「Volunteering」カテゴリーアーカイブ

Kaela Brandt: Assistant English Teacher

投稿日時: 投稿者:

At my home school, I am majoring in CSHD (Child Studies and Human Development), so for my CIP I really hoped to do something where I could work with kids. I am also interested in education, so when I explained my wishes to 中村先生, she was able to connection me to 末光先生 (Suemitsu-sensei), who is a private English tutor for young children.中村先生 called 末光先生 ahead of time to explain my situation, but I was also able to make the phone call and talk to 末光先生 myself, to ask if she would take me on as a teaching assistant. I really appreciated this initially process, because I was able to receive some assistance while also having some agency in pursuing my CIP.

末光先生 holds private English teachings at her house, where she and her sister live. Her sister teaches in arts and crafts, so not only is their home decorated beautifully, but the room dedicated to 末光先生’s lessons truly looks like a real classroom! They have visuals and posters of all kinds, games, calendars, abc and counting frames, and books in both Japanese and English for kids as young as kindergarden all the way through late middle school/early high school. I typically attend lessons once a week, for around 1-2 hours. The lessons I assist with are for two young girls, one 10 years old and the other 12. Transportation to and from my CIP is quite easy, as 末光先生’s house is close to Kitaoji Station, only 2 stops away from Imadegawa on the Karasuma line.

I have truly had the most wonderful time during this CIP. I very much enjoy the learning process, so having the opportunity to see and participate in these classes is such a privilege. Linguistically, seeing the way English is taught and experienced by native Japanese speakers is super interesting as well. Many of the materials 末光先生 uses are similar to what I used when I was younger, but seeing firsthand the small differences and approaches to how English is taught has been fascinating. There are many references to American culture that even 末光先生, someone who has studied English the majority of her life and even lived in the U.S. at one point, is puzzled by. I was usually able to shed some light on these elements, but sometimes even I was stumped as well!

The two young girls I worked with were shy at first, but quickly opened up after a few lessons, and we have now grown quite close. What surprised me most was how funny they are after getting more comfortable! We are often able to laugh about various things during our lessons, whether it is bizarre American culture references, the difficulties of grammar in both English and Japanese, or the events of our days. Something that definitely helped us feel closer was when we started to incorporate some more Japanese into our lessons. At first, 末光先生 only wanted me to speak English during the lessons, since it is important to have the exposure of a native speaker for any language learning process. However, 末光先生 also gave me many opportunities to practice Japanese, which helped with my confidence, and made the kids feel more comfortable as well. Before the lesson begins, I explain the events of my day and ask questions to the kids in English. At the end of the lesson, we normally do the same thing, but in Japanese. Also, 末光先生 will sometimes have me read short children’s books in English, but then repeat the same thing in Japanese.

I have also had the opportunity to speak Japanese at events outside of the lessons. For example, 末光先生 held an Oden Party, which was attended by myself, 中村先生, and a few of her students. We all ate oden while taking turns reading our book of choice to the group, all in Japanese. I read Urashimataro, and I was very nervous, but everyone was so kind and encouraging! Also, 末光先生 held a Halloween party, in which I met nearly all of her students and participated in a short skit of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Besides the reading of a short Halloween story, I spoke in Japanese to the children, which worked well, considering my level of Japanese is definitely still at elementary level. I found, also, that it is quite easy to get along with children even with a significant language barrier. Body language and overall demeanor carry much weight, and at the end of the day, many children just want to be around someone who will listen, which I more than happy to do.

