「KCJS Year」カテゴリーアーカイブ

Sara Hirade: Calligraphy Lessons

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Every Monday, two other KCJS students and I take calligraphy classes near Shimogamo-jinja, which is only a ten-minute bike ride away from Doshisha.

At first, I had some difficulty choosing a CIP. I knew I wanted to participate in something traditionally Japanese and artistic where I could bring home some of my work, but I was not sure on what to do. After talking with my host mother about my concerns, she suggested that I try calligraphy classes. Her friend is the teacher, and KCJS students have enjoyed her classes in the past. My host mom then introduced me and the other KCJS students who wanted to participate to sensei. We arrived at her house, armed with omiyage and got started right away. Sensei provids us with all the materials necessary to participate, as well as tea and snacks at the end of the lesson. Each week we practice one or two kanji, while sensei advises us and corrects our work. Once we are familiar with the kanji we have been practicing, we write a final version on beautiful, high-end paper, which sensei is kind enough to let us use.

I was a little nervous when I began the calligraphy classes. My handwriting is not very neat and I have very little experience with painting. I had done some calligraphy in the past, but would not consider myself to be any good at it. However, these concerns quickly evaporated as soon as I met sensei and began the lessons. She taught us all the terms for the materials, explained the proper technique for holding the brushes, and demonstrated the best posture and how our bodies should feel when we do calligraphy. However, I learned more than just what calligraphy is or how I can make my kanji look better. Sensei gave me another perspective on the importance of paying attention to details in Japanese society. For example, when writing sideways lines in a kanji, the line should rise slightly up as it goes from the left-hand side of the page to the right. This allows for space to open up within the character itself and provides a better balance on the page. Once I started writing my kanji with this in mind, they started to look cleaner and nicer. On my own, I never would have paid attention to such a small detail. I soon began to notice a similar focus on detail in other parts of Japanese culture, that I had overlooked before these calligraphy classes. For instance, in many crowded areas, there are signs that clearly mark which side of the street visitors should walk on so that there is no confusion. A detail that the architects and designers could have easily overlooked, but didn’t, allows for a natural and easy flow that you do not always see in the busy areas of other countries.

I highly recommend sensei’s calligraphy classes to anyone who is interested in traditional Japanese arts. The only regret I have is that we only got to meet for 10 weeks. Sensei is incredibly knowledgeable in different calligraphy styles as well as other traditional Japanese arts (she is a ceramicist and made the plates and cups that she serves our post-lesson tea in) and is always so excited to share this knowledge with study abroad students. She also always checks in with us to make sure that we are understanding everything that she says and does her best to translate Kansai-ben into hyoujun-go when we have questions about it. Her prices for KCJS are very generous, unlike some traditional art classes in Kyoto. She also has great recommendations for where to go see sakura trees around Kyoto!

Sonia Steinmann: Bazaar Cafe

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Volunteering as Bazaar Cafe was a rewarding experience that allowed me to practice my Japanese, meet people, and get a glimpse of a Japanese working environment. As an attempt to integrate into a corner of Japanese society, it proved to be both fulfilling and challenging.

Bazaar Cafe is a small cafe situated in the back of a house, only a short walk from campus. The visitor passes through the side of the house into the backyard, where the cafe opens out into a garden. Becoming a volunteer was as simple as showing up one day with a friend who had already been volunteering. The work I have been doing during my weekly visits hasn’t been very rigorous, involving, essentially, translating the menu, washing dishes, and putting things in their proper place.

What I would soon find was that the atmosphere of Bazaar Cafe was extremely relaxed and casual. I only arrived at this opportunity after trying and failing to get another, at a non-profit. Whereas applying to a Japanese company had required communications in keigo and a resume in accordance with regulations, Bazaar Cafe has allowed me to experience a very different kind of Japanese-language environment. I quickly found that my use of polite (desu-masu) form was excessively formal. Having absorbed strict rules of politeness and discretion through Japanese language class, I now had to learn how to communicate in this casual environment.

