One of my memories of Australia

More than 10 years ago, I travelled Australia for a year on a working holiday visa.

I experienced, felt many things during my time there.

They are precious experiences of course and I will never have a chance like that anymore in my life.

But, I didn't look back at all since I came back to Japan because of the busy days after that.

 It is funny but I suddenly remembered some of them last night and I took out my diary I wrote in Australia.

 Today, I would like to write about one of those memories of Australia and put my child rearing stories to the side. 

 When I was in Australia, Darwin,  I was mainly working  as a housekeeper in my boss's house. 

I have many experiences under this boss but that story will be next time.

 I asked my  boss to have a week off. I really wanted to go to Exmouth to swim with Whale Sharks. 

 She willingly accepted to encourage me to experience Australian things.

 I booked a Greyhound bus and headed for Exmouth.

 After the long run, fortunately I could have a good sleep in the bus because I brought a sleeping bag with me so that it was not so cold.

I visited the facility of the whale shark swimming, where I felt nostalgic.

In fact, I visited there once but it was the wrong season for swimming.

At that time, I swore to myself, 'I will try again!'.

 I booked the swimming for the next day. Finally my dream was about to come true.

 At night, I thought to go around the facility and went out from the lodge. It was so cold like winter but during the daytime it was scorching hot!!

Australian weather was very interesting.

 I could see so many stars in the sky. I want to say aloud but the stars were so difference, the numbers ,the size and the shining.

I could see them and it felt like they were not so far away. I was so impressed by the gorgeous scenery that I was shuddering.

 The next day, it was a fine day. Including me, there were about 6 of us diving that day. Everyone seemed to be excited of course. After the ship was in the location where whale sharks often turned up, the staff were looking for them using binoculars. We were waiting for a while chatting,  then the staff shouted, 'He they are! come on everybody jump!'

 We were suddenly agitated by the news. 'OH the time has come!!  Oh, my god, who's first????'

 Everyone hesitated to jump in at this stage. The staff called my name, 'Naoko! come on!' so I jumped from the ship.

When I was in the sea, HE WAS JUST THERE opening his big mouth and coming toward me.

I  just tried to swim aside not to bump him and he was swimming straight just like nothing happened.

And I tried to swim following him by his side. He was just about 1m from me. He was so~~~ big, about 12meters long.

I couldn't believe that such a tremendous creature was just 1meter from me.

 I felt how amazing nature is and how small humans really are. 

I didn't want to lose any second of the chance so I swam  as hard as I could.

I was lucky because I had a confidence to swim so I could keep up with him until he was gone but, some other participants could not follow.

After he was gone, we saw 5 or 6 more whale sharks of varying sizes. It was incredible. 

It was one of my great memories in Australia.

I think I will never experience this anymore in my life....and this memory I will never lose from my heart.

Parents and children excursion

Yesterday, I went to Wakayama Park Zoo at Wakayama Castle for a children's excursion.
The weather was fine, not too hot, not too cold.

I was taking my two daughters by myself which was a big task. I pushed a buggy for my second daughter with one hand and held hands with my first daughter with the other hand.
When I am in this situation, I always have to pay attention to my first daughter so she does not move away from me. .

We arrived at the meeting place of the zoo, many kids and parents were already there.
They seemed excited and happy just like my daughters.

After few minutes we headed for the Zoo, my first daughter said, "I'm hungry. Are we going to eat Obento? "
I said, " It is still early for lunch. We will eat Obento after looking around the Zoo."

In the zoo, there were some animals. First we looked at the penguins. They were swimming in the pool and popping out from the pool and waddling around. 

They were cute and many kids were absorbed in watching them.
I said to her, "See? That little penguin is cute." but she didn't say anything.
Rather I enjoyed watching adorable penguins.

Next there were little monkeys in the cage. They were climbing up and down and jumping right and left restlessly.

I said to her, "Look! That monkey jumped so well." She was not interested then she said, "Are we going to eat Obento?"
I said, "Not yet, after looking at all animals."
All she cared about was eating Obento. I wondered if she was not excited at all like the other kids. 

