Thursday, April 28, 2011

"Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother." Mark 3:35

Occasionally I am asked to write articles for various newsletters that the center publishes.  Here is one I wrote last month about how I communicate with the children in the Mitsuba classes that I help with.  Mitsuba is a Christian nursery school that's run through the center.  The children are all 2 or 3 years old.  The children are so cute and I love being able to help out either two or three mornings a week.

3/10/11

One of the things that I was most anxious about when I first came to Japan last August was how I was going to be able to communicate without knowing any Japanese. I didn’t know how I would be able to interact with the children in Mitsuba without being able to talk to them!



It turns out that I didn’t have to be nervous. From the start the children in Mitsuba were incredibly welcoming to me. Even without being able to talk in Japanese, I was able to play with the children and communicate in ways without language. Throughout the fall as I learned more and more Japanese each week, I was able to talk to the children and it was wonderful being able to begin to have conversations with them.


The children understand that I don’t speak Japanese and when I don’t understand what they are saying they have been great at finding creative ways of communicating with me. I’ve had children point to what they are talking about, take my hand and bring me to what they wanted to tell me about or use different Japanese words that they know I understand to get their point across.


Over the past few weeks the Mitsuba teachers and I have given the children a few mini “English lessons” where we learned a song with the numbers 1-7 and introduced them to several animal names in English. I love being able to teach the children English because it introduces them to the English language and it helps them to understand that not only do I not speak Japanese, I speak an entirely different language!


It has been such a great experience to help out with Mitsuba group. The children are such a joy to spend time with in the mornings. Even though we speak two different languages, we’ve been able to communicate well with each other. I’ve enjoyed getting to know the children and I hope that by being a part of their class that they will not be nervous to try to communicate with other foreigners as they grow up- even if they don’t know the language!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

"So they set out from the mountain of the LORD and traveled for three days." -Numbers 10:33

Earlier this month Rev. David Copley, the  Mission Personnel Officer for the Episcopal Church, came to Japan.  I met up with him in Tokyo and we spent a whirlwind three days traveling around Japan, visiting placements and meeting different people.  We went sightseeing in Tokyo and met with someone at the Provincial Office for the Nippon Sei Ko Kai.  Then we traveled to Tochigi Prefecture to visit ARI (Asian Rural Institute) and spend the night there.  After ARI we took a train to KEEP (Kiosato Educational Experiment Farm), a dairy farm, hotel and community complex that was founded by American Missionary Paul Rusch just after World War II.  Then we traveled south to Nagoya where David met with my supervisor and got to sit in on an English class that I was helping to teach!  It was a very busy but very fun trip.  I got to meet some incredible people and see some very beautiful places.  I even saw Mt. Fuji!!  Here are some pictures from the trip:

Sakura! Cherry Blossoms


Really Frozen Fish.  They cut them with giant power saws.


"Save Power and Carry On"


Anglican Church in Japan Provincial Offices in Tokyo


Pigs! At ARI!

Fixing the roof after the earthquake.

Earthquake damage


ARI is in a very beautiful part of Japan


Mountains around KEEP


MT. Fuji in the distance!


Music Box from France


At KEEP

Paul Rusch. "Do your Best and It Must Be First Class"

Friday, April 1, 2011

Hong Kong!

I went to Hong Kong!



Bird Market!


Temple of the 10,000 Buddhas


Snoopy World!


Hong Kong from the Peak


Spencer and Me at Cheung Chau Island


There are beautiful flowers in Hong Kong

Spencer's new apartment


Look what I found in Hong Kong! 
 Last weekend I flew to Hong Kong to visit my friend and fellow YASC-er Spencer.  Spencer is doing an amazing job working with Filipino mmigrant workers in Hong Kong.  Specifically she provides legal advice and support to women who are domestic workers and who are encountering difficulties with their previous or current employers.  Here is her blog if you want to check it out! Spencer's Blog

 I was only in Hong Kong for a short while, but during that time we did so much!  We hit all the major Hong Kong sight-seeing spots, went shopping in the markets and ate huge amounts of seafood. Hong Kong is such a cool city and it was so great to see where Spencer lives and works.  I wish I had had more time to explore the city but hopefully one day I'll be able to go back!