aWa life
The Charm of the
Inaka

Awa Shoku: Farmer’sMarket Cooking
Challenge!

Japanese Culture andReading Corner: 入学式

April 2020
# 354

Farewell Messages
Gairaigo Galore:
カルテ

1

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

April is a time of change in Japan. Whether it’s the new school year, the new fiscal year, changes inpersonnel, or falling cherry blossoms just after a short time of bloom: changes in April are omnipresent.
TOPIA and Awa Life have also changed, and besides co-workers leaving (check out the goodbye message in this issue), and new co-workers coming (check out the next issue for that), we would also liketo introduce a new monthly column which is especially designed for the Japanese learners among you.
Every month a small Japanese reading exercise and vocabulary dealing with an aspect of Japaneseculture will be included, and this month’s text will focus on school entrance ceremonies in Japan. Enjoy!
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:Bethany Johnson, Kazue Inoue, MiaoMiao Liu, Satoko Saito, Lance Kita, Youko Aoiki

Contents

Pg. 2-3: The Charm of the Inaka2

Pg. 3-4: Letter from SUKETO NAKAYOSHI
Pg. 4:

Farewell Messages

Pg. 5:

Japanese Culture and Reading Corner: 入学式

Pg. 5:

Gairaigo Galore: カルテ

Pg. 6:

Awa Shoku: Farmer’s Market Cooking Challenge!

Pg. 7:

Japanese Lesson

Pg. 8-9: Events and Memoranda
The Charm of the Inaka
By: Bethany Johnson
f you, like me, did a lot of research about
potential placements on JET, you probably reada lot of disconcerting stories of people landing on
islands with limited ferry access, or deep in themountains with a perilous hour-long commuteto the nearest grocery store. The famed inaka.
JET is a lottery of risk, but the majority of people
tend to aim for urban or semi-urban placements.
I w a s t h e l a t t e r,
personally. I comefrom a small city in
Canada and prefer
the slower pace, yetconvenience, of thesemi-urban.
When I received thefated email placing
me in Sanagouchi
village, I’ll admit I
was a little panicked.
First, a village?
How deep in the countryside would I be? Second,
would I, a Canadian, survive the heat of southern
Japan? And third… importantly, would I be forced
to drive?

I

But in the end, these were all worries I could’ve
dismissed. I am only a twenty minute drive fromthe city, and yes, I was forced to get a car, but
the learning curve between driving in Japan andin Canada wasn’t as steep as I was expecting.

Driving here is actually pretty fun. And the heat I
was so stressed about? Being tucked deep in themountains with rushing rivers that cool the air, it'smuch more bearable than the summer I spent inTokyo.
All in all, I’m pretty thankful I was not placed in acity. The line between the city and the countryside
is a fairly bold one, and as
a city girl, I couldn’t havebeen more unprepared
for the slow, gentle beautyof life here in the inaka.
As the token foreigner, I
do draw attention, but not
in a negative way, like I’dimagined. The people in
my village are warm andwelcoming. True, someof them do panic at thesight of me, the “face ofEnglish”, but most of them attempt to talk to me
or interact with me in some fashion. (But when
they learn I can speak Japanese, their relief ispalpable.)
People often ask me what I like most aboutliving in the countryside and I tell them, thepeople. Easily, the people. Most of my positive
experiences are thanks to the kind and thoughtful
efforts and gestures of the people I interact with.

3

For example, being invited to try rice planting ororange-picking; being randomly given a bag ofshiitake or sudachi while I’m walking down thestreet; being mothered by the wonderful ladies
who work at the local market; walking throughthe town hall and being
greeted warmly by
strangers and friends
alike; being thanked fortaking care of someone’s
son or daughter at school.
Too many things to list! I’m
glad I’m not merely known
as “the foreigner” or “theEnglish teacher,” but asa genuine member of thecommunity.
Another positive of the countryside is the nature.
I love walking in the mountains and forests ofthe village, to the extent the people have started
expecting to see me walking around, “It’s weirder
if we don’t see you,” they tell me. Alas.
But really, there’s something healing in the views

The Charm of the Inaka
here; verdant mountains, terraced with rice fields
and citrus groves, stretching onward and up. My
city back home is in the prairies; just flat. Living in
Sanagouchi, I’ve learned and experienced more
about plants and fruit and agriculture than I everwould have learned inAlberta. I’ve been giventhese opportunities
simply because
strangers want to get
to know me, or impart
Japanese culture tome.
The inaka does haveits downsides. It’s
inconvenient, driving
can be scary on perilous, narrow roads, and it canbe isolating or mentally taxing having to speak
Japanese all the time. But the good, for me, far
outweighs the bad. I feel like coming here andchallenging myself, learning new things everyday
and seeking new opportunities, has given me a
new heart for the ordinary things in life, and taught
me new ways of finding beauty.

