Iwate International Exchange

winter2016.12～ Friends with the World ～Contents

Published by: Iwate International Association◦Disaster Support Conference… …………… p.1◦Oh My Iwate ～ Exploring beautiful Iwate ～◦Information………………………………… p.2………………………………………… p.4◦Learn About New Zealand… ……………… p.3◦Iwate Quiz………………………………… p.4

Aiina 5F 1-7-1 Morioka-eki-nishi-dori, Morioka, Iwate 020-0045
TEL: 019-654-8900
FAX: 019-654-8922 E-mail: iwateint@iwate-ia.or.jp
URL: http://iwate-ia.or.jp/ Opening Hours: 9:00 am- 8:00pm
Closed: New Year holidays (12/29 - 1/3), other scheduled dates

指

氾濫？
示？
警

報？

“Disaster Support Conference”

避難What should foreigners do in times of disaster??

Foreigners who don’t understand Japanese or know about disasters that break out inJapan are at risk of being unable to understand the situation. If a natural disaster occurs,
they might be slow to react or evacuate. Culture differences mean that problems are also
likely to appear in temporary evacuation shelters.
The Iwate International Association will be holding conferences about how to support foreigners during times of disaster.
They will be held in Morioka and Kamaishi. In addition to learning about differences in cultural backgrounds, we will also
learn comprehensively about what we should do to help out.
The theme of the next conference is “Learning about multilingual support”.
Nobuko Sudo, director of the International Promotion Division at the Sendai Tourism, Convention and International
Association, will talk about the multilingual supporter activities they put into practice during the Great East Japan Earthquake
and Disaster. She will also explain our roles as multilingual supporters during times of disaster. Practical case studies andsituations that are likely to occur will be set up so that participants can practice how to react in such instances.
〈Kamaishi〉January 14 (Sat.) 13:30~16:00 Aoba Building Conference Room 1・2〈Morioka〉January 15 (Sun.) 14:00~16:30 Aiina Conference Room 501*Even if you aren’t confident in your language abilities, please feel free to participate!
On February 11 (Sat.), there will be hands-on training at Morioka City’s Ueda Community Center, which acts as thedesignated evacuation site for foreigners in Morioka.
If you are interested in participating, please apply on the association’s website, or apply directly in person.

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There were a bunch of different programs at the event
Event Reports
including World Area, where 28 booths representing★Chatland – International Exchange Events

 unday Funday! International Exchange for FamiliesS
10.2.2016
Many families came tothe event where they
could enjoy picture book
storytelling, songs, dances,and games with people
from the U.S., Thailand,
Kenya, and Nigeria.
Singing Doraemon’s theme song in Thaicountries around the world were set up, World Stage, Nepal
Lunch, World Café, Bridge to the World Club, Kids’ Corner,
and Traditional Clothing Dress-Up Corner. With 4,446 people
who attended the event, One World Festa was a great
success!! Thank you to everyone who volunteered.

★2016 One World Festa in Iwate 11.20.2016

The One World Festa in Iwate was held again this year!
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Trying on traditional clothes

Javanese dance performance at theWorld Stage

Information:Organizer ／:Venue ／:Date ／

:Sign up ／:Admission fee ／Eventsth◆Lecture on the 20 Anniversary of KitakamiInternational Exchange Roomth：January 14 (Sat.) 13:30 - 16:00：Kitakami Cultural Exchange Center Sakura Hall
：Free【Part 1】
“Looking back on 20 years at the Kitakami International
Exchange Room”
・“ Catch the Rainbow”, a sister city song by singersongwriter Tomonobu Yara
・Video on the exchange room's activities
・Fun talk exchange with foreigners【Part 2】
“ Let's laugh together! "Rakugo" Comedic Storytelling
Performance in English”
Rakugo performance by Katsura Kaishi and Canadianrakugo performer, Duke Kanada.

：Kitakami International Association：0197-63-4497：kiah@kitakami.ne.jp――――――――――――――――――――――――――◆UNICEF Photography Exhibition
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Agnes Chan visits
Guatemala. UNICEF photo exhibition "Fighting against
invisible threats, the first 1000 days"thth：March 9 (Thu.)– 12 (Sun.) 10:00-17:00：Plaza Odette (Morioka)---------------------------------------------thth：March 17 (Fri.) – 20 (Mon.) 10:00-17:00：Myoenji (Hanamaki )：Free：Iwate UNICEF Association：019-687-4460：sn.iunicef_iwate@todock.jp――――――――――――――――――――――――――◆The 2 Multicultural Salon"Learning About Russia With Tea and Food"
Making borscht and beet salad, and also drinking Russian
tea made using a samovar (teapot).
Come learn about Russian culture while enjoying a cup oftea!
th：January 14 (Sat.) 9:30 - 13:00：Hanamaki Exchange Center
：Hanamaki International Exchange Association members
300 yen, Non-members 500 yen
Capacity: 15 people
：January 4th - January 12th
*applications will be closed upon reaching capacitynd：Hanamaki International Exchange Association：0198-26-5833：kokusai_staff_b@ext.city.hanamaki.iwate.jp:Phone number ／:FAX ／:E-mail ／:Website◆I want to know more about that country! Part 14
Vultures Flying Overhead, the Republic of Peru
An introduction to the Republic of Peru and a performanceby Sergio Aucca Surco - Musical performance of Peru's
traditional instruments quena and zampoa th：February 25 (Sat.) 18:30 ：Hiraizumi Cultural Heritage Center Fureai Hall
：1,000 yen (1,200 yen at the door)
Free for middle school & under：Hiraizumi International Association： 0191-46-4652