While I am usually working in the back of the cafe, a recent evening of performance art brought me into contact with the customers, as I collected used cups and answered questions about the night’s performances. As most volunteers were not in attendance, it was only me, the owner, and two other employees. At the end of the performances, the organizer took a moment to thank the cafe for releasing the space, and I naturally bowed with the rest of the employees and spoke a few words about how interesting it had been. It was during this evening that I felt most integrated into the Bazaar workplace environment, and like a member of Bazaar Cafe.

I would therefore encourage students to look for a CIP not only based on the type of work, but also the environment. Although the non-profit I had initially applied to aligned more closely with my interests, the loose environment of Bazaar Cafe was ultimately a better fit and more fulfilling, even if washing dishes sounds less than exciting. Applying to the non-profit, while ultimately not successful, was also a highly instructive experience in communicating with potential employers in Japanese, and I would encourage others not to be discouraged by the idea of reaching out for opportunities in Japanese. Overall, Bazaar Cafe has been an unforgettable part of my study abroad experience.

Joey Ye: Bouldering

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For my CIP this semester, I did bouldering at a local bouldering gym in Shijo. Last semester I did ping pong, but I quickly realized that competitive sports like ping pong do not make great environments for trying to sustain extended conversations since everyone is focusing on the game. Bouldering, on the other hand, is a great way to talk to people and make new friends each time. Besides the fact that I really enjoy bouldering and physical exercise, the environment itself is really great for making conversation. Most of the time I would not have to try myself to initiate conversation as people are usually trying to cheer each other on as they watch others climb. It does not matter how good you are if you are a complete stranger, there will always be someone encouraging you with the occasional “ganba!” and “nice!” Whether or not you make it to the top, once you come down from the wall you can easily go to the person and strike up conversation by thanking them for their encouragement or asking them what they think would be the best way to climb the course.

Vice versa, you can of course flip the scenario and be the one who is cheering others on and initiating conversation that way. However, this of course depends on their receptiveness and if they want to talk to you after they finish the course. Personally, I find it much easier to ask someone who just did a course that you are working on how they did it, and if they have any tips on how to do it. I’ve made most of my friends this way, and once you get used to the interactions after a week or two, it becomes easy to make new friends each time you go. The great part too is that most of these people are regulars, so you will most likely see them each time you go to the gym. From there, it is pretty self explanatory on how to expand the interactions beyond just the bouldering gym if you so wish and ask them out for meals afterwards.

How long you stay is completely up to you, but each time you pay for the gym you are allowed to stay there the whole day. This includes going out to buy a meal, do something else, and coming back at a later time. This was great because the gym is also a little expensive even with the student discount, including the equipment costs of renting shoes and chalk. Usually I would spend up to three to four hours there at a time because it was fun, as long as my muscles did not get too tired or sore. Over the course of the semester, not only have I made a lot of new friends, but I have also improved my bouldering skills and definitely found a new hobby that I will continue to pursue when I go back to the United States.

Xiangyu Zhang: Life in Kyoto

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For my CIP, I participated in the production of a bi-monthly informational journal “Life in Kyoto” (LIK), under Kyoto International Community House. “Life in Kyoto” is making newsletters for foreign residents, especially foreigners who came to Kyoto one to two years ago, providing the informations which foreigners can feel relieved by reading. Since the production cycle is two months, we met two times per month on Wednesday evening, usually for about two hours at a time.

I volunteered for the Japanese version, and English version of the newsletter. It was a great opportunity to get to know the difference between cultures. The most interesting difference I experienced is about the masculinity and femininity in Japanese language. From an all-women’s college where gender neutrality is highly appreciated, I could not even imagine that somebody said that “this word choice (which are Kanji compound) is too masculine and let us find a proper word (such as kunyomi words) for her”, which I heard several times during LIK meeting. I do not think it is because my native language is nothing but Kanji so I cannot tell how “masculine” the word is, and I do have the idea that Japanese language system is separated by gender. But it was still shocking when hearing people do discuss in this way for article contents. Besides gender differentiation, in Japan, how one talks and is talked to is determined by one’s seniority, and occupation. Fortunately, LIK volunteer group members are quite easygoing and friendly, and everyone was trying to create a welcoming atmosphere to new-comers. So in our meeting, members basically talked with each other with polite form, except for senior people to younger people.

