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

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

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

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

今学期、京都YWCAの子供のプログラムでボランティアをしています。YWCAは世界中の団体で、京都分団は日本人と外国人の女性のために色々なプログラムや支援を行っています。子供のプログラムというのは、働いている母親の子供が学校の終わりから夜まで来るところです。私は子供のキャンプやプログラムで楽しくボランテアをした経験があったし、女子大の学生としてYWCAの女性に対する活動に興味があるから、このようなCIPを探して、決めました。

毎週月曜日に３時から６時まで行きますが、YWCAは御所の隣にあるので同志社から歩けます。月曜日には１１歳の女の子と１０歳の男の子が来ていて、その二人の子供と一緒に遊びます。宿題をした後で、お菓子を食べて、話したり、おもちゃで遊んだり、本を読んだり、絵を描いたりします。私にとって日本語を練習するいい機会で、日本の子供の生活や教育についてたくさん学んでいます。そして、子供にアメリカの文化と英語がちょっと教えられます。男の子とはまだ知り合い程度ですが、女の子とは仲が良くなっています。今学期三人で楽しく勉強することができると思います。

I’ve long been interested in theater and am actively involved through campus groups and internships at home, so when I arrived in Kyoto I immediately sought out an opportunity to be involved in the performing arts here. Kyoto Experiment stood out to me for its contemporary, international focus, and I was grateful that they took me on as an intern based on past experience and my first Japanese resume and interview.

In New York I interned in an American performing arts department that used Japanese as a second language, so it was really fascinating to intern here for a Japanese performing arts department that used English as a second language. The goals and activities of the organization were similar, so I could generally infer what was going on, but I was constantly left wishing that I had a more thorough understanding of what everyone around me was doing. Unfortunately I struggled to balance my desire to ask questions and have conversations with the understanding that this was a professional work environment where I didn’t want to be a distraction or nuisance.

One of my primary activities was translating between English and Japanese for the website, artist submissions, emails, etc. The dictionary was my best friend, and at times I ended up having to translate poorly-written English profiles of dance performances inspired by cannibalism to Japanese, but overall it was great practice and a useful learning experience. Generally the staff had positive feedback towards my work, but an interesting dynamic emerged concerning their desire to constantly check and edit my English, even though their knowledge of English was not strong (despite this being an international festival with almost all information bilingual, I failed to ever find someone on the staff who was really fluent in English and responsible for other translations). At times there would be opportunities for a back-and-forth where they could edit my content and I could brush up the language, but in other cases I wasn’t consulted, and later found my translations edited for the worse. However, I wasn’t surprised by my superiors’ constant desire to review every detail, and I observed that it applied not only to me but to senpai/kohai interactions across the staff. In the end I am proud to have some of my translations (only slightly edited) published on their website.

I would have liked more opportunities for conversation and interaction during my time at CIP, but unfortunately the office was usually quiet and oriented towards independent work, especially after the festival performances ended in late October. I was able to learn a bit about Japanese office culture, particularly linguistic variations depending on position and age. For example, I was able to observe different greetings when someone enters the office and thanks when someone leaves, and the difference between my supervisor’s in-group language (occasionally tending to be more informal towards kohai, especially in chatting situations) and the very formal language she used towards outside parties in phone conversations. I was also able to observe interactions between staff members and patrons at performances, which I found more polite than in the U.S., and had the authentic experience of saying いらっしゃいませ hundreds of times.

All in all the setup of my CIP did not lend itself to many opportunities for ethnography, and I wish that my Japanese language skills had allowed for a more fruitful experience, but I think interning for Kyoto Experiment was a great opportunity to be involved here in Japan in a field that I’m passionate about. I am thankful to have met a community of people with similar interests, for the challenging but rewarding work translating, to have seen (for free) some crazy performances, and to have gained professional experience and connections related to intercultural arts that will hopefully benefit me in the future.

私はCIP として KYOTO EXPERIMENT 京都国際舞台芸術祭でボランティアをしています。演劇に興味があって、舞台芸術部で働いた経験あるから、演劇に関する活動を探して、KYOTO EXPERIMENT を見つけました。９月２７日から１０月１９日にかけて、世界中から来たとても近代的で、斬新奇抜な芝居とダンスのプログラムが十、行われました。また、講義やワークショップや美術展や催しというように色々な付随のイベントも行われました。

パフォーマンスは京都中で行われましたが、KYOTO EXPERIMENT の事務所は京都芸術センターにあります。フェスティバル中に一週間に二回ぐらいそこに行って、ボランティアをしました。日によって活動が違いましたが、普通ホームページを日本語から英語に翻訳したり、パフォーマンスで表方として働いたり、パフォーマンスを見たり、事務的なことをしたりしました。フェスティバルが終わったばかりなので、これからは一週間に一回ボランティアに行って、活動もちょっと変わります。フェスティバルのパフォーマンスの期間は一か月だけですが、一年中そのための準備をしているから、今から新しい経験ができるのを楽しみにしています。

The more I volunteered at the YWCA, the more I came to like it. I wanted to help out at an organization that supports women, and the YWCA allowed me to do just that. There are various ways you can volunteer at the YWCA, ranging from assisting with event organization to answering phones on the women’s crisis hotline. Although I did spend an evening at the crisis center, where I learned about some of the more prevalent problems (including domestic violence, abandonment, and employment issues) that women in Japan— particularly, non-Japanese women —face, I ended up choosing to volunteer in the after school childcare program. This program facilitates free childcare to whoever needs it, and even provides meals in the event that the parent needs to work late.  Simply knowing that the service was so necessary was fulfilling.

My favorite part of the experience, however, was definitely hanging out with Chinatsu-chan. During my time there, Chinatsu-chan was the only kid who showed up regularly. Usually, another volunteer and I made sure she did her homework, then passed the time with games or letting her read borrowed manga. I loved hearing her chat about school life and her friends. It taught me a little bit about what the Japanese school system is like from a student’s perspective— from having to clean the classroom to playing surprisingly complicated hand games for the sake of becoming 仲がいい. Moreover,  a lot of her stories were pretty hilarious. She was very energetic, though, so it was occasionally hard to keep up with her. Once, in an attempt to channel her energy, I tried to teach her a bit of kung-fu. It was definitely memorable. As someone interested in teaching English in Japan after graduation, I’m very grateful to have had this experience, but I would recommend volunteering here to anyone with an interest in a laid-back way to be involved in a close-knit community, or working in an environment that supports women.

私はCIPで女性を支援する組織でボランティアがしたかったです。先生に考えていただいて、京都市Young Women’s Christian Association でボランティアをすることになりました。同志社大学からYWCAまで歩けますから、距離からするとYWCAはとても便利です。YWCAでボランティアしたい人はいろいろなことができるんですが、私は放課後に子供の世話をすることにしました。一週間に、二回子供と勉強したり、お菓子を食べたり、遊んだりします。

今月は、子供がちょっと少ないですが、普通は私は千夏という女の子と 遊んだりします。たまに千夏ちゃんはちょっと分かりにくいですが、いつも元気で一緒に楽しみます。他のボランティアもいます。YWCAの ディレクターは私が留学生だと分かったら 、優しいディレクターは他のボランティアに私と日本語で話すようにを頼んでいただきました。そんなに難しくないですが、この無料サービスはお金や時間がない母親にとって必要ですから、いい経験だと思います。