Anyway, gosh, I am already halfway done with my time here and I haven't been updating this blog as often as I planned. But, I am done with my delivery job, and I'm moving host families tomorrow, so it's time for another update.
Even though delivering groceries in the summer heat doesn't exactly sound like a good time, I had a lot of fun, mostly because I was shadowing a super nice employee, and we had many a laugh. She is Shimizu-san, and here we are together:
I am really glad that I was placed in her care, as our personalities fit well together and she would sing little songs on the fly, one of my favorites being ちょっとコンビニ, ちょっとお菓子 chotto konbini, chotto okashi (a little convenience store, a little snack) when we stopped to get a snack. She told me she would write me letters, and I hope she does.
Everyone else at the center was also very nice, which I was immediately clued into on my first day when I walked up the stairs and saw this:
Welcome to Omiya Center!
Let's do our best together!
Too cute, right? Everyone keeps giving me things with the Saitama Co-op logo on them. People tend to treat me like a little kid, which I don't mind, because that means they explain things to me slowly and simply, I don't have much responsibility, and they give me candy.
I think these trucks are so cute. Also, pro tip: the "deli" does not stand for "delicatessen," but actually "delivery" and "delicious," which no English speaker would think of first.
Part of the neighborhood I made deliveries in, from the 6th floor of an apartment building. Train tracks!
I'm finding myself in a strange position, since part of the point of this internship is to compare Japanese and American business. However, I have very little work experience in America, and I already knew a lot about Japan, Japanese culture, and Japanese business before I came here, so it's tough to say what I'm really learning in that respect. BUT, what is more important to me (cultural similarities are what tie us together, amirite?) is meeting a lot of different people and being able to communicate with them, and also being able to adapt quickly to different jobs and be of some use to my co-workers. I'm probably not allowed to say that I'm not learning anything about the Japanese business world though, haha. Saitama Co-op is pretty exceptional in a lot of ways also, it's not exactly a "traditional" Japanese company, but that's probably part of the lesson, too. I will continue to collect my thoughts on it, since I have to write a report at the end anyway. English and Japanese. I will be posting them here, so look forward to it!
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