Vol. 10
December 1, 2010

The 49th Kishibe Festival: “OGU International Street”
As mentioned in the last Newsletter, the international students worked
special booths at the Kishibe Festival during October. Below we featurestories from an International student, one ISST member, an OGU student and a teacher/staff member.
Sanae Hagino (International Studies, 3rd year student)
As an ISST member participating in thefestival with international students, I waslooking forward to the festival because
there was a large number of students
and three booths just for the“International Street” this year. It wasquite different from last year. The International students were the main players
and coordinated the preparation and theshifts of each group. The group leaders
were international students and the OGU
students assisted them at the booth. To
tell the truth, some of the communication
didn’t go well and some things were lastminute and we didn’t know what to do.
However, the international students
helped us and took the initiative to sellfood and draw in the customers. Simply
observing their energy, both uplifted myspirits and I began to enjoy the festivalwith them. All the international students
helped each other and they really appeared to enjoy communicating with thecustomers who came to the festival. I
feel confident this festival was an unforgettable experience for everyone! The
international students also taught me we
could not manage the booth without
cooperation. It was important that eachone of us shared ideas and took responsibility for them. I pledge to continue giving strong support for all international students as an ISST memberin the future!!

Kim Pilju (Soonchunhyang University, Korea)
The Kishibe Festival was such a success! Although it was not an easy task
and we worked really hard and becamevery tired, it was an enjoyable threedays. Everyone pulled together with theother international students and OGU
students who hadn’t yet met. We madetteokbokki and jeon that I often ate when
I was in Korea. I was so happy to serve
some of my favorite dishes to so many
people at the festival. It was the consensus of our group to donate the majorityof the profit we made at the festival to acause and use the remaining profits to
go to Arashiyama on a group outing. I
am happy that I have such a wonderful
memory I can take home when I returnto Korea.

Russell Sumitomo(International Chat Lounge staff)
With all bustle in October, the Kishibe
Festival is meant to be a fun and exciting
event for students and campus clubs tomake additional money for their expenses.
Being a part of the staff from the International Center, I knew this year’s festival would be larger compared to previous years. With 73 exchange students,
the most in any years, along with ISST
members, OGU students, teachers andstaff, were divided into 4 booths to sell
foods featured in America, China,
Europe and Korea.
As a staff leader, I was placed incharge of the European group. They had
a great student leader from Finland, Toni
Heikkilä. I put my trust in him as he has
great leadership skills. There were cultural differences in each group’s customer service. Team America made the“OGU International Street” Menu
America: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
China: Dumplings, egg soup,
shrimp crackers
Korea: Tteokbokki, jeon, Yuzu tea
Europe: Pea soup, pancakes
customer orders once they wereplaced. Team China and Team Korea,
had work lines going to keep up with
the numerous orders. Team Europe
sold “Pea Soup” which was appreciated by the older festival visitors. Team
Europe appeared to have a more relaxing time during the 3 days of the Kishibe Festival. With no competition andcompensation, the 4 teams as a whole,
successfully did their jobs, had a lot of
fun and made a lot of food. In the end,
they made a surprisingly sizable profit!
Thanks to everyone’s efforts, hopefully,
every exchange student, ISST member, OGU student, staff and teacher
had a positive experience and will lookback at this event as a treasured memory during their stay at Osaka Gakuin
University.

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Summer Short-term Study Abroad Experience: Hideyuki Matsukawa (Economics, 3rd year student)
Hideyuki participated in thethree-week English study program held at Medicine Hat College this past summer. He ishighly motivated to learn English
and foreign culture, so he learned
many more things than many.

