Hello everyone.

I'm Andu. My full name is Yasutoshi Ando and I am a Tokyo-based volunteer for Pangaea. This is my second time to post my message on the Pangaea ring. I am currently in Sweden, as a researcher at the Karolinska Institute. This institute appoints the laureates for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medecine and is a very active institute. It is my first time to experience a long-time stay overseas and I would like to write about my thoughts living here in Sweden.

As there is no direct flight to Sweden from Japan, I came here through Austria. I had never been to Austria before, yet, I somehow felt congenial about Austria from the beginning. I presume that is because Austria is one of the countries Pangaea has its branch. I was, therefore looking forward to my travel and I felt excited when I landed the airport in Austria. At that moment, I felt the importance of 'the sense of affinity' when you meet with people from other countries. The children who participate in Pangaea activities communicate with and interact with their friends overseas through PangaeaNet on a daily basis, therefore, I believe they know what it is like to hold the 'sense of affinity' toward each other. This 'feeling of affinity and the sense of knowing' the other will eliminate the wars and bring peace to the world.

I also realized the importance of picture letters since I have come to Sweden. assume many people think of the picture letters as the tool for the children only. (I used to think that way myself.) Having come here, I realized that they were not. In Sweden, the official national language is Swedish and everything is written in Swedish at the stations and the supermarkets etc. (Almost everyone speaks fluent English here, though.) As a non-Swedish speaker, I do not understand any of the writings. One time, I was trying to buy some frozen food at a supermarket, and wanted to learn how to prepare the food and so I looked the bottom of the box. I saw a picture of a microwave and the number '6'. I read and understood the instruction as 'please microwave this dish for 6 min.' There was also a picture figured like a human being drawn on the box. First, I used my own imagination to read this picture would mean that this food was suitable for a single person. Being so curious, I asked the clerk at the supermarket. Then I learned that the picture of the human being meant that the food did not contain much chemical seasoning. It meant that the food was health conscious frozen food. "How could I know?" I just murmured myself however I also realized my misunderstanding could have brought about a serious issue if it were the medicine.

The number of people who visit Japan from overseas has been increasing. Picture letters could convey the message in a more direct and powerful way compared with the letters as people do not have to read pictures. I do hope that more attention will be paid to the picture letters and that they will be used more in our daily lives.


Yasutoshi Ando