「KCJS Year」カテゴリーアーカイブ

Denton Williams: Assistant English Teacher

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Before I came to Japan, I knew that I wanted to teach English for my CIP activity.  When I finally arrived in Japan and started the CIP process, I encountered no difficulty in deciding where I was going to teach; everything was easier than I could have hoped for and KCJS already had well-established connections with schools.  I started to hit a few bumps in the e-mailing stage, but only with respect to waiting for responses.  So, after practicing my written 敬語 for the first time in Japan, I finally started my dream CIP of teaching at Kaisei Middle School (開晴中学), located near Kiyomizu-dera.

As I explained in my first, Japanese blog post, teaching on my first day at Kaisei did not start out so smoothly.  The seventh graders, contrary to my ideal expectations of Japanese middle school students, were incredibly raucous and disrespectful to their teacher.  Throughout the entire fifty minutes some of the students did not stop talking, and others were running around the classroom or sleeping.  To my greatest surprise, however, was that the teacher did absolutely nothing about the chaos.  I stood in the crowded classroom, jaw-dropped, and waited for her to explode in a disciplinary rage at any second.  I myself considered telling one or two boys to sit down and be quiet, but before I knew it the clock struck 3:20pm and the students were free.  When I returned home after my first day, I thought to myself, Do I really want to teach here?  Can I actually make a difference in this kind of hopeless environment?  Luckily, I decided to do my best and be patient, and I am extremely glad to write that I am thankful I hung in there.

As the weeks of my study abroad experience passed by and I commuted every Monday to Kaisei Middle School, the classroom setting seemed less and less harsh.  I acquired a second class to teach as well, meaning I could practice my week’s teaching with better-behaved eighth graders before facing the rowdy pupils of room 7-2.  So, each week I asked individuals questions in English, helped answer students’ questions about worksheets etc, and tried extremely hard to encourage students to participate.  Eventually I started practicing my Japanese as well by trying to better explain things to students who were not as skilled at English.  Meanwhile, little by little I was becoming more familiarized with who the students were and the dynamic of their relationship with the teachers.

This leads me to what I gained the most from my CIP.  Contrary to my original dream back in the United States, I did not learn how to fluently speak Japanese and teach angelic, diligent middle schoolers how to speak English.  What I did learn, which falls in line with my personal theme of studying abroad with KCJS, is that there is way more than meets the eye during first encounters.  The Japanese students were incredibly unruly the first time I met them, and they proved to change very little week after week.  However, every time I spoke 「英語アシスタントでございます」through the gate’s doorbell and stepped foot into my slippers at Kaisei Middle School, I was about to witness the students surprise me in some way.  I started to see that some of the most misbehaved students were actually the ones who were participating the most, albeit in decibels higher than what is safe for human ears.  Furthermore, I saw that many of the students truly cared about learning English, and even more so about learning in general.  They were excited to start class with personal questions for me in English, and they always asked their teachers to chat with me in English so they could observe.  I quickly came to realize that I misjudged my students on week one, but I was happy that this was so.

The CIP component of KCJS may seem like another task on a checklist of “things to do,” but it actually was a crucial part in making the theme of my time abroad become whole.  Teaching English at Kaisei Middle School helped me learn even more not to judge people based on first impressions, stereotypes, and preconceived notions.  It taught me that everyone needs an extra chance or dose of attention in order to see his or her true personality and potential.  Upon realizing this, I was able to conclude that while Japan’s culture and language are very different from that of the U.S. in many ways, the people of each country are at the core very much the same.  I truly hope that I was able to teach many students at Kaisei Middle School, or maybe even just one or two.  However, I can say with conviction that I entered the building as “Denton-sensei” determined to teach English, but I will be flying back to America as a student who was taught the universal language of life.

