Aug 2008 Newsletter: Yumi's Monthly Note
Hello, everyone,It's been a challenging summer for me due to roasting heat waves in Japan. I usually stay abroad for two months, from June to July, which gives me a sanctuary from the excessively hot and sticky weather in Japan. But this summer is very different: I have been in Kyoto for these two months and experienced a hot spell for the first time. Alas, I am dazed and groggy.
Volunteer of the Year 07 was announced to be given to Oriana of Mie University Village. She participated Pangaea in last two years. At the end of July, she completed her job with Mie City to teach children English at schools, and returned back to US to attend PhD program in University. When she joined, she could not speak much Japanese, and experienced difficult times to communicate with children. However,
with her calm and warm nature, she aquired skills to observe
children and assist them timely. She became the most dependable
facilitator in village, and all staffs learned so much from her.
She came to activity every month without missing one. She mentioned
that Pangaea was the most exciting encounter in Japan. Mie Village
is an unique site to have foreign staffs. Children first look bit shy
but as they share times together, distances between them shorten, and
that portraits our vision for universal playground in practice.
Oriana, Thank you so much to be a part of us, and we will miss you.
But I think we will meet again soon when we start our activity in US.
On July 19, our activity took place in Shibuya, Tokyo. Although it was the first Saturday of summer break, all participants showed up and enjoyed the activity. Our new facilitators, who had just completed our training sessions, were invited to the activity and made their debut as a facilitator. One of Pangaea graduates, a high school freshman, helped with us as a facilitator, as well. She joined the meeting held after the activity and shared her feedback with other staff members. I am very pleased to have our graduates as our facilitators and to see their social growth.
Toshi and I finished our papers for International Workshop on Intercultural Collaboration (IWIC) at the beginning of July. We were assigned different topics. Because I am very new to the topic, I was stressed out and anxious from the paper work. However, I am very thankful for the given opportunity: I looked through enormous data (pictograph) to collect the information I needed, and in the process, I could understand our children much deeper. I am not sure whether or not my paper will be accepted, but I believe that writing the paper was a worthy experience.
We are now working on the following projects. To make our manual more understandable and usable, we are trying to describe our "Activity Menus" in as few words as possible. We are also planning to develop our e-training system for future Pangaea facilitators. The concept of the system is to hold our facilitator training sessions in any geographic location. That is, Toshi and I will be able to join the sessions without traveling.
As you know, we have strived to create our universal playgrounds across the globe. The number of our members has gradually increased, but we need your continuing support and understanding to go further. If you are interested in becoming an important part of our team, please apply for our membership.
This month I will introduce Ms. Miwa Omori as a Pangaea Ring writer. She is a Pangaea facilitator in Tokyo. We truly appreciate her devotion to Pangaea.
Have a Happy Summer!
Yumi
On July 19, our activity took place in Shibuya, Tokyo. Although it was the first Saturday of summer break, all participants showed up and enjoyed the activity. Our new facilitators, who had just completed our training sessions, were invited to the activity and made their debut as a facilitator. One of Pangaea graduates, a high school freshman, helped with us as a facilitator, as well. She joined the meeting held after the activity and shared her feedback with other staff members. I am very pleased to have our graduates as our facilitators and to see their social growth.
Toshi and I finished our papers for International Workshop on Intercultural Collaboration (IWIC) at the beginning of July. We were assigned different topics. Because I am very new to the topic, I was stressed out and anxious from the paper work. However, I am very thankful for the given opportunity: I looked through enormous data (pictograph) to collect the information I needed, and in the process, I could understand our children much deeper. I am not sure whether or not my paper will be accepted, but I believe that writing the paper was a worthy experience.
We are now working on the following projects. To make our manual more understandable and usable, we are trying to describe our "Activity Menus" in as few words as possible. We are also planning to develop our e-training system for future Pangaea facilitators. The concept of the system is to hold our facilitator training sessions in any geographic location. That is, Toshi and I will be able to join the sessions without traveling.
As you know, we have strived to create our universal playgrounds across the globe. The number of our members has gradually increased, but we need your continuing support and understanding to go further. If you are interested in becoming an important part of our team, please apply for our membership.
This month I will introduce Ms. Miwa Omori as a Pangaea Ring writer. She is a Pangaea facilitator in Tokyo. We truly appreciate her devotion to Pangaea.
Have a Happy Summer!
Yumi
Posted by: kumakinoko | 3. Newsletter