Other than bi-weekly meetings, our communication was almost done by emails, which enabled me to learned how to politely email in Japanese. In the past, when emailing in Japanese, I had to search for and check the politeness word by word online, but now, to a large extent, I can directly type without copy-and-paste. Some people may think the Japanese email is full of meaningless and overwhelming greetings, but I do appreciate the warmth and the respect show in the email by the routine “お疲れ様です” and “お手数をお掛けしますが、どうぞ宜しくお願いします”.

Moreover, as a volunteer, I had gone through almost every process of publishing a journal: making plans, writing, proofreading, and editing, which involve lots of detail-oriented works, such as reading the draft aloud to find missing particles and grammatically incorrect expressions, and word choosing, as the above-mentioned. The most difficult part in the proofreading is to make every sentence easier to understand in both Japanese and English. And as a non-native English and Japanese speaker, it is about mutual learning. I pointed out my suggestions to the contents, and I got invaluable advice from other volunteers on the article I wrote in Japanese and English. I would say how much you can learn depends on how you would like to raise questions no matter how trivial the detail seems to be. I enjoyed the mutually learning experience very much.

All in all, the volunteer experience with LIK was interesting and rewarding. As a foreigner I feel I was needed by everyone in every stage of the publishing work, from content writing to proofreading. On the other hand, I really appreciate the interaction with other members. I would definitely recommend the volunteer opportunity at LIK.

Mika Braun: Assistant English Teacher at Hiyoshigaoka High School

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For my CIP I volunteered at Hiyoshigaoka High School as an English teaching assistant. While I regretted not getting to use my language skills more, this was a valuable experience nonetheless. As I hope to return to Japan one day as part of the JET program, it was incredibly informative to see what the day-to-day life of an ALT looks like and hear about their experiences. Every Wednesday there are 5 ALTs at the school, which I hear is extraordinarily high number. Fortunately for me, I was able to talk to all of them about their time in the program and gained further insight into the experience. During one visit I sat in on a tutoring session where an ALT was helping a student with pronunciation differentiations. It was fascinating to observe how he described the mouth movements to better facilitate the sounds. I quickly found myself following his instructions and mouthing the words. I had never before considered the stark contrast between English and Japanese in terms of facial movements.

Since I go in the afternoons there is no fixed class, but an after-school, free-form English club. On Valentine’s Day there was big event where many students participated in themed, student-run activities. One such activity was こくはくreenactment skits in English. Students were given example situations in which to they had to こくはくsomeone (for example: on a train, at the beach…). This resulted in some high-quality acting and hilarious moments. Another one was a ‘speed dating’ activity, which I participated in along with the ALTs. We had to talk to the students and answer Valentine’s Day-related questions, which ranged from “What kind of candy do you like?” to “Should couples live together before marriage?” Needless to say the questions escalated realllly fast.

Engaging with the students was incredibly entertaining. One week we played an American pop music recognition game and they beat me with flying colors. Another week a student asked whether the McDonalds hamburgers in America were enormous in comparison to those in Japan. Unfortunately, the high school academic year started wrapping up last month and is now finished. I was unable to go in for a number of weeks because students were studying for and taking final exams. I wish I had known that this would be the case from the start of the KCJS semester and could have found an additional CIP activity, one that perhaps involved more Japanese practice. However, I hope to return at least once more before the end of the KCJS semester as the students return for the new school year.

Mary Tebbetts Nichols: Calligraphy

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I took calligraphy lessons alongside Sara and Josie with a local calligraphy instructor for my community involvement project. The calligraphy lessons were around an hour in length. Classes would usually involve practicing a single word until we had a decent feel for the writing process. Though I loved learning how to write with energy and elegance, I was especially fond of the conversations we had with the instructor.

I feel that I have a better understanding of how to ask for help and advice in Japanese. This project has forced me out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to ask for clarification when I felt uncertain about an instruction or to share my own thoughts and opinions when a certain approach felt like it was working. In addition to gaining more confidence in my communication strategies, my CIP helped me get a better understanding of the cultural importance of thoughtfulness in Japan. The level of intent that went into the instructor’s every brush stroke or gesture, like offering everyone cough drops when she herself was in the middle of a coughing fit, made me reconsider how I approached my daily life and activities. I found interactions with strangers and public etiquette easier to understand and navigate when trying to follow her example.