Of all the good things to come of my CIP, I am perhaps most grateful for the relationship I have built with 末光先生. She is truly one of the kindest people I have ever met, and is inspiring both as a teacher and a human being. She and her sister have made me feel so welcome in their home, and even have me over for dinner from time to time. We have long conversations in a mix of English and Japanese, and they are endlessly patient with me as I try to match their very good English with my very poor Japanese. They are always excited to share all they know of Japanese culture, and ask many questions about America as well. This semester, KCJS was not able to have host families due to COVID-19 precautions. However, 末光先生 and her sister have made me feel a little bit of what that might have been like, to be so cared for and accepted in a way I did not expect. I encourage anyone who wishes to do a CIP in a classroom setting/working with kids to also engage with the adults in these roles as well; they are extremely passionate about what they do, are more than happy to share what they know with you, and you never know the bonds you may form along the way! My CIP experience is one I will cherish forever, and is definitely one of the most memorable aspects of my time in Japan.

Anson Alvarez: Kyoto University Board Game Club and Bazaar Cafe

投稿日時: 投稿者:

During my time at KCJS, I actually participated in two separate CIPs, although I had much greater success and enjoyment with the second one I joined.

My first CIP was the Board Game Club at Kyoto University.  I really enjoy playing board games with my friends and family at home, and when I saw on their Twitter that they played some games I was familiar with, I was excited to go try out some new games and get some Japanese practice in the process.  Unfortunately, it was not exactly what I had hoped for.  Firstly, this was more of a personal problem than anything, but the location I was living made the commute to and from Kyoto University incredibly inconvenient, and given that their meetings were held more in the evening, I always had to make sure I had enough time to go to the club and then make it home in time to do everything else I had to do for classes.  In addition, the other members of the club were rather untalkative for the most part, and even though they talked a bit more with one another, likely due to the fact that had known each other for longer and were in general more comfortable talking with people who spoke native Japanese, it was for the most part a rather quiet atmosphere, which was not very conducive to me getting in speaking practice.  By far the biggest issue was the language barrier issue, which, especially when it comes to explaining game rules, was a much bigger issue than I had anticipated it being.  There were a couple times when I would ask someone if they could please repeat something, and it was clear that they were a bit frustrated by my not being able to understand the first time.  Again, perhaps over time they might have gotten more comfortable with me and my language skills would have improved to the point where we could communicate more easily, but with the limited time I had and the general untalkativeness of the club members, I would only recommend this club if you absolutely love board games and have the confidence in your language skills enough to play them with Japanese natives.

After much deliberation and some searching of old CIP reports, I decided for the rest of my time here to settle on volunteering at Bazaar Café, a small café very close to Doshisha’s campus.  Prior to joining, I had actually visited this café once with some friends, and the relaxed atmosphere and friendly staff made me encouraged that this would work out much better than my previous CIP choice.  Sure enough, when I showed up the work for the first day, the other staff members were very kind in showing me what to do, and, best of all, they asked me a lot about myself, allowing me to get a good amount of Japanese practice in, while also being able to experience what goes on in the kitchen of a café.  I mentioned before that it was a fairly small and secluded café, and this meant that in general, there was never a big rush in the kitchen, creating a very casual and relaxed mood for me.  In between orders, I was able to chat with the other staff about their lives, and opposed to the game club, there was not nearly as much slang being used, making it much easier for me to understand.  If you have absolutely no idea what you want to do for your CIP in the future, I highly recommend Bazaar Café.  You get to see a bit of how a small café runs from the background, and you might not be getting paid for what you do, but the work is not at all difficult, and the language experience is more than worth it.

Lisa Morton: Intern at Misonou Lab

投稿日時: 投稿者:

