「Volunteering」カテゴリーアーカイブ

Nnamdi Eze, Volunteering at the Muromachi Jidoukan

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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

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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

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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)

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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)

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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.

Christof Ketchmark: Assistant English Teacher

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For my CIP, I volunteered at 末光先生’s home as an assistant English teacher working with elementary school and middle school students. Every week, I would arrive to 末光先生’s house before the lesson to speak with her about what we would be doing that day, as well as just talking and getting to know each other better.

During the lessons, there would often be opportunities for me to answer questions that the students had for Americans. At first, I feel like it was difficult to know what the right speaking pace would be for the students, as well as what kind of vocabulary might be a bit difficult for them to understand, but I gradually got more confident. It was definitely easier with the older students as they had been studying English for longer. In general, I think it was really beneficial to be able to see how children speak to each other in Japanese as generally speaking, there aren’t many opportunities as a student to do that.

Something I really got an appreciation for was how despite Japanese having a reputation for being an ambiguous, context-based language, the same can often be true of English, making it a similarly difficult language. One of the lessons involved going over the song Beauty and the Beast from the movie of the same name and it wasn’t as straightforward as I thought, as at points I really had to wonder what actually was meant by this line or that line.

I also think it was interesting to see how foreign language education differs in Japan. The materials were somewhat similar in the sense that children use very child-oriented textbooks that, in the case of a couple of the middle school students I worked with, they might feel they’ve outgrown, but the materials felt very similar to what I used in middle school when learning Chinese. That being said, there was greater emphasis on using Japanese to explain what something means whereas in my American foreign language classes, Chinese and Japanese at all levels, there was greater emphasis on using the language in order to answer content based questions to show understanding.

Overall, it was a very valuable experience and I regret that I wasn’t able to participate more before the program was ended.

Mira Gordon: Town Revitalization in the Kyoto Countryside

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For my CIP, I participated in two different groups that work on 町おこし, or town revitalization, in the countryside outside of Kyoto. One of the groups was the Nantan Regional-Revitalization Cooperative, where I shadowed their young farming representative, Yoshida-san. The other group was the Kyoto Seika University Takarasagashikai, a student circle that works revitalizing the town of Utsu, in the northern countryside of Kyoto, under the supervision of Humanities Professor Tamura sensei. As I was participating in two different groups, I alternated visiting one group per week, sometimes visiting both in the same week. Combining my CIP with my independent research on Japanese town revitalization, I used it as an opportunity to conduct ethnographic fieldwork by meeting and talking with a variety of people involved in such efforts.

Because of the multi-faceted nature of my CIP, every day was different. On the days that I participated in the Nantan Regional-Revitalization Cooperative, I would take the JR train about half an hour outside of Kyoto to Sonobe, Nantan. There, Yoshida-san would pick me up and tell me the day’s activities. Yoshida-san’s farming specialty is sweet potatoes, so one day I helped him bury last year’s leftover sweet potatoes, in order to form new sprouts for this year’s crop. He also took me to meet one of his neighbors, a farmer who has kindly welcomed Yoshida-san into the Nantan community and given him a lot of practical farming advice. One day Yoshida-san took me to an 朝市, or morning market, which functions both as a farmer’s market and community gathering space. There I had the incredible opportunity to chat with and interview several community leaders, and witness 炭焼き, traditional charcoal-making, in action. For the Seika University Takarasagashikai, I attended two club meetings, and also visited Utsu’s morning market once. One thing I really enjoyed about the Takarasagashikai was having the opportunity to interact with students my age. The club had a casual and fun atmosphere, and there was a lot of joking and chatting as we put together an informational pamphlet about their club and planned activities and games to play with the kids of Utsu at an upcoming retreat.

