We met one of our interns, Isabel, on Friday, March 13, 2015 at Groundwork Fukuoka, where she is doing an internship. Groundwork strives to create a society where everyone can live happily together in the future. They also publish a blog in English for more information. (https://groundworkfukuoka.wordpress.com/)
This is what we were talking about:
A: Hello Isabel, how are you? Thank you for doing this interview with us.
I : Thank you, I’m fine.
A: We’re glad to hear that. By the way, how old are you?
I : I’m 19 years old. I’ve just finished high school in Berlin and came to Japan right away.
A: Why did you come to Japan, and why did you choose Fukuoka?
I : In Berlin, I had some Japanese friends and learned Japanese through my language exchange partner. However, I wanted to further improve my Japanese skills. Thus I found the information of Fukuoka on the website.
A : What are you planning to do after going back to Germany?
I : I’m going to stay in Osaka until September and then I’ll go back Berlin to go to university. I’d like to study tourism and Japanese and then work in a job that emphasizes on German and Japanese relations.
A: You did a language course at our school before your internship, right? Was it helpful?
I : Yes, I did a three-week course and it helped me a lot with learning Japanese grammar and making friends.
A: Do you think learning Japanese is difficult?
I : Well, it was pretty hard at the beginning because I couldn’t read the sentences in my book. After I had learned reading Hiragana and Katakana, it became much easier for me though. However, Kanji are still quite difficult although I have learned some Kanji through chatting with my friends on Facebook and with SMS.
A: Have you learned any “Hakata-ben” during your stay?
I : No, I haven’t, but I think it’s not such a strong dialect compared to other ones. When staying in Osaka, I’ll definitely try to learn “Kansai-ben”.
A: What do you like to do in Fukuoka?
I : I really love to go to Canal City and enjoy eating with my friends. I don’t eat fish but I still found some nice restaurants.
A: How was your internship at Groundwork Fukuoka?
I : I’ve been working here for a month and usually did translation and sorting work. I had to use Japanese quite often to communicate with my colleagues, which helped me to get accustomed pretty fast. I really enjoyed talking to my colleagues during lunch and the activities we were doing.
A: What were your tasks at Groundwork?
I : Like I said, I mostly translated texts and assisted with activities and other tasks. For example, I’ve recently been to a city called Yame with one of my co-workers to clean and pack Ayu, an Asian fish. I’ve never seen Ayu before, so that was a nice experience.
A: Were you able to improve your Japanese skill through the internship?
I : My co-worker didn’t speak any English, so I had to use Japanese for the whole period. I suppose, my Japanese skills have improved through all the conversations I had with my colleagues.
A: What are your plans for the future?
I : I’m going to continue learning Japanese and I want to study tourism at university so that I can use my knowledge to promote German-Japanese cooperation.
A: Thank you very much for your time and good luck for your future plans.
I : Thank you. You’re welcome.
http://www.japanese-school-asahi.com/