It was a treasured experience to participate in this program because I not
only learned English, but I also experience what I could not have touched orseen simply staying in Japan.
In the future, I would like to work for an
airline company, so English is an essential requirement to work in the field. Once
I decided to go to Canada, I set my goal
to learn and be able to understand evensome English.
Prior to leaving for Canada, I had little
confidence in my English abilities. Not
only could I not speak English, I wasn’t
good at English grammar either. Would I
be all right in Canada with my limited
English skills? Once I started living withmy host family, my worries disappeared.
They were so nice to me and they always tried to speak slowly and use easyand simple English words. They alsocared about me all the time. Thanks totheir hospitality, I felt comfortable andgradually began communicating withthem in English. However, my English
was not perfect.
A week after I arrived in Canada, I
went to a huge supermarket called WalMart. You can find anything imaginableat Wal-Mart. I was shocked to see thehome appliance section. I saw very few
Japanese home electric appliances
there. You may think it was no wonder
because I was in Canada, but, I saw
many products made in Korea. I was
surprised! You may have seen the Korean brand “Samsung” before. 90% of
the products sold in that store were theSamsung brand. The price was half of
the Japanese products, so although they
have Japanese products, they were allvery expensive. Who do you think wouldpurchase expensive products? For example, a Korean cell phone costs 20,000
yen, while a Japanese cell phone costs
100,000 yen. The majority of products
you see at smaller shops are often times
made in Japan. However, in Canada,
Korean products dominate the market. I
worry that Japan will be left behind byother countries when it comes to making
and exporting products to foreign coun-tries.
Through this study abroad program, I
experienced the warm-hearted hospitalityof Canadians and much more about theirculture. I have no words to express how
much this experience meant to me. I
became much more interested in English
and made a bigger effort to get serious
about studying English. I promised myhost family that I would visit them next
summer. I would like to improve my English by then, so that I can communicate
with them better. I highly recommend you
participate in the OGU short-term study
abroad program if you are interested instudying abroad and learning foreign
languages!

Hideyuki with staff at Medicine Hat College (Second from left)

OGU International Students
Li Ji Fa (Economics, 1st year student)
Wang Daliang (Graduate School of Commerce, Graduate student)
In the exchange program of theInternational Center, we accept
exchange students from institutions in our global network as
well as privately-funded international students. In addition, there
are other international students
who study full-time at OGU.
Presently there are a total of 9
students. Five undergraduate students from Taiwan and China, 3graduate students from China,
and 1 from Thailand enrolled at
the junior college. Although thisis not a very high percentage
given the overall population of
OGU, these students do a fine job
managing various cultural andlinguistic barriers. They study
very hard immersed in classrooms with the regular Japanese
students. There is a lot to belearned from their dedicated attitudes towards their studies. For
this issue, Li Ji Fa and Wang Daliang will share their experiences
so far at OGU.

Li Ji Fa “My life as a student”

I’m very pleased that I came to Japanto study. Honestly, before I came to
study at OGU, I was entirely dependent on my parents. I grew up not knowing
anything about the real world. Since I
came to Japan, I feel that I have grown
up. When I first arrived, I was reallystruggling as it was a challenge not to beable to communicate and on top of that,my time as a college freshman was notan easy adjustment.
Living alone, I had to do things by myself. I didn’t think that working at a parttime job while attending school, wassomething I’d actually be doing. Yet I am,
and it’s really physically draining. However, my daily life has become fulfillingand I now experience things I havenever been able to in my life. I work
part-time, and at my job I laugh and I
make new friends and learn a lot fromthem. I definitely kill two birds with one
stone. “Use your head and make something happen” is what I learned from myjob. There are definitely a lot of difficult
things in this world but they aren’t
things that I can’t manage. If I use myhead and give as much effort as possible, I will be capable of doing anything.
I enjoy my college life very much andparticipate in many activities. The Japanese language that I’ve learned I use
with other Japanese students on campus and my classmates and friends. My
teachers complimented me about myJapanese, and this makes me very
happy! Lastly, I’ve finally learned thejoy of studying.
The International Center staff, arevery kind to me. I feel as if they are likemy family. I really appreciate all their
help. When I encounter problems or amconcerned about anything, all I have to
do is go to the International Center andask for help. The staff looks after mePage 3like their own kin.
I’m now focused on my study of English and would like to study abroad in
different English speaking countries.
This is one of my future goals. I believethat if one has a goal, he is able to
make progress. In addition to experiencing new things and growing as aperson, I feel as if my world-view has
expanded and I have grown stronger. I
have no regrets about coming to Japanand from the bottom of my heart, I say“continue on enjoy life!”

