「Volunteering」カテゴリーアーカイブ

Romana Perez: Niconico Tomato

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For the past few months I have been volunteering at Niconico Tomato, which is a program that tries to bring smiles to the children at Kyoto University Hospital. We do things like prepare events, organize parties, make gifts, and generally have fun.

For Halloween, and now for Christmas, we make cards for the children. I really enjoy trying my best as I make the cards, since I know the child who receives it will appreciate it. I also enjoy the creativity the volunteers put into making the designs. For the Halloween cards, we embroidered a spider web into the card, attached a ghost, and created a foggy spooky background. I think they look really cool. The Christmas cards are going to be just as well thought out.

I’ve also enjoyed talking with the other volunteers. We tend to talk about the differences of American and Japanese culture. Everyone in the program is extremely nice and it’s easy to talk with them as I work. Interacting with the kids is also rewarding. Even though the children are sick, they still have so much energy and are able to have fun. I find it amazing that the little activities we create for them, like collecting a sticker every day they visit the playroom, keeps their spirits up. I really do believe we are doing a good thing at Niconico Tomato.

James Mellody: Klexon English Language Cirlce

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My time volunteering at Klexon English Circle has been a culturally enlightening and entertaining experience.  Through the circle, I have come to meet a lot of interesting Japanese people, mostly students from various universities in Kyoto.  The actual CIP itself consists of speaking in English for two hours each Tuesday with various Japanese people in the circle.  For the first hour, I talk with several people one on one for about 10 minutes each.  For the second hour everyone breaks up into small groups and talks about various topics.  This allows for a more natural conversation to develop.  After the two hours are over, Klexon members often go out in a more natural social setting.  This is where I really get to talk to the members and get to know them.  At Klexon we speak all in English, but when we went out we spoke in a mix of Japanese and English, the goal being to use whichever language best facilitates communication.  To me, learning a language in a classroom setting can often feel forced, but actually using language in a real setting was exhilarating.  More than practicing language, we were trying to have real conversations.  I also noticed that the atmosphere became much more casual and people became more open and willing to talk.

I also went to two parties held by Klexon.  At first I was unsure of how to initiate conversation – whether it should be in English or in Japanese.  After a little while, however, people began to engage me in conversation.  While they spoke to me in English at first, people started to speak to me in Japanese as they became more comfortable.  The structure of the language they used matched the informal setting of the party.  They used more informal speech patterns, which immediately helped to make the environment friendlier.  In this casual environment, I managed to make some friends that I have since seen outside of the circle.

When first talking to a Japanese person, I would informally introduce myself.  We would then proceed to talk about very basic personal information.  This type of introductory conversation is very similar to that used in America.  I did not, nor did the Japanese people around me engage in the formal introductions common in many situations in Japan.  The more informal setting of the party eliminated the need for such formality.

These parties had no music or dancing, but were instead dinner parties in which we sat, ate, and talked together.  Parties at my college in America are usually extremely loud and filled with people dancing rather than talking.  The Klexon party had a completely different atmosphere.  These parties were not just places to have fun; more importantly they were places to get to know each other.  This is different from many American college parties where the objective seems to be having fun, not necessarily getting to know new people.

I have found that it is hard to find opportunities to really sit and have a conversation with a Japanese person, so Klexon has been great in that regard.  Klexon allowed me to experience how Japanese people socialize.  It was also fascinating to see how Japanese people interact with a foreigner in a social setting.  Initially, most people were slightly shy when talking to me, but as we talked they opened up and became much more willing to initiate conversation.

Klexon has been a wonderful experience.  I have had the opportunity to meet and talk in depth with many Japanese people. I am extremely glad that I picked Klexon as my CIP, and I would recommend it to anyone in the future.

Anna Andriychuk: Bazaar Cafe

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Volunteering at the Bazaar Cafe has been a very rewarding experience for me. Even if this were not my CIP, I would enjoy going there to study or have coffee with friends. The atmosphere of the cafe, whether one is experiencing it as a customer, a volunteer, or both, is really what won me over. It is such a warm, friendly place that you cannot help but feel welcome. I’ve noticed a really strong sense of community, both among the staff, and with the customers as well. Week by week, I’ve come to recognize many regulars, some of whom even stop by Fridays or Saturdays as well. There appear to be genuine friendships between those customers and our barista/manager, who I always see sharing personal anecdotes and jokes. One regret of mine is not having put more effort into interacting with the customers, which is something I would highly recommend to future KCJS newcomers.

