that was shown to me is shown to everyone who enters the doors—the way that regular customers interact with the staff and especially Baekke-san and his wife, truly show the bond and appreciation for the customers by the staff, and vice versa. In fact, I asked Baekke-san why he decided to open the Shokudo two years ago, and the answer was simply “I had the space and the kitchen, so there was no reason not to use it to help the community.”  It doesn’t hurt that the Shokudo often is heavily influence by Korean culture and food, and is established in an area with a large Korean population.

Ultimately, I am beyond grateful that I was given the opportunity to volunteer at the Higashi Kujo Kodomo Shokudo. Seeing the passion and kindness with which Baekke and the staff work with every Thursday has not only inspired me to study Japanese language and culture harder, but also seek out a similar volunteering opportunity back home. I am appreciative beyond words for the staff always treating me as an equal and a friend, and I will certainly miss and think about this experience and the people I met once I return home.

Elvis Jimenez: Volunteering at Aoi Jidoukan

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The sheer amount of options available to me by living in Kyoto was honestly a bit paralyzing at first, but Nakata Sensei was quick to notice that I had a passion for working with children and helped me make the necessary connections. For my CIP, I dove into the deep end by volunteering at Aoi Jidoukan, a children’s hall. Every step of the process was a bit of a challenge, but it allowed me to use what I had learned in the classroom in a real-life setting. I first had to contact the head of the program by phone since I was unable to set up an interview by email. Thanks to conversation practice with Nakata Sensei, I was able to express my interest in volunteering at the Children’s Hall and practice my keigo at the same time.

During the interview, I was able to talk about my past experiences working with children, understand the rules and regulations of the Children’s hall, and set the frequency and times that I would volunteer at. I had to do several self-introductions with the staff members, as well as one for the children. The self-introduction for the children was the most entertaining as they had many questions to ask a foreigner.

The reason I said I had jumped into the deep end is because I worked with elementary school children that at most knew a couple of English phrases. There was also only one staff member that spoke some English. While it was quite a challenge, the setting allowed me to observe Japanese Culture in its truest form and pushed my listening skills to a whole new level. As this was an after-school programs, many of the activities were games and sports that allowed me to at least respond with simpler phrases and actions.

Although I am not the most articulate person in Japanese, I can confidently and joyfully say that I was able to make meaningful connections with several of the children. At first, most of the children would refer to me as foreign sensei, but by the end of the program many were calling me Joe sensei or Giovanni Sensei. If any forgot my name, they had been comfortable enough to come up to me and look at my name tag or ask me directly. Several of the children would also run up to me when I arrived and give me a good hug.

Overall children across both countries share enough similarities that allowed me to interact with them relatively easily. The language barrier was the biggest challenge to overcome in terms of cultural differences. Some of the toys such as Kendama and Koma where new, but many of the American games such as Uno and Set have made their way over.

Jeanine Bell: Volunteering at Klexon English Conversation Circle

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For my CIP, I joined Klexon, an English second language learning group as a volunteer. I’ll admit that things went about as I expected at first — non-native English speakers were very nervous to start talking, but were interested in knowing why I came to Japan. As the weeks rolled by, we moved on from basic self introduction topics, and I got to know some of the people rather well. Some of the things that I hadn’t really realized before coming to Japan were some of the simplest daily tasks. A lot of the people I talked to mentioned going to the grocery store on an almost daily basis (whereas I typically would go once a week). Also karaoke boxes are super popular, but that seems to be the only place people will really cut loose to sing. I’ve gotten a few strange looks for mentioning how my friends and I will burst into song while walking down the street. One of my Japanese friends said that it was more of an issue with being embarrassed than being polite.

Aside from being a little surprised at some of the more reserved attitudes and lifestyles people adhered to, some things felt very much the same. As always, the easiest thing to talk about is food, and no matter who it is or where they’re from, they have something to say about food. On top of that, outside of Klexon’s usual meetings, I’ve come to realize that all kinds of people are capable of drinking a little too much, and either way the sober people feel a little bit responsible for them. Fortunately, the people I was with, no matter how inebriated, were always pleasantly polite and considerate. Either way, I’m glad I got to talk to people in different environments and settings and learn about the differences and similarities we all carry.