Alexa VanDemark: Koto Lessons

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For my CIP in Fall 2013, I chose to take private koto lessons. Naturally, I’ve learned a lot. The point of the CIP to begin with is to involve yourself in the Japanese community, hopefully learn some keigo and Japanese culture, and have fun in the mean time. I can say without hesitation that I have been enjoying my lessons. Like any other instrument I’ve played, there is a learning curve. You have to learn the correct posture, positions for you hands, musical notation, the list goes on. When you do something new, you naturally make mistakes, so you probably get frustrated from time to time. Put that pressure on top of learning that new skill in a different language and having to explain what you don’t understand in that same language. Oh, and don’t forget to use keigo! Despite the pressures, I have learned more than I had originally anticipated.

Rokudan no Shirabe sheet music

Sheet music for the song I’m currently learning. Reading music vertically instead of horizontally is the hardest hurdle for me to jump over at the moment.

More than anything, it’s only too easy to create a list of all the faux pas I’ve made in one semester and how to not repeat them in the future. For instance, I spent the first few weeks being a regular Floridian and wearing flip-flops to my lessons. It was hot outside! The problem was that my lessons are held at my teacher’s house, in a washitsu. It hadn’t occurred to me that by not wearing socks, my dirty feet were seen as a social taboo in the traditional setting of koto lessons. Noda-sensei never said a thing, but I was mortified when I found out from someone else that what I had been doing was quite incorrect. And up until a few weeks ago, I had been cheerfully saying, 「お疲れさま！」after Noda-sensei said it to me. I learned not to do that after a linguistics class in which we discussed that is just not something you say to a teacher. Even after I feel like I’ve learned so much, every week it seems I find something else to correct!

However, that in of itself is rewarding, because at the next lesson, I can walk in confidently, amassing all of the formalities and aisatsu I’ve accumulated over the semester. I can return the sheet music my teacher and know how to politely thank her for lending it to me. I can attend her concert and know to bring an omiyage in congratulations. I can laugh when I get lost in the unfamiliar sheet music and ask to start a passage over, and it’s comforting when she laughs too, and agrees. It was difficult doing a CIP where I had to solely communicate my questions and such in a language that I’m still learning, but through these lessons, I come into contact with an elegant side of Japanese culture that I would not have touched otherwise. I’m looking forward to continuing this immersion next semester, while learning more How-Not-to-Be-Act-Like-a-Gaijin pointers as well as beautiful music.

Romana Perez: Niconico Tomato

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For the past few months I have been volunteering at Niconico Tomato, which is a program that tries to bring smiles to the children at Kyoto University Hospital. We do things like prepare events, organize parties, make gifts, and generally have fun.

For Halloween, and now for Christmas, we make cards for the children. I really enjoy trying my best as I make the cards, since I know the child who receives it will appreciate it. I also enjoy the creativity the volunteers put into making the designs. For the Halloween cards, we embroidered a spider web into the card, attached a ghost, and created a foggy spooky background. I think they look really cool. The Christmas cards are going to be just as well thought out.

I’ve also enjoyed talking with the other volunteers. We tend to talk about the differences of American and Japanese culture. Everyone in the program is extremely nice and it’s easy to talk with them as I work. Interacting with the kids is also rewarding. Even though the children are sick, they still have so much energy and are able to have fun. I find it amazing that the little activities we create for them, like collecting a sticker every day they visit the playroom, keeps their spirits up. I really do believe we are doing a good thing at Niconico Tomato.

James Mellody: Klexon English Language Cirlce

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My time volunteering at Klexon English Circle has been a culturally enlightening and entertaining experience.  Through the circle, I have come to meet a lot of interesting Japanese people, mostly students from various universities in Kyoto.  The actual CIP itself consists of speaking in English for two hours each Tuesday with various Japanese people in the circle.  For the first hour, I talk with several people one on one for about 10 minutes each.  For the second hour everyone breaks up into small groups and talks about various topics.  This allows for a more natural conversation to develop.  After the two hours are over, Klexon members often go out in a more natural social setting.  This is where I really get to talk to the members and get to know them.  At Klexon we speak all in English, but when we went out we spoke in a mix of Japanese and English, the goal being to use whichever language best facilitates communication.  To me, learning a language in a classroom setting can often feel forced, but actually using language in a real setting was exhilarating.  More than practicing language, we were trying to have real conversations.  I also noticed that the atmosphere became much more casual and people became more open and willing to talk.