Gradually she was in a bad mood, maybe she was sleepy and tired.
She said, "I'm tired. I want to sit." then I said, "OK, let's sit on the bench over there." We left our group and sat on the bench for a while.
When our group was coming, I was about to follow but she did not want to walk. Finally, she cried out loud.
When she made difficulties, it was a kind of hard.

Oh~ What should I do?? It is impossible to move her because I have to push a buggy....At that time one teacher came to us and talked to her.
"What's wrong with you? Are you ok??? Come with me and soon we will eat Obento." then the teacher walked with her holding her hand.

I was so relieved because I did not want her to cry on and on while the other kids had fun.

I appreciated her following the teacher.
As soon as she heard we were eating Obento, she walked briskly and completely fine. 

It was like a lie of her bad mood just a little before.

At the lunch place, she ate a lot and seemed to be satisfied.

After eating lunch we were free to roam by ourselves. 

We said good bye to teachers and headed to the carpark.
She said to me, "I saw penguins, monkeys, birds, rabbits. I saw many! Obento was so yummy~~~~." She was very cheerful.

I was also happy to know she enjoyed the excursion.

My second daughter enrolled Hoikuen.

_{On 4th of April, it was my second daughter's ceremony for entering Hoikuen.}

_{It was a very fine day and not so cold. Until this day, I had to take my daughters to a different hoikuen everyday, it was a kind of a task.}

_{I went to the Hoikuen and got into her class room first.}

_{Her teacher welcomed us with a smile and said, ' Congratulations !' and put a motif for ceremony on my daughter’s chest.}

_{The ceremony took place on the second floor.}

_{Still she was very gentle because everything was a new experience for her.}

_{These days, she is VERY active.} 

_{She can stand up holding things and walk a couple of steps gradually, catch things by herself.}

 _{Now she is like a lump of curiosity.}

_{I will never know what she will do.} 

_{She does not like to be hugged. She wants to move by herself so I have to follow her all the time.}

 

_{I sat on the chair holding her on my feet and waited for the ceremony to start wishing to finish soon.}

_{After a few seconds, she tried to get out of my grip and move. During the ceremony, she tried to search the room creeping around touching everything around her.}

_{I had to follow her and stop and come back to our seat. Then next, she grabbed another parents bags, slippers, held other parent's legs and stood up.}

_{I had to say 'Sorry' each time. At the end, she tore the motif off from her chest before taking a class picture. OH~!!}

 

_{On the other hand, surprisingly, kids around us were so gentle and sat with their mothers and stayed. They were watching us.}

_{HOW DIFFERENT!}

 

_{I thought my kid was unbearably cute.} 

 

 
 

Children are parents of mirror?

 

  The other day, we were having dinner. I made rice ball and side dishes
such as, meat balls, cucumber salad, Chinese chive stir-fry etc. for my first daughter. Meat balls is her favourite. I was sure that she would eat them all first. I reminded her. 'Please eat all your dishes, not just the meat balls, OK?'
She said, 'Yes.'

  When I was busy feeding my second daughter she smiled at me mischievously and then squeezed a rice ball with her both hands. 'Look Mum!' she said, showing her hands with lots of rice all over them. 'Don't play with your food. Eat the rice on your hands as well”, I said. She said, 'No way’ and she was kneading rice on her hands. Looking at her, I continued, 'If you waste food, I won't give you food anymore!' Then she tried to eat it all.

   After licking all the rice off her hands she said,'Gochisosamadeshita' and left the table. As I expected, she only ate the meat balls. I said, 'Eat the other side dishes.' She said, 'I don't want them.' After an argument, I retorted, 'If you only eat the meat balls, I won't give you meat balls anymore!' Then she ate all the food without any hesitation.

  I think it is especially important to scold kids firmly when they waste food. As a result, she obeyed what I said. However, I was not satisfied at all. I wondered if how I scolded her was right. It is said that punishment won't  get to a kids heart.
They obey just because they do not like to be punished.

  I said to myself, why was I such a scolding mother?Why was I irritated by such a mere childish attitude? To begin with, why could I not be gentle? 
I thought the reason was not the kids but the reason would be in myself.

When I was pondering, she said,

'Mum, smile cheerfully~.'

It got to my heart directly.