My conversations with the staff, on the other hand, have been both fun and a great learning opportunity. The staff are some of the nicest people that I’ve met in Japan, and so I never have to feel uneasy if I make mistakes on the job (embarrassed, yes). One thing that I’ve noticed is how some of the staff call the manager “Tsu-ki,” instead of a formal Tsukishita-san. That really shows, in my opinion, not only the warm and casual relationship among the staff, but the humility of the cafe’s owner.

The international character of the café is also a refreshing change of scenery. Although the staff on Thursdays when I work is mostly Japanese, those who work on Fridays and Saturdays hail from various parts of the world and the cuisine reflects that diversity. I’ve also had the opportunity to meet a number of interesting customers, including Doshisha students, professors, and tourists from various countries. Thursdays have become quite an interesting and unpredictable part of my weeks here in Kyoto.

Hadley Hauser: HUB

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This quarter I was an intern at HUB Kyoto.  HUB seemed like the perfect creative space for me to debut as a functioning member of Japanese society in a friendly, collaborative setting.  The HUB “Dojo” is a community center nestled not far from the Doshisha campus in a beautifully renovated Kyoto machiya-style building.  I was immediately smitten with its tatami rooms on the second floor and bamboo garden hidden away in the back.

My first move as an intern was attending “HUB Kitchen,” a monthly event that is open to all HUB members.  It is an informal buffet-style dinner and forum where people can bounce laughs and ideas off of each other.  While there, I was able to talk to a variety of Kyoto natives in Japanese and English, and it was amazing to hear stories of how people ended up in Kyoto or kept coming back.  I was able to meet the staff members of Kyoto Journal magazine.  After I expressed my interest in writing, we soon struck up a correspondence about how I could contribute to Kyoto Journal magazine as the focus of my HUB internship.

I started off preparing a summary of a Japanese documentary event that was held at HUB Kyoto.  My next project was to interview HUB Kyoto staff, and then translate the interview into whichever language it wasn’t conducted in.  I prepared my questions and looked forward to getting a personal glimpse of HUB Kyoto’s members and their unique interests. The logistics of this process proved to be quite a challenge.  The last few weeks have been an endless parade of me trying to track down people to interview.  HUB members are busy people!  I scheduled one interview two times, and on the third time when I was sure I would have success, my interviewee simply did not show up.  I really wanted to enjoy working for HUB, and if I were not juggling a schedule of KCJS courses and host family obligations, this would all seem less frustrating.

Though I am not satisfied with my output this quarter at HUB, I still think that it was a good experience for me.  While it has been a challenge coordinating with the individuals at HUB, these situations have provided me with the opportunity to sharpen my Japanese communication skills (phone calls, emails, one-on-one discussions) so that they are clear and effective.  I believe that this very basic correspondence practice will be valuable to me as I continue my Japanese studies.  I look forward to a change of pace next quarter and plan to pursue a traditional and perhaps more rewarding individual class, such as pottery or tea ceremony.

Zalika Corbett: Weightlifting, Klexon (Language Exchange)

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My CIP experience has a been a varied combination of people, venues, and activities.

After much searching, I finally came upon weightlifting. It was kind of a perfect fit, especially considering that I spent the first few weeks in Kyoto searching for some sort of sports-related CIP so that I could stay in shape. Weightlifting provided the perfect outlet to do this and, on top of that, the people there were incredible.

For instance, the first day I went, the main instructor asked me to perform a few basic excercises to check my form. This was not my first time weightlifting, but it was the first time that I had received instructions in such a detailed way. The instructor had video of professional female weightlifters doing the same exercise that I was and even drew diagrams on the board to explain exactly how to execue each lift. As a result, just a few hours into my first session, it became obvious that the main instructor and the student who taught with him were some of the the most knowledgeable trainers that I had ever met.

They were also some of the most patient. For instance, there was one excercise in particular in which I was disheartenly inconsistent. Sometimes I could execute the exercise reletively well, but on others it was as if I had never done the exercise before. Meanwhile, whoever was working with me gave me helpful, encouraging feedback.