I have learned how to navigate social situations in Japanese with greater confidence than I had at the beginning of the program through the calligraphy class. My advice for those looking to take her classes or try calligraphy is to be mindful. Even something as small as taking a moment to think things through, whether it was my next brush stroke or response in a conversation, helped me make use of the language and calligraphy tips I learned.

Ka Kei Li: Volunteer at Kyoto International Manga Museum

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For my CIP, I volunteered at the Kyoto International Manga Museum once a week, alternating between reception/archive assistance. I loved manga when I was in middle school, so I thought, why not try to reignite that passion? Also I had always been wanting to experience working at a museum, therefore I chose this position.

This activity turned out to be way more formal than I thought it would be. I did not expect that I had to have an interview for this, and my name tag says “intern” instead of “volunteer.” I am expected to enter the office and greet everyone in a loud voice, saying “こんにちは。今からインターン入ります、よろしくお願いします！” “お先に失礼します。お疲れさまでした。” everytime I start working and leave, as if I were an employee of the museum. On the first day, my supervisor Watanabe-san told me this is basic etiquette and that she herself does that every day as well. As it was still early into the semester when I started volunteering, I felt like I embarrassed myself countless times by not suing the proper honorific speech towards the staff. The set phrases and almost ritualistic greetings were a little difficult to get used to, and I was slightly uncomfortable about how demanding they were towards their only volunteer. Yet thanks to this I’m able to get a taste of the Japanese workplace early on, and since the staff was generally really nice to me, I gradually got accustomed to the environment.

On my reception days I did translation, both verbal and written, to assist them during Chinese New Year when Chinese tourists flocked to Japan. Behind the reception counter I observed the hospitality and efficiency Japan prides in proximity. They are extremely observant; the receptionists would actively look for foreign tourists who need help, while handling a wide range of administrative tasks. Sometimes I even felt that they are excessively polite, even towards me. I translated a list of phrases into Chinese for the shop staff, and they thanked me repeatedly, even though I also replied “you’re welcome” repeatedly. Besides that, I got to have casual conversations with the receptionists during times that weren’t very busy, but I noticed that all of them tend to start conversations with small talks, and they would even repeat what they said. For example, they would start with “the rain is pretty bad recently, yeah?” and whenever there’s a pause in the conversations they would bring it up again and again: “rainy days make me feel sleepy” “I hope next week will be sunny”. . . Although the conversations would have been carried on fine without those fillers, I appreciate their effort in filling up the silence.

When I get to stay in the reading room and assist with book organization or preservation, I don’t really get the chance to converse with Japanese people. However one thing I learned from handling books in the reading room is that the Japanese really do research on everything ever. Since the reading room is mainly used for research purposes, the majority of the books there are research or theory publications on manga. I was astonished by how specific and obscure the topics can be, such as “on the evolution of the depiction of ballet in manga” or “reality as a fictitious narrative.” I returned during my free time to read some of these books.

Volunteering at the Kyoto International Manga Museum was in many ways rewarding. My duties went beyond my expectations, but I got the opportunity to explore Japanese culture not only through being in a Japanese workplace, but also through having casual conversations with the staff, and taking a glimpse into the massive collection of publications of the museum. Also, my time there did reignite my passion towards manga.

Allison Capron: Klexon

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For my CIP, I participated in an English-speaking circle called Klexon. Klexon took place every Tuesday from 7-9pm. Through this CIP, I was able to speak to college students and working people. The first hour consisted of 10 minute talks with 6 people, and the second hour involved group conversations.

I had a few observations during my time at Klexon. Most Japanese people studied English for work purpose or in order to gain a better advantage for job hunting. One interesting reason I heard for studying English was for talking with people at concerts. One person said he enjoyed metal music and wanted to learn English so that he could go to concerts and talk with other people. Another observation I had was that when I asked people where they want to go abroad, they usually said Canada or Australia. I thought it was interesting that many did not say America. One girl said she did not like New York because it was too loud, crowded, and dirty. Also, many Japanese people were courageous and wanted to speak with foreigners fluent in English. When some people learned that I would be returning to America, they would be disappointed because they wanted more chances to speak with foreigners.

