Giving Something Back

As mentioned in my previous post, I've started volunteering at JSS.
So on Wednesday, I arrived at the office, thinking it's going to be a chill day since last time at orientation, the staff told me I'm just gonna be taking calls and stuff. Sounds chill right? I even brought a book with me!

JCCC - where the JSS office is located.

It was only Mr. and Mrs. Maekawa, and counselor Kuge-san at the office. Kuge-san was out most of the time, so basically I spent the whole day with Mr. and Mrs. Maekawa.
I took some calls, made some forms with this ancient edition of Microsoft Office /cries/, tallying volunteering hours of the year, stuff like that. At first I was so nervous for taking calls, 'cause I'm afraid the person on the line will speak Japanese to me and I wouldn't know how to answer - I'm not good with keigo (polite form of the language). Luckily, people who called can speak English for the most part, I was relieved /laughs/. I also met the craft club instructor (forgot her name), and helped her collect material fees from her class.

At lunch time, I ate with Mr. and Mrs. Maekawa. Volunteers have to bring in their own lunch since there's nothing nearby. At first it was kinda uneasy for me but they were really nice and talkative. They kept asking me questions about Chinese culture, and made me teach them Chinese. I think it's really hard for them to pronounce words in Chinese /especially Cantonese/, but it was quite fun.

In the afternoon, things got a bit more busy. Since it's near the holiday, JSS organized a holiday drive, where they take in donations, such as clothes, toys, non-perishable food etc, and give them to families in need. Aside from helping at the office, I also had to help with the drive.

All in all, during my entire time there, I didn't have a minute to spare! Although the work I was given wasn't that hard nor urgent, there were always stuff waiting for me to do. For a rare moment in my life, I feel helpful!
I feel really happy that I'm able to give something back to the community, while gaining some work experience. I'm also really glad that I have this opportunity to practice Japanese.

As a little bonus, I found out that JCCC is going to be holding a double screening of Gantz and Gantz: Perfect Answer in February. Although I've seen the movies already, I was excited to see the posters and trailers #fangirling

let's bust some aliens!

They even had promotional cards for people to take home - of course I took one home...okay, maybe two.

I enjoyed my day volunteering at JSS. Furthermore, I've been asked to go back again next week. I guess that means I wasn't completely useless afterall /laughs/