aWa life
Farewell and Welcome
Messages

May 2022"Big Shoes to Fill"

Introduction to Tokushima
Overseas Cooperative
Association

Gairaigo Galore:
アンコール

# 379

1

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

We hope all of you had a great Golden Week! May is the perfect month to spend time outside before
the heat and humidity becomes intense in Japan. While March and April are famous for cherry blossoms, there are also some flowering plants that bloom in May. One very famous example is the wisteria (see the picture below), or fuji 藤 in Japanese. There are a few places in Tokushima where you canenjoy wisterias, but one particularly popular place is Jinkoji Temple in Kamiyama, famous for its “climbing
wisterias” ( のぼり藤 ). Have a relaxing May, everyone!
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:
Michael R. Comer, Miraku Miyachi, Seiji Miyoshi, Yukari Nagata, Tokushima Overseas Cooperative
Association, Shoko Nomizu, and Kyoko Kamura

2Contents

Pg. 2-4: "Big Shoes to Fill"Pg. 4:

Farewell Message

Pg. 5:

Welcome Messages

Pg. 6:

Introduction to Tokushima Overseas Cooperative Association

Pg. 7:

Japanese Culture and Reading Corner: こいのぼり

Pg. 7:

Gairaigo Galore: アンコール

Pg. 8

Japanese Lesson

Pg. 9:

Events and Memoranda"Big Shoes to Fill"
By: Michael R. Comer
hen I first arrived
at my placement, I
was, by necessity, placed
within a bit of a patchwork
schedule. It was justanother impact among
many that the pandemic
wrought. The long delays in
the 2020/21 cohort’s arrival
had left many boards ofeducation looking for temporary measures withwhich to fill increasing vacancies in their English
teacher staffing. Regardless, it was not somethingwhich I found particularly troublesome to deal
with. Rather, I was just happy to have finally madeit to Japan.

W

As part of my initial three months, my schedule
dictated that I worked with a number of the moresenior ALTs, and I was keen to benefit from theiraccumulated knowledge and experience. Despite
my qualifications and past work experience within
the education sector, in moving to Japan, I was
effectively starting again from scratch. I viewed
it as my responsibility to learn the new lay of theland now that I had leapt into entirely new territory.
In this, I had nought but gratitude and respect for
my seniors. Their example was something which I
could aspire to, and I hope to do precisely that.

However, there was one in particular that I holdin the highest regard. At my base school, adelightful little Junior High, which I count myself
most fortunate to be placed at, I worked with anexcellent ALT. She had been ‘at the coal face’ fora number of years and that very much showed inher approach and practice.
I was fortunate too, in working beside her, she
was wonderfully supportive and a kind of safety
net for whenever I was left flailing for a good
way to explain grammar that a student could
understand. Her Japanese ability was frankly
enviable, and throughthat she had built
an excellent rapport
with her students
that seemed to stemfrom a genuine love
for helping them. It
reminded me of theattitude with which I
had initially gone into
teaching some four years ago, prior to the UK
education system having stamped it out of me inshort order.
There was, however, an issue. As with all goodthings, this too had to come to an end. She

