aWa life
WelcomeMessages

Awa Shoku: Tender Squidis a Matter of Timing

Tokushima Prefecture
Japanese SpeechContestGairaigo Galore:
ペーパードライバー

October 2019
# 348

1

Awa Life is a Monthly Publication of the Tokushima
Prefectural International Exchange Association

It’s October and the weather has started to cool down! Autumn has arrived and one can fully appreciate
the beautiful leaves and foliage unique to the season. There are also some great events for everyone
to enjoy such as the Machi Asobi vol. 23 and the Tokushima Jazz Week 2019. Of course, you can't
forget about Halloween! Does everyone already have a costume they want to wear? It’s finally coolenough to go outside and enjoy the weather, so make sure you don’t miss this chance to have enjoy
some time with friends and family.
For all of those who like writing, please feel free to submit an article to us at any point in time aboutbasically anything. There are a few limitations though, such as you can’t write about religion, politics,
commercial activities or businesses or anything that we deem inappropriate. But, other than that, we
would be more than happy to receive articles about anything and everything including but not limited
to concerts, lectures, other events, culture, sports, community group information or anything cool that’s
happening in your local community.
We highly appreciate all of your articles and we love reading them. So if that writing bug of yours isbuzzing about, grab a pen or a computer and write and send away! Please send all submissions to ouremail:

awalife@gmail.com

Your editors,
Sydney and Nico

Tokushima Prefectural International Exchange Association (TOPIA)
1-61 Terashima Honcho Nishi, Tokushima City 770-0831 JAPAN, Clement Plaza 6F
Tel: 088-656-3303 Fax: 088-652-0616
http://www.topia.ne.jp/
Download a PDF file of awa life or view the online version by going to TOPIA's website!

Editors:
Sydney Bartig and Nico Bohnsack
Contributors This Month:

Emily Yocom, Jacobo Sanchez, Lance Kita, and Michi Mori

2

Contents
Pg. 2-3: Welcome Messages
Pg. 3:

Emergency Interpretation Services

Pg. 4-5: Tokushima Prefecture Japanese Speech Contest
Pg. 5:

Gairaigo Galore: ペーパードライバー

Pg. 6:

Awa Shoku: Tender Squid is a Matter of Timing

Pg. 7:

Japanese Lesson

Pg. 8-9: Events and Memoranda
New CIRs in Tokushima!
Sydney Bartig

H

ello! I’m so excited to meet everyone. My
name is Sydney Bartig and I will be working
as a Coordinator for International Relations (CIR)
at the Tokushima Prefectural Office and TOPIA.
Please feel free to just call me Sydney! (Yes, likethe city in Australia.) My
hometown is Flint, Michigan.
Michigan is known for theGreat Lakes, so if you likeswimming and nature, I
would definitely recommend
visiting at least once!
In high school I studied
Spanish, but I had always
had an interest in Japaneseculture so I began studying
Japanese in college. However, I wasn’t sure
how I wanted to make use of Japanese in myfuture career. When I was in my third year ofcollege, however, I was granted the opportunity
to participate in the Kakehashi Exchange Projectand visited Japan for the first time. I visited Tokyoand Ishikawa-ken, and while there I was able
to experience a homestay, learn more about
Japanese culture such as calligraphy, history,
etc. and meet a variety of wonderful people. A
little less than a month later I returned to Japan(Shiga-ken) again as a study abroad student.

My time in Japan left a great impression on me,
and after returning to America I immersed myself
in my Japanese studies and hoped to one-day
return to Japan for work. By now I knew I wanted
to help teach people more about my culture, as
well as learn more about other cultures myself.
Like the Kakehashi Project, I wanted to becomea ‘bridge’ between
countries. I also
wanted to makeuse of my current
Japanese skills andcontinue to improveupon them.
Although this is
my third time inJapan, this is
my first time inTokushima (and Shikoku). I have only been
here for a short time so far, but everyone I
have met has been truly kind. The nature ofTokushima is also extremely beautiful, so I lookforward to exploring more of what Tokushima
has to offer. I hope that I can also help others
learn more about America and Michigan. (Ifanyone has any questions, please do ask me!)If you ever see me walking around, please feel
free to say “HI”! I’m always excited to meet andtalk to new people.

3

Welcome Messages
Japanese government office, which got me all themore excited to be a CIR!

