Volunteer Works
Volunteer 2015 top
ANSO
First day of arrival we held the welcome party in Yasuragi Café and enjoyed barbecue with all the Manyo Park staff members and host families before climbing up the hill to see the fireworks. It was really nice to get to know everyone before starting the work and the homestay. After this first day I already knew that the work camp would be a wonderful experience!
To be honest I was a little anxious about my Japanese level and the home stay but everyone was so kind, that I got rid of the anxiety really quickly.
Every morning, we looked after the rhinoceros beetles and stag beetles and cleaned the office.
Among the main tasks we had to carry out, most of them were related to events preparation and installation. We also helped with cleaning the campsite or serving the customers of Yasuragi café.
Late afternoon, we came back to the office to write about our thoughts and impressions about the work camp.
The first event was held the day after our arrival. Called “Let’s fly paper airplanes”, this event gathered a dozen of families with little children. After assembling the air planes we went to the “Sun Plaza”, a large meadow used for the ground golf and flied them all together. This was really fun and I felt like I had come back to childhood!
The main event during these two weeks was Taketoro, a festival of bamboo lanterns with a Iwami Kagura performance. This was one of my favorite moments because we enjoyed the beautiful light of the bamboo lanterns at night while wearing Yukata, the Japanese traditional summer clothe, that were generously offered to us by Manyo Park. The preparation of the event took us a lot of time but the pleasure of watching all the beautiful lanterns was worth it! And we had a lot of fun choosing the lantern’s compositions Shimanekko, the heart and the character Ai (love)
We also took part in the Ground Golf tournament preparations but unfortunately, due to the rain, the event was canceled.
The Balloon event, the last event we prepared, was also a really nice experience and I was really happy because the children of the house I stayed in also participated with us.
About the Team members: with Ayaka and Tomi, we started to get to know each other a long time before the beginning of the work camp through Line. So when we first saw each other in Masuda, it was really easy to converse. We had a lot of fun and laugh during the project and we learned a lot about each other country and culture. I hope I can see them again and visit their hometown as well!
The staff was also really nice and really helpful. I felt completely at home with them.
TOMI
Basically we helped to prepare park to the various events. Every morning during the half an hour we were cleaned up in the office and took care of insects. The first time we were afraid to open cells with beetles. But it was very interesting and fun! During our stay were held holiday paper airplanes, Graund golf.
Manyo park is really very big and well maintained. But we try to make it even better. We remove the leaves from the lawn, washed table, barbecue cooker, cleaned in the decorative river. Especially exciting was to do with bamboo and candle figurines of heart, hieroglyph “ai” and Shimaneko. We constantly corrected and corrected form, until not reached perfection.
Actually work in the park is not difficult, but rather fun. Some days we do not work in the park, and in the office. For example, write articles about themselves, their experiences, translating brochures from English into French and Russian.
Once in office the journalist came and took our interview. I was very nervous. But in the end it was interesting, we were talking in a friendly atmosphere, laughed a lot and made good photos. Thanks to the daily work we and park staff have become friends!
I necessarily want to once again to return to the park and to participate in the volunteer activities abroad!
Ayaka
The purpose of coming to Shimane was to do volunteer. So, we did many volunteer activities every day. Mainly, we prepared many events hold in Manyo Park, cleaned the facilities (for example, maintenance center and camp site), and took care of insects and plants. In Manyo Park, beetles from all over the world are now exhibited. And on the terrace, bitter gourds are brought up. (Bitter gourd is Goya in Japanese) We really enjoyed doing such volunteer activities.
The events we prepared and joined are paper plane event, three thousands of bamboo lanterns event, and balloon art event.
Paper plane event was the first event we joined. In the sun plaza, we flew paper plane with the local people. Our plane was made well and flew very long distance. I flew my paper with my host family’s child and other young children. In the wide park, under the blue sky, playing and flying paper planes with the local people is a really happy memory. This day, I spent a wonderful time.
The three thousands bamboo lanterns event was the biggest and most memorable of all the events. We considered what would be the best and it took us a lot of time to prepare. For the event, we were given a part of the ground to make three monuments of bamboo. After talking, we decided to make the Kanji of love, 愛,and the shape of the cute and popular character in Shimane, Shimanekko, and the shape of a heart. But it was very difficult to display them well in order for people to understand the shape. Fortunately we succeeded, and when the lanterns lighted up, we were really glad of the result. The event was on the local newspaper and also broadcasted on the local TV.
The last event was balloon art event. The staff taught us how to make many kinds of balloons. All of people who participated in the event seemed to enjoy, so did I.
Every work was really enjoyable and thanks to them, we learned a lot of important things.
