The International Center Newsletter

TAKING OFF

Vol. 20 Fall, 2013

Hello from All Corners of the World!
Kazutoshi Takaki (International Studies
Major, Graduated in 2012)I

am currently working at a nongovernmental organization called Terra
Renaissance as an intern. I visited Uganda
for two weeks as a part of my research andhearing mission for the organization in August,so I would like to share my experiences onthat trip with you.

My BackgroundTop:
A red-soil land in Uganda
Bottom: Children in the community ofGulu dancing at the rehabilitation centerFirst of all, I would like to tell you why I
became an intern at Terra Renaissance. WhenI was in high school, I saw a TV program
about JAICA’s Japan Overseas Cooperation
Volunteers. It made me realize that there wereso many people in the world who could not go
to school and did not have enough food to eat.
I hoped to be a member of the Volunteers
someday. However, at the same time, I
thought in order to be useful for others, I haveto acquire more knowledge about the world
and polish myself to be a better person. So I
decided to major in International Studies at
Osaka Gakuin University. During my four
years at OGU, I became a helper for Open
Campus and for the international students,
and I often participated in events with them. I
tried many different things even when theylooked very difficult and I tried to do something
useful for others. After graduation, I applied for
JAICA’s volunteer program, but I failed because my experiences were not sufficientenough for the program. Therefore, I am working at the organization which deals with global
problems to gain experience in international
cooperation and support programs. I plan to
apply for JAICA’s program again next year.

Visit to Uganda
I visited Uganda for two weeks last August. It
was the first time for me to visit the African
continent, so I felt excited, but at the sametime a little bit worried because I didn’t knowwhat awaited me. The first surprising incident
happened on the plane to Uganda. As soon
as my plane landed, everyone clapped theirhands probably because it landed safely. I, ofChildren of former child soldiers at therehabilitation center in Gulu

course, did the same as others. On the way
from the airport to the city, I saw a vast red-soil
land and endless blue sky. Poverty and starvation are the two big words that come up in mymind when I think of Africa, but I found it abeautiful place to be. I thought the saying“seeing is believing” is really true.
The capital of Uganda, Kampala was a surprisingly modern city. You can see secondhand Japanese cars and trucks, a big shopping mall, hotels and even golf courses. On
the other hand, you can also find small children begging for money and selling goods on
the street. On my way from Kampala to Gulu
located in the northern part of Uganda, I also
saw women and children carrying water tanks,and pupils in school uniform walking on theunpaved street in the morning. I found Gulu,
where Acholis with their own language andculture live, quite different from the capital city.
I also found that Uganda is still greatly influenced by European colonial times. Due to its
fertile land, farming and stockbreeding are still
the major industries there,. There is a large
shopping mall which is foreign owned andsells mostly foreign goods. People in Uganda
gain an income from farming, so they still havea long way to go until they make a stable income.

Vol. 20

Support Activity in Uganda
Terra Renaissance has a social rehabilitation center for former child soldiers in Gulu.
A child soldier is anyone under the age ofeighteen who is part of any kind of regularor irregular armed force or armed group in
any capacity. Some were captured by ananti-government army and forced to join abattle, some were even ordered to kill theirown parents by the army. No matter how
they became a soldier, all of them had terrible experiences in the past. It is said that
there are still about 25,000 child soldiers in
the world. Even if they were lucky enough tocome home, they got hurt physically andpsychologically. They are sometimes discriminated against by neighbors, and cannot
go back into a community and find a stablejob.
The rehabilitation center helps former
child soldiers escape poverty and become
financially independent by giving them fun-Page 2

damental education and helping themacquire skills such as sewing, woodworking, and carpentering. The support continues for three years, and during theseyears they receive a BHN support andcounseling.
The final goal is to establish a smallsized microcredit business and to become
financially independent. Furthermore, thecenter supports them in preserving Acholi
traditional culture such as song anddance.
Through the hearing I conducted, I foundthat the experiences
the former childsoldiers have vary, depending on their age
and gender. Some held a high rank in thearmy and gave orders, while some female
soldiers were the victims of sexual abuse
and got pregnant, and so on. Their experiences sounded so fearful and horrible.
They were beyond my imagination. However, I also felt the energy and power with-in themselves to face their past and live
earnestly and steadily.
After I came back to Japan, I am still asking myself what I can do for them and how I
can help them to live with hope.
I am determined to engage in international
cooperation and support work, and to work
for a non-governmental organization in the
future. Problems lie not only overseas, butalso in Japan. I would like to help change
inequality and imbalance in the world, andto make a society where everyone can findmeaning in life.
At last, to all OGU students, I hope you will
challenge yourself and do many different
things in your university life, both on campus
and outside the campus. I believe it is important to look at what is happening around
you and to take an interest in various issues, so that your life can be more meaningful and valuable to yourself and others.