I also went to two parties held by Klexon.  At first I was unsure of how to initiate conversation – whether it should be in English or in Japanese.  After a little while, however, people began to engage me in conversation.  While they spoke to me in English at first, people started to speak to me in Japanese as they became more comfortable.  The structure of the language they used matched the informal setting of the party.  They used more informal speech patterns, which immediately helped to make the environment friendlier.  In this casual environment, I managed to make some friends that I have since seen outside of the circle.

When first talking to a Japanese person, I would informally introduce myself.  We would then proceed to talk about very basic personal information.  This type of introductory conversation is very similar to that used in America.  I did not, nor did the Japanese people around me engage in the formal introductions common in many situations in Japan.  The more informal setting of the party eliminated the need for such formality.

These parties had no music or dancing, but were instead dinner parties in which we sat, ate, and talked together.  Parties at my college in America are usually extremely loud and filled with people dancing rather than talking.  The Klexon party had a completely different atmosphere.  These parties were not just places to have fun; more importantly they were places to get to know each other.  This is different from many American college parties where the objective seems to be having fun, not necessarily getting to know new people.

I have found that it is hard to find opportunities to really sit and have a conversation with a Japanese person, so Klexon has been great in that regard.  Klexon allowed me to experience how Japanese people socialize.  It was also fascinating to see how Japanese people interact with a foreigner in a social setting.  Initially, most people were slightly shy when talking to me, but as we talked they opened up and became much more willing to initiate conversation.

Klexon has been a wonderful experience.  I have had the opportunity to meet and talk in depth with many Japanese people. I am extremely glad that I picked Klexon as my CIP, and I would recommend it to anyone in the future.

Anna Andriychuk: Bazaar Cafe

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Volunteering at the Bazaar Cafe has been a very rewarding experience for me. Even if this were not my CIP, I would enjoy going there to study or have coffee with friends. The atmosphere of the cafe, whether one is experiencing it as a customer, a volunteer, or both, is really what won me over. It is such a warm, friendly place that you cannot help but feel welcome. I’ve noticed a really strong sense of community, both among the staff, and with the customers as well. Week by week, I’ve come to recognize many regulars, some of whom even stop by Fridays or Saturdays as well. There appear to be genuine friendships between those customers and our barista/manager, who I always see sharing personal anecdotes and jokes. One regret of mine is not having put more effort into interacting with the customers, which is something I would highly recommend to future KCJS newcomers.

My conversations with the staff, on the other hand, have been both fun and a great learning opportunity. The staff are some of the nicest people that I’ve met in Japan, and so I never have to feel uneasy if I make mistakes on the job (embarrassed, yes). One thing that I’ve noticed is how some of the staff call the manager “Tsu-ki,” instead of a formal Tsukishita-san. That really shows, in my opinion, not only the warm and casual relationship among the staff, but the humility of the cafe’s owner.

The international character of the café is also a refreshing change of scenery. Although the staff on Thursdays when I work is mostly Japanese, those who work on Fridays and Saturdays hail from various parts of the world and the cuisine reflects that diversity. I’ve also had the opportunity to meet a number of interesting customers, including Doshisha students, professors, and tourists from various countries. Thursdays have become quite an interesting and unpredictable part of my weeks here in Kyoto.

Hadley Hauser: HUB

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This quarter I was an intern at HUB Kyoto.  HUB seemed like the perfect creative space for me to debut as a functioning member of Japanese society in a friendly, collaborative setting.  The HUB “Dojo” is a community center nestled not far from the Doshisha campus in a beautifully renovated Kyoto machiya-style building.  I was immediately smitten with its tatami rooms on the second floor and bamboo garden hidden away in the back.