Language Courses◆English Interpreting Coursendth：February 2 – March 9 (every Thursday for a total of 6
times) 18:30 – 20:00：Plaza Odette (meeting room 1 and 2)
Who: Individuals who can speak English at a level exceeding
daily conversation
： Morioka International Relations Association members
2,000 yen, Non-members 3,000 yen
：Write “英語通訳講座   受講希望”clearly on a reply-paid
postcard, along with your postal code, address, name (infurigana), age, phone number, and gender. Post this to theMorioka International Association.
〒020-8530 Morioka-shi Uchimaru 12-2 Morioka shiyakusho
honchousha 1F
Application period: December 15th ~ January 13th (Fri.) Must
be postmarked by the deadline.
---------------------------------------------◆Start Learning Spanish Now!
stth
：January 21 – February 25 (every Saturday for a totalof 6 times) 14:00 – 15:30：Plaza Odette (meeting room 1 and 2)
Who: Individuals who have never learned Spanish or learned
about Paraguayan culture
：Morioka International Relations Association members
2,000 yen, Non-members 3,000 yen
： Morioka International Relations Association members
may register by phone on December 19th (Mon.) from 10
AM. Non-members may register by phone on December
20th (Tue.) from 10 AM.
(students will be accepted on a first-come-first-served basis)：Morioka International Relations Association：019-626-7524

Living Information◆TOHOKU HIGHWAY BUS TICKET On Sale
Tickets allowing unlimited rides on Tohoku highway buses.
Who: Foreign tourists
：4-day ticket …10,000 yen
7-day ticket …13,000 yen：https://japanbusonline.com/Tohoku/−2−

Learn About New Zealand ― Global Education and Family First Community
New Zealand fell into an economic crisis in the 1980s. The country took this opportunity to undertake major market
reforms – Reducing the size of government and government projects, and moving from a centralized government to adecentralized government. And supporting this new society were two new projects: “Family First Community” and “Global
Education”.
On October 8th (Sat.), Takanobu Oikawa, an Iwate Cultural Ambassador who resides in New Zealand (referred to as NZ
from here on), along with junior high school students and teachers from NZ, visited Iwate, where they had participants
experience various aspects of NZ.

●Global Education in NZ■What’s the main goal of classes? Communication is not only about
language! The important thing is “the desire to communicate”.
In a middle school of 600 students in NZ, there can be up to
approximately 50 different nationalities spread amongst thestudents enrolled. Of course, there are students who cannot
speak English. Even if you can’t speak English, as long as you
have your own opinions, you’ll be able to communicate.
■What are the school rules? “Talking is OK”, “Mobile phones are OK”,
Global adaptability is not something you can teach with force-fed
education.
School in NZ is fun! Why? The blackboard is only used for 30
minutes of the school day. In the remaining 5 hours, students play
the leading role. If you don’t know something, you can use yourtablet to look it up during class. The teacher won’t tell you theanswer. “Think about it on your own” = NZ-style classrooms!
■Communication is the ability to ask questions – “Output learning”
Communication ability and the ability to ask questions are very
highly valued in NZ. Communication skills are also important, but
in order to give a presentation, you have to first ask questions.
Children are trained from elementary school to be able to ask
questions.

you can legally vote”… The
What are the meanings of theteacher throws candies tospecial birthdays in NZ?
the students who speak
5 years: Entering elementary school
their thoughts.
13 years: Becoming an adult (the“Speaking up and getting a
beginning of the teens. The start
prize for it is NZ-style!”of career education)
Demonstration 2: “Building
16 years: End of compulsory
the ability to ask questions”
education
Teacher: “What do you want
21 years: Support yourself =to know about NZ?”
independence
The group that asks the
40 years: Achieve independence!
most questions wins. They
(Independence means owning
don’t win by content, but
your own company!) Big birthday
by the number of questions
asked. Each group fights to ask as many questions as they can.
Their papers become filled with question after question. The
group with the most questions had over 100. The concept of
education in NZ schools is Learning Journey, which is to havechildren look for answers on their own. This is also called “SML”
or “LLL” (clothing sizes?!). Well, what do you think?
If you want to learn more about this, why not take a trip to New
Zealand?