“Spring at the Zoo” by Stephen Dalton & Daryl ArakakiOn March 30th, the Osaka sky was
shedding winter's clutches. Brightand blue, it beckoned students from
Osaka Gakuin University outside to celebrate Spring's annual rebirth. A dozen ofthem visited the Tennoji Zoo in SouthCentral Osaka. From morning to lunch, thestudents snapped pictures of lions, ocelots
and rare birds, not to mention the beautiful
sakura throughout the grounds. But this was
no ordinary field trip; this class was there by
special invitation of the Tennoji Zoo.
Although already popular with families
from Osaka, the zoo is ramping up efforts to
attract more foreign tourists. Working withProfessors Arakaki (Hospitality) and Dalton(International Center), the zoo kindly offered
Dalton's Intercultural Communication classfree admission to the zoo in exchange for
feedback on how to improve the foreign
tourist experience.
According to zoo representative Ms. Okawa, “Foreign students' Focus Group Study is

A group of students visiting the Tennoji
Zooa really valuable information source for us.
We are willing to use their opinions because we think they are very unique andinternational.” These students hailed from
France, Canada, Thailand, China, theCzech Republic and the USA. Not surprisingly, there was some diversity of opinion
on how to improve the zoo, although somecommon themes emerged.

Findings
Most students agreed that one of thestrengths of the zoo was the beautiful
cherry blossoms that were in full bloom
during the visit. Families were seated under the trees eating bentos while theirchildren were playing alongside. Many
also gave high marks to employee service.
Student Jessica Caparini of Canada noted, “ At the souvenir shop, I pretended not
to be able to speak Japanese and justpointed at the item I wanted. Even though
she didn't understand English, the clerk
was very helpful, so I think most foreign
tourists would feel comfortable buying
items there.”
The large bird sanctuary also got highmarks from students for the variety of birds
and the roomy enclosure that housed
them.
On the other hand, most students feltthat many of the other animals' cages
were too small, and said some of themseemed sad because their homes were so
different from their natural habitat. Students admitted that increasing the spacefor each animal might mean fewer animals
since space at the zoo is limited. Never-Classroom study

theless, the tradeoff would be worth the
improvement in animal welfare, an important factor for a majority of students.
Finally, everyone agreed that signage
could be improved by implementing aconsistent design, including larger picturesand some explanation in English and Chinese. Ziwen Zhang of China reported, “Onour own, many Chinese students visitedthe Kobe zoo in April, and we compared
the signs from the two zoos. They weremuch better in Kobe, and we think Tennoji
can do it too.” All of these initiatives would
incur some cost; fortunately most students
felt that, despite these shortcomings, theTennoji zoo was underpricing adult admission at ¥500, and most would be willing topay ¥700 to enter the park.

A Meaningful Final ProjectA month after the visit, these same students did, in lieu of a final exam, six Powerpoint presentations of their findings
which were videotaped for zoo management use.
Professor Dalton commented, “It's notVol. 20

Page 3every day that a University class can havetheir final class project have such a powerful effect on the surrounding community as
well as a lesson in how to communicate
across cultures.” Students were encouraged to implement lessons learned fromclass readings, including use of polite
language, apologizing for mentioning any
negative points, and bowing. Many students also underlined their key points inJapanese and made generous use ofgraphics so that their audience would feel
more comfortable.

In order to replicate the feeling of a live
audience, Japanese Osaka Gakuin University students attended the presentations. After viewing the presentations,
OGU student Kizuku Yoshida said, “ It wasinteresting to hear the perspective of foreign students. They mentioned things I
didn't think of.” Afterward, the class celebrated the end of the semester with theiraudience with pizza and conversation.
Songsitt Hunsavon from Thailand lookedback on the class: “I learned in this classthat even when you know from reading

how to change your communication strategy with the Japanese, it's harder to actually do it. I enjoyed doing the zoo presentation since it gave me another chance topractice getting my message across to a
Japanese audience.”
The Tennoji zoo hopes there will bemany more chances for OGU Intercultural
Communication students to give their
feedback in the years to come- as Ms.
Okawa says, “We are looking forward totheir next presentation.”“Nabe Taikai” by Susette BurtonIt was a delicious and fun night of International exchange and friendshipbuilding as a group of OGU students
and International students got together toshop, cook and enjoy a variety of seasonalnabe (hot pot) dishes on campus recently.
About 49 students signed up in advancefor the Nabe Taikai (party) held on November 22. The event was initially for students
who are participating in the buddy andlanguage programs and was later opened