My first move as an intern was attending “HUB Kitchen,” a monthly event that is open to all HUB members.  It is an informal buffet-style dinner and forum where people can bounce laughs and ideas off of each other.  While there, I was able to talk to a variety of Kyoto natives in Japanese and English, and it was amazing to hear stories of how people ended up in Kyoto or kept coming back.  I was able to meet the staff members of Kyoto Journal magazine.  After I expressed my interest in writing, we soon struck up a correspondence about how I could contribute to Kyoto Journal magazine as the focus of my HUB internship.

I started off preparing a summary of a Japanese documentary event that was held at HUB Kyoto.  My next project was to interview HUB Kyoto staff, and then translate the interview into whichever language it wasn’t conducted in.  I prepared my questions and looked forward to getting a personal glimpse of HUB Kyoto’s members and their unique interests. The logistics of this process proved to be quite a challenge.  The last few weeks have been an endless parade of me trying to track down people to interview.  HUB members are busy people!  I scheduled one interview two times, and on the third time when I was sure I would have success, my interviewee simply did not show up.  I really wanted to enjoy working for HUB, and if I were not juggling a schedule of KCJS courses and host family obligations, this would all seem less frustrating.

Though I am not satisfied with my output this quarter at HUB, I still think that it was a good experience for me.  While it has been a challenge coordinating with the individuals at HUB, these situations have provided me with the opportunity to sharpen my Japanese communication skills (phone calls, emails, one-on-one discussions) so that they are clear and effective.  I believe that this very basic correspondence practice will be valuable to me as I continue my Japanese studies.  I look forward to a change of pace next quarter and plan to pursue a traditional and perhaps more rewarding individual class, such as pottery or tea ceremony.

Aubrey Harper: Pottery class

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When I first started looking for a CIP project I had a few ideas: sado classes, dance club, working at a café, ceramic classes.  I decided upon sado at first, as I have an interest in tea ceremony. That ended up not working out , so I turned my attention to pottery.  My initial interest in Sado was in fact due to my interest in ceramics so it seemed fitting as a CIP. I would learn a skill as well as make new friends and become better at Japanese. I had a bit of a struggle finding something that was going to work, but I am really glad that I ended up taking a pottery class at a local workshop near my home in Uji.

In my class I am decidedly the odd ball out, not only am I a foreigner I am also by far the youngest person there and arguably the least experienced. Before this class I had only tried my hand at pottery in a middle school art class. It’s hard to admit, but I’m afraid I have not improved much since then.  The first class skipped an introduction and went right into work on an imperial palace style tea cup, which is a wide mouthed slightly disfigured model.  It wasn’t super straight or clean cut so I assume that it wouldn’t be too difficult. That was a mistake.  It turns out that there is a lot of skill and effort that goes into making a cup look perfectly imperfect.  Skill that I do not possess yet, but many of my classmates hardly need any help in creating beautiful cups and bowls.  I on the other hand am becoming adept at asking my sensei what in the world I did wrong to get a tea cup with cracks going down the side and a whole near the top.

One of the things that makes my pottery classes difficult, but also extremely useful in learning Japanese is that my teacher does not speak much English. Nor do any of my classmates.  As one of the lower level Japanese speakers in this program this does cause a problem. Luckily my teacher explains what he is doing in both words and examples, so I can match the common phrases I am picking up with his actions and vice-versa. At first there were many misunderstandings, for example I couldn’t figure out why he was telling me my cup wasn’t hot enough (暑い)  when he was trying to tell me that it wasn’t thick enough (厚い). When I got home after class I expressed my frustration to my host mom who laughed and explained the difference between the two あつい to me.

Through this class I am also able to study the politeness levels of Japanese  interactions between the students and the teacher. Most of my classmates are retired お婆ちゃん and お祖父さん、 but my teacher is in his forties. There is also a father-daughter pair in the group. This makes the interactions really interesting. The sensei, while still in charge and referred to as sensei by everyone, is also treated in a congenial nephew fashion and he refers to the father in the father-daughter pair as お父さん.  There isn’t really much idle chatter in my class, most people are focused on their pieces, and being so much younger and rather limited in understanding I think that some of my older classmates hesitate to talk to me.  Most of the chat that does happen is about the weather, or why I cam to japan. I was once asked if I thought that all Japanese people would be wearing kimonos. Which threw me for a loop.