Gina Goosby: Volunteering at Kyoto Korean School

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This semester, I set out intending to continue volunteering at Bazaar Cafe. However, when I was approved to conduct research at a local Korean school, I figured it would be an excellent opportunity to try a new CIP. With the help of a Doshisha student, I arranged to lead some of their middle school English classes. Being a foreigner and a complete novice at Korean (this school requires students to speak only Korean while on campus), I was worried that I would be eyed with suspicion or even flat-out rejected. But when I arrived, the students and faculty greeted me warmly — students would wave and say “Hello” when they saw me, as did teachers. Classes centered around speaking: class began with a Q&A where the students and I took turns asking simple questions. Then, I guided students in reading aloud from their textbooks or gave a short speech and quizzed them on the content. We ended each class by learning and singing a song.

I think I learned more about Korean culture than Japanese culture during my CIP, but I imagine there are some overlaps in the culture of Japanese and Korean schools. Little things, like the fact that students greet teachers in the hallway or that everyone knows at least three Disney songs, did not surprise me. What did surprise me was that at this particular school, teachers and students interact almost casually: outside of class time, teachers seemed more like older cousins, especially to the high school students.

I had expected a rigid barrier of formality between teachers and students. I think the difference stems from the school’s importance beyond education in just history or math — Korean schools are one of the pillars of the Korean minority community in Japan. At school, students are treated as young members of the community, which in my experience is a bit like a large family. Even though I am not exactly a member of this “family,” the friendly atmosphere helped me feel at ease.

If you are good with middle schoolers and speak Korean and English — or simply have an interest in Koreans in Japan — I highly recommend this CIP. The teachers I spoke to expressed interest in having more native English-speaking volunteers. Who knows, you may even get a feature in the nationwide Korean school magazine like I did!

Mars Peredo: Manga Kyoushitsu and Warabe-uta Baby Massage

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My two CIPs were drawing comics at Studio Miura’s Manga Classroom and helping my host mom run her local nursery rhyme and baby massage class. Despite some struggles to communicate, both became highly valuable experiences.

The manga class was a quiet and relaxed gathering of generally younger people working on their comics or illustrations with occasional advice from the teachers present and also snacks. I thought it would be lessons rather than this sort of gathering, and since I knew no art terms in Japanese or what I wanted to get out of it, I struggled for several weeks drawing and communicating inefficiently. I learned to keep a little list of art terms I heard with me for reference, and practiced mustering the courage to ask questions or to repeat things I didn’t understand. It took a long time for me to settle in, but I learned useful ideas on Japanese panel layout etc. for my manga about noh (but with rabbits instead of humans). I want to improve at trying to ask questions.

For baby massage class, my main job was to sing the English translations of Japanese nursery songs while the mothers followed along and massaged their babies. Apparently Warabe-uta Baby Massage is not so common; combining nursery songs with massage (to promote the baby’s physical health and connection with the parent) is a recent concept. The class was made up of a few younger moms and their babies in a very casual setting: although my host mom sometimes used polite language when giving instructions, everyone generally spoke in casual language as peers, including newcomers. (There was a somewhat similar mix of codes in the manga class, so that I was never sure how to speak, as I was no master of politeness.) I started with mild polite language and slipped into casual (usually accidentally). The classroom was a place for the moms to not just interact with their babies, but also consult my host mom, a chiropractor and mother of a two-year-old, as well as chat together. I was surprised that the atmosphere was so casual, and in turn warm, homely, and open.

The “foreigner” and mixed race population in Japan is said to be increasing, and I got to witness this through a friendly mom, whose husband she said was Canadian, and their baby, whose skin, the moms remarked brightly to my surprise, was “definitely white.” The mom cheerfully started a conversation with me to practice her English and ask where I was from.

I also learned about the heteronormative gender dynamics in the group. First, there were no men in the class. It’s not that men can’t do baby massage –my host mom instructed that fathers could participate too– it seems that it’s just not common, just as mothers are still expected nurse children while the father works (yet my host mom holds multiple part-time jobs besides her husband’s). In addition, the strong female presence was felt when my rather quiet host dad suddenly came in and exited the room of already familiar mothers. Lastly, I saw how heterosexual norms can be imposed on infants: a lively baby boy was paying particular attention to me (perceived female by the moms) and a baby girl, so my host mom remarked that he was being “lovey-dovey” (rabu rabu), even though babies can’t have conscious thoughts. This was in contrast to how my host mom said that my toddler host sister was being “friendly” with or liked me.

