「Volunteering」カテゴリーアーカイブ

Kim Coombes: Teaching English at Kozmoz Cafe

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I recently had to change my CIP due to scheduling conflicts, so now I am teaching English at Kozmoz Café in Momoyama. I have been doing it for a few weeks now and am greatly enjoying it. I am able to engage with Japanese people of all ages. I have the pleasure of teaching classes to adults as well as children. It is amazing to see how dedicated Japanese students are to their studies. As part of the adult’s lesson plan, they must keep a weekly diary and write about one event that occurred. Many of the adult students write pages of information so the teachers can correct them! Watching how hard Japanese students study has given me motivation to work harder at my Japanese studies.
Aside from having the pleasure of meeting Japanese people, as a teacher, my Japanese is constantly being reinforced by the lessons. Both children and adult will commonly repeat a question I asked them in English, in Japanese to me to confirm they understand. By doing this I get to hear their Japanese as well as check their understanding. After lessons I am able to speak with Japanese people and practice my Japanese a bit.
Teaching English has helped me feel more comfortable within Japanese society because I am constantly engaging with Japanese people. As a shy person, I have been able to use my classes as a way to engage Japanese people. By finding out what is popular and interesting to them, I am able to talk to more students at Doshisha and can hold more interesting and relatable conversations in Japanese.
Kozmoz Cafe is a non-profit organization and I really enjoying volunteering there. They run food banks as well as teach English classes. They also hold parties and events for their students. If there is ever any interest in volunteering there feel free to email me!

Saminya Bangura: KLEXON

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For my CIP, I’ve been attending the Kyoto Language Exchange Salon (or KLEXON) in Shijo once a week. While I didn’t get to practice a lot of Japanese language, it has still been an incredible experience that has allowed me to learn a lot about the Japanese culture and even make a few friends!

Of all the things I experienced during my time at KLEXON, what’s stuck with me the most was an experience I had at one of the parties. Once a month, there is a dinner party that brings two or three language circles in the area together and on my first time there, I was surprised to have so many members (from both my circle and the others) insist on serving me drinks and food. From the moment I began studying Japanese, the importance of the senpai-kouhai relationship was often emphasized and I had always assumed that, regardless of the context, it would stand firm. However, despite my being the youngest and newest member of the circle at my table, I was served throughout the night and when I attempted to do it in exchange, I was refused, which confused me more than it hurt my feelings.

I had to wonder if my being a foreigner somehow made me exempt from the usual rules that steer Japanese club dynamics. Perhaps because the members know that my time in the club is temporary, they were choosing to treat me more like a guest than a member; so the rules of senpai and kouhai (which I do see employed when other members interact) didn’t apply. I attempted to face this by becoming involved with the group on a more personal level so that even if they knew of my transience, I could still be accepted as a permanent member based on my social presence. This involved attending more events outside of meetings (like the parties) and following through on friendships when I received LINE IDs or Facebooks. But, in the end, there was no real change over the course the semester; I was still being treated like a guest even two and a half months in.

Eventually, I came to realize that this phenomenon wasn’t of any fault of my own. I was struggling to enter the uchi of KLEXON when there was no real uchi in the first place. Though there are a group of regular members that attend meetings every single week, KLEXON’s relatively lax structure, lack of set policies regarding attendance and older membership meant that some people might go weeks without coming to a meeting. And as a result, there was no concrete group mentality; individual members might forge friendships but there was no real sense of a bond between the group as a whole. Therefore, what I thought was a senpai and kouhai interaction forged by club members might have just been a manifestation of the general idea of respecting senior members in your field or elders.

I think that my experience would’ve been much different had I been involved in a CIP with more people my age, especially on a college campus. College clubs tend to be more structured (and, as a result, more stressful) but that often results in getting closer to your peers and creating a sense of uchi. Nonetheless, I enjoyed every minute of being in KLEXON; it was fascinating to get a glimpse into interactions between shakai-jin (especially the businessmen) and experience a club that was driven and shaped by them more than anyone else.