Emily Yocom

Hello everyone! My name is Emily, and I’ll beworking as a CIR in the Sports Promotion For my honors thesis, I spent a month in Tokyo
studying the Japanese refugee
Division at the Tokushimaresettlement system. I also
Prefectural Government.
served as the president of myI’m from a small town inschool’s chapter of a non-profit
Pennsylvania, USA andcalled Liberty in North Korea thatjust recently graduated withraises money for escaped Northbachelor ’s and master ’s
Korean refugees. I hope I candegrees in international affairs
continue learning about refugees
from Penn State University.
and immigrants in Japan during
My first time in Japan was a
my time in Tokushima.
semester abroad in Chiba; I
In my free time you’ll probably
went for fun and spoke zero
find me cooking, watching
Japanese. When I got home,dramas, or going to concerts. I
all I wanted was to go backhope to take advantage of cheap- so I picked up a Japanese
airfare and travel Asia while I
minor and became events
can, as well.
director for the Japanese
Friendship Association. Aftera few years of studying the language, I interned at I’m very much looking forward to helping
Minato City Hall in Tokyo. This internship taught advance intercultural exchange in Tokushima andme a lot about working in internationalization in a becoming a part of the community!

F

Emergency Interpretation Services

rom May 1st, 2019 simultaneousinterpretation in many languages will beavailable at the fire department by calling 119(fire and emergency). This will be available 24/7
all year round. When a fire breaks out and you
need firefighters, or in case of sudden illnesses or
injuries, please dial 119. Even if you can’t speak
Japanese you can talk with the fire operations
center through our interpretation center (limited toTokushima City).
C o n t a c t : To k u s h i m a C i t y F i r e f i g h t e rCommunications and Command Division
TEL: 088-656-1198

Tokushima Prefecture Japanese Speech Contest
Winning Speech by Jacobo Sanchez

T

he Tokushima Prefecture Japanese SpeechContest was held on Sunday, July 21st at
Awagin Hall. 13 participants from 8 different
countries and regions presented their speeches tomembers of our community.
Here is a list of the top five winners of the speech
contest:Grand Prize: Jacobo Sanchez (Mexico)
Tokushima Prefectural Assembly International
Exchange Federation-Chairman's Award:
Ngô Thị Duyên (Vietnam)
Runner up Awards: Korley Theophilus (Ghana),
TURMUNKH DORJPUREV (Mongolia),
Dan Qing Guo (China)
This year Jacobo Sanchez (Mexico) won the
grand prize for his speech "Viva Tokushima".
Please see the translation below for his award
winning speech.
－－－－－－－
Viva Tokushima!
Hola!!!!, buenas tardes a todos y gracias por
asistir.
Hello, my name is Hakobo and I’m from Mexico.
How are you?
By the way, do you think that there are any
similarities between Mexico and Japan?
At a young age I grew to love Japan because of
the many different cultural aspects such as anime,
samurai, ramen, language, history, etc. At that4time I thought that these things were completely
different from Mexico and I started to get more
and more interested in Japan.
I developed several goals and worked hard for along time in order to come to Japan. I thought that
I wanted to experience Japan as more than justa tourist. I wanted to be something more than atourist. I wanted people to know who I was, what
I thought about things, and I wanted to share my
Mexican culture. At the same time, I wanted toexperience a more real, intimate side of Japan.
In October of last year I decided that I wanted toapply for a volunteer program. After applying andbeing accepted to NPO The University of Bizan
I bought my plane ticket in December. I thenarrived in Tokushima this year in the first weekof March. I ended up choosing the University ofBizan because I would have many chances tohelp out in society.
The activities included in the volunteer program
are interesting and diverse. For example, we takecare of flowers for a project called ‘Flower Road’,
help out at preschools and elementary schools,
play with the children there, and clean the rivers.
We also play with children with disabilities. Thatexperience was truly unique and enjoyable.
Thanks to all of these activities I got to know
many people and made many friends. I was alsoable to learn more about festivals, culture, andwas able to practice Japanese. Moreover, I wasable to learn more about myself.
Tokushima is the first city in Japan that I’ve lived
in, and I think that I made a good choice. I believe
this because the people in Tokushima are very
friendly and are interested in getting to know
more about foreign cultures and people. Although
the city isn’t that big, there are many lively andfun places to visit. You can enjoy beautiful nature
year-round as well as enjoy the unique Awa Odori
festival. I was able to see the cherry blossoms,
learn about Golden Week, enjoy the Machi Asobi,
and witness Japan’s transition from the Heisei Era
to the Reiwa Era.