Letter from SUKETO NAKAYOSHI

By: Kazue Inoue (Center for Early Childhood Education and Care SUKETO NAKAYOSHI)I’m sure many of you have been feeling uneasy
due to the spread of the novel coronavirus( C O V I D - 1 9 ) . L e t ’s m a k e s u r e t o p r a c t i c epreventative measures such as hand-washingand gargling, and build up a healthy, diseaseresistant body. For this, boosting your immune
system is most important! Let me introduce someways you can help boost your immune system.
1.) Proper Exercise: Get your blood flowing andforce your body’s temperature to rise.
2.) Raise your Body’s Temperature: Raising yourbody’s temperature by 1°C will also raise yourimmunity by 5 or 6-fold. I recommend taking abath to raise your body’s temperature.
3.) Sleep: A lack of sleep is one cause of immune
deficiency, so make sure to get some proper rest.
4.) Laughter: Stress is another cause of immune
deficiency. Laughter is a great way to invigorate

your immune cells.
5.) Eating Habits: Having a healthy intestinal
environment is important. Eat foods containing
good bacteria (yogurt, cheese, natto, soy sauce,miso, etc.), and foods with protein, a main
component of immune cells (meat, fish, milk, tofu
and other soybean products, etc.). Eating foods
that contain trace amounts of nutritional minerals
needed for your body (foods containing calcium,iron, manganese: milk, small fish, spinach, liver,ginger, basket clams, etc.) are also a good way
to further boost your immune system. Boost yourimmune system so that you can live a healthy andhappy life.
Soy Milk Miso Soup:
Ingredients (For 1 person) & Preparation:
Cut bacon (8g) into 1cm strips. Dice a (25g)onion. Cut a carrot (10g) into quarter slices. Dice

Letter from SUKETO NAKAYOSHI
a sweet potato (30g) into 1cm cubes. Cut shimeji(10g) and broccoli (12g) into small pieces.

43.) Add softened, parboiled broccoli and 3g of
miso, and adjust to taste.

How to Cook:
1.) Add the bacon, onion, carrots, sweet potatoes,
and shimeji to a pot. Add enough water tosubmerge the ingredients (60cc) and 1.5g ofconsommé to the pot.
2.) Once the ingredients have become soft, add
60g of soy milk and cook. (After you add the soy
milk it may boil over more easily, so make sure tokeep an eye on the heat level).

Farewell Messages - I Look Forward to Seeing You Again

By: MiaoMiao Liu
hen I began to write on the final page of myplanner, it made me realize how my time inTokushima had passed by in the blink of an eye.
Whilst experiencing the four seasons and bothsunrises and sunsets, I fell in love with this place.

W

When I think back on this past year, a number of
unforgettable memories come to mind. Practicing
the Awa Odori with people from other countries
and places, participating in sadou (tea ceremony)and kadou (flower arrangement) with the other
American and German CIRS, visiting the Umeshu
Matsuri in Misato, visiting western Tokushima
with my Chinese friends and seeing the fireflies,
introducing Tokushima’s charm to visitorsfrom Hunan and Taiwan, going with my boss,
coworkers from the international division, and6 middle schoolers to Hunan for a table tennis
exchange event, inviting a friend to experience
the Shikoku Pilgrimage, climbing Mt.Bizan bymyself, and finally jogging around the Shinmachi
River and enjoying the scenery of the seasons.

ago, I left my parents to attend a university in
Xi’an and started learning Japanese. 5 years
ago, due to my love of Japanese, I parted ways
with my teachers and friends in Xi’an to attend a
graduate school in Beijing. 3 years ago, wantinga job where I could use Japanese, I parted ways
again with my teachers and dear friends to start
work in Hunan, a place 1,000 kilometers frommy birthplace. Thanks to this, I had a once in alife time encounter with Tokushima, which has afriendship agreement with Hunan. My year as a
CIR is almost over, and when I return to Hunan,
I will continue my work on friendship relations
with Japan. Although I have many lingering
attachments, I believe that this farewell isconnected with my next encounter. I look forward
to seeing you all again.

