I have been volunteering at Nico Nico Tomato for the last four months, which is a volunteer organization based out of Kyoto University hospital. My time volunteering is usually divided between working with small children in a playroom within the hospital or spent organizing materials for fundraisers, events, and sometimes making presents for the pediatric staff. The work itself is fun and interesting, but I also enjoy observing the day-to-day operations of one of Kyoto’s largest inner city hospitals.

There were two approaches I took when participating in my CIP; the first was the “official” reason I was there: to experience Japanese in a setting besides my classroom or homestay, in which I think the volunteer work was an interesting and worthwhile setting and let my Japanese language skills develop more naturally. The second approach I took was from the perspective of a pre-medical student observing the operations of a hospital as somewhat of an insider, an opportunity I hadn’t had yet, but one crucial for any pre-med student’s application to medical school.

The last few times I visited Nico Nico Tomato, I have spent the first forty-five minutes or so folding pamphlets, estimating the prices of small toys to be sold for a fundraising “café,” or sticking stamps onto envelopes, all while chatting with the volunteers, who are mostly housewives. I often find myself listening to their conversations more than I participate in them, but as time has progressed in the semester, I’ve noticed that I comprehend a lot more than I initially did. I see this time as good practice for listening and speaking, and it’s usually pretty relaxing as well.

After a certain time or when I’ve finished my job, I’ll go down to the playroom on the floor below and hang out with the kids. I like to think of that as a more rigorous Japanese practice, but I normally am having too much fun to really focus on the language like how I do in a classroom, and rather more how I consider it when talking to friends or my host family. I also always get to bring a thing I made home as well, which is always nice.

I honestly never expected my CIP to be as enjoyable as it eventually became; the first few times I visited the hospital were tiring, too hot, and, on account of not a small lack of confidence in my language ability, quite stressful. However, the hours I put in conversing with the volunteers in the staff office and children in the playroom quickly paid off and I think my listening ability became much stronger as a result.

For the latter half of the semester, I decided to try volunteering at a local nursery school, since I thought it might be a good opportunity to practice my Japanese speaking and listening skills in a relaxed environment. As might be expected, things were a little awkward at first. For one, I struggled a lot to understand anything the kids said. It’s hard enough for me to understand small children babbling in my native language, let alone in Japanese. On top of that, I was not very experienced in dealing with kids in general, so even without the language barrier, I sometimes had trouble figuring out how to interact with them properly.

The good thing about working with kids, however, is that they’re pretty interested in you regardless. For them, it’s very rare to interact with a foreigner, so everything about you in generally fascinating. Without really trying, I came to be pretty well liked, and often had various kids asking me to play with them. I feel like this is really one of the strong points of volunteering with children; while adults, especially in a business setting, can be difficult to approach, kids are much less intimidating and much more inclusive. I was really surprised to find that the kids were pretty willing to explain words you don’t know, and were never too put out if you don’t completely understand them. Because of that, I feel like I was really able to learn a lot about Japanese language that I wouldn’t get from just a classroom experience.

It can be comforting, too, to realize that Japanese children are not so different from us when we were kids. They entertain themselves in many of the same ways I did when I was little, like playing house. Of course, there are certain cultural differences; for example, it took me a while to learn some of the cartoons they like. Really, though, that’s just another part of the fun. As I got to know them better, I became more easily able to relate with them, and all of the awkwardness I felt originally vanished.

All and all, I found that volunteering at the daycare was a very non-stressful way to interact with the Japanese community, and get an interesting glimpse of modern Japanese life. While I had some minor issues at first, overcoming them became a great learning opportunity. Being able to understand the kids’ speech and getting a sense for how to speak properly with them really provided a boost in the listening and speaking area of Japanese that I had always really struggled with. If you’re looking for a CIP that’s both meaningful and fun, I really recommend it.

It was a great experience working at Impact HUB Kyoto with the other KCJS students and HUB staff over this semester. Impact HUB Kyoto is a place where creative people gather and work on different programs that connect and inspire people. At HUB, I mainly worked as a translator to translate event blogs, instructions and flyers from Japanese to English.

The working environment in Impact HUB could not be better, as it is located in a traditional Japanese style building where there is a bamboo forest in the yard, a Noh stage and tatami rooms on the second floor. At the beginning of the semester, we had a couple of meetings where we got to know different HUB members and had a general idea about how HUB works. We were also individually interviewed on our background and specific things we were interested in. I chose to do the translation along with another KCJS student Baylee, as translation from Japanese to English is a good practice of my language skills outside the class.

Aside from the translation work, we were also welcomed to attend any of the HUB events. I participated in an event about Shugendo, a combination of Shinto and Buddhism, during which I took photos and shot videos. Even though the guest speaker’s words were difficult to understand, as the event was related to religions, one of the HUB staff, Eri-san, was interpreting for us for the whole time. I would not have been able to understand everything without her help. After the event, I was also asked to write my thoughts on the event.

Translating from Japanese to English is a huge challenge for me, as it is difficult to find equivalent words in English (sometimes it is even impossible). When I started out translating, I had a hard time understanding the meaning of some long sentences in the blog, and I turned to the HUB staff for help. When I finished translating one article, HUB staff would go over it and then post it online. It was a great pleasure seeing your own translation work on their website. Even though translation was very time-consuming, and  it was easy to get bored, HUB has always been a place to relax. It was an unforgettable experience overall.