3
was contracted by the Board of Education asa temporary measure to help ease the burden
on the remaining ALTs. This left me with aconsiderable problem, for while I admired her
method of teaching and the high standard ofpractice, these only helped to exacerbate thatissue. In leaving, there were some titanic shoes
to fill- a fact which was only emphasised further
in the send-off which students and teachers alike
had arranged for her.
I was, for all intents and purposes, now left tonavigate my way forward. Even though I am
confident that she would be all too willing to offer
advice or supportshould I need it, withthe training wheels
taken off, I, like themetaphorical childlearning to ride abike for the first time,am left to teeter
around precariously
and in desperation,
frantically trying to avoid falling and catching amouthful of pavement for my trouble.
Yet, having thought about it at some length while
my impending doom approached, I was led torecall an old mantra from the mandated wellbeing
meetings of my teacher training days: ‘Good isgood enough’.
What this boils down to is a fundamental notionI am not her; I am me. Now, this may feel like apainfully simplistic statement, and a blindingly
obvious one at that, but how often do we sit andcompare ourselves and our achievements to
those of the people around us?
These days, the process is made all too simple.
Social media feeds us an endless stream ofhighlights from the lives of others, and it is all
too easy of a trap to fall into. So often, we blindlycompare ourselves without pausing to consider
something of key importance:"Big Shoes to Fill"“If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, itwill live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”This applies to the professional setting which I
have described. I was comparing myself to theother ALTs around me. People who were wellversed in the English teaching environment,
all of whom have different experiences andpersonalities driving
them along. This is,of course, not an
inherently bad thing. In
watching the teachers
around us, we canlearn key lessons tocarry forward andimplement in our
own teaching, but
fundamentally each person’s teaching style is as
unique to them as their fingerprints.
Why judge my own teaching style and ability by
the measuring stick of those around me? In doing
so, I would be just like the fish, lamenting its
inability to climb. However, taking this further led
to a mind-set of reflection and introspection, andsubsequently to a series of key questions.
“What can I do that others cannot?”“What can a history teacher from the west
midlands possibly bring to English education that
other teachers can’t?”
Therein lay my answer. I determined a desire,
where the curriculum would allow, to teachEnglish through the prism of what I know bestBritish history and culture. There are countlessstories, both historic and those in folklore, which
provide a way of learning that aren’t tied down to
textbook learning and, through this, I would be
able to promote a little cultural exchange.
With that, I had fulfilled the ‘good is good enough’mantra. I was no longer tied to the concept of
having to fill the shoes of my predecessor. They
were shoes that simply wouldn’t fit me and"Big Shoes to Fill"nothing would be able to change that fact. I could
not do many of the things which my predecessor
could, in many cases because certain skills or
aspects of personality weren’t something that I
possessed.
My approach
was somethingthat I could do,and somethingwhich I was goodat. My good wasgood enough.
Lessons from her
would be absorbed and utilised where they couldbe, but from there on out, everything would stillneed to come from me. When I cast off those selfimposed shackles, there was a prevailing sense4of relief underlain by a sense of excitement;
excitement that I might be able to show thesestudents something new and fun that might kindle
an interest to investigate further- Whether it be
the different manner in which Welsh Valentine’s iscelebrated, or the displays of fireworks on bonfire
night and their origins in sinister plots of treason.
I will aim to teach the students about it all, if only
to show that English learning can go beyond
vocabulary lists and textbook study.
So, I will finish here with a question- both to thenewest ALTs and those that have been here fora while. Ask yourself this; what is it about yourmethod of teaching that is unique to you, andif you can, what can you do to inject a little ofyourself into the lessons that you teach?

Farewell Messages
Miraku Miyachi, Multilingual Consultation Staff (Vietnamese)t i s n e v e r e a s y t o s a y “ G o o d b y e ” , b u t experiences can be hard
unfortunately, the time has come that I will for expatriates, but they
have to. I will be leaving my job at Tokushima can also be interesting
Prefectural International Exchange Association for us to discover.
(TOPIA) at the end of March 2022 to pursue myOver the past 3 years,
goals!
the busiest part of myTime has gone by so fast; it has been almost consultation job wasthree years since I began working at TOPIA as supporting Vietnamesea Vietnamese consultant. Through my job, I’ve people facing difficulties in the pandemic. Thererealized that foreigners coming to Japan for were so many cases of technical trainees whowork, regardless of visa status, need to adapt had finished their contracts but could not return tothemselves to the unique culture of Japan and Vietnam, or those who got infected by Covid-19
overcome many obstacles along the way. This can but could not communicate with health centers
include anything from the gaps in daily life habits due to the language barrier. We have acted as
to the differences in the legal system. In most a liaison between these people and the relevantcases, Japanese people tend to not speak their authorities in order to help solve these problems.
thoughts clearly in order to be courteous, but thismay cause confusion for foreigners. Just a funny Finally, I would like to express my gratitude for the
instance, I once offered coffee to my Japanese opportunity to be a part of TOPIA, and for being
friend, and he said “It’s OK”. I got embarrassed, provided good working conditions during my duty.
not knowing whether his “OK” meant he wanted From the bottom of my heart, I pray for the healththe coffee or if he was fine without it. On the other and prosperity of those at TOPIA.
hand, it may hurt Japanese people's feelings if wetalk to them too openly and directly. All of these