5Japanese Speech Contest

Just like how I have been able to experience
Japanese culture, I have also been able to share
Mexican culture with others.
For example, I taught
Spanish, danced to Latinrhythms, explained about
the situation in Mexico, andcooked Mexican food to eat
together with friends.
I particularly like to makeguacamole, a traditional
Mexican sauce madeusing avocado. Comparedto Mexico, the price of avocados in Japan in
pretty high which makes preparing guacamole
expensive, but it’s definitely worth it. Anotheringredient is Mexican lemons which can be quite
hard to find in Japan. However, I discovered thatusing sudachis produced almost the same taste.
This made me think that Tokushima’s sudachis

and Mexican lemons were very similar.
Just like how Tokushima’s sudachis and Mexican
lemons are similar, the kindness of the people
in Tokushima reminded meof the people in my country.
It made it seem like I wasn’t
on the other side of theworld. Although it may seem
like Mexican and Japaneseculture aren’t very similar,
there are actually many
common points that theyshare.
Finally, I would like to express my deepest thanks
to all the people who let me take part in thiswonderful volunteer program and worked together
with me.
Thank you so much, everybody!
Muchas gracias!

Gairaigo Galore

ペーパードライバー (paper driver; someone who has a driving license but doesn't drive)
By: Nico Bohnsack
A common phenomenon in modern Japanese society, with its extensive railway and bus network,is that many people don’t own cars or don’t use the car they own anymore. Financial reasons canplay a big role as well. However, getting a driver’s license is often still considered a must and is
an important part of becoming adult. The result is an increasing number of so called “paper drivers” which means people who have a driver’s license, but don’t
drive and, hence, maybe even lose the ability to drive. The expression is widely used in Japan and when you search for theterm on the internet you will realize that many driving schools
even make a business out of thisphenomenon and offer trainings
aimed at paper drivers. Paper
drivers are also famous for having the “golden driver’s license”
which people can get after about five years without traffic violations.
Guess why!
While English speakers might understand this word in the same
way as Japanese do, the word actually doesn’t exist in the English
language. It’s another example of Japanese-made English (waseieigo) and has been widely used in Japan since the 2000s. In English an expression people would
usually understand is the “driver on paper only”. How about you? Are you also a paper driver?

Awa Shoku: Tender Squid is a Matter of Timing
By Lance Kita

Squid and octopus are not familiar seafood
ingredients in many North American andEuropean cultures (except the Mediterranean),and have a bad reputation for being rubbery
and tough. Tokushima’s southern fishing ports
bring in significant amounts of big fin reef squid(aori-ika ア オ リ イ カ ) in autumn and are highly
sought after in the Kansai region. The squid growsignificantly between
October and Decemberin the nutrient-richwaters of the Seto
Inland Sea and Kii
Strait, and specimens
over 1 kg are quite
common.

6

point. Japanese cooks will usually deep-fry it astempura or sauté it on a flat griddle (teppan 鉄板 )with garlic butter or ponzu sauce. You can alsoboil squid strips for a minute and marinate themwith vegetables as a vinegared dish (sunomono
酢の物 ).
20 minutes
After a minute, squid turns torubbery chewiness, but after 20
minutes or so the proteins break
down and the flesh takes on atender, meaty texture. Japanesesimmered dishes (nimono 煮物 )often pair squid rings with whiteradish (daikon 大 根 ) or taro
(satoimo 里 芋 ) in a light soy
sauce-sake-sugar broth. With
most simmered dishes, letting
the food cool down naturally off
the heat will allow the flavors to
be absorbed by the ingredientsand keep the squid tender.

The key to preparing
squid that is tenderbut not tough comes
down to the timing. It’s
often said, “either cookit 20 seconds or 20
minutes.” This adagerings true, but Japanese From raw to slow-simmered, the secret 1 day
c o o k i n g o f f e r s t w o to tender squid is on opposite ends of the Okay, I don’t mean to cook
the squid for a whole day, but
additional points of time time spectrum.
Japanese fishermen will dry
where squid is absolutely
whole
squid
for
a
day in the open air. This is notdelicious.
the beef jerky-like dried cuttlefish (surume ス ル) eaten as a snack by the older generation.
メ
0 seconds
Wait, what? Yes, one of the most delicious ways Instead, the short drying period removes a little
to enjoy squid is raw. Fresh squid has a jewel-like moisture to firm up the meat and concentrates
transparency and a pleasant firmness combined the flavor, bringing out the umami. The squidwith the fragrance of sea foam. It’s often cut into is then grilled lightly and sliced up, served withvery thin strips which resemble noodles that are mayonnaise and seven-spice chili pepper blend
referred to as “squid vermicelli” (ika somen い (shichimi 七 味 ). If you want to order this withか 素 麺 ). Of course, it also makes sushi with a your beer or sake at an izakaya, ask for ichiyaboshi 一夜干し , literally “one night dried.” This iswonderful mouthfeel.
one kind of semi-dried seafood (himono 干物 ), a
technique that is used with lot of oily or whitemeat
20 seconds
So keeping squid tender with a fresh taste means fish.
cooking for under a minute. Chinese cooking
often serves it stir-fried with vegetables in black
bean sauce. Italians will toss it into marinara or
pepperoncino sauce at the last minute and let
the residual heat cook the squid to just the rightDon’t be afraid to try squid while you’re here in
Japan. Remember these four points of timing,and you’ll be enjoying tender, flavorful calamari all
through autumn. IKA-dakimasu!

