Konnichiwa!! This week, an excited and talented group of global interns arrived at the beautiful Rokkosan YMCA, located in the mountains of Osaka to begin their summer internship for Osaka YMCA with an immersive orientation week.
Camp Anan, Rokkosan YMCA, GYC Facilitators and Global Department Interns from all over the world quickly became friends as they participated in a variety of activities. Orientation week is designed to expose the interns to Japanese Culture, ensure they have the chance to get to know each other, build a support system and kick start their internship.
Starting each day off with intensive Japanese language classes, Osaka YMCA is ensuring that the Global Interns have at least learnt some simple conversational phrases Japanese. ‘Using language to bridge the cultural divide between themselves and locals’ is very important to successfully on boarding our global interns, says Associate Director Global Department, Dominic Pangrazio. Eager and enthusiastic, the group have been testing out their new skills with the caring staff at Rokkosan, proudly bookmarking their meals with a polite ‘Itadakimasu’ and ‘gochisosama deshita’ to show their gratitude.
With the GYC only one month away, it is vital that all the Global Interns understand their role at the conference and how to best participate. Senior Global Intern Hibiki Maeda from Japan, encouraged the group to consider the importance of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and why it’s vital that young people prioritise them when considering local and global challenges.
GYC Facilitator Trainer Mina Henderson from the United States, ran the Global Interns through a comprehensive workshop on feedback and how to best encourage and challenge their peers so that they can deliver the best conference possible. In a complementary session Facilitator Trainer Benji Chua from Singapore, separated the group into different ‘planets’ each with their own set of customs and traditions – often in stark contrast to their neighbors. Through this session, the group was encouraged to think about how they could still be Global Citizens despite their staunch traditions and differences. Benji says that through this activity the Global Interns learn that ‘accepting cultural differences is key to global citizenship’.
The relentless rain did nothing to dampen the Global Intern’s spirits as they powered their way through a series of fun teamwork activities that brought out their competitive spirits. GYC Facilitator Mackenzie from the United States, hosted his very own game of Jeopardy, focusing on the main theme of the 2019 GYC, the Environment. During this session, Mackenzie explored ‘Dark Green’ environmentalism, which focuses on the negatives, uses scare tactics as motivation and doesn’t consider the progress already made, versus ‘Light Green’ environmentalism which prioritises a positive outlook and looks for solutions rather than problems. The Global Interns were asked to consider which outlook is the most productive and which would assist our incoming GYC delegates to develop their critical thinking skills.
Orientation week ended with a fun team outing into Kobe City led by Global Department staff Shirley Suginohara and Mahya Kitada. Global Interns visited Ikuta shrine and spent the day enjoying all that downtown Kobe has to offer while embracing their new found friendships.
The beginning of the week saw 19 Global Interns from 10 different countries arrive in Osaka unsure of what their time here would entail. A week of team building activities, goal setting and adventures and they have all parted ways with a strong support network and new friends, ready for their Global Internship at Osaka YMCA.