Wang Daliang“The I-Chat Lounge and I”

Imajored in the Japanese language
at a university in China. After
graduation, I worked in a small firmin Dalian. As someone working for the
first time, I was unable to make conversation in Japanese. One might say that
this is because I was a newbie. I wastold by my colleagues, who were great
achievers, that one needs to acquire
experience and specialized knowledge.
I was in the sales department and oftencaught between Japanese clients andthe Chinese owner and the expectation
to speak Japanese was upon me. This
is what motivated me to study in Japan.
Through my studies in Japan, I never
dreamed that I would be able to improve not only my Japanese, but also
my English. However, this became a
reality when I came to OGU, thanks to
the I-Chat Lounge. A relaxing atmosphere, kind staff, clean interior, freedrinks and a setting to use English—
this is what the I-Chat Lounge is to me.
My first encounter with the I-Chat
Lounge was as a member of the International Student Support Team when
we had the study tour for the international students. “Hello! How do you do?
I am Leilani.” I still remember even now
the warm greetings from Leilani, a staff

at the I-Chat Lounge, who was really
nice. Too bad I got so nervous that I
forgot to even say “Nice to meet you”.
Instead, I replied only in Japanese.
At the I-Chat Lounge, sitting together
with people from different countries,
laughing, chatting, I didn’t feel even aslight feeling of awkwardness. Since
then, I have felt that communicating in
a foreign language is fun. Even if wecome from different ethnic backgrounds, and although the language we
speak is different, I again realized that
there is no such thing as borders incommunication.
What I learned from the I-Chat Lounge
staff is not only English conversation,
but also, how to treat people and convey the proper attitude towards one’s
work and life. No matter how the I-Chatstaff is feeling, when they face the students, they always show a friendly
smile. I also noticed that even after IChat has closed they still do their best
to offer ideas, or an ear to students to
support them. I am touched by their
dedication and the encouragement it
gives me!

Japan-ASEAN Youth Leaders Summit
Daichi Misaki (International Studies, 3rd year student)
The Japan-ASEAN Youth Leaders
Summit is an annual international camp organized by the
Cabinet Office of the Japanese
government and the Center forInternational Youth. The mission
is to strengthen ties between
Japanese youth and their counterparts from other ASEAN countries. Over one hundred youth
representatives, between the agesof 18 and 30, participate fromJapan. We are pleased to sharewith you, selected candidate
Daichi Misaki’s experience during his attendance this year. It
was definitely another valuable
opportunity for Daichi, who
spent a year as an exchange student at University of Mississippi,
to make use of his study abroad
experience and actively participate in the Summit, which waspresented entirely in English.

It was an honor to participate in theJapan-ASEAN Youth Leaders Summit held at the National Olympics
Memorial Youth Center in Tokyo at theend of October of this year. Youth leaders from the 10 ASEAN countries gathered in Japan and worked together in acamp-style training, which featured
various discussions and exhibitions.
The participation of representatives
from different embassies, the Cabinet
Office and the Imperial family made thisevent even more spectacular.
As most people know, poverty exists
in society. In poverty-stricken regions,infrastructure is under developed. Conflicts involving politics, religion and history continually occur. As a result of theconflict, there are neither schools noraccess to books. There are no hospitals or medical supplies. Thus, there
are many children who are unable toreceive proper education and many
suffering people who are unable toaccess proper medical treatment. Industrialized nations are the main players in dealing with the development ofthese kinds of developing countries, but
the reality is things are not going sosmoothly. Even Japan gives out a large
amount of aid to developing countries
every year and a part of it is used formilitary expenditures and for purposesthat are not really known. This is a major global concern.
Isn’t there anything that we, theyouth, can do about this concern?
Drawing inspiration from the theme ofthis year’s Summit, “Youth Participation
in Social Activities – Towards Better

Daichi at the Leadership Summit

Society,” we held discussions in English about what we could do to help
create that “better society.” At the endof our discussions, we agreed on thefollowing: 4 main things are needed fora better society: (1) easy access tohigh-quality education; (2) a sustainable environment; (3) a well-balanced
economy; and (4) a society where there
are strong links and free speech.
There are limits to what the youth can
do but we are able to do things likecharity work and tree-planting activities.
However, more important than these is
the cooperation between people. In
order to cooperate, people must learn
to respect each other’s cultures andbackgrounds.
During the course of the summit, I
came to realize two things: First, I still
have much to learn and for me to know
about the world, English is an absolutely essential communication tool.
Since I entered college, I’ve done traveling on my own and have also joinedPage 4the short-term study abroad and yearlong exchange programs at OGU so I
had been so far quite confident of myoverseas experience. Yet, I now meet
people who have had far more extensive overseas experience and aremuch more knowledgeable. It was enjoyable conversing with them and it wasa real challenge for me. Regardless ofwhether those people were from Japanor from abroad, we may be of the samegeneration. I came to realize that there
are many youth who are working hard
for a good cause and this became a

motivating factor for me. In this summit,
to stand in the same ring as theseyoung people and to talk with them inEnglish has given me a boost of confidence. As I face the future, as I brush
up my English and pour my energy into
my studies, I do hope to gain much
more valuable knowledge.
At the Summit, I made a promise that
if there would be a venue for me to do
charity work in the future, I will take theinitiative and volunteer. I believe oursmallest actions can save people
around the world who are in need. So

for the readers, just remember thateven a small act will do, so let’s work
towards creating a better society!