Admire the Flower

今回、英語でブログを書く余裕がなく、日本語で書いています。
（次回は今回のような文章を英語で書けるよう挑戦したいです！）

早いもので、もう今年度も終わりに差し掛かっています。
春の訪れとともに、新しい人生をスタートさせる人も多いのではないでしょうか。

私の下の娘も、ようやく保育園に入園することになりました。
入園式は４月４日　晴天であることを願っています。

ところで、日ごろから・仕事、育児、家事・やらで、一息つくことも少ないですが、
癒される瞬間があります。それは花を鑑賞するときです。

ガーデニングも好きで、それは実家の母が四季折々の花苗を買ってきては
玄関先にいつも植えていた影響かもしれません。物心つくころから一緒に土を触りだし、
今では、店先で花苗が売られているとつい足をとめ、わかってはいるけれど、
「衝動買い・無駄使い」をしてしまう私です。

そして、これからの春の季節。花の苗が一番流通する季節。気分がうきうきする季節です。

私の家の庭には、すでに沢山の花が植えてあるのですが、花をみつけると魅了されてしまうので、植えるスペースがなくなるまで買ってしまいそうです。今はまだ寒気に吹かれ開花できていない花達も、春になると一斉に繁茂しだし、その成長をみることと、その美しさによってまるで心が清浄潔白になれるような気分にさせてもらえます。花によっては冬の寒さに厳しくあてられたほうが、春の開花がすばらしいものがあり、まるで人が逆風に鍛えられて逞しい人になれるのと同じだな、と感じます。

WIXASの事務所にも植物がおいてありますが、生花・植物がある空間では、交感神経活動
（緊張・ストレスを感じる神経）が低下する、反対に副交感神経活動（休息・リラックス）
が上昇するという効果が、医学的に証明されているという研究結果があるそうです。

私の家の玄関にも、必ず花を生けるようにしています。（行きつけのスーパーで、いつも生花が売っているからですが・・・格安で）

娘たちにも、花のように、自分らしく美しく成長してほしいものです。

Fond parents?

 

Last Sunday, it was my first daughter’s recital. Last year, my husband couldn’t come due to his work but this year, he had a paid-day-off.

We were so much excited by imagining how cute she would be in her stage costume, how she would dance on the stage in front of us.

 

The very best day, in the venue, there were so many children, their families and friends. After taking her to a waiting room, we sat on our seats in the big hall and waited.

After the announcement, a drop curtain opened. The audience started cheering. Those in the hall were already excited only by watching children’s costume.

Almost all the parents set their smart phones, digital cameras and video cameras. Definitely, they including us were into the recording.

 

Parents called for their children’s name and so did we.

When the music started, the excitement of the audience was max. Their performance was so cute with innocent movements. My husband and I immediately found our daughter.

I almost cried while watching her in the stage. I was so impressed to see her growth even though she is still like a baby at home. We were very proud of her.

 

  

There is no correct answer for child raising.

Since I came back to WIXAS, I have been feeling that I’m always pushed for time and I can’t relax.
In reality, It is not that bad but I can't help feeling like that.

A week has passed and I’m getting more and more tired as it goes.

Everyday, I have to wake up at at least 6 AM before kids get awake.
Otherwise, I can't do my routine for my husband and me, such as making Obento, getting ready for Hoikuen, holding laundries, doing dishes, etc...
Sometimes kids wake up early in the morning before these things are done.
I think 'Oh my god~~' in my mind.

After my husband leaves for work, I try to finish all the houseworks, then take my daughters to their Hoikuens.
It is normally about 9 AM when I drop off second daughter at the Hoikuen.
I then, finally have a short break before work.
I finish the work at 4 PM and rush to pick kids up.
In the evening, time flies again and it becomes 8 PM so fast after dinner and bathing.
I get so tired but my mind is filled with what I do tomorrow. I just want to rest as long as possible.
I often leave things undone until next morning even though there are plenty of my duties.
Luckily, my husband does dishes everyday. So I leave him in the kitchen and say 'Good night'. And daughters and I go to bedroom.
Of course, they do not sleep soon.
I always read books for first daughter. That is our routine.
She wants more play with me but I just want to sleep especially during the mid week, that is all.
I feel sorry for her.