I

5

N

Welcome Messages
Seiji Miyoshi, Chief Director of TOPIA

ice to meet you! My name is is Seiji Miyoshi,
and I am the new chief director of theTokushima Prefectural International Exchange
Association (TOPIA). I was born in the westernpart of the prefecture in a place called Hiruma,
Higashimiyoshi, which happens to be near thebirthplace of the feudal warlord, Nagayoshi
Miyoshi, who has been a popular topic recently (Iam not his descendant, though). I currently live in
Aizumi.
For the past 36 years, I have worked at theTokushima Prefectural Office. I have done avariety of different jobs, but this will be my firsttime involved in international exchange. I will
do my best to help you all in any way I can,and I greatly appreciate your kindness andconsideration in advance.
I still have space left to write, so let me tell you
about the bento I made today. My bentos consist
primarily of rice and 3 side dishes, including an
egg dish, a meat or fish dish, and a vegetabledish. Today's egg dish is tamagoyaki (rolled
omelette), filled with chirimenjako (dried young
sardines) and green onions, which is something
my late father used to make for an evening snack.
The meat dish is stir-fried miso pork and eggplant,
and the vegetables are simmered pumpkin, hijiki
seaweed, and lotus root. The vegetable dish wasa recipe from "CookPad"
which takes quite a bitof time to make, so I
prepared a week's worth
on Sunday evening.
Since the school my wife
works at is currently on
spring break and cafeteria
lunches are not available,
I made a bento for mywife as well today.
I first started making bentos when my two sonsentered high school, and I needed to start packing
their lunches everyday. Since my wife had trouble
in the mornings due to her low blood pressure,and I was an early riser and could cook a bit, I
took on the responsibility of making the bentos.
After my sons graduated from high school, I
continued to make bentos as I found it mucheasier to stick to my lower carb diet and eat asmaller amount of rice for lunch if I just made it
myself. Sometimes I get too tired or bored to do
it everyday, so on those days, I take a break andjust rely on frozen foods or eat out. Unfortunately,
I haven't really seen any results from my diet.
I would like to continue making bentos, though, forthe sake of my family's happiness and my health.

Yukari Nagata, Coordinator for Local InternationalizationN

ice to meet you, everyone! My name is
Yukari Nagata, and I began working asa Coordinator for Local Internationalization in
April. I will be working alongside four multilingual
consultants (English, Chinese, and Vietnamese)w i t h t h e h o p e o f m a k i n g To k u s h i m a a nenvironment that is easy to live and work in.

me into their community
as their friend, coworker,
a n d f a m i l y m e m b e r.
Now, it is my turn toaccept people fromother countries into mycommunity!

I have been involved in international cooperationfor over ten years, working in Community
Development and living mainly in Africa, namely
Senegal and Sierra Leone. The fact that I wasable to have such an enjoyable and fulfilling lifeand job while living in an environment with acompletely different language, culture, and work
style was all thanks to the locals who accepted

By working hard to
support people withany issues they may have and promoting a
multicultural society in Tokushima, I hope to help
make Tokushima a place where everyone ishappy to come to. Please feel free to reach out tome anytime!

6
Tokushima Overseas Cooperative Association （TOCA）
徳島県青年海外協力協会

We are a private organization of experienced JICA Volunteers living mainly in Tokushima Prefecture. We are
known by the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers and others as the OV (Old Volunteer) Association.

About the JICA Volunteer Program
Volunteers are dispatched by JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) to live alongside the locals indeveloping countries and contribute to problem-solving within their communities, with the hope that upon returning
to Japan, they will put their experience to use in various countries and fields, including in Japan.
JICA Volunteers gain the experience of adapting to the language, culture, and customs of their partner country,
as they live and work together with the locals to solve problems within their community. As globalization
advances and the world becomes more closely connected, we would like to use our experiences to promoteinternational exchange and cooperation in Tokushima by sharing the cultures and realities of countries aroundthe world, and by developing activities that lead to multicultural coexistence within our community.

Examples of the OV Association's
Activities in Tokushima

Panel Exhibition

An introduction to the partner countries and activities of
JICA volunteers, as well as work/activities after
returning to Japan. (Photo: August 2021/Tokushima
Prefectural General Education Center)

Multicultural Understanding Citizens' Seminar

Two former JICA participants who volunteered in Ghana gave
an introduction to the country, described their volunteer
experiences, and held a Ghanaian cooking class.
The menu included jollof rice, which is similar to(Photo: October 2021/Awa City "Aeruwa")
takikomi gohan (Japanese mixed rice), okra soup,
and boiled eggs with shito (a spicy condiment),
along with lots of bright orange palm oil.

