ファルコン 
内倉憲一 
Tiny 
shiropoko JIS Volunteer Biography - Lisa san
My year in Japan was wonderful - one of the best in my life. I had four host families and lots of brothers and sisters. This was great for me, since I am an only child in my biological family. Rotary placed me in a small town in the mountains of northern Kyushu. Since there were no other foreigners there I had to learn Japanese very quickly to keep up with my school studies.
I learned many valuable things in Japan. Certainly I learned the language and the customs and made many friends. The most important lesson for me, however, was not about language or culture, but about people. I learned that exterior characteristics like language and custom may be very different, but in our hearts, all human beings are still the same; we have the same hopes and fears, the same yearnings and desires. And it was this sameness, rather than the differences, that made the deepest impression on me during my year there.
After returning home I realized that one year in Japan was not enough for me. Several years later I applied to the Japan Exchange and Teaching program, and worked for a year as a Coordinator for International Relations in the Mayor's Office in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture. Then I decided to return to the countryside school where I had been an exchange student, and taught English for two more years.
I am so happy to volunteer for JIS, because it gives me the opportunity to share with a whole new generation of students my love for Japan and its wonderful culture and language. Nowadays Japanese culture and food isn’t as mysterious as it was when I was in high school. We have access to Japanese television, movies, literature and food, and Japanese is taught in nearly every high school.
It would be easy to think that there is enough access in the US for anyone who wanted whatever knowledge they desired about Japan. This is certainly the case with information. The value of the JIS program, however, is that it gives the students a personal and real experience of Japanese culture. It provides opportunity for language immersion that helps them apply what they have learned in their classes in real situations such as shopping, visiting a home, or ordering in a restaurant.
Every time I enter a classroom I see the excitement on the students' faces. Whether in elementary or high school, students actively engage in our presentations. Some of them have had the opportunity to go to Japan, but most have not. So when people bring Japan to them, they love it!
Most of my current work is involved in music. I am a private piano instructor, accompanist, music history lecturer and chamber performer. I love music. But I also love teaching and speaking Japanese. I teach Japanese lessons in my home studio as well, and dream of somehow combining music and art and Japanese in my work, but I don't know how yet.
What I do know is that volunteering for the JIS program is fun and rewarding. If any of you want to share your interest in Japan with others, this is the place to do it!
Lisa Maria