●NZ’s Family First Community…?

Experiencing a real NZ classroom! We experienced a NZ-styleclassroom together with Mr. Oikawa and students from NZ.
Demonstration 1: “Receiving rewards”
Teacher: ”In NZ, it’s our culture to cherish birthdays. In particular,
we regard birthdays when you turn 5, 13, 16, and 21 special
birthdays. What do you think each of these ages signifies?”
Student: “The age when you can start to drive”, “The age when・”Family time” takes place from 5PM to 7PM on weekdays. This
is when you eat dinner together with your family.
・Drinking parties and overtime for adults occurs after 7:30 PM,
and children are also taught to prioritize spending time withfamily over school activities or cram school.

Comments fromparticipants◦I was surprised at the NZ students– they speak up and say theiropinions without any hesitation.
◦T he teacher only talks for 30
minutes of the day!?
◦It’s wonderful that the community
is built off trying again even if you
make mistakes.

Consultation for Foreigners◆General Support◦When: 9:00 am – 8:00 pm every day◦Languages: Japanese, English, Chinese※English and Chinese speakers might beabsent at certain times.

◆Consultation in Foreign Languages◦Chinese: Tuesday - Friday
0:30 pm - 6:30 pm◦Korean: Wednesday  3:00 pm - 5:00 pm◦English: Thursday   3:00 pm - 5:00 pm◆Consultation with a Legal Administration Expert◦Date and Time: Every third Wednesday, 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm
th◦Place: International Exchange Center (5 floor, Aiina)◦Reservations: Iwate International Association※Prior booking is essential⇒Tel: 019-654-8900

Now Recruiting Supporting Members
The Iwate International Association is recruiting supporting members to assist with our activities and contribute towards our goals.
We would very much appreciate your help. The membership fee provides invaluable assistance towards non-profit international
events and multicultural activities.
<Annual Membership Fee> (one single payment)

Adults 3,000 yen−3−Groups 10,000 yen

Students 1,000 yen

Exploring beautiful Iwate
My name is Anne Mutahi and I’m from Kenya. I’ve been
living in Morioka for seven months as a student at Iwate
University. When I first arrived here, I was amazed by thebeautiful scenery surrounded by mountains with many
rivers. I love nature and Iwate has offered me the greatest
opportunity to enjoy it. In spring, I got to see the beautiful
cherry blossom at Takamatsu Park. I like the fantastic food,beautiful temples and shrines, parks and a culture with along and rich history.
This month, the Iwate Prefectural Government offered a
guided tour of craft workshops and a local sake brewery innorthern Iwate for foreign residents here. Our one-day trip
began in Morioka, with a visit to the Iwachu cast ironworks
and in Hachimantai to Appi-nuri lacquerware workshop,
Koji-ya Motomiya and Washinoo Sake Brewery.
During the tour at Iwachu cast ironworks, I was not only
struck by impeccable collections of anamazing array of teapots and cookware
but also how the craftsmen hand-makeeach item with precision throughout the

Oh My 心爱的いわて

At the Iwachu cast ironworks

manufacturing process. There was also a 350 kg tea kettle,
largest of its kind in the world.
At the Appi-nuri lacquerware workshop, we were taught
about Appi-lacquer which is used to coat daily utensils, likebowls, plates or chopsticks, to get deep, shiny lustre of blackor dark red lacquerware. You can't help but marvel at thesegorgeously decorated items. We also had an opportunity topainting our chopsticks using the lacquer.
We were treated to a delicious lunch and miso soft-serve
ice cream at Koji-ya Motomiya after visiting the miso factory.
Our last stop on this tour was Washinoo Sake Brewery.
After a walk through the brewery, we enjoyed a delicious
sake tasting paired with various snacks.
It was a wonderful introduction to Iwate crafts and culture.

Anne Mutahi
Place of birth: Kenya
Student of the Faculty of Agriculture,
Iwate University
Hobbies: Listening to music and Hiking.

At the Appi-nuri lacquerware workshop

We asked Yumie (USA) and Chin (China), Coordinators forInternational Relations in Iwate Prefecture, to set some quiz
questions for us. Can you figure them out?

1. Sand Hot Springs (suna onsen) are uncommon, even throughout
all of Japan. Where can you experience this?
① Nishiwaga② Morioka      ③ Ofunato      ④ Ichinoseki

2. The Iwate Snow Festival (yuki matsuri) is held in① Appi Ski Resort② Iwayama Park

③ Hiraizumi④ Koiwai Farm

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Answers:1…① 2…④