「KCJS Year」カテゴリーアーカイブ

Sandy Lee: Nico Nico Tomato Volunteer + DESA

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This semester I participated in primarily two CIP activities: volunteering at Kyoto University Hospital with the Nico Nico Tomato group which supports hospitalized children by creating crafts and fundraising activities; and I participated in the activities held by Doshisha Exchange Student Association (DESA).

The members of the Nico Nico Tomato group are primarily comprised of thirty to fifty year old women. Because of that composition, I learned a little more about the lives of housewives. Reading from academic text about modern Japanese life styles, I have learned that in Japanese culture, after females get married, they become full time housewives, with the primary role of taking care of the family and raising children. In other words, children in Japan are spoiled with love from mothers. Volunteering with eight to ten female volunteers, I get to see a part of how loved Japanese children may be through the time consuming and heartfelt crafts that these female volunteers design and craft. Each craft takes a lot of time and effort to create, and although the children whose age are young may only appreciate the craft for a minute or two, as part of the crafting team, I can feel the amount of love poured into making the craft. From this volunteer experience, I was able to experience how the life of a housewife might be outside of the family. The female volunteers spent about three days a week volunteering and spend a lot of time together, as if that is their equivalent of a college club. The only difference between this group and an actual college group is the members’ use of formal language. While members uses formal speech and often utilize the Kansai keigo “haru”, the most senior member of the group uses Kansai dialect in her speech. As a study abroad student, I often do not understand what they are speaking of and sometimes do not have interest or any comments on their personal lives. However, they are very interested in the student abroad students and often ask questions regarding other countries.

Joining DESA has definitely been a great experience. DESA has events every week, so I was able to go explore Kyoto or have dinner with some Japanese students along with other students who are on study abroad. I have met some really nice students from Stanford University, and some really friendly Doshisha students. DESA normally offers 500yen discounts to study abroad or exchange students, so it may be a good deal some time. On the other hand, I think it is important to invite the Japanese students to have dinner or lunch once in a while because the more you invite them to events, the more likely it is that they invite you to their hangouts. My most memorable trips have been the Nara Mountain Night Fire trip and Takoyaki party that was held by some members of DESA. Facebook is also really helpful to invite people to events without directly asking them to join in your event. Most members are also willing to respond to you in Japanese if you decide to speak to them in Japanese. I think it is possible to become really good friends with some members of DESA, but because many Doshisha students are away during KCJS Spring semester, and because I have been busy with a lot of summer applications this Spring, I was not able to attend all of the DESA events as of yet. However, I cannot think of any negative aspects to joining the group except for the fact that if it might cost some money every week. Comparing this experience to my volunteer group, DESA members do not question how life is in other countries because I think they are more interested in the individual than the works of other countries because such things can easily be searched online.

 

Kevin Terusaki: DESA (Doshisha Exchange Student Association)

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After participating in a street dance circle at Kyoto University for the first couple of months, I eventually had to pick a new CIP activity due to the street dance circle’s one month break. During that time I also attended many of the events held by DESA, the Doshisha Exchange Student Association, and decided that this would be my new CIP. Many of the students in DESA are exchange students which may be discouraging to some who really want to improve their Japanese, but there are many Japanese students that are interested in meeting students from other countries as well.

DESA has hosted a variety of events including watching a Sumo wrestling tournament in Osaka, a food and video game night, going to see eerie demons at the Setsubun festival, and eating all you can eat shabu shabu at a restaurant served by ninjas. Besides the official DESA events, there were many opportunities to hang out with DESA members like random hikes, dinners, etc.

Every event was a great opportunity to practice Japanese and learn about Japanese culture that you normally wouldn’t learn in the classroom. For example, in the Kansai region it is popular to perform boke (playing dumb) and tsukkomi (pointing out mistakes), a comedic art that comes from manzai. This was a great way to learn about Japanese humor, which at times, I do not understand at all. I’ll admit that performing jokes in another language is quite difficult, but it is entertaining despite the challenge.