up to other interested students.
Students contributed 500 yen each andthat money was pooled together. Oncesign-up was completed, students weredivided into groups of seven. On the nightof the party, each team was given an
envelope with 3,500 yen and sent off tothe local supermarket. Working together,each team planned and shopped for the
ingredients they needed to make not only
a delicious nabe, but also one that would
impress their schoolmates, and a few hungry judges who were on hand for a bit offun, friendly competition.
Students really bonded during this eventof cultural exchange, fun and food.
And when asked, some of the Japanese
students said that while the opportunity toenjoy a steaming, delicious nabe on a cold
November night was a plus, they enjoyed
the team work and the chance to connect

with OGU’s exchange students evenmore.
“To give them such a good experience
to enjoy Japanese culture was the bestpart,’’ said one OGU student.
OGU Lecturer Greg Nakajo organized
the event and was supported by the International Center staff and some of the Shoin teachers at OGU. He said this was thesecond year to host the nabe party andthat based on the success, “they will definitely have to do it again.”“I-Chat’s Global Language Camp” by Stella MaxwellT

his past May the I-Chat Lounge held
the first ever Global Language
Camp at Osaka Gakuin University.
The mini language camp is an event thatoffers students the opportunity to immersethemselves in various world languages,
and experience a taste of culture from thepeople who speak them. Among I-Chat’s

many goals is to help OGU students become well-rounded global citizens; thecamp is just one of I-Chat’s many uniqueand fun learning opportunities offered to
students to do just that.
Many OGU students as well as international students joined this year’s Global
Language Camp to experience the “hands-on” language learning. Languages featured at the camp were English, Chinese,
German, Korean, French and Spanish. To
kick off the camp, students were given a“passport” to carry with them as they rotated to each “country” to complete activities.
Station featured activities included singing,speaking out, interactive language gamesand drama highlighting that station’s featured country/language. Once students
completed the station activities, they would
receive a stamp in their passport. A loudbell sounded indicating another rotation

around the world was about to begin.
These activities were designed to teachthe students not only some basic greetingsand introductions in each of the six languages, but also expose them to music
and knowledge of international foods.
Station facilitators consisted of I-Chat staff,
OGU professors, and international exchange students. All of these individuals
were Global Citizens themselves and werePage 4either speakers of the world languages or
nationals from one of the countries. Students were excited to interact with bilingual and trilingual teachers. “I never experienced such a fun way of learning like
that, I want to learn to speak more than
one language in my lifetime.” one student
remarked.
The camp-style experience inspired
students to want to learn more about
languages and cultures outside of theirown. Since language and culture go
hand-in-hand, this camp is an ideal setting to satisfy students’ natural curiosity
about the world. While the everyday atmosphere at I-Chat hosts an internationalflavor with people from all over the worldinteracting and learning from one another, the Global Language Camp fosteredan additional layer of “Global Community” spirit at I-Chat this past spring semester.
Naturally, supporting students as they
aspire to become genuine global citizens
should be the goal of any university. IChat believes it is equally important tocreate unique, innovative, and fun opportunities for students to grow towards that
goal. The Global Language Camp is oneof I-Chat’s ideas to offer one more learning resource for students to have at theirfingertips right here on their very own
university campus.

Flavor in Guilin, China by Tao Meng
Considered one of the most scenic landscapes in the world,
Guilin is a truly mystical place. There is a saying in China that
Guilin, with its tremendous cliffs and spectacular scenery is themost beautiful place in the world. I hope you will go and see foryourself. The name Guilin comes from sweet osmanthus(Mokusei in Japanese). I recommend that you visit Guilin in late
September or early October when the osmanthus flowers are in
full bloom for an extra special treat. When you take a slow boatride up the clear Li River, you can see numerous strangely shaped
peaks along the misty river and you feel like you are in a paintingof fantastic scenery. There are many direct flights from Shanghai
and Beijing to the Guilin Liangjiang International Airport. Please go
there and immerse yourself in a tranquil and beautiful world.

International Center
Osaka Gakuin University/Osaka Gakuin Junior College
2-36-1 Kishibe-Minami, Suita City, Osaka 654-8511, Japan
Tel: 81-6-6381-8434 Fax: 81-6-6381-8499
Email: inoffice@ogu.ac.jp