I’m very happy to have come to Tokushima andmet everyone. From these kind, sincere, andamazing people, I learned when to be persistent,
when to resign, when to be accepting, and what
to cherish.
Just like one of my favorite singer’s (Jian Li’s),song “Station”, “There will certainly be moreencounters and goodbyes. Just like this train,
you can’t just freely stop.”, I believe that life isa series of encounters and farewells. 9 years(Pictured on the left: MiaoMiao Liu)

5Japanese Culture and Reading Corner：入学式

Starting from this month, we have created a corner to introduce Japanese culture and customs in
simple Japanese. This corner is a way for everyone to practice their Japanese while also deepening
their knowledge about Japanese. Our first topic is "school entrance ceremonies".
にほん

がつ

あたら

しごと

せいかつ

はじ

がっこう

日本では，４月に 新しい仕事や 生活が 始まります。そして， 学校
がつ

はじ

がつ

にゅうがくしきにゅうがくしきも４月から 始まります。４月には 入学式が あります。入学式で，
あたら

ねんせい

むか

せんせい

せいと

新しい１年生を 迎えます。先生や 生徒
ねんせい

いわ

かぞく

き

が １年生をお祝いします。家族も 来まにゅうがくしきたいいくかんす。入学式は，だいたい 体育館でありにゅうがくしき

こっか

こうか

うた

ます。入学式では，国歌や 校歌を 歌い
はくしゅ

いがい

しず

ねんせい

れつ

にゅうじょうます。拍手を する とき 以外は 静かです。１年生は，列になって 入 場
きんちょう

たんにん

せんせい

ねんせい

なまえ

します。みんな とても 緊張します。担任の 先生が １年生の 名前を
よ

ねんせい

ひとり

げんき

へんじ

た

呼びます。１年生は，１人ずつ「はい」と 元気に 返事を して 立ちます。
かぞく

み

よろこ

こうちょうせんせい

いわ

あいさつ

にゅうがくしき家族は それを 見て，とても 喜びます。それから，校長先生が お祝いの 挨拶を します。入学式の
あと

あたら

きょうしつ

はい

せんせい

はなし

き

あたら

とも

じこしょうかい後は，新しい 教室に 入ります。そして，先生の 話を 聞きます。新しい 友だちと 自己紹介を します。にゅうがくしき

あたらがっこうせいかつ

はじ

あたら

はじ

入学式は 新しい 学校生活の 始まりです。みなさんも，新しいことを たくさん 始めてくださいね。
Vocabulary Listにゅうがくしき

むか

こっ か

こう か

はくしゅ

れつ

にゅうじょうたんにん

入学式（entrance ceremony）
校歌（school anthem）
入場（to come in）
がっこうせいかつ

学校生活（school life）
いわ迎える（to welcome）

拍手（to clap）
せんせい

国歌（national anthem）
列になって（forming a line）
こうちょうせんせい

担任の先生（homeroom teacher）校 長 先生（principal）
じ

こ しょうかい自己 紹 介（self-introduction）

あいさつ

お祝いの挨拶（speech at a ceremony)

Gairaigo Galore

カルテ (Karte; a personal file of a patient at the doctors)
By: Nico BohnsackWith the spread of the new coronavirus, recently going to the doctors has become an even more
important issue. In Japan, people who are covered by the National Health Insurance or Employees
Health Insurance usually have to pay 30% of a doctor's bill. However, when you go to certain
doctors offices for the first time, the amount you have to pay on the spot will always be a little
bit higher than at follow-up visits with the same treatment. The reason is a special fee
for setting up your personal file at that specific office, a so called カルテ . The origin of
the word is the German “Karte” which means the same as the English word “card” andwhich is used for cards in general. The Japanese カ ル テ , however,exclusively refers to the above mentioned kind of file at the doctors.
You will actually find many medical-related loanwords with German
origins in the Japanese language. Since the Meiji Era (1868–1912)
Japan imported lots of medical knowledge from Prussia/Germany.
As a result, many German words began to get used in medical Japanese. While there are somewords with the same meaning in both languages, such as アレルギー (Allergie, allergy), words thatchanged meaning such as in the case of カルテ can be found as well.
Even today students of medicine often study German besides English in university and you would
be surprised how many doctors in Japan still remember technical medical terms in German.