Compared to egoistic dancers, the street dance circle, DESA was more welcoming with a laid-back ambiance. Most likely due to the structure of egoistic dancers, it was difficult to interact with other people who danced different styles. I mainly interacted with those who practiced popping and locking. There also was definitely a senpai-kouhai relationship amongst some group members. As a new member in a group, it was hard to connect with certain people.

Overall, DESA has been a great opportunity to not only make new friends, but to experience and learn various aspects of Japanese culture. It’s unfortunate that there is only a month left to spend in Japan, but I hope I will have more opportunities to hang out with DESA members before the semester ends.

Liu Yi: Japanese Calligraphy (Shodo) and DESA

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Perhaps the best way to understand society is to be a part of it. Certainly, my experiences taking Japanese calligraphy (shodo) classes and participating in the Doshisha Exchange Students Association (DESA) were an integral part of my stay in Kyoto. In particular, taking part in these two different activities gave me different perspectives of the society that I eventually became a part of, albeit for a fleeting moment.

My initial decision to learn shodo was motivated by my desire to learn how to relax, focus, and achieve a semblance of serenity. Given my lack of background in shodo, that was the most I could ask to achieve within the short three months I had in Kyoto. Certainly, I have gained some insight on how to achieve these goals. Far from being a master calligrapher, I can say that this experience has benefitted me greatly in my own personal development.

What most interested me, however, was the social interaction that occurred at the shodo classes. My class, which is structured for adults, followed right after a session conducted for children. On certain occasions, I entered class early and, as a result, was gifted the opportunity to see teacher-student relations between the teacher and students of various age groups. Also, given that the adult class was the last class of the day, I was able to observe group dynamics in action during the packing-up process. Also, the usage of varying language forms, such as keigo and plain form, together with the varying involvement of students in the packing-up process, reflected the steep levels of hierarchy and social position embedded in Japanese society, though in a microcosm of a relaxed calligraphy class setting. For example, at the end of each class, the only other male student, who was an elderly man, would pack his equipment and leave straightaway while the rest of the students (including myself) helped to clean up the room. It was an intriguing insight as it reflected unsaid gender roles: men (especially older men) could be excused for leaving while the women cleaned up the area. Although integrating into Japanese society was a major goal of CIP (which, fortunately, I did to some extent by participating in group activities), it was this outside-in perspective that I have found most intriguing and precious.

DESA, too, was an opportunity to immerse into Japanese culture, though in a largely different manner compared to shodo class. Comprised of Doshisha University students who sought to further cultural exchange opportunities with foreign students, DESA succeeded in its goal and the activities organized by them certainly enriched my stay in Kyoto. Other than the all-too-typical nomikai, DESA-organized events, including a trip to Osaka and other recreational activities, provided ample opportunity for KCJS and other foreign students to bond with the Japanese students. Specifically, the trip to Osaka was exceptionally fun as we watched sumo wrestling and toured Osaka with the students as our guides! Given that we were hanging out with Japanese students, involvement in the community was more proactive through DESA as compared to shodo, for foreign students had to actively engage and respond in conversations with our DESA peers.

More importantly, the interactions with DESA students gave me an opportunity to understand the importance some of them place on learning English whilst providing me with an insight into their worldviews. I remember vividly an exchange I had with a Japanese second year university student who lamented on his less-than-perfect English capacity. He saw fluency in English as a key to the world, opening doors to different cultures and societies. Inadvertently, I ended up promoting study abroad as the best way to learn both the language, as well as the culture, of a particular place. Their perspectives on university, job-hunting, and the corporate world were certainly precious in adding to my understanding of Japanese society. Not to mention the least, the chance to practice Japanese with DESA students certainly was much appreciated, for casual forms of speech were more often used as compared to the shodo classroom and, from time to time, host-family conversations.

The perspectives I have learnt about Japanese society and the opportunity to practice conversational Japanese are among the most cherished takeaways I have from KCJS. Indeed, without the experiences at shodo and DESA, my stay in Kyoto might have been somewhat less enriching.

