For my CIP project, I decided to volunteer at a children\u2019s daycare. Once a week I would go to the daycare and play with the children for a couple of hours. An interesting point to note is that when I was initially asking to volunteer at the daycare, the staff personnel also requested bank account information. This is because in Japan it is not unusual for volunteers to receive\u300c\u304a\u793c\u300dmoney, which I could never imagine receiving in the United States.<\/p>\n
As someone with an introverted personality, I initially found it difficult to interact with the children at first, but like with any child they were interested in learning about their new \u300c\u5148\u751f\u300dand after learning I was from America would often request me to say things in English, which were often met with laughter or additional requests. Another difficult point was that understanding the children. Compared to the staff personnel, the children had a high tendency to speak in Kansai dialect. While I was able to quickly pick up the word meanings, the children also tended to speak faster than the adults, and to someone whose listening skills are not their strongest point to begin with, understanding the children could sometimes be hard. However, since the children also tended to speak in short sentences and simple vocabulary it was not impossible to talk with them.<\/p>\n
Additionally, the more time passed the more friendly the children became with me. It was interesting to see the subtle differences between Japanese and American culture at the daycare; things like how fast they become friendly toward others and the children\u2019s increased willingness to listen to adults and others. But it was also heartening to see that regardless of culture, children are still rambunctious, outgoing, and at times more forward than their adult counterparts. I am also grateful to my fellow volunteers and the staff personnel for helping me out and taking care of me during my time at the daycare.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For my CIP project, I decided to volunteer at a children\u2019s daycare. Once a week I would go to the daycare and … \u7d9a\u304d\u3092\u8aad\u3080