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2020.12.20 vol.109Nishinomiya Cit y International Association Newslet ter

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NIA Volunteers Support NIA Activities

公益財団法人 西宮市国際交流協会〒662-0911 西宮市池田町11番1号 （フレンテ西宮4F）TEL（0798）32-8680FAX（0798）32-8678

WEBSITE▶E-mail : nia@nishi.or.jp

The Meaning of “Volunteer”

Volunteerism in Japan

Won’t You Join NIA Volunteer Groups？

Many volunteers are active in our association to promote international activities. There are two main types; one type involves the voluntary activity groups introduced on page 2 of the NIA Newsletter, No.107 and 108. With the support of the association staff, they plan and manage the ir own act iv i t ies . Currently, there are 9 such groups: Japanese Language Volunteers, Food Culture Exchange Volunteers, Spanish Language Volunteers, International Kids Club, NIA Chikyukko Club, English Interpretation and Translation Volunteers, Cultural Exchange Volunteers, Homestay Volunteers, and Consultation Volunteers. The second type of group is of a different nature. These groups are in charge of creating, shipping, and distributing our PR b r o chu r e s wh i c h r epo r t t h e association’s activit ies, those who interpret and translate various languages, and those who support behind the scenes at our events. Everyone enjoys the rewarding experience volunteering.

The word “volunteer” is derived from the Latin word “volo.” It has the meaning

of “going forward” and “willingly”. Additionally, “spontaneity” is in its essence. Because it is a “volo” rather than an obligation or compulsion, people choose to meet other people’s needs by their own accord. They participate in various activities with an altruistic mentality. Self-motivation is the most p owe r f u l d r i v i n g f o r c e b e h i n d volunteering.

It is sa id that the Engl ish word “volunteer” was introduced to Japan during the end of the Meiji Era and the Taisho era . When the words were introduced, the idea of “good deeds” rather than “spontaneity” became widespread. These volunteers developed the image of working in the welfare field. Today, the field of “volunteer” activities has expanded significantly, and is being tackled in various fields, including welfare, medical care, education, the environment, international exchanges, multicultural coexistence, international cooperation, sports, culture, and art. Through the 1970s, volunteers were mostly young people, but in the 1980s,

middle-aged and older women began p a r t i c i p a t i n g mo r e . T h e G r e a t Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995 was a ca l l t o ac t ion and the number o f volunteers expanded to a diverse range of people including students, office workers, retirees, and so on.

NIA is always looking for volunteers. You don’t necessarily have to be able to speak a foreign language. Anyone who is interested in international exchange and l ikes to interact with people can participate. Please feel free to contact us and learn about the act iv i t i es o f volunteers in various fields. We’ll be looking forward to hearing from you.

Nishinomiya City and Spokane City （USA） will celebrate the 60th anniversary of our sister city alliance in 2021. We have been able to continue to enjoy the interaction for a long time thanks to the support of all the people involved in our projects and the citizens’ understanding. Due to the corona disaster this year, almost all of the exchange programs that we carry out every year have been cancelled. Even so, the high school student exchange program is being held online. Nishinomiya and Spokane high school students, who were supposed to stay in each other’s homes, form a pair every month to introduce their own culture and school life by picking up themes they are interested in. They foster friendship through their activities such as making videos and talking online. After this corona issue subs ides , a new form of interaction may begin.

Interaction with Spokane:Before the 60th Anniversary of the Alliance

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Sweetsin theWorld26

NIA Chikyukko Club Begins its Activities！～Taking all possible measures against Corona virus infection～

The vo lun ta ry ac t i v i t y g roup “NIA Chikyukko （Global K ids） Club” is a volunteer group that works to deepen elementary school children’s international understanding and has a history of more than 20 years. Through the interactions with foreign guests from various countries, the elementary school children aim to become internationally and globally minded kids who can broaden their outlook concerning global issues as they grow into adults.