7Japanese Lesson

By: Michi Mori

「V た形 + ことがあります」

This month we will study the grammar point「V た 形 + こ と が あ り ま す 」. This is used to talk about
things you have experienced, or to ask if someone else has experienced something.
A：スカイツリーにのぼったことがありますか。
A. Have you ever climbed
the Sky Tree?
ねんまえ
B：ええ、あります。2 年前に、のぼりました。
B. Yes, I have. I climbed it two years ago.
A：どうでしたか。
A. How
was it?
たの
B：楽しかったです。
B. It was fun.
わたし
A：そうですか。私もぜひのぼりたいです。
A. Is that so? I want to climb it as well.
You can use the form「V た 形 + こ と が あ り ま す 」in the present to talk about an experience that
happened in the past. You can express details about the experience by using「V た形 + こと」.
You can make the [ た ] form by changing the「て」form of a verb.「て」becomes「た」and「で」becomes「だ」。
か

Ⅰ

か

書いて

→

書いた

→

飲んだ

→

食べた

の

の

飲んで
た

た

Ⅱ

食べて

Ⅲ

来て

→

来た

して

→

した

き

き

「V た こ と が あ り ま す 」is used to express something you have experienced, and is not used for
がっこう
い
ほん
よ
obvious, everyday things. For example, you would not ask「学校に行ったことがあります。
」or「本を読んだことがあります。
」.
To answer the question「V た形 + ことがありますか」, you would respond with either「あります」or「ありません」.
Practice Questions
Change theうまbelow のwords in parenthesis to the correct form.
1. わたしは馬に（乗ります→）ことがあります。
えいがみ

2. きのう、映画を（見ます→ふ じ さ ん。
）のぼ3. A：富士山に（登ります→
B：はい〈）ことがありますか。
。
〉

い

4. A：アメリカに（行きます→
B：いいえ、〈）ことがありますか。
。
〉								References: みんなの日本語初級						
答え
こた

①乗った
の

②見ました
み

③登った／ありますのぼ④行った／ありませんい8
Events & MemorandaJapanese Classes 2019: Term 2 Schedule

Hour : 10:30-12:00
Location : Meeting rooms at TOPIA
Textbook : We will be using the “Minna no Nihongo I” or the “Minna no Nihongo II” (2nd edition)
textbooks (2,700 yen for the book and audio CD). Please prepare the textbooks on your own. As
well, there will be themed lessons on various topics such as seasons and life in Tokushima.
Fee : Free
DAY

TEACHER

LEVEL

TUE

Ms.Tamaki

Elementary 1

WED

Volunteers

Group Lesson

THU

Ms.
YamadaElementary
2, 3

FRI

Ms. Aoki

Beginner

JTM

Elementary 2

Volunteers

Group Lesson

Ms. Kimura
OthersSpecialBeginners
Class

SUN

TUE

CLASS DESCRIPTION
We will study various verb forms and sentence patterns
using those verb forms.
Text: Minna no Nihongo I – from Chapter 14~25
This is a flexible group study class split up in different
levels.
*For parents of young children, a childcare worker will beon hand to look after your child during the lesson (pleaseinquire in advance). Due to unforeseen circumstances,
the rooms may change.
We will study various forms and expressions such as
potential, volitional, imperative, prohibitive, conditional,
reasoning, passive, causative, and honorific expressions.
Text: Minna no Nihongo II – from Chapter 26~50

From
October 1(20 times)
From
October 2(20 times)
From
September 26(25 times)

We will take the first step towards learning basic
expressions.
Text: Minna no Nihongo I – from Chapter 1~13

From
October 4(20 times)

We will study reasoning, passive, causative and honorificexpressions.
Text: Minna no Nihongo II – from Chapter 26~38
This is a flexible group study class split up in different
levels.