The other day, after reading a couple of books, I turned off the light and we started to sleep.
Then she said,' I want to go to toilet.'
To be honest, I was irritated. It is too cold to go to the toilet at night in the middle of the winter.But I had no choice, I took her to the toilet.

In the toilet, she said, 'I don't want to pee.'
I thought, 'Hah??' but calmly, 'OK, then go back to the bedroom.
'After a few minutes, she said, 'Mum, I want to go to toilet again.'
I thought, 'Huh, again??' but said, 'OK.'
In the toilet, she wanted to play with a toilet paper and did not pee. 
I understand that now she is in the toilet training.
She is almost perfect to pee in the toilet of the Hoikuen but sometimes she misses it. At the end, she went to the toilet 5 times and did not pee. My anger reached the max.Finally I said, 'Even if you go to the toilet, you don't pee. I am tired.'
She said and cried, 'I GO!! Mum, I go to the toilet if I want to go, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?'

I thought I was noticed by her. I felt regret myself for having bad feeling at her.

She just practiced to pee...I felt self-hate that night.

Next morning, I hugged her and said to her, 'I am sorry last night, I was so tired.'

She said, 'Yes,,,'.
I thought myself I should treat her well even if I am busy for second daughter. 

I talked about this story to my friend and she said,
'Oh, you don't have to say sorry!! Your daughter needs to learn mum's situation.
If you always feel sorry for her and treat her too kindly, she will be selfish.
Now she is 3. 3 year old kids understand things more than you expect.'

I was convinced.

There is no correct answer for child raising...

I came back to WIXAS!!!

Hello Everyone!

I came back to WIXAS!!

My second daughter has started to go to Hoikuen since her 1-year-old birthday, 11th of Jan.

It passed only a few days yet now so she has been experiencing difficult time in an unfamilier place.

But I believe she will be fine soon.

About me, I could refresh myself so much for a year of maternity leave.

Looking back on these days, it’s such a memory of being filled with mother's job at that time. I felt I was out of society somehow but also I could enjoy the time as well.

Now I feel 'I have been back as a member of society finally.' Of course, full-time housewives are members of society but I, for myself feel when I have a job, I am a member of society.

From now on, I have to work harder than before for my family and myself. I wonder how I will be able to deal with the work???

Anyway, just try without worring too much.

皆さん、またよろしくお願いします！！

☆My Daughter at her Undokai ☆

 Hello everyone!
The weather has been perfect these days.
I feel so good to be outside. I like gardening. 
The flowers in this time of the year are very beautiful, such as viola, pansy, cosmos, stock, and so on.I enjoy planting plants when my baby is sleeping.

 On 10th of Oct, it was supposed to be my daughter Yuina's Undokai at her Hoikuen. But it was postponed until next day due to a heavy rain. On the day, it was very best day for the event. She had been excited from early morning. In her class, there were two programs to enter. One is competition and the other is dance. Both of them are parents and children programs, so I also had to enter with her. According to her teacher, they had practiced the programs for two weeks so she was very excited because of that. Her programs were second and third. Parents and children were lined together. In fact, some children in her class looked very nervous. It's no doubt it was because there were so many people watching them. Some children were clinging to their mothers, crying out loud and running away from the line in the end. For them, it seemed to just not possible to take part in the program.

On the other hand, Yuina looked fine at all. In the first program, they were to rush to a box, grab one vegetable, run to the animals and put them into their mouths. It's our turn then. I said, 'Go and grab the vegetable, Yuina!' She rushed and did everything by herself. I only followed her and didn't help her at all.
And the dance, she remembered its sequence and danced very well. I also danced along the teachers.
There were some children who were just standing on the track and did not want to dance. And some of them were clinging to their mothers even though their mothers asked to get off. Well, those attitudes were also natural for their age I think.

When everything finished, she looked very proud and I praised her for the practice she had done in the past weeks.
I had a great relief anyway. If she had been like other children, I would have been embarrassed in front of my parents because they came all the way to see her. It was a day I found it she has grown a lot.