Hayley Valk: Kyoto YWCA

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This semester I volunteered once a week for the after-school children’s program at the Kyoto YWCA. For most of the semester the same two kids came every Monday, an 11-year-old girl and 10-year-old boy. It felt more like babysitting than an organized program, as usually I was alone with the two and we spent the time freely chatting, playing with toys, eating snack, and doing homework. The last week there was a more structured, all-day camp during spring vacation, with 15 elementary school kids and 5 other college-aged volunteers, which offered a chance to interact with more children and other volunteers in a more organized environment.

Through weekly volunteering I really got to know the usual girl and boy, and see how my relationships with each compared to each other and evolved over the course of the semester. Though a bit hesitant at first, they both became fairly comfortable with me as a foreigner, but the girl much more so than the boy. The first day we met she was doubtful, and asked the program director if I even understood Japanese. The program director told her to talk to me and find out, and from there her impressions quickly improved. After a few minutes of conversation she decided I understand quite a lot of Japanese, and after asking me if I can read and write hiragana and some basic kanji she decided that I’m not so different from a Japanese person. That was a flattering overstatement. From then on we spent the majority of the time each day talking about school, what we like to eat, etc. She asked some funny questions about life in America, like whether people learn multiplication, if English is the only language used in the subway, and whether the four cardinal directions exist (I taught her the words in English, which she remembered from then on and would practice every week). She was very open to talking with me, and I think she had fun sharing stories and helping me understand her Japanese. She spoke very clearly, and after saying a word she thought I might not understand, she asked and tried to explain if I didn’t. Sometimes she would give up and tell me to use my dictionary, but some words like “alarm clock” or “snore” she could explain by making sounds and doing impressions. She also purposely avoided Kansai-ben, until asking me one day if I understood it. When I said I did understand some, she decided she’d try to use it with me from then on. I think her consideration for my Japanese abilities made conversation more productive and also more fun for both of us. The boy, though about the same age, had a fast, mumbling manner of speaking that was much harder for me to understand, and he made no concessions for my benefit. Because it was hard to engage in conversation he didn’t talk to me as much, but we became closer once I proved a decent dodgeball partner. He was more comfortable doing physical activities with me than just chatting. Though he warmed up to me, one of the last days when his mom came to pick him up she complimented my Japanese, and he quickly corrected her by saying that actually there’s a lot of Japanese I don’t understand. Though both were relatively open to me despite my being American, when communication challenges arose, the girl was much more able and interested to identify and solve them, while the boy just moved on without any effort to improve our mutual understanding. Though talking to them both was good practice, it was interesting to compare how my relationships with the two differed as a result.

During the spring vacation camp I was able to interact with many more kids, but I didn’t get to know any as well. Most of the camp children were a bit younger than the usual girl and boy; the average age was around 8. As a result, they seemed less aware of my being different or not understanding Japanese perfectly. Even at times when their speech was too fast or slurred for me to fully understand, they generally seemed content for me just to listen and respond as best as I could. Being younger, they were also more interested in being active and playing games, so if I jumped around, helped with puzzles, and made funny faces and an occasional joke, that was more entertaining than sitting around talking anyway. Since most weeks I was alone with the two kids, the camp was also a chance for me to see how other college-aged volunteers interacted with the children. Despite being a fairly structured program with a set schedule, the program director largely left the volunteers in charge alone, and I was a bit surprised by how little authority they showed. Organized activities quickly devolved into running, screaming, and games of questionable safety, but for whatever reason the other volunteers just smiled and let themselves get pulled around without making an effort to control the situation. Though I at times felt inferior because of my own lack of ability to communicate effectively to the children in Japanese, I appreciated that both the kids and other staff treated me the same as everyone else. In particular I appreciated the program director’s attitude towards me; both in a group meeting following camp and after I volunteered each week, she asked and valued my thoughts about the day. She also asked me to contribute ideas for camp activities ahead of time, and from the very beginning of the semester trusted me to take charge of the day’s activities and manage the program room.  Other staff members and volunteers were similarly friendly and trusting, as were the children’s parents, who always made a point to thank me. I really came to feel like a valued member of the YWCA community, equal to any other volunteer.