From
October 6(20 times)

A class for those who cannot read or write hiragana
or katakana. We will study the basics such as, theJapanese alphabet, greetings, numbers, and items. We
will also be learning about Tokushima.

You may join
at anytime

For more information see TOPIA's homepage: http://www.topia.ne.jp

Tokushima Jazz Week 2019とくしま JAZZ WEEK 2019

Come enjoy a variety of different jazz
performances! ♪
For more information please check out the official
home page.

多彩なジャズライブです♪
詳細情報につきましては、公式ホームページをご覧ください。

When: October 26th (Sat) – November 4th (Mon)
Where: Shinmachi gawamizugiwakouen
Info: Tokushima Environment and Citizens Affairs
Department & Citizens and Culture Department
TEL: 088-621-2249
URL: https://www.pref.tokushima.lg.jp/ippannokata/kyoiku/bunka/5020479

日時：10 月 26 日（土曜日）～ 11 月 4 日（月曜日）
場所：新町川水際公園
お問い合わせ：徳島県民環境部県民文化課
TEL：088-621-2249
URL：https://www.pref.tokushima.lg.jp/
ippannokata/kyoiku/bunka/5020479

9

Events & Memoranda
Machi ★ Asobi Volume 23
マチ★アソビ vol.23

Ever since the first event in the Fall of 2009, the 2009 年秋の第 1 回開催以来、徳島市の中心市街
Machi ★ Asobi has gathered anime fans from all 地周遊型アニメイベントとして全国から多くのアover the country to Tokushima. From talk shows ニメファンを呼び込んでいる「マチ★アソビ」。
with famous voice actors to impressive cosplay 有名声優によるトークショーや、色とりどりの衣shows with colorful costumes, Tokushima truly 装が印象的なコスプレショーなど、徳島の街がア
gets into the anime spirit! For more information, ニメ一色に彩られます！詳しいイベントの情報はplease check out the link to the Machi ★ Asobi 「マチ★アソビ」HP にて随時発表されますのでごhomepage.
覧ください
When: September 28th (Sat) – October 14th(Mon)
Climax Run: October 12th (Sat) – October 14th
(Mon)
Where: Central Tokushima City & Aibahama Park
Info: Anime Festival Executive Committee
TEL: 088-621-2309
URL: http://www.machiasobi.com

日時：9 月 28 日（土）～ 10 月 14 日（月・祝）
クライマックスラン：10 月 12 日（土）～ 14 日（月・祝）
場所： 徳島市内中心部および藍場浜公園
お問い合わせ：アニメまつり実行委員会事務局
TEL：088-621-2309
URL：http://www.machiasobi.com

Evacuation Shelter Drill for Foreign Residents
In the event of a sudden earthquake, are you ready? Do you know where to evacuate and how to
prepare? Prepare yourself now so that you're ready when the time comes.
Tokushima Prefectural International Exchange Association (TOPIA) will be holding an evacuation
shelter drill in order to be able to support overseas residents in the case of a natural disaster. This drill
will be held on the 6th floor of the Tokushima Station Clement Plaza where TOPIA is located, and on
the rooftop. A mock evacuation shelter will be created, and we will practice providing and collecting
information for overseas resident victims.
We invite everyone from the overseas resident community to participate in this drill and learn about
evacuation shelters, rules of the shelter, try emergency food rations, receive advice from professionals,
and much more.
 Date: Saturday, November 9th (Sat) 9:45-13:00 (Tentative) Place: Tokushima Prefectural International Exchange Association(6th floor of Tokushima Station Clement Plaza)1-61 Terashimahonchonishi, Tokushima-shi, 770-0381, JAPAN* Apply at TOPIA (TEL: 088-656-3303) (Email: coordinator4@Topia.ne.jp)

Counselling Service at TOPIA・トピアの相談窓口
TOPIA provides consultation on everyday life, education, labor, medical institutions, and disasterprevention; and information on sightseeing spots to overseas residents and visitors. When necessary,
we will refer you to the appropriate organization that can assist with your needs.Counselling is available
in English, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Japanese. Please note that although every effort will be made,we may not be able to deal with all cases.
Everyday, 10:00 - 18:00 (closed during the New Year's holidays)
Tel: 088-656-3303 or 088-656-3320 (allows three-way conversations with an interpreter)