Overall, I was blown away by the warmth and welcome I received from everybody I met. Though neither group had ever had an exchange student participant before, both Yoshida-san and Tamura sensei worked to accommodate me and kindly found me many opportunities to talk to different people. Thus, through my CIP I had the chance to use Japanese in a variety of settings with people of all different ages, some of whom had strong regional dialects. It was incredibly special to be able to get different local people’s perspectives on the declining countryside population, and hear what they think can be done about it. Another thing I valued about my CIP was that it enabled me to get out of the city and enjoy the breathtakingly beautiful mountains and forests of the surrounding countryside. 

Even for those who aren’t researching town revitalization, I would highly recommend the Nantan Regional-Revitalization Cooperative to anybody who wants the opportunity to experience the Japanese countryside, and I would recommend the Takarasagashikai to anybody who wants to interact with a very fun group of college students. Though it was cut short, my CIP was hands down the best part of my study abroad in Kyoto.

Sean Corley: Volunteering at Muromachi Jidokan

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For my CIP, I volunteered at Muromachi Jidokan, an after-school care center for elementary school students. I was interested in volunteering here because I have previously mentored children through a program at my university, as well as at home in New Jersey. At the Jidokan, my role was to help students with their homework and to play games with them once they were finished.

I was initially daunted by the idea of helping students with their homework. I was not confident enough in my own language skills to be able to explain how to solve math problems or other homework questions in Japanese. Moreover, I often found it difficult to understand the students when they were speaking. I had been used to hearing adults speak in Japanese during my school instruction, but I did not have much practice with listening to young kids, who sometimes mumble or say words incorrectly. Thus, interacting with the kids at Muromachi became a great language experience for me. I learned how to understand the kids when they spoke and how to communicate my own thoughts to them in a way that they could understand. For instance, during one of my visits to the Jidokan, a first-grade student asked me for help with her math homework, in which she had to read the time on different images of analog clocks. I had forgotten how to say “hour hand” and “minute hand,” so I explained them as “the short one” and “the long one” instead. Even though I didn’t use the correct words, the student understood what I was explaining to her, and she was able to figure out the rest of her homework. I was happy to find that her and other students began asking me more and more for help with their homework, as they started to see me as a teacher instead of a temporary volunteer. 

One of the best moments of my time at Muromachi Jidokan was when the students finally referred to me as “Sean-san” instead of “gaikokujin sensei,” or “foreigner-teacher.” During my first few visits, I always pointed to my name tag to remind the students of my name, but it didn’t seem to stick, and most of them continued to call me “gaikokujin sensei.” A few weeks in, the students started to call me “Sean-san” all of a sudden. Although I found it funny when the kids called me “foreigner-teacher,” it was nice to finally be seen not as a foreigner, but as a part of the community. 

I really enjoyed my time volunteering at Muromachi Jidokan. I will miss going in on Tuesdays and seeing the kids get excited that I was there again. They were all so friendly, funny, and full of energy that I left the Jidokan smiling every week. I recommend the Muromachi Jidokan to any future KCJS members who are looking for an exciting and rewarding volunteering experience.

Jannel Lin: Volunteering at Mitsuba Kindergarten

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My CIP is to volunteer in a kindergarten called みつば幼稚園. My experience at the kindergarten playing with kids is definitely memorable and treasurable to me. I chose to engage in volunteering activity in a kindergarten because I always loved to play and talk with little kids. As a foreigner and also with my level of Japanese proficiency, I always feel that other Japanese university students of my age are nervous or even slightly scared to engage in conversations with me. Also, since Japanese people are known for their modesty and politeness, they are not so likely to correct me when I make mistakes in Japanese. However, kids tend to be more straight forward and they always talk to me in the most-casual way of speech in Japanese, which I enjoy talking with them a lot.