Unfortunately, only a few weeks into weightlifting, I managed to injure myself in a way that prevented me from lifting for the rest of the sememster. As a result, I began to go to an international language exchange club, called Klexon. My first impression of the club was how organized it was. All of the English speakers were on one side of the tables, while the Japanese members were on the other. Then, every ten minutes, the Japanese members would rotate and start a conversation with another English speaker. The resulting process seem rather reminiscent of speed dating.

The second point I noticed was the variety of members. Initially, I thought that Klexon was mostly comprised of university students. However, I found that most of them were actually graduates with a wide variety of careers. During my time, there, I met doctors, salesmen, store owners, and that was just to start. In addition to the one-on-one session, we spent the last few minutes in small groups talking about set topics and then about whatever we so chose when there was a lull.

Overall, I think that both experiences, weightlifting and Klexon, were benefitial in their own way. I used Japanese more in the former, but there was not much in the way of conversation. Meanwhile, the latter was all about conversation, but the focus on English allowed for few opportunities to practice my Japanese until the final, group session. In the end, I am glad to have participated in both activities and, while I will miss weightliftng, I look forward to returning to Klexon to finish out the semester.

Xiaoyu Liu: About my experience in Impact Hub Kyoto

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During my internship in Impact Hub Kyoto, I worked on my project on designing the member’s wall and it turned out to be a really amazing experience. I learned a lot from this especially how to corporate with Japanese collegues under the collectivistic culture here. It is different from what I experienced in America  since the working environment in the US is always easy to get in. Everyone around seems talkative and outgoing and easy to build up relationship with. However, in Japan, it took me a long time to fit in and establish my role in the group since nobody was what I was good at and how I could contribute to the group. In the beginning, I jumped in with the identity of a foreign student from the United States of America, which means I automatically received some sort of credibility and respect from my Japanese colleagues as a professional and fresh blood from abroad. However, on the other hand, it makes me harder to get involve into the group since my “price” is high and they cannot treat me as a normal new-comer doing messy chores. At the beginning when I was talking to them about my thoughts on some club issue, I could easily found Erin san and Tomo san were uneasy with some of my ideas but they said nothinng. Also, they felt nervous talking with me or ask for favor since they were unsure if I can understand what they said or unhappy to do messy little stuff.  Here, Japanese language ability is also another factor that deeply affects our communication. Since this is a working place, people tend to be speak fast and concise, and it is frustrating to ask your partner to repeat what they said for several time, because your Japanese is not good enough. You can easily get the feeling that you are impairing the group efficiency and making your co-workers to sacrifice their time and energy to your stupidness. What even worse is that Japanese is so delicate that your partner would never understand what you want to say or even confirm unless you use the right wordings. Sometimes you will try to make the story long to let them understand, but this is so inefficient and usually in the end, both of you would got lost and ended the conversation with silence.

Still, I chose to stay there because I wanted to try best to see if I can get involved into this Japanese working environment. Also, l like all the staffs and the cool Noh stages and Bamboo yard in their space.

After I patiently helping with little thing, keeping participating my work, and attending some of their gathering,  I kind of felt that they gradually being more and more relaxed on me, which means they are accepting me as one of their member. After all, it is one of my best time studying abroad in Kyoto, and my Japanese did improve a lot from this.

So, I will say it is a good but rare experience to work with Japanese people in Japan. Usually my US friends would get worried and upset when they found they cannot get into the Japanese community easily. I will say the way of entry is different since you cannot just build up good relationship with them by talking with them only, but also to show your effort and contribution to the community, as well as pretty fluent Japanese, the basic requirement for communication. From time to time after the group member confirmed that you are hardworking and good in nature with their eyes, you will automatically receive an invitation for dinner gathering and next time when you come, you will find everyone is relaxed. Without saying anything, you just become one of them, and everyone knows. Also, you will find ask them to get things done will be much much easier and faster.

Oh, it is really Japanese, isn’t it?

