2018 Activity Report

March Activity Report

31 March 2019
Global Japan Office Coordinator
HIDAKA Shinsuke

It is now March. It has been both hot and cold here in Turkmenistan, and three cold days almost always seemed to be followed by four hot ones. Perhaps because of this, I��ve caught a cold. I used the earlier half of the new-year holidays here (March 22 and 23) in a very productive (?) way �C by sleeping�� even though I don��t have holidays very often��

Anyway, I want to report on the Japanese classes. Last month, I wrote about how two new classes of first-year students began studying Japanese. There were a few times where I had to be quite strict, but they��ve finally calmed down. These days I am starting to understand the tremendous power of education. I once again feel the need to use the power of a teacher correctly. Although, I do think that some of the second-year students still look at me and think ��oh he��s annoying��. At the start of next month there��s a mid-term test, so I want to keep doing my job as best as I can.

Moving onto another topic, the Japanese Embassy in Turkmenistan held two events at the end of this month. I want to talk about them a little. The first was a Japanese Food event on the 30th. I was otherwise engaged and could not attend, but I had the students show me photos of the event. It seems that there were tempura and sushi-making demonstrations and sake tastings. More information can be found in this article (Russian only): https://arzuw.news/9518/sostoyalsya-master-klass-po-prigotovleniyu-yaponskoy-kuhni.html

In addition to this, a party for exchange program returnees was held by the embassy on the 31st. I think this was the second time they��ve held this. This event is an opportunity to interact with people who went on exchange to Japan, which I enjoyed while eating traditional Turkmen food in the desert. I ate many foods one can��t even find in Japan, such as pan-baked beef and kebabs. The beef was juicy and delicious.

At the end of next month (the 27th), a Japanese contest will be held. I am helping my students prepare, and hope for some good results.

February Activity Report

28 February 2019
Global Japan Office Coordinator
HIDAKA Shinsuke

There were some chilly days in February, but the weather has generally been pretty easygoing. Ashgabat might��ve even been warmer than Tokyo. I have the weather of both Tokyo and Ashgabat displayed on my phone, so I compare them quite a bit. In the latter half of February, the days grew longer, and it began to stay light outside until about 7pm. Ashgabat is close to the equator, so the days are quite long. I am a little scared of the summer to come. I remember the direct sunlight in Uzbekistan was intense. If you��re outside for 10 minutes without protection in the height of summer (around July), you can easily feel like you��re going to die. I heard that Ashgabat is similar��

Moving on, the new semester starts from February. From this semester, first-year students from the public law and private law classes began to study Japanese (the second-year students of these classes finished their Japanese studies last semester, so the amount of classes I teach stays the same). Both classes always have discussions each time, and since they have a real sense of teamwork, I have to be careful sometimes (I can��t go into details on this though��). In particular, the first years aren��t used to my style of teaching, so I have to pay more attention to them. The early days of teaching this kind of subject are crucial, so I want to be firm and strict when dealing with them.

Following January��s exams, the exam to decide the two exchange student candidates for the ISEP program was held. Seven students stepped up to the challenge. While it��s no surprise, the students who have been studying Japanese continuously for 2-3 years since they were first years got the highest marks. There was such a narrow margin between the top three. I had to fail one of them while they cried, which was really hard for me. In April we will have a Japanese speech contest, so I hope that student participates in that.

The other applicants were first and second-year students who haven��t been studying Japanese for long, and prior to the exam a few students even told me something along the lines of ��I won��t take the exam this year, but next year I will step up to the challenge!�� I hope the atmosphere at IUHD becomes more competitive so the students�� Japanese levels can increase, which as a result would increase the national average level of Japanese in Turkmenistan.

January Activity Report

31 January 2019
Global Japan Office Coordinator
HIDAKA Shinsuke

It is now January, and the 15 degrees and above days keep coming. Because of this the air is very dry, and my skin has become itchy. Luckily, the weather turned bad yesterday, and it became more humid. Of course I��m not happy about it being cold again�� but it is important to take care of your health.