In my CIPs, I learned about making efforts to communicate, and witnessed the fluidity of mild politeness and casualness as well as developments and gender norms in the family through casual classroom-like gatherings

Me and the mothers massaging the kids (and a baby doll)

Oliver Bauer-Nathan: Volunteering at Soup Kitchen/kodomo shokudō

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On Thursdays, Sophie, Jared, and I head down to Kujō Station, where we begin the short walk to the kodomo shokudō. Located in a primarily Zainichi Korean neighborhood, due to discrimination against Zainichi Koreans, there is a real need for a place where kids can come and receive free meals and adults can receive inexpensive ones. By the time we arrive, final set-up is being done for the day. At first, the jobs include plating food, taking orders, serving food, and washing dishes, and, once we close, vacuuming, cleaning tables, etc. I’ve found that working here is very fulfilling and that we actually have the ability to make a difference, however small it may be, and contribute meaningfully to the community.

Before coming, due to stereotypes that Japanese people tend to be very formal and aware of hierarchy, I was a bit nervous, especially given the fact that I had not learned keigo yet. However, I was surprised to find that people there were quite informal—people often use contractions, short form, and don’t finish sentences—and that it felt a lot like when I had volunteered at a soup kitchen in the United States. However, when we were added to the group chat, I was surprised to find that people used quite formal Japanese in the group chat. It seems that formality is more important in written Japanese, even group messaging, than in person.

I’ve been humbled and grateful to be able to volunteer at the kodomo shokudō, even if I feel that my weakness in Japanese is sometimes a hinderance to me being helpful. Thankfully, they are quite forgiving whenever I have trouble understanding. In fact, I feel that they’ve taken me in as a part of the community in a way that I did not expect. For example, whenever I arrive, I am often greeted warmly, and people are eager to talk to me and include me in banter. Although a language and culture barrier separates us, they do their best to include me and keep me in the loop, even during busy hours. I will be very sad to say goodbye when I leave for the last time next week.

 

Gabrielle Chen: Volunteering at Bazaar Cafe

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Throughout the semester I volunteered at a small café located near Doshisha called Bazaar Café. What initially attracted me to this particular place was its policy on accommodating all kinds of people, regardless of things like sexuality, illness, nationality, etc. I don’t think minority experiences are what one typically has in mind when they think of Japanese culture, or any kind of culture, so I joined out of a curiosity to see what that might look like.

I wasn’t surprised to find that it was just an ordinary café. Every Wednesday I simply washed dishes and chatted with my co-workers, something I found to be quite enjoyable. Of course, at the start I had my own preconceptions of what “immersing myself in Japanese society” would be like when I volunteered. It’s hard not to default to generalizations, especially ones as unique as Japan’s. I was worried about being formal and how much making mistakes in my Japanese would affect my relationships with the other workers. However, on my first day I was immediately given the nickname “Gabby-chan” by my co-workers who also introduced themselves with a nickname using the honorific “chan”. The atmosphere of the café wasn’t formal at all, and I would speak both politely and somewhat casually without anyone remarking on it. My co-workers joked around often despite the age differences between them, and would often involve me in these jokes as if I had been there for as long as they had.

It was things like this that made me quickly realize that I couldn’t draw any concrete conclusions about Japanese culture from my time volunteering at the café. My co-workers would also switch between speaking formally and speaking casually. They wouldn’t talk about themselves too much or about Japan, because it wasn’t as relevant as what needed doing around the café. The most “Japanese” things I observed were all the shoes out on the veranda that you took off before you came inside, and now I know that Shizuoka is famous for its eel dishes. To replace this lack of cultural observation, I found that I was able to deconstruct ideas I previously held instead. For example, I’ve learned in my Japanese classes that “umai” isn’t typically used by women. Neither is “azasu”, but one of my female co-workers used those kinds of masculine words very often. This particular instance reminded me that to learn about a place you really have to experience things on an individual level, and not expect behaviour that you only learn about in a classroom to apply to an entire country.

I think my CIP experience has been very rewarding and I would definitely recommend volunteering at Bazaar Café to people looking for something both fun and low energy, workwise. However, I will say that volunteering here is very much what you make of it for yourself. Everyone was very kind to me. They’d chat with me whenever the café wasn’t particularly busy, or offer me whichever random snacks they had around the kitchen. But there were also slow days where I didn’t say much at all. I had to push myself to be social and gradually overcome a fear of making mistakes that would sometimes hold me back when it came to conversations. It was very much an experience I benefitted from because I made the conscious decision to speak more each time I went, and my advice would be to do the same.