Scolding is difficult

Hello, everyone!! 奥です。皆さんお元気ですか？

Long time no see! I am doing well. My second daughter, Akina is getting bigger,'GOOD'.
Now she weighs 7.5 kg. These days, she understands more about what's going on around her than ever before. She has started eating Baby food and is very curious for food now. When I eat something with her in my arms, she gazes at the food (and me). Her eyes say, ' I want to eat, Mum!' She can eat lots, rice gruel, carrot, potato, sweet potato, pumpkin, tofu, egg, udon, etc... She eats in the morning and evening.

And my first daughter is fine, too. I feel she is growing so fast. Her speaking is getting better day by day.
My family are often amazed by her precocious talking. One day, my mother was singing a song to Akina, then Yuina said, 'Grandma, please be quiet because Akina-chan is sleeping.' That was the thing I said to her often. The other day, when my husband came back from work, she said, 'Dad, you smell bad!' I have never said that. And I don't think he smells that bad. We don't understand why but he said, ' I was hurt.' Anyway, she can learn a lot of things at home, nursery school, and from people around her, etc..

 I feel it is complicated to scold her these days. Sometimes, I have to scold her when she does mischief.
Let me say the number of her mischief. Throwing toys, stamping books, overturn garbage box, upset the cup of drink, play with food, etc.

When those things happen, I have to say some words and redirect. But I wonder how I should talk to her.
I always say like this, 'Why are you doing this???' ' Is it funny to you??? 'But don't do that because....... ' I explain the reason. But she does the same thing again. Gradually, I like, 'I said to you before~~~~~.' (sigh)  then next time, same things happened. She played with food and I said 'No!', then she said, ' You said before?'

What is the best way to tell??? When I recall it, I think I can't say well when I am tired, irritated, not happy,,,, I wonder if she thinks I am a scolding mother. I know it would be true that disobedience is a proof of enhancing her identity, but ...
Scolding is difficult.

Time flies!!

 Hello everyone! How are you? Time flies! My life has been so hectic since my second girl was born. Now she is 5 months old, 7 kg. Her face has changed a lot since she was born. She is quite healthy and often smiling at everyone, sometimes laughing out loud. She likes to be hugged, or rather, she gets angry when she is placed alone. So I must hug her and move around when she is awake. But she is getting heavier.
 Now, her life is like this. Drinking milk, doing pee or poo, crying for sleep, and sleep・・・・ keeps doing them again and again. Honestly, I can finally relax in a brief moment when she falls asleep after crying out for sleep.
At the same time, I feel like this. I don't want to miss every precious time with her. For that reason, I'm trying to be with her as much as I can.

  This feeling didn't occur to me when my first daughter was 5 months. At that time, I used to drop her at my mother in the morning and went to work without feeling too much guilty.  I thought I should get back to work. But now I think I can understand what an important thing is in life. 

   My first daughter, on the other hand, is 2 and 5 months old now. She speaks many words. I am often surprised with her rapid growth. She has started showing her strong personality. She is so cute for me for sure, but is naughty and selfish in deed. Sometimes, I feel it's too much for me to look after her. But I'm so glad that she likes reading. Every night, I read books for her until she falls asleep. She asks me to read her favorite books again and again. I wonder why she doesn't get bored to read same stories. My reading goes for an hour every night. Sometimes I fall asleep while reading and she wakes me up saying, 'WAKE UP Mom!!!' oh, dear.
I guess she will be a chatty girl. Now my life is for my daughters and I enjoy it very much.

I have something to tell you.

  Hello everyone. Long time no see.
I have something to tell you.

  My second baby was born on 11th of January!
It was such a delightful moment in my life.
The big day was filled with strong emotion like 'Happiness', 'Satisfaction' and 'Pain'.

  It was about 12:20 am on 11th of Jan.
I felt labor was getting stronger step by step so I thought the baby was finally about to be born.
It was in the middle of the night, my daughter was of course sleeping.
I asked my husband to look after her and called the taxi, rushed to the hospital.
Around 2 AM, I arrived at the hospital.
Labor pains were getting so strong taht I could hardly walk.
I was placed in a delivery room bearing severe pain.
It was like waves in the sea coming back and forth.
 
