ニュース＆トピックス

I’m Chiara Giannetti, my volunteer program was designed to be divided into several jobs that I would change every month. At the beginning I wasn’t sure what to expect, also because I was the only one who carried out multiple activities with joy.

I spent the first month on a small family-run organic farm. A community of people interested in a type of eco-sustainable agriculture that does not use pesticides of any kind has been created around it. Their goal is to be able to self-produce the food necessary for their sustenance and the surpluses are sold in the shop associated with the company. There it is possible to buy not only fruit and vegetables grown with care, but also other types of food, but all strictly organic.

The owner of the company also owns some plots of rice fields, where I helped do the “inekari” harvest. It was one of the most physically tiring jobs, but one that gave me the most satisfaction. Everyone rushed to help and for 3 days we dedicated ourselves to what is perhaps the most representative agricultural work in Japan. I understood the importance that the Japanese people reserve for rice, the cornerstone of the Japanese diet and which is eaten with the awareness of how important it is. Growing rice is hard work and now I understand why even a single grain of rice left in the bowl is considered waste.

In addition to this work, I sometimes accompanied my Host mother to meetings of the “Tokyo coffee” association. It is linked to a Free schooling program which aims to guarantee an alternative school education to children who have lost faith in traditional school. I believe that this is a sign of how much the new generations suffer from an education method that often does not understand them and tends to suffocate them emotionally and the fact that these alternative education groups are emerging is very beautiful.

In Italy I have never heard of groups of this kind, but I think they would be of great help there too.

During the second month I changed two jobs. For the first week I worked in an Italian restaurant, helping in the kitchen and with room service. However, the pace of work was too intense for me as I had never done a job of that type and so I asked to be able to change.

Coincidentally, some friends of my Host mother had been thinking about opening a small take away restaurant “Natajimabase” in their home for some time and asked me to help them in this “adventure”. Having told them that I have a passion for cooking, they proposed that I become the “chef” and offer some typical Italian street food style food. I thought that fried pizza could be the best choice both in terms of the typical nature of the product and the ease of managing the preparation.

I must admit that the work I am doing now happened by chance, but it is exactly what I have always wanted to do and what I would like to do in Japan in the future if fate allows me to move to this wonderful country. One of my biggest expectations regarding this volunteer program was to understand what I wanted to do in the future and if my dream of opening an Italian restaurant in Japan was really the right choice. Now I’m having a really valuable experience because I have the opportunity to gain so much experience of just that. With the young couple I live and work with, we have made several plans for the future and we will probably not limit ourselves only to fried pizza, but we will extend the menu. I honestly can’t stand it anymore with emotion.  

Hello, my name is Veera. I am 19 years old and I am from Helsinki, Finland. I am volunteering at a junior high and high school as an assistant English teacher in Hagi, Yamaguchi, Japan. The first two months in Japan have gone by so fast. I have learned and experienced a lot. I first arrived in Tokyo. I had so much fun meeting all of the other volunteers and sightseeing.

Leaving Tokyo for our volunteer programs made me feel a mixture of different feelings. I was sad to leave behind all the new friends I had made, excited to see my new home for the next 6 months, and a little scared to be on my own.

My expectations of Hagi were very different to that of what it actually is. The way Japanese people were talking about Hagi and Yamaguchi in general made me think I was coming to a very small city. However, in Finland Hagi would be considered a relatively big city. This is a cultural difference I experienced as someone coming from a country with a population of 5,5 million to one with a population of 125,7 million. I feel that there are a lot of people everywhere, especially in the larger cities. I don’t think you can call a city very small if it has a 24/7 karaoke facility (which I have visited on multiple occasions 🙂 ).

My work has started smoothly. All the teachers and students at the school are so kind and understanding, which has made me feel very welcome here. The work days are a little longer than what I am used to (Monday-Friday 8-16.30), but I find the work enjoyable and I have a lot of free time throughout the day, which allows me to study Japanese. I sometimes struggle to communicate with the students because of the language barrier.

However, they try to speak English with me and I try to speak Japanese, so we are able to talk. The English teachers speak English very well, which has been great.

I think the language has been the most difficult for me. It can sometimes be frustrating to not be able to express everything I want to say, but it is also a great motivator for me to keep learning Japanese. I have made a few silly mistakes in Japanese. For example, on my first day at work while I was leaving I said to everyone ”行ってきます” (いってきます / ”im off” this phrase is used only at home). They laughed a little, but were very helpful and taught me the right phrase to say ”お先に失礼します” (おさきにしつれいします / something along the line of ” sorry, I have to go now”). I also visited Kyoto and I was on the metro and I was offering my seat to an older woman and said” 触ってください” (さわってください / please touch) instead of ” 座ってください” (すわってください / please sit). I am still MORTIFIED. Thankfully they understood that I don’t speak much Japanese and we laughed about it (I was internally crying).

I live in a dormitory with a few of the students and one teacher. At the dormitory I have my own room, which has been nice because I am able to enjoy my alone time. The girls at the dormitory are great and we are able to do things together on the weekends like go to the movies, art exhibitions and restaurants etc.

I miss my friends and family in Finland and it is sometimes difficult to organize phone calls because of the 7 hour time difference and everyone being busy, but I know that time goes by fast and I will see them soon. I am also very excited about the fact that my sister is coming to visit Japan next month and we will be able to spend Christmas together.

Overall, my experience has been very positive so far and I am looking forward to the remaining 3-4 months here.