For my CIP, I was lucky enough to volunteer as a research intern in the Misonou Lab at the Doshisha Graduate School of Brain Sciences. The lab focuses on the cell biology of neurons, specifically the nature of tau proteins and the role they play in the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease. The work being done in Misonou sensei’s lab is fascinating, and it was humbling to get to witness the day-to-day work that (I believe) will amount to life-improving findings. I primarily spent my time assisting two PhD students in the lab, and in them, I feel like I have found not only mentors and role models but true friends. Initially, our relationship was quite professional, but we bonded through the challenges and successes we shared in the lab. At first, I wondered if this bond I felt I shared with them was all in my head. I figured to them, I might be more of a burden than anything — that American intern who doesn’t understand any Japanese scientific terms and gets in the way more than she helps. A few weeks into interning, however, they began inviting me to hang out and explore Kyoto and Osaka on the weekends. Having afternoon tea in Osaka Castle park and admiring a lunar eclipse together with them have got to be some of my most treasured memories from all of KCJS. Misonou sensei once told me that he was excited to have me as an intern because he thought my “American friendliness” might help bring his busy grad students out of their shells. This was immediately hilarious to me as an introverted over-thinker, and I worried that I might let him down somehow. After all, the grad students were undeniably incredibly busy, and at first, were incredibly formal and serious. I now believe this to be less about them having shy personalities or them playing into Japanese social customs and more about the deep respect they have for each other and for the work at hand. This is something I truly admire and will take away with me as I continue my studies in America. Because this respect is something we all mutually shared (and because I may be undermining American stereotypes with my lack of outgoingness), our bond was slow to form but is deep. I am incredibly grateful for this. When I return to America, I hope to stay in touch with everyone in the lab, and even have plans to meet one of the grad students next year at a neuroscience conference!

Jesus Valdez: Ohara Junior High School Assistant English Teacher

投稿日時: 投稿者:

My CIP that I was given an opportunity to involve myself in was as an assistant English teacher as Ohara Junior High school in Ohara, which is 45 minutes north east of the Imadegawa campus. I am currently on my final semester of college and plan to try and go into english teaching in Japan when I graduate, because of this I wanted my CIP to involve some kind of teaching English. Getting into contact with the school was done mainly by the KCJS staff and Senseis so I was very lucky with that and because of that I had a very smooth transition to participating weekly. It was mainly through email and I was by myself for the first half but was joined by Jordan afterwards. The travel was not very bad as there were buses directly to the school from kokusaikaikan and then buses from Ohara to Kyoto station so it was very easy to head there. The travel there was also very worth it as you get to experience the Japanese mountainside which is a amazing experience as the quiet town of Ohara was small beautiful town that had quiet a few temples and amazing landscapes to visit.

My overall experience with the program was amazing. This was a middle school and because of that they had grades 1 through grades 9 there. I was told that I was going to be help teach a different class year each visit from grades 3 to 9. I had to create a self introduction to use for every class, which I constantly updated every visit to try and make it simple and easy as possible since I knew some class’ English was still very simple. The hardest part was trying to figure out and adjust to to how I had to talk when teaching different classes. Some classes I could speak a bit more complex, such as with the 9th grades but with the younger classes I had to throw in Japanese and speak very slowly and simple. I was originally worried about teaching a different class each time as I would not be able to go past self introduction with classes and get more natural experience teaching English in Japan. This however was a non issue a few weeks in. Me and Jordan were invited to stay for 2nd English period, which was always the 9th graders so we started to see them everyday. Because of these I got to experience more natural lessons with Japanese students and how they learned english and because of that I could understand how to help talk with the students as I went to each new class. It was also very fun to get to know the students as some students started to open up more to us as we went each week and talked to us about just random hobbies before and after class.

Every week it was very fun to see how the new classes reacted to us and how each of them was always very excited to see us come and talk to them. This was always  prevalent when I could find hobbies that I knew they also liked. Being able to connect with the students through stuff like games and anime was very exciting. They would always end up asking a lot of questions during class and after class to me that had to do with things they were interested in and how they were in America. They showed a lot of interest and it made it very fun and fulfilling for me.
The one unfortunate part is that you will not be using Japanese very often in this sort of CIP, as many of the teachers and students will always try and talk to you in English for their practice. There were a few times that I had to use Japanese for various reasons in and outside of class but they were few and far between. One of the main things that I got from this program was connections and future advice as I was able to talk to a American teacher that was also a English teacher there at the school. Almost every Japanese school apparently had assistant teachers and because of that you can make very important and close connections with your fellow English and non English teachers there.