Speaking of health, let��s talk about food. There are no Japanese ingredients in Turkmenistan, but I used to live in Uzbekistan, so I am used to the food and ingredients here. Lately I��m obsessed with buckwheat kasha and kefir (similar to drinking yoghurt). They are cheap, easy to prepare and nutritious. It is kind of similar to Japanese natto (fermented soybeans, which I really want to eat right now).

If you were to ask me whether or not I miss Japanese food, I suppose my answer would be yes (I want natto). Last week on Friday the 25th, a New Year��s party was held at the ambassador��s residence. Many Japanese expats gathered at the party, especially those working in companies or educational institutions, and exchanged new year��s greetings while eating Japanese food. I was really happy to enjoy the food and drinks (especially chirashizushi and shochu), but more importantly I was glad to spend my time productively by listening to the interesting stories of working people who I usually wouldn��t have a chance to speak with.

In my main class, the end-of-term exam was held this month. At IUHD, ��consultation time�� is held before the exam period. I handed out a sample of the exam to students ahead of time, and wanted to work through it together during consultation time�� but a few students finished it on their own before the consultation. I felt like crying a little. So consultation time didn��t go as planned, but the students got very high marks in the actual exam. There are a few students that have to take supplementary exams�� so every day now I��m thinking about what I could do to motivate them more.

During the exam period, I also held an information session about ISEP (International Student Exchange Program). Eight students attended the session and listened with great interest. At the start of next month, the exam for overseas exchange will be held. I look forward to the students preparing thoroughly for and facing the challenge.

December Activity Report

31 December 2018
Global Japan Office Coordinator
HIDAKA Shinsuke

From mid-December, the city entered the end-of-year, or perhaps I should say new year, mood. Big trees were lined up in front of buildings, and decorative lights were even strung through the trees planted along the roads. However, I have work right up until the 31st, so it doesn��t feel like the end of the year at all�� By the way, I was very suddenly given the 31st off, and the 30th was a Sunday, so I have a long weekend until January 1st (but work starts again on the 2nd!).

My biggest achievement in December was probably starting the Open Class (absolute beginner level). I am holding this class twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays (from 3-4pm). By the end of last month, I had about 10 students sign up, but in the end around 20 students registered. However, it seems that the Open Class often clashes with afternoon social events (a sort of gathering that students must participate in), so it is hard for students to attend every week.

In the middle of the month, I was invited by the Japanese Embassy to attend a party for the Emperor��s birthday. This was held at Yyldyz Hotel, a high-class hotel located at the top of a mountain. It was my first time attending a party like this, so I was very nervous. However, I was able to meet many other Japanese language teachers, making for a very worthwhile time. I was also able to enjoy lots of Japanese food and alcohol.

As the year came to a close, I was asked to give some new year��s greetings around the university. IUHD has a journalism department. Because of this, it seems they often interview foreigners who come to the university as material for the university newspaper and broadcasts. I was asked to give the new year��s greetings for both the newspaper and broadcast.

At the start of the new year there will be end-of-term exams, which will then be followed by an exam for those who wish to go on an overseas exchange. I plan to keep working hard, while also watching my health.

November Activity Report

30 November 2018
Global Japan Office Coordinator
HIDAKA Shinsuke

Heading into November, the days grew colder in Ashgabat. I��ve seen students catch colds much more than usual. I also caught a cold once�� anyway I would like to report on this month��s happenings in the order they occurred.

At the start of November, mid-term exams were held for about a week. It has only been one month since I took over, but this wasn��t taken into account by the academic system. Anyhow, I made a test covering everything we��ve done so far, gave the students 10 minutes before the test to study, and made the questions relatively easy to give them a chance to get 100/100. However, out of 56 students, only one got 100/100. I suppose the average score was good though��

After the mid-terms, I began advertising the Open Class (absolute beginner level) that I plan to start in early December. I plan to hold this class twice a week for one hour each. First I got students to si