Yutong Zhang: Nishijin Textile Industrial Association

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Certainly, there are many benefits of volunteering at Nishijin Textile Industrial Association. However, for me, the opportunity of working with Japanese people closely is the most precious one. Japanese people are famous for their prudent and serious attitude at work, but I did not really understand what this attitude means until I started my CIP at Nishijin.

On my first day at Nishijin, I started to learn how to wrap merchandise for customers. At first, I was surprised because my senpai insisted on teaching me a really complicated method of wrapping. Later on I realized that this job is much more difficult than I thought. Wrapping is not merely an extra service, but a way to convey a message, a way to show all our respect and acknowledge to our customers.  From choosing the correct paper in accordance to the size of the box to finishing the whole process by pasting a Nishijin tape at the right place, it took me around 3 hours to remember all the steps and be able to somehow cover the box with wrapping paper. However, when the senpai finally told me that I am ok with wrapping, it was after 2 months of working there even though I used a lot of time to practice in my spare time.

After I know how hard it is to wrap a small box, I feel I owe a sincere “arigatougozaimasu” to all the salesclerk who wrapped their products for me. No matter it is wrapping a small gift or developing the washlet, I believe the reason why Japan is such an developed and convenient country is because of this attitude. Perhaps, the trivial and repetitious work like wrapping is also a way of cultivating one’s self.

Leila Lin: Kyudo

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This semester I continued to practice kyudo with Kawaguchi Sensei at the Budou

center one to two times per week. Unlike the first few months, the sensei does not
come to supervise me as often. What happens usually is I would practice by myself
for one or two sessions, and then Sensei comes over and corrects one small posture,
and then I continue to practice for a few sessions focusing on correcting that one
posture until Sensei comes to correct another small posture. This may sound
incredibly boring but for the archer herself every shot is a brand new cycle of self-
examination and so it was never boring for me.

Kyudo is not a group sport and people like to be left alone especially during practice,
which makes perfect sense, so I only rarely interact with people other than Sensei.
My interaction with Sensei, however, varies session to session but sometimes is
quite a lot. We have talked about everything from her family to knitting to my class
project related to kyudo. I definitely do not always understand 100% of what Sensei
says, but luckily kyudo is not something that requires one to understand 100%
verbally. I have, however, gotten involved in a few “Changing Room Chats” but never anything very deep because most of time I don’t understand what they are talking about. Instead I just made it an opportunity to observe the way female acquaintances communicate with one another.

As to advices, kyudo is definitely not a workout or a very social activity but what
you get out of it is a deep sense of connection to Japanese tradition. Many people
began practicing kyudo for its relationship with Zen. But what seems to be the
common consensus is that you don’t usually get to think about that until you’ve
perfected your skills, which takes years and years and years. At this early stage, you
just get used to simply follow the Sensei and not question. This sounds like a very
negative thing, and of course if you have a question the Sensei will always answer,
but the chance is that because your skill is so horrible at this point that even you
understand the idea of what she says you would not be able to put it into practice, so
you might as well focus on the actual skills first.

Michael Li: Volunteering at NicoNico Tomato

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This semester I continued to volunteer at NicoNico Tomato which has been both relaxing and a learning experience. Every week I would help out with whatever activity or task needed to be accomplished and always had the opportunity to communicate with others and actually use what I learned.

Last semester I had noticed how detail oriented and truly devoted they are towards helping the children. I continued to see that same drive when they brainstorm various activities that should be held for each day of the week, which the head of NicoNico Tomato usually facilitates. Although one may think that the Japanese would be passive about voicing their opinion, that is not the case in these discussions. Other volunteers would constantly chime in or pitch another solution. Because I have been volunteering for the past seven months, I have noticed various interesting cultural differences, and similarities, in speech and communication. For example, when the volunteers are all talking amongst each other they would casually use various proverbs. Recently they used one to illustrate how the weather is constantly fluctuating between being cold or hot. However, the types of proverbs used differ by generation—in both U.S. and Japanese cultures.