Overall, If any future KCJS student has a passing interesting in teaching I would heavily recommend trying to find a CIP that lets you teach English. There are various options depending on how good you are with kids as well as options of private tutoring and public school settings. My opportunity was a very good window into Japanese English teaching for me in the future as I was able to get first hand experience while here and Japan as well as just experience the cultural difference that Japanese schools held. By the later part of the program I saw students before class during lunch and clean up time and they would always great me and ask questions to us, which always made me smile and happy I picked this CIP. Having the opportunity to teach as my CIP was a very great experience that I would recommend anyone else to do if they have interest or are able to, you will not regret it!

Blake Chaplin : Klexon Language Circle

投稿日時: 投稿者:

Website: https://www.klexon.net

To the ambitious, future KCJS students,

For my CIP, I have been attending the Klexon language circle, based out of the Kyoto women and gender centre (ウィングス京都). Klexon is a circle designed to help people improve their English and attracts a surprisingly wide array of people from across Kyoto. There were freshman, all the way to senior salarymen at the meetings, so it was a real opportunity to talk to a wide cross-section of Japanese society.

The language meetings are 2 hours long are generally split into 2 parts. The first half of the meeting consists of a ‘moving chair’ approach, where each member is given a sheet with a topic, and the goal of the activity is to collect names and opinions on the topic by speaking in English. These have varied massively, all the way from ‘international study’ to ‘failure’. People are generally receptive to the topic, though I have found that people tended to stray away from the negative ones, or talk about something else. This makes sense since many people will come to Klexon after working all day, and negative topics are often draining. I have been able to make relationships with some of the regulars, which has been rewarding, and had given me insight into the life and thoughts of local people. Though must of the CIP is conducted in English, understanding Japanese allows me to help people articulate their thoughts better, as I can work backwards from their thoughts.

The second half of the meeting is based around a group activity, where we are supposed to discuss the topic, as well as find out more information about each other. In my experience, this often derailed into us talking about each other or current events, as this was most interesting. Honestly I liked this part most, just because the group setting made it hard for the local Japanese people to translate keigo (敬語) into English, and so it made for more open dialogue and fun conversations. I honestly learnt a lot about Kyoto from this, and would recommend Klexon to anyone who is looking for friends and information about Kyoto, but might not have confidence to speak fully in Japanese.

Overall, I would recommend Klexon. What I learned from locals was interesting, and I think, if used correctly, could allow a lower-level Japanese speaker to integrate into Japan more than otherwise they would. (Meetings are also free for native Anglophones, and events are cheap to participate in!)

– ブルイク

 

 

 

Nnamdi Eze, Volunteering at the Muromachi Jidoukan

投稿日時: 投稿者:

This semester, I volunteered at the Muromachi Jidoukan for my CIP. Similar to what we would call in America an after-school center or a children’s center, a Jidoukan is a place where school-aged children stay after their classes are over but before their parents are finished working for the day.

I was initially interested in volunteering to work with children because I tutor after　school at a public middleschool as part of my workstudy scholarship in the US. Working with children is something I enjoy doing regardless, but it’s also a great way to familiarize yourself to a culture that might seem a little alien to you (and vice versa). 

Similar to my own experience as a newcomer to Japan, many of the children I worked with were also trying their best to figure out how to navigate the social situations they found themselves in. This dynamic was not only really fun and oftentimes silly, but also insightful to understanding the role of community and education in the raising of children in Japan.  Part of children’s education is the introduction of concepts of proper social behavior. Because I wasn’t yet accustomed to many of these social situations either, volunteering at the Jidoukan became an opportunity to learn and become accustomed to Japanese society in a hands-on fashion. For example, because everyone in my host family was already an adult, I wasn’t really familiar with how adults speak to children in Japanese. I was able to observe things like the difference in a child’s reaction when you give a command using the て form of a verb versus the なさい form. Moreover, it was fun and gratifying to build a bond with various children there. It was a process wherein I went from an outsider to understanding how I could fit into the environment of the Jidoukan.