Overall I found volunteering at the YWCA to be a very successful and gratifying CIP experience. Perhaps due to the organization’s missions to support both Japanese and foreign women, everyone I encountered was accepting and understanding, and despite never meeting another American, I never felt out of place. The nature of the work didn’t require a very high level of Japanese, but it did offer ample opportunities to practice with people of all ages.  I also love spending time with kids, so volunteering was a chance not only to learn, but also to just have fun for a few hours every week. I am grateful to all at the YWCA!

Reid Tomihara: Kamigyo Middle School English Assistant

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For my CIP this semester, I chose to volunteer at Kamigyo middle school as an English teaching assistant.  Kamigyo Middle School is about five minutes away from Doshisha University.

Before I started going to Kamigyo middle school, I had no experience teaching or working with middle school students so I was quite nervous my first day there. When I first entered the classroom, I could tell that the students were very confused at who I was because I wasn’t a teacher and I looked Japanese.  I worked in the 7th grade English classes exclusively. The English teacher asked me to read questions to the kids, to dictate conversations from their textbook and to create an English game for the kids to play.  At first, the kids were very shy but as I went there more and more they became comfortable with me.  I made an effort to try and talk to the kids, which made my time there enjoyable.  Despite the fact that many of the students were too shy to speak up in English, they tried their best to when I talked to them.  At times I felt that my purpose at the school was to get the students excited about learning English instead of actually teaching them anything because whenever I was there the class would do some kind of game or activity.

This opportunity allowed me to get a glimpse of the Japanese middle school culture that I would have never been able to see.  One thing that stuck out to me was the time in between classes.  There was always a five to 10 minute break between classes where the students were allowed to do whatever they wanted. Unlike in America the students did not change classrooms for different subjects, instead during the break teachers rotated between classes or returned to the teacher’s room. During the break many students would go to the teachers room and ask for a certain teacher.  When they did they always made sure to use keigo or honorific Japanese.  However, during class the students spoke primarily in casual Japanese to the teacher.

In the classroom there was a huge contrast between students.  In each class there were always one or two kids who were very vocal and on the other hand there were some who never spoke at all or raised their hand.  At first I thought the kids didn’t know the answer but in fact many of the quiet ones often had the correct answer written down.  This is not limited to Japanese middle school students, many Japanese refuse to speak English because they do not have the confidence in their English ability but in fact, they can understand and speak quite well.

In conclusion, learning another language especially one that is so different from your own is not easy.  But getting kids excited to learn a different language and to see the benefits that it holds can go a long way.  I highly recommend volunteering at a Japanese school as an English assistant because the kids are so lively and it allows you to see a part of Japan that few tourists get to see.

Dean Nguyen: Niko Niko Tomato

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This semester, I’ve had the pleasure of volunteering at a children’s ward located in Kyoto University’s Hospital. The group I volunteered with, ニコニコトマト, is dedicated to giving children admitted into the hospital an enjoyable experience during their stay, through means of various activities including games, story-telling, and making arts and crafts. By participating in this volunteer group, I had the chance to experience what it was like to be a member of a “community” here, and it was a nice change of pace from learning in a classroom. Along with volunteering, I was able to observe and gain a better understanding of the Japanese community as well.

One of the first things I noticed and found interesting when I started was how easy it was to volunteer. The first day I arrived, I was immediately greeted by other volunteers and was asked to help out right away. It wasn’t until after the fact that they realized that I was the student from Doshisha University coming that day to volunteer. My first thought after that experience was that this would probably never happen in the United States, where there would be a sign in system of some sort at least. Still, ニコニコトマト is a special case even in Japan, as a fellow volunteer stated, to her, it was the only known volunteer group to have such a relaxed system. Nonetheless, I can’t help but wonder if it’s because of the predisposed notion that Japanese society is so safe that volunteering seems to be much easier to do than back home.

Another interesting thing I noticed was how close the community seemed to be in a hospital setting. All of the children, volunteer staff, doctors, nurses, and parents all seemed to have close relationships with one another, and I feel I wouldn’t typically see this in a hospital back in the United States. Parents gossiped with each other and with volunteer staff members, the children played with each other, and from time to time the doctors and nurses would join in for activities as well. Sometimes, if a parent had to discuss things over with their child’s doctor, another parent, volunteer, or nurse would watch over their child in their place for the time being. Everyone has an understanding on what everyone else is going through, so it’s a really nice support system that they have. To me, this trust and reliance on others in this “community” seems to possible because of the Japanese society’s emphasis on group harmony.