Furthermore, I noticed the difference between the choices of words used by various generations. For example, the older generations would use more direct and blunt words versus the younger generation who would put it more softly and less directly, such as the use of 「いらない」versus 「大丈夫」. When tea is being served and someone politely refuses, most usually use いらない while I use大丈夫. In comparison to the U.S., people speak more directly to others which would be more aligned with the older generations.

While there are cultural differences in speech and communication, similarities can also be drawn between the two countries as well. I have truly enjoyed my time volunteering at NicoNico Tomato.

 

 

 

Yumee Cho: Assistant English Teacher at Ohara Gakuin

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Volunteering as an assistant English teacher at Ohara Gakuin was a tremendously rewarding experience for me. While I had never taught in a classroom setting before, I had always wanted to do so and through the friendly and supportive faculty at Ohara, I learned many things about Japanese, English, and teaching overall.

Ohara Gakuin is a combined elementary and junior high school, so the grade levels go from first to ninth grade in one building. The classes are small, ranging from 6 students in the smallest and thirteen in the largest. But regardless of class size, the students were all friendly and energetic, and the small town vibe gave it a close knit air. Yet I felt easily welcomed by the students and faculty and after a few weeks some students began to recognize me in the hallways, and I started to recognize students I’ve taught before.

Fortunately since Ohara is a combined school, each week I would be in a different class, with the exception of the first and second graders who I met for a few weeks combined. This way I got a chance to teach at a variety of levels, but I have to say the lower levels were definitely the most fun because of the sheer energy.

Maeda-sensei, the Head English teacher at Ohara is a wonderful teacher and really knows how to get along with children, and how to get them to learn at the same time as playing group games and activities. When she told me how she was glad that I spoke in a loud and clear voice to the children, I felt immensely proud because at some points I wondered if I was shouting, the overall atmosphere in Japan being much quieter than the States.

I’m extremely grateful I had this unique and rewarding opportunity in the midst of such friendly and welcoming people here in Japan.

Lee Nisson: Pottery and Sculpture at Yuuraku

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This semester I decided to take a Japanese pottery and sculpture class at the Yuuraku classroom in Katsura. Not unexpectedly, from the very beginning I turned out to be the odd man out as a young foreign student in a Japanese sculpture class dominated by おばさん (middle aged women and housewives). Whereas in the US, a foreign college student branching out into various classes is something that wouldn’t cause anyone to bat an eyebrow, but my presence to most people in the small classes was evidently a surprise. While in America that surprise would likely be channeled into small talk, it would take a week or two before most of the other sculptors besides my teacher, Katayama Sensei, would become brave enough to question me. However most of the time I was quite content to listen to them gush about their kids and small talk while I sculpted much like the way an American class would work.

Moreover Katayama Sensei wasn’t shy about telling me that she hadn’t had much experience with foreign students. Nevertheless she was always quite kind in helping me form my creations. Using rather simple Japanese we were able to overcome the barriers of technical terminology that sculpture sometimes requires. Recently she showed me a dual Japanese-English picture guide to Japanese sculpture that has helped us both understand each other quite well, and recently we have tasted the fruits of our labor.

For example, this is my first cup:

This is only half of what we did this week:

Regardless my experiences trying to express my ideas and wishes therein have been very helpful for my Japanese. My weekly visits also allowed me to move in from the periphery of the classroom dynamic that I found myself in during the first week or two as the Japanese began to drop the honorifics from their speaking habits in favor of casualness. They still kept a healthy dose of Kansai dialect though!

This process has matured to the point where, when we aren’t all concentrating on keeping our creations from spinning out of control or lopping off a side of a piece due to negligence, the people of the Yuuraku classroom and I have very stimulating conversations. Often they have to do with comparing each other’s work as any work space would, yet due to my inherently foreign characteristics the conversation tends to gravitate towards what adventures I should have in Japan or what they would like to do themselves.