Multicultural & International Cooperation
Seminar for High School Students

A seminar with volunteer stories and discourse onachieving international cooperation (e.g., throughexchanges with the foreign community).
(Photo: High School Summer Camp/Kamikatsu)

Recently, the number of foreign residents and people with a foreign background in Tokushima have been
increasing, with about 1 in every 110 people being a foreign resident. Even so, there are still many people in
Tokushima who don't know about other countries or cultures outside of Japan, and aren't sure how to connect withpeople from other countries. In order to build a community in Tokushima where Japanese and foreign residents cancoexist, the Tokushima OV Association, with everyone's help, are promoting activities in an effort to create asociety that breaks the barriers of nationality, language, and culture, so we can all live in harmony. Why not join us?

7Japanese Culture and Reading Corner: こいのぼり

By: Shoko Nomizu
およがつ い つ かひたんご
せっく
しょうちょう（端午の節句）の 象徴です。
大空に 泳ぐ こいのぼりは、 5 月 5 日「こどもの日」
え ど じ だ い
こ
すこ
せいちょう
りっしんしゅっせ
ねがはじ
こいのぼりは、江戸時代に、子どもの 健やかな 成長とともに、立身出世を 願って 始まった、
にほん
ふうしゅう
日本の 風習です。
むかしちゅうごく
こ う が じょうりゅう
のぼ
き
さかな
りゅう
こうてい しょうちょう
りゅうもん
たき
昔、 中 国の 黄 河 上 流 に、 登 り切 った 魚 が 竜（皇 帝の象 徴）になれるという 「竜 門の滝 」
こい
のぼ
りゅう
でんせつ
が ありました。鯉だけが 登りきったので、竜になったという 伝説があります。
でんせつ
こい
しゅっせ
あつか
この伝説から、鯉は、出世の シンボルとして 扱われるようになったそうです。
ゆらい
こ
たい
ふか
おやごころ
かん
こいのぼりの 由来には、子どもに 対する 深い 親心を 感じますね。
さいきん
よう
へ や
かざ
きせつ
かざ
最近では、ベランダ用や、お部屋で 飾れる こいのぼり などが あります。季節の 飾りもの
へ や
かざとして、お部屋に 飾ってみては いかがでしょうか。
おおぞら

しょうちょう

象 徴
でんせつ

伝説
しゅっせ

出世

Symbol

りっしんしゅっせ

立身出世 Social Success

LegendSuccess in Life

ゆらい

由来 Origin

おやごころ

親心

シンボル Symbol

こうが黄河 Yellow River

Parental Love
あつ扱う

じょうりゅう上 流

Upper Stream

こうてい

皇帝 Emperor

To treat (as)かざ飾る

To decorate

Gairaigo Galore

アンコール (encore)
By: Nico Bohnsack
I can still remember my first concert experience in Japan as if it was yesterday. This is not because
the concert was one of the greatest concerts I’ve ever been to, but because I was actually one ofthe performers. It was at a German beer festival in Fukuoka and we performed a few times each
day for about a week. At the end of each set, the audience shouted “AN-KO-RU!!”. I couldn’t speak
Japanese at all at that time but it didn’t take long for me to realize that they wanted an encore.
Interestingly, it reminded me about what people in Germany would shout in the same moment:“ZU-GA-BE!!”. It’s shouted in exactly the same way, and I had the feeling that even the word itself
sounded similar.

Two years later, I played at a similar festival in another city,
but the difference was that I had been studying Japanese foralmost two years at that time. Now, I knew that the audience
was shouting ア ン コ ー ル and that this is also the usual
Japanese expression for “encore”. As with the English version,
アンコール actually stems from the French word “encore” which carries the meaning of “again” or“some more”. However, it’s not clear if the Japanese language borrowed the word directly from the
French language or if the English version is actually the origin of the Japanese word.
Shouting ア ン コ ー ル is most commonly practiced during rock and pop music concerts, butsometimes also within other genres such as jazz, so you should definitely try it out the next time you
go to a concert in Japan. The artists will definitely be grateful.

8Japanese Lesson
By: Kyoko Kamura

もうで「申し出をする」
You see a person carrying something large, and you would like to help them. What should you say?