At the beginning of this year, as usual, we were recruiting elementary school children from second to sixth grades to prepare for our activities, but were forced to cancel them to prevent the spread of the new corona virus. When school was reopened and the use of public facilities was eased a little bit, this group also sought a way to reconvene. The first activity started with less capacity than usual. Some volunteers said, “This is the only year some children can participate, so we

wanted to do it if we could.” In September, four months later than usual, elementary school children from different s choo l s and g rade s me t a t t h e fi r s t orientation. Before the meeting started, we took the kids’ temperature, disinfected their

fi ng e r s , a n d e v e r y on e wo r e ma sk s . Ventilation of the room was also confirmed to be good. At first, the volunteers were worried if it would be okay to restart, but the e lementary schoo l ch i ldren were accustomed to corona countermeasures at

school, so they responded very positively, and I was relieved. Finally, in October we had an interaction with our first guest of the year, a woman from Singapore. The guest talked about the outline of the country and the system of the school using a PowerPoint that she prepared herself. I was relieved/surprised that some of them were the same as Japan and some were completely different. When given a quiz in the middle of the talk, some children were shy and could not raise their hands even though they knew the answer. They also tried a popular game that everyone in Singapore knows. Volunteer members supported the progress while quietly watching, or supplementing explanation of difficult points in the guest’s story and calling out to encourage children to participate. Watching everyone grow through the one-year program is one of the pleasures of volunteering. （Y. I）

“Pastilla”from Morocco

Pastilla, introduced in this issue, is a kind of meat pie. Although its appearance seems like a sweet treat as it is decorated with lots of almonds, powder sugar, and cinna-mon, its contents are meat and vegetables, and its taste is in a fine balance between sweet and spicy. Generally, chicken and fish are used nowadays. However, pigeon meat was used traditionally. Those meats and vegetables are layered with spices cov-ered by thin crepe l ike dough called “Waruka”. Its root is said to be from An-darus on the Iberian Peninsula and crossed over the Strait of Gibraltar which was under Islamic control from the 8th century to the 15th century. These days, it is a traditional Moroccan dish. As real full-scale Pastilla takes quite a lot of work to cook, it is usually only served on special occasions such as national days, a celebration table, or a birthday party. Here, we introduce you to an easy pastilla recipe using substitutions because it would be difficult to get the authentic ingredients in Japan. Why don’t you try it？ （Y. U）

Ingredients　・Chicken thigh with bone…2 pieces・Onion （chopped）………2 pieces・Harumaki skin （substitution）…1 bag・Egg ……………………… 3 pieces・Parsley （chopped）………1/4 cup（A）Curry powder…1/2 teaspoons

Ginger powder　 ……… 1 and 1/2 teaspoonsBlack pepper ………… a little

・Salt ………………… 1/2 teaspoon・Cinnamon stick ………… 1 piece・Honey………………… 1 teaspoon・Sliced almond （roasted）……30g・Cinnamon powder …… if desired・Powder sugar 2 or 3 tablespoons・Butter………………………… 20g・Oil ……………………… properlyHow to cook①Put oil in a deep-frying pan and scorch the skin of the chicken. Bring it out from the frying pan, add onion, the spice of （A）, and salt to fry. Put the chicken back in the pan, add water to cover everything and add the cinnamon stick then boil slowly until they become soft.②Remove the chicken and tear it

up into small pieces.③Put chopped parsley into the frying pan of ① after taking out the chicken, boil down until it becomes thick, add honey, bring the cinnamon stick out then add 2 eggs to get everything together.④Set up 6 pieces of Harumaki skins and arrange them like petals of a flower and stick them together with the leftover egg yolk where 2 pieces’ layered parts. Apply egg yolk on the center of them and place one more Harumaki skin on it, and grease it with butter.⑤Sprinkle powder sugar on top of ④, then sprinkle the almond slices. Put half of ② on it add ③ and put the rest of ② on it. Again, sprinkle the almond slices and powder sugar and place one more Harumaki skin, then roll up the rim of skins to make a round shape. Apply butter on the top.⑥Bake it in a 180 centigrade oven for 20 min. Lastly, sprinkle almond, powder sugar, and cinnamon on the lukewarm Pastilla.

NIA organizes various events and seminars to promote international exchanges and understanding. Let us introduce one of these programs.

Sweets have a way of melting people’s hearts with both the young and adults. This column will introduce you to various sweets from around the globe, and are associated with seasonal events.

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INFORMATIONNIA Information Box

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The interviewee in this issue is Ms. Melody Takayasu, from the Philippines. She is married to a Japanese man, and now lives in Kizugawa City, Kyoto. She has actively participated in many NIA sponsored events such as disaster prevention drills. The interview was held online to prevent the spread of COVID19.