Before I engaged in this CIP activity, I expected kids to be speaking in really simple, easy Japanese, and I most likely would be able to understand most part of what they are saying. But I was wrong! I realized that kids tend to talk really fast, and they always ask なんで、どうして、なぜto everything I say, which I find it really funny. For instance, they asked why my hair is brown? Why do I have accent when speaking Japanese? My task in the kindergarten was basically to play with the kids, literally just to PLAY with them. In this process, I was able to practice my Japanese a lot from talking with them. It was an interesting experience to be a 「先生」at the kindergarten. Everyone in the kindergarten calls me ゆいせんせいthere. Although the kids call me sensei, I can tell that they see me more like a big sister or friend from the way they talk and play with me. It is funny that the kids actually do not understand the fact that I am a 外国人. Since I am not fluent in Japanese, I make mistakes a lot and my Japanese has accent. Whenever I say something wrong in Japanese, the kids will always correct. I remember having a hard time to say ケチャップin its right Japanese intonation, and a kid made me pronounce the word again and again till I can say it perfectly. I was questioned of my strange Japanese intonation once by a kid, who asked なぜ発音そんなにおかしいの、外国人みたい！That was very funny but it truly made my day. I recommend this CIP activity a lot because you get help for Japanese from young 先生達 a lot even though you are actually the “teacher.” The kids were never hesitant with correcting my mistakes, and I really love my experience with this CIP.

I definitely learned a lot from this CIP experience and was also able to make wonderful memories that I will take with me forever. It is indeed important to find a CIP that you truly enjoy. Although CIP is part of the curriculum’s requirement, it should never be something that adds up to your burden or stresses you. In fact, CIP should be something that you find joy doing it. When searching for a CIP, know what your passion is and what is something that always gives you a good time. Simply enjoy your time with the community involved in your CIP! Although our time in Japan is limited but the experience and relationships that we build though CIP is timeless.

Sirin Trinetkamol: Volunteering at Kyoto Animal Center

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For my CIP, I volunteered at the Kyoto ani Love Animal Shelter for cats and dogs. Since this was the first time KCJS students volunteered at the shelter, Nakata-sensei went along with me and another student during our first visit to the shelter. Since I got to volunteer alongside another student, it made the first few sessions a lot less daunting.

During the first session, the staff members gave me a presentation which explained the purpose of the shelter, the situation of stray or abandoned cats and dogs in Kyoto, the laws that the shelter has to follow, and how the shelter generally operates. I also got to discuss how the situation and shelter differs in the U.S. and in Taiwan and ask any lingering questions I had. Despite the abundance of new words that I haven’t learned at that point, the presentation itself was easy to follow. During the following volunteer sessions, the volunteer work I did at the shelter was similar to those of a normal animal shelter although a lot less taxing. I got to take the dogs on a walk, teach them to follow orders such as ‘stop’ and ‘wait’, and help the staff members groom them. Most of these activities involved giving them treats as rewards. The staff member was always there with me to help guide me through each volunteer work. I also had a chance to play with the cats and help the staff members clean their cages. My favorite part was that I got to bathe and groom one of the puppies at the shelter and help him become familiar with interacting with humans (since he was born as a stray dog). It was amazing to watch the dogs’ progress (e.g. in following orders) and to watch the puppies grow over the weeks I was there.

I was surprised by the amount of hospitality shown by the staff at the shelter. They were very welcoming and friendly. After the volunteer work was done each day and during the breaks, I had a chance to talk with the staff members. It was during these moments that I became much closer to them and this made it easier to work with them. I felt slightly bad that the staff members kept providing me with snacks and drinks since sometimes it made me feel like I was more of a guest than a volunteer. Nonetheless, it was during these moments that I got to learn new Japanese words related to the volunteer work. Many of the staff members had chosen to work at the shelter out of their love for cats and dogs.

Overall, I enjoyed the time I spent at Kyoto ani Love Animal Shelter and I feel truly grateful to have had the opportunity to volunteer there. If I have the chance to visit Kyoto again in the future, I will definitely drop by the shelter to visit the staff members and the dogs and cats there again. If you love animals or you’re missing your pets at home then this is a great CIP that I recommend.