The structure of a typical afternoon at the Jidoukan depends on the day of the week. Some days, the children are expected to work on their homework before being able to move onto more fun activities and games. On Wednesdays, the children would compete with each other or against their previous records with various skill-testing toys. For example, the children would take turns trying to see how many times they could juggle with the kendama. My role was to record the count in a special booklet that contained all of their records.

One particularly funny anecdote was that, since the pronunciation of my real name is unfamiliar to most people, I went by ピーター at the Jidoukan (Peter is my middle name, and I do the same at my workstudy job in America). As my bond with the children became stronger, second-grader jokingly called me ピーター君 instead of ピーター先生 or ピーターさん. I only realized this difference when I noticed the other children giggling, and I was happy that they felt comfortable around me enough to make those kinds of jokes with me. By the time I was done volunteering at the Jidoukan, my nickname among the kids was ピーターパン.

Working with the children was certainly the highlight of my experiences, but I was also able to participate in a lot of important interactions with the staff of the Jidoukan. Because they were all extremely kind and understanding, it felt like a low-stakes environment where I could practice more formal speech patterns that are necessary in everyday business in addition to gaining more experiences interacting with my own peers who had already entered the workforce. One of the employees at the Jidoukan was a young man about my age, and we had a lot of conversations about work, college, and job searching activities. Exchanges like this were valuable to me because they showed a little about the attitude that young Japanese people have towards important parts of their lives like career.

Overall, my time at the Jidoukan was one of the best experiences I had in Kyoto. To the children, I could just be a new, friendly face, and in return they made me feel part of the community there. My only regret is that I couldn’t spend more time with the children I had come to know, and that I couldn’t offer a proper goodbye. 

 

Brian Conwell: Volunteering at the Southern Kūjo Church Children’s Kitchen

投稿日時: 投稿者:

For my Community Involvement Project (CIP), I took the opportunity to volunteer in the Southern Kūjo Church Children’s Kitchen, or こども食堂, with fellow KCJS student David Massart. The essence of the Children’s Kitchen is giving free meals to children in the community and discounted meals to anyone else that needs them. Every Thursday from 5 pm to around 9 pm I helped serve meals, clean dishes, and clean up the cafeteria after all of the families and children had gone home. This was an extremely rewarding way to spend my Thursday evenings—I was always happy to see how many people the Children’s Kitchen helped, and it was always fun to work with the other young volunteers. In addition, I got to work under Pastor Baekki Heo who was hardworking, kind, and everything you’d want in someone you’re working under.

Manual labor was a big component of this CIP, which to me underscored the selflessness and generosity present in the community of volunteers who regularly gave up their Thursdays to make sure that their neighbors and friends were fed, safe, and treated with kindness. Most of the other volunteers at the Kitchen were high school or college students in Kyoto. Every day they came to volunteer with a smile and always eager to work hard—an aura that was infectious to me. Often, I would spend what felt like 15 minutes washing dishes and an hour would fly by. Although I wouldn’t ordinarily be so engaged in dish washing, with all of the hard studying I was doing through KCJS, the manual labor and constant social contact with other hardworking volunteers was a welcome break.

Volunteering at the Children’s Kitchen also taught me practical skills, from the traditional placement of food at a Japanese eatery to how a non-profit kitchen works in the first place. I hope to take these skills home to my parents—to my mom, who grew up in Japan, and my dad, who is an American but nevertheless is a keen appreciator of Japanese food. Maybe in the next couple of months while I am home in Alaska, I can impress them with a simple comfort food like salmon onigiri, made with fresh Alaska salmon!