❔

て つ だ

A： 手伝いましょうか。
ねが

B：すみません。お願いします。
When you are voluntarily offering to do something forけいsomeone, you can use 「ます形＋ましょうか」.
ねがWhen someone is offering to do something for you, you can say 「すみません。お願いします。」 or
ねが「お願いします。ありがとうございます。」.
When declining someone's offer, you can say 「いいえ、けっこうです。ありがとうございます。」 or「だいじょうぶです。ありがとうございます。」.
Remember to say 「ありがとうございます。」, even when turning down an offer.
えきおく

A: 駅まで、送りましょうか。
いB: バスで行きますから、だいじょうぶです。ありがとうございます。
い＊You can also give a reason when declining, e.g., 「バスで行きますから」.
れんしゅう

＜練習＞
みぎ

え

おとこ

ひと

おんな

ひと

み

おとこ

ひと

なん

い

１．右の絵を見てください。男 の人はと何と言いますか。
男 の人：

。
ねが

女 の人：お願いします。ありがとうございます。
みぎ

え

み

おとこ

ひと

なん

い

２．右 の絵 を見 てください。 男 の人 は何 と言 います
か。
おとこ

ひと

おんな

ひと

男 の人:

。
ねが

女 の人:すみません。お願いします。

３．A:コーヒーをいれましょうか。
B:(Decline the offer, giving a reason) ⇒３．例）いいえ、けっこうです。さっき飲みましたから。ありがとうございます。
の２．取りましょうか。
と

答え
こた

１．エアコンを消しましょうか。/温度を上げましょうか。
け

おんど

あ

9

Events & Memoranda

Kamiyama Onsen Festival
神山温泉まつりKamiyama Onsen Festival is an annual hot spring
festival, featuring a shop selling local specialty
produce, a bazaar, and plenty of fun events,
such as Awa Ningyo Joruri (Puppet Theater)
performances and mochi pounding.

毎年恒例の温泉まつりです♪神山特産品青果物販

When: May 22nd (Sun.)
10:00 – 16:00
Where: Kamiyama Onsen
Fee: Free
Inquiries: Kamiyama Onsen Festival Executive
Committee
TEL: 088-676-1117

日時：5 月 22 日（日）URL: https://kamiyama-spa.com/

売やバザール、人形浄瑠璃の上演に餅つきなど楽
しいイベントがいっぱいです。

10：00 ～ 16：00
場所：神山温泉
料金：無料
問い合わせ：神山温泉まつり実行委員会
TEL：088-676-1117
URL: https://kamiyama-spa.com/

Forms of Kami (Special Exhibition)
特別展 カミのかたち
Since ancient times, people have perceived themysterious, hidden powers of the world throughanimism, myths, legends, and religion, regarding
the beings with such power as "kami" (gods). In
this exhibition, we explore "kami" found in postmodern Japanese paintings, Western paintings,
sculptures, and contemporary art from ourmuseum's collection.

古来から、人々はこの世界に潜む神秘的な力をもつものを、アニミズム、神話や伝説、宗教などによってとらえてきました。本展ではそのような威力を持つものを「カミ」ととらえて、当館の所蔵
コレクションの中から、近代以降の日本画、西洋絵画、彫刻、現代美術などにみられる「カミ」を探ります。

When: April 22nd (Sat.) - June 19th (Sun.)
9:30 – 17:00
Where: The Tokushima Modern Art Museum(Exhibition Room 3)
Fee: 400 Yen (adults), 300 Yen (university andhigh school students), 200 Yen (junior highschool and elementary school students)
Inquiries: The Tokushima Modern Art Museum
TEL: 088-668-1088
URL: https://art.bunmori.tokushima.jp/

日時：4 月 23 日（土）～ 6 月 19 日（日）9：30 ～ 17：00
場所：徳島県立近代美術館

展示室 3

料金：400 円（大人）、300 円（高・大学生）、
200 円（小・中学生）
問い合わせ：徳島県立近代美術館
TEL：088-668-1088
URL: https://art.bunmori.tokushima.jp/

Counselling Service at TOPIA・トピアの相談窓口
TOPIA provides consultation on everyday life, education, labor, medical institutions, and disaster prevention; andinformation on sightseeing spots to overseas residents and visitors. When necessary, we will refer you to theappropriate organization that can assist with your needs.Counselling is available in English, Chinese, Vietnamese, andJapanese. Please note that although every effort will be made, we may not be able to deal with all cases.
Japanese, English, Chinese: Everyday, 10:00 - 18:00 (closed during the New Year's holidays)
Vietnamese: Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, 10:00 - 14:00
Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, 10:00 - 18:00 (closed during the New Year's holidays)
Tel: 088-656-3312 or 088-656-3313 (allows for three-way conversations with an interpreter)