One of my absolute favorite things about living in the suburb of Mitaka is the fantastic community center programming that's offered by local retired Japanese volunteers.  The center is called the Mitaka International Society for Hospitality (MISHOP) and is located about a twenty minute bike ride away from ICU.  The center offers weekly cultural activities and frequent small trips with the goal of helping and getting to know more foreign residents in the city and having fun.  Sean and I signed up for their ski trip in late February and we're really looking forward to it.

My Japanese class today (the two teachers are standing to my right)

But the best part of the center is the free language classes and resources that are provided.  Once a week for two hours Sean and I attend Japanese language classes taught by retired members of the community. They put a lot of time and preparation into the lessons so even though most of them have never taught before (much less taught Japanese as a foreign language), the classes are always fun and interesting.  Sean is in the level one class and his classmates are from South Korea, Tunisia and the U.S.  I'm in the level two class and my classmates are from Malaysia, China and the U.K.  I enjoy the classes because the emphasis is on practical speaking skills - something that I don't get in the very formal university classes.  Also, most of the volunteers don't speak very much English so communication in Japanese becomes very necessary and real.

The center also offers free language "lounges" where you can just drop in and practice speaking Japanese.  One final resource they provide is free one-on-one tutoring.  This is hugely popular, however, and we have been on the wait list for awhile.  This involves meeting with a retired community volunteer for two hours a week to practice Japanese.  I hope we can get some tutors soon as I hear that everyone really enjoys the program.

For me, this experience is really special because it reminds me of my dad.  After he retired from teaching, he started volunteering with new immigrants to the U.S. helping them with anything from passing their GED to learning English.  Here in Japan, I'm on the receiving end of this kind of help and it's amazing how much of a difference it makes to see locals volunteering their time to help someone to the community and to the country.  It makes me feel more connected, more cared about and more capable of everyday life.  Thanks volunteers!

One event that's coming up at MISHOP - a Japanese tea ceremony

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