I highly recommend working at the Children’s Kitchen to anyone who is interested in doing some really worthwhile volunteering. I believe I can best characterize my experience with this CIP as a case of witnessing ordinary people do extraordinary things every time I came to volunteer. In every meal made and every interaction with people coming to the Children’s Kitchen, there was a lot of thought put into making sure everyone was taken care of. After each day of volunteering was done, Pastor Baekki Heo led a meeting about how things could be improved upon for next time. There was always a good, productive discussion despite the tiredness of the end of the day and everyone closed by saying お疲れ様 (otsukaresama) and parting ways. It was always satisfying at the end of the day to know that you were able to help some people and give back to the community a little bit even as a visitor to Japan.

Even though our time in Kyoto was abruptly cut short, I feel like I squeezed every bit out of this experience volunteering. The volunteering sessions were long compared to other CIPs and there was always a lot of work to do, but I am supremely grateful to have been able to work at the Children’s Kitchen!

Elise Shuba: Volunteering at Mitsuba Kindergarten

投稿日時: 投稿者:

I chose to complete my CIP volunteering at a kindergarten nearby Doshisha campus. I would head over after lunch and play various games with the children. On the day I would go, I would arrive after the kindergarten’s planned activities and official classroom time had already ended, so at this time all of the children would be grouped together and allowed to play with whatever they wanted. Depending on the number of kids on that day, we would often move to a bigger room with more toys. This meant that the ages varied from 3 years old to 6, which can be a huge difference when the kids are that young, but they all played together very well.

When starting, I was worried that the kids would be shy or afraid to interact with me, but those fears were unfounded and I was happy that they became excited to see me as the visits went on. The kids assumed I knew Japanese, so they spoke fast and used some local slang to the point where I often had trouble understanding the older kids in the beginning. As time went on and I got used to the way children talk, it became easier for me to understand. One thing that was hard for me when I first started was distinguishing between a statement and a question, since they all used casual speech and I was not able to hear their intonation well. The kids taught me more than I expected to learn, and not only about casual Japanese (such as replacing ない with へん, or young kids referring to themselves by their names instead of using the word “I”), but also about the Japanese method of raising children. For example, the kindergarten staff stressed responsibility in the kids for things such as cleaning up their own lunch area, gathering their items when it was time to go, and also encouraging the kids to look out for each other and holding each other accountable for helping out. It is a different atmosphere from preschools I’ve been to before. That said, kids are kids and I had a fantastic time playing with them every week.

In addition to learning from the kids, I was able to experience a bit of a formal environment with the staff at the kindergarten, where I tried my best to use keigo with my superiors. It was fun to hear お疲れ様です at the end of my shifts and be able to say it back. For any future students, I recommend making sure that they enjoy their CIP and feel comfortable speaking and participating during it, because that active participation is what really makes it worth it. Initiating conversation with people I don’t know well is not something I typically do, but I found that people are generally enthused if you attempt to speak in Japanese, more so if you initiate first, so I encourage everyone to go out there and do their best. Unfortunately we were able to continue our CIPs for only about a month and a half, but it was something that I would regularly not have had the chance to partake in and am glad that I was able to take advantage of this opportunity.

Leo Chau: Volunteering (子ども食堂)

投稿日時: 投稿者:

My CIP was volunteering at Saint Mary’s Church’s Children soup kitchen with my good friend Alex. We would head over to the Church every Monday to help out for about two hours. We were originally tasked to help out in the kitchen by cutting ingredients and washing dishes. By the second time we went, we were instead redirected to play with and run around with the children. The actual period for serving food was 7 pm – 8 pm, but we came at about 6 pm, when kids started coming to the church. Every week we would end up playing with the children for about an hour, then help set up tables and eat the delicious food together! 