  I just hoped to be able to give birth safely by myself calling the baby's name in my mind.
I was in the hard situation but the baby to be born was also in the difficult situation.
Although the pain was tremendous, the doctor said 'Labor is not strong enough to deliver yet'.
I was desperate. 'The pain was not strong enough although it was too much PAIN already!'
I lost guts gradually and the pain was so severe that I could not think anything.
Next second, the baby girl finally came out.
My husband said, 'The baby was born!' And I heard the baby was crying out.
At that time, I was much delighted with a strong sense of relief from torture.

 It was about 5 am when everything finished. So it was two hours battle in the delivery room.
My husband said, 'This two hours seemed to be endless.' 
 
 Anyway, 'The baby was born without any danger.' Nurse said.
I thanked God from my heart.
 
 More than two months have passed since she was born. 
My life has become twice as busy as before, but I feel happiness has doubled than before.

I'd like to cherish and enjoy the every single moment of raising my children.

Does an unborn child listen to mother's wish?

Hi, Everyone.
Happy New Year to all of you!

I'm still waiting for my baby to be born.
Well, since the last December I was waiting for an earlier deliverly so much because the doctor had told me that second baby come out earlier than expected with high possibility.

But the baby seems to have an intention to stay still.

Owing to it, the time has passed as I am with a big belly and now it's in a New Year's Holiday.

My daughter's kindergarten, of course, is 'closed' during this period.

If the baby was born during this period, somebody would have to take care of her all day long instead of me.

My mother is very busy.....What about my husband? Well, it must be too hard for him if he has to look after her for a whole day.

I told this concern to the doctor last time. She said, "Please tell your wish to the baby.It is said the baby may listen to mother's wishes and do so. So please try to talk to the baby everyday about the date you would like the baby to be born."

This is what the doctor, a professional of havingn birth, advised so it should be a reliable information.

After that, I have been telling to the baby everyday to be born around 6th of January: when my daughter's kindergarten restart.

I will see if my baby will make my wish to be true!

By the way, after the last blog, I have been reading my two thick diaries of Australia.
I thought "What should I write first?"

I definitely want to write about:

1. Swimming with Whale Sharks
2. Memories in a backpacker
3. Experience of working in Bush in Darwin

Oh! That's all for today's blog. ( My daughter started to cry.....)

See you next time!

Naoko OKU

Is this a destiny?

　Hello Everyone. How are you?
I am at home with my big belly, which is almost bursting.
I am so tired of doing anything.
I just hope the baby will come out soon.

　Last time when I went to the (obstetrics and gynecology) hospital,
the doctor said, ' It is not strange at all if the baby comes out tomorrow. '
Although it's 36 weeks now, the baby's weight is more than 2.5 kg which is average at this period.
I thought, 'Oh, that's good, please come out soon my baby~~'.

　While holding the big belly, I still have many things to prepare for the new baby. First, 'Cleaning and organizing my room'.
My room is fulled with THINGS. For example, things of my own, such as books, clothes, etc.... and then, my daughter's things, such as toys, books, clothes, furniture....
　
And more, but these are special things that I've got from some kind people for the new baby!
6 tatami-mat-room isn't big enough no matter how hard I try to rearrange these things.

Yesterday, I finally decided to take action to make some space for the new baby, it meant 'to get rid of things of MY OWN'.

　I took out almost all my books, which were my favorite books from bookshelves and decided to sell them to the used book shop.
Then, I happened to find my diaries and albums when I had been in Australia more than 10 years ago!

Diaries and Albums

　I just realized that since the time when I had come back to Japan, I never opened them at all.

　When I came back to Japan, I could find a new job soon and my life became very busy shortly.

　I opened them and remembered how my life had been over there. Many memories came rushing into my mind.Right then, many things came back to me once again.The people I had met over there, the cities, the towns, the things that I had experienced. Until now, I've totally forgotten them.

　Looking back on those days, I would say they are my precious memories although there are some bitter experiences. I will never experience those special days anymore in my life.
　
　And I can say that, they are parts of myself. Because of the experience in Australia, here I am.I felt this as a kind of destiny to remember my Australia.

　From next blog, I will start writing about the days when I was in Australia.