And finally, I was able to get a sense on how Japanese society views foreigners. My first thought, before even volunteering, was that the children would be scared of foreigners, and it would be an issue with my CIP. However, I was gladly mistaken. At first glance, children don’t even recognize that I am a foreigner because of my Asian descent, but even after they do, their opinion of me only gets better! Some of the children there are currently learning English, and as soon as they find out I’m from America, they get really interested and try practicing what they’ve learned on me. There was a time when one of the girls started playing Frozen’s “Let It Go” (one of my favorites!) on the piano, so I decided to sing along in English, and she, along with the other children there, couldn’t help but smile, laugh, and enjoy my performance. Parents also seem to be happily surprised when they find out I’m from America. To them, it seems so fascinating that I came to Japan, and they always ask tons of questions about my home and my opinions on Japan.

Now that my time volunteering is coming to an end, I can’t help but feel grateful and glad that I was able to donate my time with such a wonderful organization. Not only was I able to immerse myself in their community, they made me feel welcome every visit, and were always happy to have me around. Through my experiences, some views I had of Japan prior to coming have changed, and some have been reinforced, but one thing I know for sure is that I’m glad I had the opportunity to experience Japan’s community firsthand, and I’ll look forward to any future opportunities to join another one!

Kate Monkovic: Kyoto Bunkyo English Assistant

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For my CIP this past semester I volunteered at Kyoto Bunkyo School as an English assistant. While initially I thought I would be helping in the classroom as an assistant teacher, my actual job was to meet with high school students after school and help them practice their English speaking skills. The two high school girls that I met with had both studied abroad in Australia for seven months, so their English speaking was better than I expected. We talked mostly about Japanese schools, their study abroad experience in Australia, boys, and life in America. The students were very eager to teach me about their life as students in Japan. I learned that private schools in Japan have many strict rules that students must follow. For example, students are not allowed to dye their hair and girls with long hair must wear their hair tied back. Students are also not allowed to use their cellphones at any time, even after school. In terms of the way school is structured, unlike American students, Japanese students stay in the same classroom for all their classes with the same group of peers. As a result, the students were very close to their classmates and there was a sense of class bonding that one doesn’t see in America.

At first I was disappointed that I wasn’t teaching, but talking to Japanese high school students was a very fulfilling experience. I really enjoyed the opportunity to talk to and learn from Japanese students, while at the same time teaching them about America in an informal setting. After this experience I definitely feel that I have gained a better understanding of Japanese schools and student life.

 

 

 

 

Tyler Bartels: English Assistant, Soccer Circle

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Going into English teaching I had the mindset of learning about the education system, interaction with teachers and students, and preparing for potentially participating in the JET Program (Japan Exchange Teaching). What I soon discovered was I learned much more about Japanese social interaction by interacting with the 7th graders, whose class I was an assistant in. Every week I would go for almost 2 hours and assist in either 1 or 2 classes, allowing me to build a rapport with the students.

I ran into to two types of experiences with the kids. First, the shy kids were hesitant to even look me in the eye. Second, the outgoing kids had no boundaries when asking me questions. I was fascinated that these two extremes existed within the classroom. I had always assumed the Japanese school system was strict and disciplined, leading me to believe that the children I would encounter would fit that image. I found that the teachers and children actually joked around and in talking with the teacher discovered her genuine affinity for the classes. She would describe one class as the “bad boys,” another as having the “shy girls,” and in one case even joked at one girl being as loud as the boys. The point being, I was sorely mistaken on what the schooling system. That being said I was in a public school and can’t speak for the private school system. Regardless, I enjoyed my time with the kids and got a good laugh when they wanted to know if I had kissed my girlfriend before or not.

