The 2015 Hirosaki University International Students First Semester Internship Begins

23.05.2015

The 2015 Hirosaki University First Semester Internship for International Students has begun from April 25, (Sat.), that is one of subjects in international exchange course at Hirosaki University, aiming to enable international students to acquire valuable skills for working in Japan. A couple of them who had completed the class before are now working in Hirosaki, such as office workers and chef.

In the 2015 first semester, four international students from Harbin Normal University (China), Yanbian University (China), Trier University (Germany) and University Michel de Montaigne – Bordeaux 3 (France) have participated this valuable working experience.

Their first internship was a volunteer guide at Hirosaki park where “The 2015 Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival” was held from Apr. 23 (Thur.) to May 6(Wed.). This festival, that is very famous for the most gorgeous one across Japan, is held around late April every year and many tourists visit to see it from around the world.
They were given only three days; Apr. 25 (Sat.), 26 (Sun.), and 29 (Wed.) to work at the festival, however, they put themselves to work as hard as possible finding it difficult to do in Japanese.

Liu Xingyou (Harbin Normal University) said, “一番楽しいのは、ガイドさんが弘前公園の文化をいろいろ教えてくれたことです。そして、私も中国の文化を伝えました。また、偶然に故郷の人に会って、桜とか、日本とか、いろんな話をしました。本当に嬉しかったです。もちろん、大変なこともありました。歴史と伝統についての専門用語が多いので、私にとって、ずいぶん理解しにくいのです。(What makes me happy is that the tour guide taught me a lot about the culture of Hirosaki park and I also spread Chinese culture. And I met the fellow-villager by accident, then we talked a lot about cherry and Japan. I was very happy. However, what I felt difficult is there are too many historical and traditional terms which are too difficult to understand.)”

Zacharias Joe (Trier University) also said, “以前、弘前雪灯籠祭りに観光客として訪れたことがあるので、今回は、桜祭りにボランティアとして参加できたので、嬉しいです。津軽の人の話（津軽弁）はあまり分かりませんでしたが弘前公園について勉強になりました。ありがとうございました。(As a tourist I have visited the Hirosaki Snow Festival before, so I was pleased to have been given the opportunity to volunteer at the Cherry Blossom Festival. Although I still have difficulties in understanding the Tsugaru dialect, by taking part in this internship I learnt a lot about Hirosaki Park. Thank you.)“

Now they are working as a volunteer guide as well at a different place; Hirosaki Apple Park and afterward they are going to engage a translation work at Hirosaki Tourism and Convention Bureau.

Nicolas Zoe (University Michel de Montaigne – Bordeaux 3) said, “さくら祭りでボランティアガイドとして、面白かったことは、全国から来た日本人と話せたことです。そして、弘前の歴史について色々なことを習いました。大変だったことは、私達が（練習として）別のガイドと見学をしている時、津軽弁を使ったガイドが多いので、わかりにくかったです。(As an assistant guide in the Sakura festival, the things I found the most interesting was that I got to speak with people from all over Japan, I also learned about the history of Hirosaki. The most difficult thing, was when we were visiting with another guide (as a training), a lot of them used Tsugaru dialect, which is difficult to understand.)

Xin Junzhe (Yanbian University) added, “弘前公園の桜祭でお客さまに公園の情報を紹介しながら、津軽という地域の歴史と文化を深く勉強しました。例えば、公園の桜は約2600本が植えられ、弘前城は200年の歴史がある史跡です。このインターンシップを通じて、私は弘前の歴史と触れ合ったと思っております。今後、機会があれば、次は京都を旅行して歴史を勉強してみたいです。(When the Sakura festival was happening, I explained some information to visitors like a guide at Hirosaki park. I learned lots of Tugaru’s history and culture deeply. For example, there are about 2600 cherry trees growing at the park and the Hirosaki Castle, which has a history of 200 years, is a Historic site. During this activity, I think that I could contact with Hirosaki’s history. If I have a chance in the future, I will travel to Kyoto and study its history.)”.

The first semester internship for international student will finish on Jul. 6, (Mon.).

To find more about Int’l Students information, visit at
FB: https://www.facebook.com/hirosaki.kokusaikyoiku
HP: https://www.hirosaki-u.ac.jp/kokusai/index.html