Naoko OKU

Hello Everyone!

Hello everyone. How are you?
 I have taken maternity leave from 10th of Dec.
Now I am staying at home all day while relaxing and waiting for a new baby to come out.

 The expected date is 9th of Jan. However, the baby seems to come earlier than expected as the baby has already placed down on my womb. After giving birth, I will take childcare leave until the baby turns 1-year-old.

 So I will meet you all around 9th of Jan in 2017 next time. Please remember me until then!
During my absence, I will write the blog in English but please forgive me if you find any mistakes. Its a challenge but I have set this as a goal during this period. I will write about my daily life  such as my baby, childcare, etc....

 I will write this blog again soon!

Kind Regards.

Naoko OKU

☆★外国人のための防災講座 Let's Study BOSAI☆★日本語ボランティアさんの活躍

皆さんこんにちは

１０／４　無事に外国人のための防災講座が修了しました。
事前準備など大変でしたが、結果たくさんの方にご参加いただき、
無事に終了できほっとしました。その翌日から風邪を引き、２～３日ダウンしてしまいましたが・・・

毎年、この講座を実施する際には、日本語ボランティアさんのご協力が欠かせません。講座はすべて日本語で実施し、外国人の方がわかりやすい説明ばかりではありません。そんなとき、センターで日頃活動して頂いている日本語ボランティアさんが、参加者の方の傍らで、講師の方の説明をわかりやすい日本語で伝えてくれます。私としては、ボランティアさんと協働させていただき、実現する事業だと感じています。

日本語ボランティアの皆さんいつもありがとうございます！！

☆★外国人のための防災イベント Ｌｅｔ’ｓ Ｓｔｕｄｙ ＢＯＳＡＩ 開催します☆★

みなさん　こんにちは

朝晩ずいぶん涼しくなってきました。

さて、今日は、在住外国人支援事業の一環である「外国人のための防災イベント」についておしらせします。

和歌山県は海に面しており、東海・東南海地震は３０年以内に起こるといわれています。３０年以内というのは、どこか先の話ではなく、「明日起こるかもしれない」ということです。

最近の災害は、広範囲に被害が及んだり、夜中の集中豪雨など短時間に急激に襲われ、人々の避難が遅れるといったタイプの災害が毎年起こっています。

外国人の方も、災害にあったとき、救助を待つのではなく、自ら判断し適切に避難していただかなくてはなりません。

言葉の壁や、文化の違いなどで、災害時の行動を理解することが難しいこともありますが、適切に避難するための情報収集や災害の知識が必要であり、毎年この時期に、防災について学んでいただいています。

今年は１０月４日に開催します。すでにたくさんの方が申し込んでおり、私も担当者の一人としてあすの開催をたのしみにしています。

みんなで、Ｌｅｔ’ｓ　Ｓｔｕｄｙ　ＢＯＳＡＩ　！！

☆日本語ボランティア研修会実施しました☆

８／２２　和歌山県国際交流センターの日本語ボランティア対象の、「日本語ボランティアスキルアップ講座」を開催しました。

今回、～効果的な日本語指導のために～というお話で、学習希望者と学習を始める前に、

①ニーズはなにか
・学習目的・使用場面・使用相手・必要技能・到達目的

②レディネス
・現在の日本語能力・得意技能・過去の使用教材（学習歴が有る場合）・過去の教授法（学習歴がある場合）・他の外国語学習経験・目標達成の要点

③時間的条件
・学習期間・週あたりの学習回数・一回あたりの学習時間・学習日・学習時間帯・代替学習時間確保の可能性

などなどを確認してから、学習に入ることが効果的に日本語指導をするためのポイントだというお話がありました。

また、効果的な音声指導の方法としては、

ＳＴＥＰ①発音を書いて聞かせる
ＳＴＥＰ②教師が言った方をあてさせる
ＳＴＥＰ③指示した方を発音させる
ＳＴＥＰ④学習者が発音したものを教師があてる

という、４つの段階をふむと効果的だというお話がありました。

きいていて皆さんとても納得されていたようでした。

日本語ボランティア活動に興味があるかたは、是非ご連絡ください！