The path to my class is through the Uji-Bashi district and the walk itself is a really interesting look into Japan.  Surrounded by various temples and beautiful scenery it is a popular tourist attraction, as well as hiking and ritual shrine visits.  Every so often I get to see young kids on their way to shrine to celebrate shichigosan,  which again had to be explained by my host mom when I came home with questions.  Overall I really think that my CIP project helped me get more involved in the city that I live in and improve my Japanese and confidence when it comes to talking to Japanese speakers. Now I’m more worried with how I accidently carved a hole in the bottom of my tea bowl than whether I am going to mess up saying something.

Jasmine Hensley: Kyudou

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Before applying for KCJS, I read up on the program parameters on the KCJS website.  Upon reading about the CIP assignment, I knew that I wanted to do kyudou because I had a previous interest in the martial art.  Initially I had been concerned that I would not be able to do it because I am very petite young woman and was without any form of archery experience.  Nevertheless, I pursued kyudou as my CIP, and began practicing every Monday and Thursday at the Kyoto Budou Center.

When I first entered the Budou Center’s kyudou dojo, I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the archers were women around my size (though clearly much stronger than me from their years of practice).  Our teacher Kawaguchi-sensei herself is a sprightly and strong older woman with a commanding presence.  That is not to say that she was cold or unapproachable; on the contrary, she has been so kind and patient with us over the past few months, as have the other archers at the dojo.

Although practices are usually very independent, Kawaguchi-sensei and occasionally the other archers will offer tips and corrections to our postures.  Because kyudou is so ritualized, requiring one to repeat the same pattern of movements before every shot is fired, it is crucial to correct one’s movements before they become too deeply ingrained to be fixed.  I had very little upper body strength before starting kyudou here, so it took almost three months before I was strong enough and good enough to be allowed to move to a larger, heavier bow.  I don’t think that I could ever have imagined how much pride and self-accomplishment I would feel for being allowed to exercise harder.

Kyudou as a whole has served as a catharsis during my months in Japan.  This was my first time abroad, and the experience has been wonderful, but trying at times.  As I’ve become more aware of my linguistic inabilities, I’ve found myself losing self-confidence very rapidly; however, kyudou is an activity that almost entirely transcends the language barrier.  In addition, because there are other students who do not speak Japanese at all, I’ve gained some confidence in being able to translate between Kawaguchi-sensei and those students.  Furthermore, it is a time apart from homework where one focuses only on the ritual of drawing the bow and one’s own body.

Kyudou is definitely a CIP that requires time and effort, but the rewards far outweighed any measly inconveniences.  The support that I felt from Kawaguchi-sensei and the other archers, the atmosphere of the dojo, and the time for self-reflection not only helped rebuild and boost my self-confidence but also allowed me some peaceful time in my continuously active life in Japan.

Zalika Corbett: Weightlifting, Klexon (Language Exchange)

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My CIP experience has a been a varied combination of people, venues, and activities.

After much searching, I finally came upon weightlifting. It was kind of a perfect fit, especially considering that I spent the first few weeks in Kyoto searching for some sort of sports-related CIP so that I could stay in shape. Weightlifting provided the perfect outlet to do this and, on top of that, the people there were incredible.

For instance, the first day I went, the main instructor asked me to perform a few basic excercises to check my form. This was not my first time weightlifting, but it was the first time that I had received instructions in such a detailed way. The instructor had video of professional female weightlifters doing the same exercise that I was and even drew diagrams on the board to explain exactly how to execue each lift. As a result, just a few hours into my first session, it became obvious that the main instructor and the student who taught with him were some of the the most knowledgeable trainers that I had ever met.

They were also some of the most patient. For instance, there was one excercise in particular in which I was disheartenly inconsistent. Sometimes I could execute the exercise reletively well, but on others it was as if I had never done the exercise before. Meanwhile, whoever was working with me gave me helpful, encouraging feedback.