Instead of volunteering to help serve food to children, it really felt like I was volunteering to keep the kids entertained, which was really fun to do. When the kids played with us, they would speak Japanese too quickly and often with a Kansai accent. I wouldn’t understand them about half the time. One particular time, I asked one child to repeat what they said and they said it even faster to play with me. Being able to interact and communicate with the children was one of the best parts of my CIP and it made it extremely fun and enjoyable. With the energetic kids running around and playing with each other and the pastor and parents yelling at the kids to stop, it really made me think that young kids really do act the same no matter where you go.One big thing that I noticed when observing the children was that they would actually clean up by themselves after eating and would move back the table they ate on by themselves. It surprised me because that rarely happens in America. I feel that most children in America probably wouldn’t clean up unless their parents yelled at them to do so. Another cool thing that I was able to observe is the different kinds of games that kids play in Japan and how some games are basically the same in America, but named differently. For example, “onigokko” is basically just “tag”. Another cool thing that I was able to observe is the different kinds of games that kids play in Japan and how some games are basically the same in America, but named differently. For example, “onigokko” is basically just “tag”. Another cool thing that I was able to observe is the different kinds of games that kids play in Japan and how some games are basically the same in America, but named differently. For example, “onigokko” is basically just “tag”. 

Not only was interacting with the children fun, but it was also fun to talk with the other volunteers and the parents. I was able to feel how nice and caring everyone was. Learning about the backgrounds of each person was also very interesting! I was also able to learn new vocabulary and random knowledge from them! 

I feel that it was such an honor to be able to have been part of the church’s community, filled with caring and generous people. I wish I was able to help out more and were able to connect more with the members of the community. I especially wanted to connect more with the pastor of the church. During my last meeting with him before coming back to America, he brought us out to eat dinner and we talked a lot about religious things. But while he was driving me back home, I found out that he was also a big anime fan and I want to talk more about anime with him! It is a shame that my CIP activity was cut short. When I visit Japan again someday I will for sure make a stop at the church and say hi!

Jessica Weibrecht: Volunteering at Nico Nico Tomato (Kyodai Hospital)

投稿日時: 投稿者:

For my CIP I decided to participate in Nico Nico Tomato. Nico Nico Tomato is a volunteer organization that specializes in making grafts for the children at Kyoto University Hospital. The work is super meaningful and the dedication of all the volunteers is really amazing. 

This organization focuses mainly on crafts. However, the volunteers also program many events throughout the year for the children. However, the main focus for us KCJS volunteers is helping make the cards and other mementos to give the children. Over my near semester there I got to know a lot of interesting people as I volunteered. One thing I definitely picked up on was the situations of when to use Keigo and when not to use it. While speaking amongst ourselves everyone spoke casually. Some used -masu form others short, but that depended on how close they were in terms of their personal relations. 

Perhaps what stuck out to me the most while participating in this CIP was the differences between Kansai-ben and Tokyo-ben. At my university all of the professors are from the Tokyo area and thus speak Tokyo-ben. Even at KCJS the Japanese that was most prevalent amongst the staff and Senseis was Tokyo-ben. So walking into Nico Nico Tomato was the first time I really felt culture shock while in Japan. My listening comprehension skills were really put to the test. Not only is Kansai-ben extremely fast, but words are different as well as accents sometimes. (compare to different regional dialects in America) However, after a little while it wasn’t that bad anymore, and I also learned new words and phrases. This became especially interesting when listening to Japanese from different sources and suddenly being able to spot regional differences I would have otherwise missed. 

Another things I picked up on while volunteering are different customs I used to associate only with office related environments. For example, one of the older volunteers had been unable to attend for a week or two due to vacation. When she returned she brought back souvenirs for everyone and apologized for being gone. I also noticed that the Japanese attention to detail is much higher than the American one.

Perhaps the best advice I could give regarding Nico Nico Tomato is don’t be afraid to ask questions. They could be about anything ranging from clarification about instructions to questions aimed at getting to know your fellow volunteers. This way you will be able to get to know the other volunteers more quickly as well as learn new things. The room itself is quite small so you’ll end up spending quite a bit of time with new people in a smallish space. However, this environment is perfect for learning new things and getting to know new people. Sometimes there will be large chunks of time where no one is talking; instead everyone is amicably completing their own assigned tasks. During these times it’s completely your choice if you want to make small talk or let the silence continue, but personally I found those small pockets of silence to be very peaceful.