My second CIP was a Kyodai soccer circle. When I came to Japan the one thing I new for certain that I wanted to do, was play sports with the Japanese. I knew the language barrier would be an issue when trying to forge friendships with other Japanese students. Team sports offer another language with which to communicate, that is almost universal. Whether or not I was able to communicate well in Japanese, after each game we played there was a general atmosphere of closeness. What I found even more fascinating was attending a practice in which the freshmen were present. These freshmen had yet to even attend a day of school, but there ambition to meet new people, and openness to foreigners was shocking as well. Upon finishing practice the freshmen asked me to go to the hot baths after with them, we proceeded to all grab dinner after, and then walked part way home after the last bus had already gone. I can’t say this is the same for other circles, but the most outgoing and open people I have met in Japan have been in these sports circles, whether it be one of 3 soccer circles or 2 basketball circles I’m in.

Katherine Nachbar: Niko Niko Tomato

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For my CIP, I have been volunteering at にこにこトマト where I interact and play with children that are patients at Kyodai Hospital. There are different activities almost every day of the week for them. So, for example, one day will be music themed where the children get drums and bells and play along to music, while on a another day, they will paint boxes.

The kids were shy initially, but once you started talking to them, they became animated and talkative. One time, I asked a little girl if she could play piano, and she started playing “Let it Go” from memory, over and over again. Her friends joined in and we all sang along. We also played hand clapping games. They showed me a game that seemed complicated at first, but it turned out it was a hand clapping game to the tune of “Yankee Doodle.” My friend, Kate, who also volunteers there, told me that this was a popular game in America as well. I discovered that the games young children play and the things they do for fun in Japan are very similar to what I did growing up.

I have enjoyed volunteering at にこにこトマト. Everyone has been very warm and welcoming. I found that it was a great place not only for the children to make friends with the other children in the hospital, but also for the parents to form a support system. Not only did the children seem to be close, but the parents seemed to have formed bonds as well. It was gratifying to see such a caring community.

 

ウィル・フィッツェル：KLEXON

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CIPのために、京都にある英会話サークルに入ることを選びました。今まで、ミーティングに一回だけ行きましたけど、すごく楽しかったと思います。サークルは「KLEXON」と呼ばれています。四条駅の近い「ウィングス京都」というビルでは、毎週の火曜日にミーティングが行われています。また参加する機会を楽しみにしています。

初めてのミーティングの前に、期待するのか分かりませんでした。まず、一人一人の英会話交流を行いました。そのことのために、決まった話すトピックは「子供の時」でした。とりあえず、このトピックについて話しましたけど、みんなは他のことについても話しました。子供の時以外に、春休みの予定や日本での経験などの色々なトピックについて話しました。一人一人の会話の後で、みんなは色々なグループに分けられました。このために、決まったトピックもありましたけど、この時は「寝ている間の夢」でした。私のグループの人は、もちろん、普通の夢について話しましたけど、私の夢はものすごくて変でした。でも、グループはこの夢が面白かったと思いました。

このミーティングはすごく楽しかったと思います。さすがに、英語だけ話すという事実のおかげで、本当の性格が表れやすいと思います。将来、たぶんKLEXON の友達ができるでしょう。

ムリヨ・エリザベス：パンダ園で遊ぼう！

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今学期、鞍馬口駅の近くのパンダ園という特殊な幼稚園でボランティアをしています。パンダ園では心臓病で苦しんでいる子供たちが遊んだり勉強したりしています。毎週、火曜日と金曜日に先生とボランティアをしている人が会って子供たちと共に色々な活動をします。私は火曜日に授業があるので金曜日にだけ行けます。パンダ園は私の参加している葵教会の中で行われるのでもう半年ぐらいパンダ園のスタッフを知っています。なのでパンダ園の子供たちもよく知っているだけに子供たちは私にもう慣れています。すぐに遊べます。しかし子供たちは病気なのでボランティアの人が特に気をつけなければなりません。走れないので子供たちに本を読んだり絵を描いたりしてあげます。時々状況があんまり分からない子供が走りたがりますけど私は子供の安全の責任があります。可愛い子供の要望を断ることは結構難しいです。でも確かに子供を手伝うことはすごくすばらしいことです。子供とかスタッフからもたくさん教えてもらいました。もうちょっと良い人になればいいっていうことを感じます。四月まで頑張ります。