Awa Shoku: Farmer’s Market Cooking Challenge!
By: Lance Kita
ith recent health-related events acrossthe country (and world), many people arestaying home and cooking. Last month, I received
a bag of locally-grown fruits and vegetables, andhad so much fun thinking of ways to cook them.
Here are some tips and tricks I used:W

Romaine Lettuce ( ロメインレタス )This sturdy lettuce is a staple for Caesar salad,but I used seasonal strawberries, smoked cheese,and a balsamic-mustard dressing for a fantastic
light lunch.
TIP: Use seasonal fruits and veggies in yourcooking when you can.
Curly Kale ( カリーノケール )This kale variety is low on bitterness, and can beeaten raw. I chopped up the hardy leaves andmade a garlicky chowder for cool evenings.
TIP: Hide veggies from your kids in a cream soup.
Jerusalem Artichokes (Kikuimo 菊 芋 ) andRape Blossoms (Nanohana 菜の花 )The first one is very earthy, while the latter is quite
bitter.
TIP: Earthiness and bitterness pair well withspice and/or oil. I made a Korean namul withthe kikuimo (sesame oil, salt, and a touch of
kochujang). The nanohana was added to mapo
tofu (and would probably be good in curry too).
Purple Sprouting Broccoli( ス カ ー レ ッ ト ダ ンス)
Never had “Scarlet Dance” before, but I tried
roasting the little purple mini-broccoli sticks inthe toaster oven with olive oil, salt, pepper, anda splash of lemon. Absolutely crunchiliumptious!
TIP: Don’t be afraid to try a new ingredient!

6

Daikon ( 大根 ) and Lemon ( レモン )What is a single person supposed to do with awhole daikon??
TIP: Make pickles! I used lemon, garlic, and astore-bought pickling liquid for a fast refrigerated
pickle. It keeps longer and brightens up hanami
picnics.
Handa Somen( 半田素麺 ) and Okra Powder ( オクラパウダー ) (???)
Tokushima recently developed freeze-dried okra
powder to use excess harvest. Reconstitute to
make a slimy, healthy tororo ( と ろ ろ ) (usually
made of grated mountain yam).
TIP: Noodle topping = fast lunch. Add dashi andponzu to the okra, combine with sliced chikuwa
竹 輪 (tube-shaped fishcake), and pour over the
Handa somen noodles.
Mandarin Oange (mikan みかん )Ummmm… I just peeled and ate it.
TIP: Sometimes, simple is best! Lol
You should try your own Farmer’s Market Cooking
Challenge! Go to your local farmer’s market( ファーマーズ・マーケット ), chokusan-ichi ( 直産市 ), sanchoku-ichi ( 産直市 ), chokubaijo ( 直売 所 ) or roadside station (michi no eki 道 の 駅 )and pick up these five ingredients:
1) Something leafy
2) Something dried3) A root vegetable4) A fruit5) An ingredient you’ve never seen/used before.
Use the tips above and make a creative spring
lunch/dinner. Stay safe, buy local, and enjoy
cooking!
**Thank you to Sotani-san for the wonderful bagof local produce (the inspiration for this article).

7Japanese Lesson

By: Youko Aoiki

じ

こ しょうかい自己 紹 介This month, let’s learn how to give a simple self introduction in Japanese.
Self Introduction:
じ ぶん

な まえ

1.) はじめまして。わたしは *（自分の名前 ) です。
1.) Nice to meet you. My name is (your name).
＊ When introducing yourself, [ わ た し ] is often omitted. You don’t use [ さ ん ] when talking about
yourself or your family members.
しゅっしん ちき2.)（出身地）から来ました。
2.) I'm from (birth place).
こ とし

がつ

き

3.) * 今年 ( ) 月に来ました。
3.) I arrived this year in (month).
きょねん
ねん
ねん
ねん
● 去年 * (Last year) ／ 20×× 年 * (in the year 20xx)（ Example： 2017 年 /2018 年）
がつ● Please refer to the table at the bottom of the page for how to say what month ( 月 ) you arrived in.
4.) どうぞよろしくおねがいします。
4.) I’ll be in your care. / I look forward to working with you.
◎ Let’s practice self introductions.
<Example>１） はじめまして。ホンです。
き２） ベトナムから来ました。
こ とし に がつ
きょねん じゅう がつにせんじゅうしち ねん はち がつ
き３） 今年 2 月／去年 1 0 月／ 2 0 1 7 年 8 月に来ました。
４） どうぞよろしくおねがいします。
・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・~ Months
いちがつ

に がつ

さんがつ

し がつ

ご がつ

ろくがつ

しちがつ

はちがつ

く がつ じゅう

１月

2月

３月

４月

５月

６月

７月

８月

９月

がつ じゅういち がつ じゅうに がつ

1 ０月◎ Little by little, try to remember the readings for all of the months.

1 1月

12月

Events & Memoranda
Tokushima Prefecture 2020
Japanese Speech Contest

8

1.PURPOSE

True internationalization cannot be achieved without first coming in touch withother cultures and ways of life, fostering a sense of international awareness andgaining mutual understanding with people of the world to create a society in which
we can all work and live together in harmony. This speech contest seeks to givea voice to the international residents of Tokushima Prefecture and engage themin a dialogue to further discourse on cross-cultural understanding and fostering
multiculturalism.