With a participant from the Philippines

Tips for a Host Family—Part VII by: Yuko Teramura

Although the International Center orientates all international students about
the rules, students often think they are
only general rules and don’t pay close
attention to them. When rules are reviewed with the students in a generalforum; they do not specifically address
any one individual. As a result, families
can become even more frustrated think-ing the issue remains unaddressed. On
the other hand, a student would have no
way of knowing he did anything incorrectly or should change his behavior inanyway. Consequently, the downfall of
indirect communication.
When host families want their student
to know something, they need to speak
to them directly and state their concerns
clearly to them. Even if language is an
issue, there is always a way to find atranslator. In all cases, the indirect approach is the least effective way to approach a problem. Unless and until thestudent is clearly informed of any problems concerning their behavior, livingwith them will be a challenge. Clear trustand communication is key.

“Tips for Host Family” by Ms. Yuko
Teramura has been featured in the
newsletter since September, 2009.
Sadly, this will be her final featured
article. This past school year, the International Exchange Program had 32
host families and 9 home visit families
offer their homes to various international students. We hope that both new
families and long time host families
have found the articles useful. OGU willcontinue to hold meetings for training
and sharing your own tips with otherhost families. We would like to thank allfamilies for their understanding andcooperation throughout these past few
months. Your continuous support ismost appreciated.

KC News

Visiting Korean Partners

2010-2011 Exchange
Program: Spring Departure

I visited four Korean partners last October: Sookmyung Women’s University,
Soonchunhyang University, Baekseok
University, and Pai Chai University. My
visit revealed the forward movement of
all four universities to accept various
degree-seeking international students
from overseas, as well as their focus on
English language education. As you may
already know, recently, the governor of
Osaka Prefecture, Mr. Hashimoto visited
Korea to learn more about their advanced educational system. I also
learned that Korean universities are
more inclined to nurture students who
can play a role in the global society moreso than Japanese universities. Although
the education systems vary a bit in eachcountry; Japan stands to learn a lot from
Korea.
Fundamentally, it seems that bothcountries’ bilateral relationships have
improved, as a result of the “Korean
population boom” in Japan. However,regardless of their close geographicalproximity, they remain politically distantdue to their shared history. Essentially, it
is important to learn and share one another’s culture and customs in order topromote further cooperation and sharedunderstanding. Why don’t you study inthe closest study abroad destination?
(M)

What to do when complaints arise?
I have been hosting international students for many years, yet, I often hearother families ask the International Center staff to convey specific complaints or
messages to the students and request
they avoid using their family name. They
hope that the problem can be addressed
while they remain anonymous.

Beginning this year students began departing abroad twice throughout the year.
In the past, Junior students were often
reluctant to study abroad due to the overlap of months with their job-hunting period. Fortunately, students can now leave
Japan in spring and return before thejob-hunting period begins. Our first candidates for spring departure are Ms. Shiori Fukuda and Ms. Maiko Oyama; bothsophomores majoring in English. They
will study at Providence University in
Taiwan and Fontys University of Applied
Sciences in the Netherlands beginning inFeb. OGU students’ study abroad opportunities are increasing!

Maiko (Left), Shiori (Right)

From left Kazutoshi, Keisuke, Shuhei,
Yuya“Coffee Break”
A “Coffee Break” networking event washeld on November 15th between thefaculty and the International Center staff.
The goal of the event is to offer information regarding the activities of the International Center and “brainstorm” ways
both parties can work together on common goals. The International Center
presented, the inbound/outbound exchange programs, short-term study
abroad programs, the International Chat
Lounge, and the ISST to 21 attending
members of the faculty. Lastly, Yujin
Yamamoto (Economics, 4th year student) gave a presentation about his past
study abroad experiences.

Tel: 06-6381-8434 Fax: 06-6381-8499 Email: inoffice@ogu.ac.jp