Unfortunately, only a few weeks into weightlifting, I managed to injure myself in a way that prevented me from lifting for the rest of the sememster. As a result, I began to go to an international language exchange club, called Klexon. My first impression of the club was how organized it was. All of the English speakers were on one side of the tables, while the Japanese members were on the other. Then, every ten minutes, the Japanese members would rotate and start a conversation with another English speaker. The resulting process seem rather reminiscent of speed dating.

The second point I noticed was the variety of members. Initially, I thought that Klexon was mostly comprised of university students. However, I found that most of them were actually graduates with a wide variety of careers. During my time, there, I met doctors, salesmen, store owners, and that was just to start. In addition to the one-on-one session, we spent the last few minutes in small groups talking about set topics and then about whatever we so chose when there was a lull.

Overall, I think that both experiences, weightlifting and Klexon, were benefitial in their own way. I used Japanese more in the former, but there was not much in the way of conversation. Meanwhile, the latter was all about conversation, but the focus on English allowed for few opportunities to practice my Japanese until the final, group session. In the end, I am glad to have participated in both activities and, while I will miss weightliftng, I look forward to returning to Klexon to finish out the semester.

Xiaoyu Liu: About my experience in Impact Hub Kyoto

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During my internship in Impact Hub Kyoto, I worked on my project on designing the member’s wall and it turned out to be a really amazing experience. I learned a lot from this especially how to corporate with Japanese collegues under the collectivistic culture here. It is different from what I experienced in America  since the working environment in the US is always easy to get in. Everyone around seems talkative and outgoing and easy to build up relationship with. However, in Japan, it took me a long time to fit in and establish my role in the group since nobody was what I was good at and how I could contribute to the group. In the beginning, I jumped in with the identity of a foreign student from the United States of America, which means I automatically received some sort of credibility and respect from my Japanese colleagues as a professional and fresh blood from abroad. However, on the other hand, it makes me harder to get involve into the group since my “price” is high and they cannot treat me as a normal new-comer doing messy chores. At the beginning when I was talking to them about my thoughts on some club issue, I could easily found Erin san and Tomo san were uneasy with some of my ideas but they said nothinng. Also, they felt nervous talking with me or ask for favor since they were unsure if I can understand what they said or unhappy to do messy little stuff.  Here, Japanese language ability is also another factor that deeply affects our communication. Since this is a working place, people tend to be speak fast and concise, and it is frustrating to ask your partner to repeat what they said for several time, because your Japanese is not good enough. You can easily get the feeling that you are impairing the group efficiency and making your co-workers to sacrifice their time and energy to your stupidness. What even worse is that Japanese is so delicate that your partner would never understand what you want to say or even confirm unless you use the right wordings. Sometimes you will try to make the story long to let them understand, but this is so inefficient and usually in the end, both of you would got lost and ended the conversation with silence.

Still, I chose to stay there because I wanted to try best to see if I can get involved into this Japanese working environment. Also, l like all the staffs and the cool Noh stages and Bamboo yard in their space.

After I patiently helping with little thing, keeping participating my work, and attending some of their gathering,  I kind of felt that they gradually being more and more relaxed on me, which means they are accepting me as one of their member. After all, it is one of my best time studying abroad in Kyoto, and my Japanese did improve a lot from this.

So, I will say it is a good but rare experience to work with Japanese people in Japan. Usually my US friends would get worried and upset when they found they cannot get into the Japanese community easily. I will say the way of entry is different since you cannot just build up good relationship with them by talking with them only, but also to show your effort and contribution to the community, as well as pretty fluent Japanese, the basic requirement for communication. From time to time after the group member confirmed that you are hardworking and good in nature with their eyes, you will automatically receive an invitation for dinner gathering and next time when you come, you will find everyone is relaxed. Without saying anything, you just become one of them, and everyone knows. Also, you will find ask them to get things done will be much much easier and faster.

Oh, it is really Japanese, isn’t it?

 

By Xiaoyu Liu, Brandeis 2014er,