In that way despite my class largely consisting of middle aged women I can probably say that we’re becoming friends. For beyond the new pottery techniques I’ve acquired and potter culture, the ability that people have to connect to each other with very little in common has been the most useful insight into Japanese culture I’ve had the pleasure to experience.

Merrick Williams: Klexon

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For the first half of this semester, I had been having difficulty finding an appropriate CIP to participate in. However, as described in my last blog, I have for the past month been attending a conversation circle called KURESON. Since joining, I have been to three or four of the regular meetings, as well as just recently a sakura viewing party and BBQ. From here I will be continuing to attend the regular meetings as well as hoping to participate in a strawberry picking outing that should happen sometime in the second half of April.

I have met lots of very nice people there, and since at the meetings the conversation is primarily in English, it gives a very different perspective on the Japanese manner of communicating. Particularly, it is a strong reversal of what is the normal social interaction between foreigners and Japanese in Japan, where the Japanese can speak fluent Japanese but the foreigner, if not fully fluent, is left a little uncomfortable and maybe left out.

Speaking in English with them puts everyone on different footing, where, since they are not fluent, are forced to be more blunt and clear with explanations and answers because they don’t know more subtle or nuanced ways of explaining things. This immediately changes the relationship between the two conversers, as I feel that the Japanese members are forced to open up a little more than they maybe would previously.

However, this then carries over later, when, for example, at the hanami party, when everyone spoke primarily in Japanese, since the ice had already been broken everyone got along very well and chatted with everyone else. To me, it felt like everyone was on more settled ground and were able to mix better, and everyone ended up having a great time.

This idea of hesitance was very present in our conversations in English however, which led to some interesting realizations about the way Japanese people speak about themselves in relation to Americans. For example, whenever they were asked what they do, the usual response is just “I work at a company” or “I’m a student.” In English these are such vague remarks that one almost feels uncomfortable continuing the questioning, but in Japanese is just a form of modesty that is then usually followed by “ah, what company?” or “what college?”

I’m excited to continue KURESON for the next month and continue to participate and meet up with members. It’s been a great experience!

Astrid Brown: Doshisha Exchange Student Association

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This semester, I decided instead of continuing on with my CIP from last semester (Soft Tennis), that I would try something new and join the Doshisha Exchange Student Circle. Though the name seems to imply that there are many foreign students, in reality it is mostly Japanese students who are very interested in meeting people from foreign countries, so I thought it would be a really great fit for me.

 

Though there was spring vacation right in the middle of the semester, DESA still had quite a lot of activities planned. I was able to experience many new things such as watching sumo, going to a setsubun festival and eating at a ninja themed shabu shabu restaurant.

 

Since I knew a few DESA members from the previous semester, it was really easy for me to become part of the group. It was really great to have members recognize me and actively want to meet up outside of the usual meeting times, which was very unlike my CIP last semester. Many of them could also see my improvement within my Japanese ability, which I was surprised about, but also was a really great compliment. Often I would be asked about my opinion on certain trips and I was invited to all the 飲み会 and dinners that were planned, even though these were not exclusively for exchange students.

 

In comparison to my CIP last semester, DESA was a lot more relaxed. Though there was definitely a seniority structure, it was not as strict as in soft tennis. The members actually wanted to be friendly with me, while last semester they were really uninterested and put off by my lack of speaking ability. The carefree attitude helped me want to be there and speak Japanese more, which is what the CIP experience should be about.  I think the reason for these differences is because DESA is full of members who are interested in meeting foreigners so they were more open to me joining. Sports circles also tend to be more traditional and therefore have a stronger kohai/sempai structure while in DESA there is no such thing as more ‘skilled’ members so there is less of this type of hierarchy.

 

In the end, this CIP was a really great experience for me and I was able to be a member as well as going sightseeing with the exchange student groups. Hopefully in the next few weeks I will be able to spend more time with the DESA students before I leave to go back home next month.