It is worth mentioning that every week we had a general meeting that basically lasted  for an hour and half. During the meeting, there was a “check-in” part and a “check-out” part, both of which were a good opportunity to share with the other interns and HUB staff about school lives, personal experiences in Kyoto, etc. I appreciate that HUB staff were patiently listening to my talks, even though sometimes I was too nervous to think about anything interesting to say. Whenever I had questions or I wanted to ask for permission, I got to practice oral Japanese in different occasions. Even though every week I spent about five hours working at HUB Kyoto, I think it was worth time and effort doing it.

Upon hearing about KCJS’ CIP requirement, I found myself struggling with 2 possible choices. The first was to pursue my interests and seek some kind of personal project; examples being to learn a form of Japanese craft such as an instrument or Karate or something along those lines, and the other being to pursue an opportunity that would be help me in finding a job after college. I decided upon the latter, participating in Impact HUB Kyoto. What initially drew me to HUB was the laid-back environment and overall emphasis on being a self-starter. This did not change throughout the semester, as the laid-back environment and encouragement of pursuing individual interests and projects did not cease to exist. As an example, I initially started on a Facebook/social media project where I would supplement HUB Kyoto’s Facebook page with my own page in English. However, after a period of research, I had second thoughts pertaining to the practicality of such a project, and instead, worked on translating newsletters from Japanese into English. The flexibility and encouragement permeating through HUB was a huge positive for me, as it allowed me to pursue projects related to my interests; social media marketing and translation, whilst volunteering under an entrepreneurship network that could help me out in the future, as far as finding work.

On the topic of the HUB network, another aspect that greatly interested me was the overall atmosphere and manner in which HUB is run. Because its members are so laid-back and emphasize self-starting, HUB stands in firm contrast to my image of a stereotypical Japanese business. One characteristic of culture shock I have experienced is how intense Japanese working ethics and culture is, and after being involved with HUB for a period of time, I am very happy to see that although the Japanese salaryman life is not particularly all fun and games, there are always exceptions, of which is exemplified by HUB. Granted, HUB is a worldwide network of entrepreneurs, however it is encouraging to know that if I were to absolutely want to try and pursue opportunities in Japan in the future, I am not necessarily confined to the never-ending hustle of a typical Japanese corporation.

Overall, I am happy to have been involved with HUB Kyoto. There have certainly been times where it felt like actual work as opposed to a fun way to get involved in the Kyoto community, but in retrospect the opportunities to pursue projects such as social media marketing in a Japanese context and translation work, as well as the experience of feeling the positive community of HUB first-hand are truly an invaluable experience for me. If my time in Kyoto had been longer, and my schedule was not so confined by school and the home-stay, I feel as if HUB would had been exactly the kind of opportunity I was looking for, as far as doing something fun and productive in Japan for an indefinite period of time.

私はCIPでImpact Hub Kyotoという団体でボランティアしました。HUBは何か達成したい信条を持っている人のコミュニティです。HUBでは、その信条を果たすのを手伝うために、色々な面白い人に会ったり、新しい事をならったり、助力を貰ったり、協力をしたりできます。

私と一緒に働くメンバーはエリさんとトモアツさんです。他のKCJSの学生もHUBでボランティアしています。エリさんとトモアツさんは私たちの色々なプロジェクトについて教えてくださいます。私のプロジェクトはニュースレッターのデザインを作ることでした。

それから、一ヶ月に一回、ボランティアでHUBのイベントに行かなければ行けません。それで、先週の金曜日にHUB Kitchenというイベントに行きました。そのイベントはHUBのコミュニティのメンバーの新しい本の出版を祝うためでした。そこで面白い人にたくさん会いまし た。同志社大学生と友だちになって、ザ・ラスト・サムライのガイドも会いました！すごく楽しかったです。

CIPのHUBの経験はとても楽しかったです。HUBのコミュニティにも京都のコミュニティにも接することができて嬉しいです。

一ヶ月頃前、京都大学病院でニコニコトマトという組織で毎週水曜日ボランティアとして働き始めました。京都大学病院は鴨川の東側の今出川と四条のちょうど真ん中にあります。病院はその地域の一画の全部で、６階建てのすごい建物です。病院自体は四階建ての三十七の診療科がある病院で、しかもレストランとカフェも入っており、全体で一区画になっています。病院の雰囲気はビジネスライクでいつも込んでいます（でも、駅の混雑ほどという訳ではない）。医療に興味があると言っても、行き始めた時はすごく緊張していました。

京都大学病院でニコニコトマトのプレイルーム

しかし、四階の小さくて可愛いトマトのマスコットが貼ったドアを開け一歩入ったら、そのビジネスライクな雰囲気がすぐなくなってしまいます。たいてい来るボランティアは主婦で、皆いつも優しくて世話をしてくださる人です。ボランティアの係りの河合さんはいつもいて、その人はその日の予定を教えるくれ、三階にあるプレイルームで荒井さんという、子供に教えるのが上手な自然科学の先生を手伝いながら子供達と遊びます。プレイルームに行かない時、ニコニコトマトの普通の活動は募金活動のための商品を整理したり、 休日のスタッフのためにプレゼントを作ったりします。ボランティアをしたかったら、ニコニコトマトはいい場所で、私も再来週の行くのを楽しみにしています。

ニコニコトマトのホームページ