Ms. Melody got married last year. To show his support , she was accompanied by her husband while conducting the interview. In keeping with the definition of her name, throughout the interview, Ms. Melody always had a cute smile that was a treat to see that gives meaning to the term eye candy. The newly married couple created a lovely atmosphere together. Ms. Melody had worked at the Philippine Red Cross after graduating from college. She came to Japan in 2004 when she was invited by her aunt who had come to Japan earlier. At first, she hesitated a little, but her whole family recommended that she take a chance and her supervisor also gave her a supportive push so she made the decision to come.

Ms. Melody has a wonderful specialty: she is a world-leading chess player. She has long been accustomed to playing chess as her whole family are also chess lovers. Af ter arr iv ing in Japan , she immediately joined the Chess Club in Osaka, where she first met her husband. At this point, she never thought that this would be an encounter of destiny.

She started to work as an English instructor at a language school, but in 2010 she moved to Okinawa and worked as an elementary school teacher there. While staying in Okinawa, she stopped playing chess and did not join any chess club. Two years later, she came back to the Kansai area, Hirakata City, Osaka. She then visited the chess club in Osaka, where she met her husband again. They must have fallen in love this time. This was in

2018. She began to work hard on chess again and acquired professional skills. In international team chess competitions, a team is made up of 6 men and 5 women. Ms. Melody has been selected as a member of the Japanese national team for the Chess O lymp iad , wh i ch was originally planned to be held in Moscow this year. Due to the COVID-19 situation, the event has been postponed to next year. They are currently playing matches online instead. How does she like her life in Japan after being invited by her aunt？ Even though she has had some bitter experiences due to miscommunications, her answers are mostly positive ones: being able to meet her aunt’s wonderful family, helping many Japanese students learn English, learning about Japan’s wonderfulness like its culture, del ic ious foods , their politeness and so on. “The happiest thing is meeting my husband！” said Ms. Melody. Her goal right now is to start a chess class for kids and teach them the joy of playing chess. She is certain to become a popular instructor as students can learn chess and English at the same time. （M. M）

Proficient Chess Player

Interview ～Ms. Melody Lady Arnales Garcia Takayasu（from the Philippines）～

When：Jan. 20～Mar. 24, every Wednesday（10 sessions） from 18:30～20:00

Target learners：Intermediate LevelInstructor：Japanese language teacherFee：5,000 yen （bank transfer or cash）

Online Japanese Classon Wednesday evenings

Free Consultation for Non-Japanese residentsA judicial scrivener and an administrative scrivener will provide consultations free of charge （under seal of secrecy）. English and Chinese interpreters on duty. If your language is other than these languages, please call to make an appointment.

Date & Time

Jan.24（Sun.）,2021 13：00～16：00

Mar.21（Sun.）,2021 13：00～16：00 Visa Status

Visa Status NIA Conference Room

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NIA Newsletter is published four times a year, in Japanese, English, Chinese, and Korean.The newsletter is mailed to our spon-sor-members, foreigner members, volun-teer members, citizens, other internation-al associations, citizen’s halls, libraries, high schools and colleges in Nishinomiya.Your ad will be posted on NIA's website for 1 year.Fees are shown below.

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L：40,000 yen/year（including 20,000 yen organization membership fee）

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◇Volunteers Wanted◇NIA is seeking volunteers for the following works: ● Newsletter volunteers A: Preparation work before shipping （4 times a year）

● Newsletter volunteers B: Delivery to near-by institutions （4 times a year）

● Volunteer interpreters and translators（Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese and Portuguese etc.）: We are seeking volunteers with different levels of ability. The work ranges from simple interpre-tation of daily conversation to translation of the NIA newsletter.

◇Sponsor Members Wanted◇To promote activities of the international exchange program, we need your support. ● Annual membership fee: Group : ￥20,000　Individual: ￥3,000Volunteer: ￥ 2,000

● Privileges: Books can be borrowed for free. Conference rooms and the exhibi-tion corner can be rented at a discout price. Other privileges include invitations to events run by NIA and discount tickets to Nishinomiya based facilities.

Events and disaster information etc.are provided in multiple languages.

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Nationality Number Percent

Total Nishinomiya population 484,210The percentage of foreign residents in Nishinomiya 1.47％

South and North KoreaChinaVietnamThe PhilippinesU.S.A.NepalTaiwanBrazil84 Other countries

Total

※as of Dec, 2020

Current Number of Foreign Residentsin Nishinomiya

Current Number of Foreign Residentsin Nishinomiya

3,2321,3138412312251681401198357,104

45.5％18.5％11.8％3.3％3.2％2.4％2.0％1.7％11.8％100％