While I initially hated Klexon because of the late meeting time, I became good friends with this one Japanese girl so I became more appreciative of Klexon. We went to Higashiyama together, rented kimonos and walked around in Arashiyama, and ate delicious foods. Overall, Klexon was a fun experience and I had the opportunity to learn more about the culture and engage in various conversations.

Cassie Rodriguez: Klexon

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The CIP I have chosen this semester is a circle dedicated to helping Japanese people improve their English skills. Most of the people who participate come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and I have been able to talk with college students my age, people interested in living or working abroad, people who study English just as a hobby, and even a member of Japan’s Self Defense Forces. One of the most rewarding things about participating in this circle is that you have the opportunity to meet people who understand exactly what it is like to study a difficult foreign language, so communication is not that difficult as we share similar experiences. Sometimes, depending on the level of English that my conversation partner has, I often offer explanations in Japanese, which helps both my language skills and helps deepen the understanding of my conversation partner.

Because KCJS students are required to keep a CIP log and come up with small tasks for ourselves, I feel like participating in this circle has been really useful. For example, each week I set a goal for myself to participate in activities outside of the circle so I would be able to practice my Japanese and also make new friends. Each week I gave myself a small goal to complete that eventually led to me hanging out with some of the friends I made in the circle “outside of class,” so to speak. Funnily enough, even though many of the Japanese people try hard to practice English, most of the time outside of the circle we only speak Japanese, which has been actually really good practice. All in all, I’m glad that I have been able to participate in this circle because it has helped me accomplish my primary goal that I set before starting the KCJS program: becoming more comfortable with expressing myself in Japanese.

Justin Yeh: Golf Lessons, Bouldering

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I did two activities for my CIP, golf lessons and bouldering. There were no set meeting dates, but for me, both were about once a week occurrences that were markedly different in terms of community interaction.

I took my golf lessons at 72 Golf, an indoor school located at Kawaramachi Imadegawa. There would always be one teacher on post and anywhere from between one to four students. The teacher would rotate among the students, giving them advice on how to improve during each of their one hour lessons.

I’m glad I took the time to learn golf during my time in Kyoto, but in retrospect, golf lessons were probably not the best choice for a CIP. Because students are usually only focused on practicing and improving their swing during the short hour they’re there, our interactions were limited to speaking with our teacher. With that being said, I did get to practice using Japanese in a different setting, and also was able to notice some language nuances like how “ありがとうございます” could be used as a farewell greeting when leaving the school, or even to abruptly end a conversation (in this case, being said from teacher to student).

For bouldering, I would go to a climbing gym at Shijo, and usually stay for anywhere between two to four hours. The community feel here was noticeably different, and I was personally surprised to find how open all the climbers were with each other. It wouldn’t be uncommon at all to find myself being cheered on by strangers with phrases like “頑張,” “うまい,” and “ナイス” while I was in the middle of climbing a more difficult course, and then finding myself greeted at the end by a congratulatory fist bump if I reached the goal.

Among some of the language-related things I found interesting was how the phrase “化け物だ” is used in the exact same way young English-speakers use a similar phrase when acknowledging someone’s level of skill (e.g., “you’re a monster”). Occasionally I would hear this compliment directed toward some of the more experienced climbers that frequented the climbing gym.

Through the bouldering gym, I’ve met a number of Japanese people from a variety of ages and backgrounds, and even got to spend time outside the bouldering gym with those who I were able to click with more. I’ve gotten two or three dinners so far with some of the other climbers, and it does help to be more proactive in inviting others. With some friends, after getting to know them more, they would also start speaking in casual language with me.

Although I was very much a beginner when I started this semester, and received a lot of guidance from other climbers around me, I’ve finally gotten to a level where I can teach newcomers how to climb some of the simpler courses. The friendly environment at the bouldering gym helps to facilitate lots of interactions, and now I usually initiate conversations just as often as they come to me. By both teaching and continuing to be taught, I’ve been able to speak in Japanese quite frequently every time I visit.

All in all, both my CIPs were very much enjoyable, but in terms of a community feel and language practice, I would recommend bouldering for those who don’t mind dealing with sore arms the first few times.