2.DATE & PLACE

July 18th, 2020 (Saturday), 13:30 - 16:30
Awagin Hall (Tokushima Prefecture Kyodo Bunka Kaikan) Small Hall (5F)

3.ELIGIBILITY

Only foreign residents whose native language is not Japanese are eligible to apply.
(However, foreign residents who have had over three years of compulsory
education in Japan, or those who have previously won the Grand Prize or theTokushima Prefectural Assembly's Chairman of the Federation of International
Exchange Assembly Members Award, are not eligible to apply.)

4.SELECTION

Applications will be open to all foreign residents of Tokushima Prefecture that fulfil
the eligibility requirements. We will ask all applicants to submit an outline of theirspeech (about 800 characters), and after reviewing all of the applications, roughly
10 or so applicants will be chosen to proceed to the final contest.

5.THEME

The topic is left to your discretion, but it should relate to the event's purpose of
fostering cross-cultural understanding and multiculturalism.

6. LENGTH

Speeches should be no more than 6 minutes in length.

7.AWARDSGrand Prize, one person (Prize: 50,000 yen gift certificate)
The Tokushima Prefectural Assembly's Federation ofInternational Exchange
Assembly Members Chairman’s Award, one person (Prize: 30,000 yen gift
certificate)
Awa Bank Award, one person (Prize: 30,000 yen gift certificate)
Tokushima Taisho Bank Award, one person (Prize: 30,000 yen gift certificate)
Tokushima Chamber of Commerce and Industry Award, one person (Prize: 30,000
yen gift certificate)
Tokushima City International Association Special Recognition Award, three people(Prize: 10,000 yen gift certificate)Special Effort Award, to be decided (Prize: 5,000 yen gift certificate)*All participants will receive a participation award.

8.HOW TO APPLY

Submit your application form by mail or fax. Alternatively, you may submit yourapplication in person.

9.DEADLINEMay 27th, 2020 (Wednesday) Applications must be turned in by 5:00 PM.

10.ORGANIZEDBY

Tokushima Prefecture & Tokushima Prefectural International Exchange Association(TOPIA)

11.CO-ORGANIZER Tokushima Regional Conference for Promotion of Student Exchange(Planned)
12.SPONSORSThe Tokushima Prefectural Assembly's Federation of International Exchange(Planned)
Assembly Members

Awa Bank
Tokushima Taisho Bank
Tokushima Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Tokushima International Association (TIA)
Otsuka Pharmaceuticals
Nichia Corporation
1 3 . W I T H T H E NHK Tokushima, Shikoku Broadcasting, Tokushima Shimbun, Cable TV
Tokushima, FM Tokushima, FM Bizan
SUPPORT OF(Planned)

1 4 . W H E R E T O Tokushima Prefectural International Exchange Association (TOPIA)〒 770-0831 1-61 Terashima Honcho Nishi, Tokushima City, Clement Plaza 6F
APPLY

TEL: 088-656-3303

FAX: 088-652-0616

9Events & Memoranda
Hana Haru Festa 2020
はな・はる・フェスタ 2020

Come and enjoy fantastic Awa Odori
performances by famous groups both indoors
and outdoors. This event is also jam packed withother fun activities such as a gourmet street linedwith delicious Tokushima cuisine, stage events, a
traditional culture experience corner, and more!

阿波おどり有名連の豪華競演を屋内外でたっぷりとご覧いただけるほか、徳島のおいしいものが並ぶグルメストリートや、ステージイベント、伝統文化の体験コーナーなど、楽しいイベントが目白
押しです！

Detailed event information can be found on theofficial blog.

詳しいイベント情報は公式ブログで順次公開されます。

When: April 18th (Sat) & 19th (Sun)10:00 – 17:00
Where: Tokushima City, Aibahama Park,
Shinmachi Boardwalk
Info: Hana Haru Festa Executive Committee(Tokushima Shinbunsha, Operations
Department)
TEL: 088-655-7331
URL: https://ameblo.jp/hanaharu-f/

日時 : 4 月 18 日（土）・19 日（日）10 時 00 分～ 17 時 00 分
場所 : 徳島市 藍場浜公園、
しんまちボードウォークほか
問い合わせ : はな・はる・フェスタ実行委員会
事務局（徳島新聞社事業部）
TEL: 088-655-7331
URL: https://ameblo.jp/hanaharu-f/**Disclaimer
Many events have been cancelled to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus(COVID-19). If you are planning to attend an event, it is your responsibility to confirm
whether the event is still being held as planned.

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: 088-656-3312 or 088-656-3313 (allows for three-way conversations with an interpreter)