 

By Xiaoyu Liu, Brandeis 2014er,

 

ロバート・フィーニー：開晴中学校の英語アシスタント

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僕のCIPは開晴中学校の英語のアシスタントです。先週は初めての授業のはずでしたが、病気で休んでしまいました。だから、今週は初めての授業です。

英語のアシスタントというCIPは、本当に楽しにしています。僕は小さい時から教えるのが好きでしたので、アシスタントのようなCIPに興味があるんです。それで、もう英語のアシスタントをしたことがありますので、もう一度してみたいと思っていました。だから、この経験は教えることの興味も日本語の勉強にも役に立つので、楽しみにしています。

ミンテン・オーヤン：英会話サークル

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最初は、日本の楽器に興味があるので、尺八のお稽古を受ようと思った。アメリカでピアノのクラスを受けていた時、毎週練習時間がたくさんかかって、クラスの時先生だけに会って、いつも先生の注意や指示だけ聞いて、先生とおしゃべりする時間はなかった。尺八のお稽古を受けたら、たぶん同じ状況になると思った。そして、お稽古より、サークルの方が日本人の友だちをたくさん作れるかもしれない。そうすれば、日本語の練習時間が多くなるだろう。「趣味と日本人の友達、どっちの方が大切だ」と何回も自分に聞いた。私が京都に来て、KCJSプログラムに参加したのには多くの理由がある。その中の、決定的な理由は、日本語の上達だ。母語話者のようにペラペラになりたい。だから、最終的に「KLEXON」という英会話サークルに入ることにした。

「KLEXON」は英語を練習したい学生と社会人向きに創立された京都のサークルだ。活動の場所は地下鉄四条駅の付近にある「WINGS　KYOTO」というビルの二階で、今出川キャンパスからそこまで二十分しかかからないから、とても便利だ。一週間一回例会があって、時々様々なイベントもある。

初めていった時、ちょっと緊張していた。でも、みんな優しかったし、リーダーも親切だし、少し話したら、その緊張感がどんどんなくなった。同志社大学や立命館大学の学生や京都の会社員にも会って、いろいろなトピックについて話せて、楽しかった。例えば、前に大学で「同立戦」という野球の試合のポスターを見た。立命館大学の学生によると、立命館大学ではその試合が「立同戦」と呼ばれているそうだ。それは面白いと思う。いい勉強だった。

みんなと一緒に話す時、英語だけじゃなくて、日本語も使えた。だから、私は日本語の会話も練習できた。このサークルを選んで本当に良かった。

ウィッティングハム・キャロリン：大原学院の英語教を教えるアシスタント

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今学期、大原学院と言う小学校・中学校でのためにボランティアをしています。大原で、私の仕事は英語を教えることです。でも、時々、普通の授業（例えば、料理と音楽の授業など）を支援します。毎週月・水曜日の午後の授業がないので、週に一回、月曜日か水曜日に、私は大原に行きます。たいてい一緒に教える先生は前田という先生ですが、毎週、私の教える授業が変わるので、色々な先生と一緒に教える機会が多いです。

毎週、大原に行く前の日、前田先生から今週の授業のために必要の準備について、メールをもらいます。今まで、時差について教えたり、「Hokey-Pokey」と「If You’re Happy and You Know It」と「Twinkle Twinkle Little Star」と言う歌を子供と一緒に歌ったり、料理の授業のために焼き芋を作ったり、ジャマイカについて発表したりしました。

大原でボランティアするすることは非常に楽しいですが、色々な大変な経験もあります。でも、頑張ります！

ジム・ヒルデブランド：子供のボランティア

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僕のCIPはにこにこトマトという京都大学医学部付属病院でのボランティア・プログラムです。どんなポログラムか簡単に言うと、小児科に入院している子供と遊ぶことなのですが、時間も我慢もたくさん必要だと思います。

普通、毎週、木曜日に授業が終わってから、すぐに自転車に乗って京大病院に行きます。色々な子供の活動があり、僕の役目は日によって違います。例えば、もう五回、参加しましたが、水墨とバザーとハロウィーン・パーティと掃除を手伝いました。

子供の活動が終わった後で、ボランティアは皆、四階にある準備室に集まり、一緒にお茶を飲んだり、話をしたりします。これはCIPの一番楽しいことです。その時、僕の過去に興味を持っているような女性たちは質問をたくさんして、日本語を練習しながら、楽しむこともできます。