Yuka Konno

STAFF INTERVIEW: Yuka Konno (Student Services)

Yuka Konno works in Student Services.

Peter Huang: Konnichiwa, Konno san, Genki desu ka?
Yuka Konno: I'm fine, thank you.

P: Jon is a little busy this week so he asked me to interview someone for the newsletter this week. When he asked the first person that came into my head was you as you are the newest member in the Student Services office.
K: (laughing) Thank you. I think you come here at the right time. OK, I have about 30 minutes that I can spare.
P: I know you're busy, so thanks for the time.......Can you tell me about when you started working at Yamasa and what exactly you do?
K: I came here on the 7th of October 2003, just 2 months ago. My job is to deal with daily issues related to Yamasa and Nagoya immigration office. Even though I have never been to the immigration office before, I report the status of students here to the office in Nagoya once a week. It can be time consuming but it's interesting.

P: What is the job like?
K: I pretty much enjoy it. The good thing is that you can get to know someone, chat with them and become friends during work. It's a good experience to interact with all the foreign students that we have here.

P: It sounds like you are an easygoing person......What did you do before coming to Yamasa?
K: That's a long story. I did a number of different jobs, such as a teacher, shopkeeper and so on.

P: Did you work in Jusco (a local supermarket) previously? When I first saw you, I had a feeling that I had come across you before at the supermarket.
K: No, that's impossible. I came here 2 months ago from Yamagata prefecture. The person you saw must have been somebody else.

P: Yamagata! Wow, that is quite remote, in the northeast part of Japan I believe. If I went there by local train, it will probably take me about 24 hours!!
K: You're right; that's why I haven't been back yet since moving here.

P: I've never been to the north part of Japan. Can you introduce your hometown to us?
K: My town is quiet, called 'Shirataka-machi', which is famous for the TV drama 'Oshin' that appeared about ten years ago. The well-known hot spring site 'Ginsan onsen' is also nearby.

P: How many people are there in your family?
K: I am the only child of the family.
P: If you are the only child, I am wondering why you want to work so far from your parents. To be honest, if I were you, I would try to work either in Tokyo or a place near home.
K: You are right. But when I found the recruitment advertisement for Yamasa on the internet, I was attracted by the job content. Also, compared to Tokyo, Okazaki is cheaper and the life is similar to where I lived. So, these reasons helped me to choose Yamasa even though Okazaki is a long way from home.

P: When you were in Yamagata, what did you do?
K: As I mentioned before, I worked in a convenience store, taught Japanese, and was an office lady at a construction company.
P: You taught Japanese!? Did you teach Brazilian-born people Japanese?
K: No, all of my students were Japanese who had been living in China since World War II. They came back from China recently without speaking any Japanese.
P: But if they cannot speak Japanese, how did you teach them? Do you know any Chinese?
K: Yes I do. My joint major at university was Chinese and Japanese. Furthermore, I studied in China for 10 months between 1998 and 1999.
P: How was the life in China? Did you enjoy it?
K: I studied in a city called Gilin in the northeast of China. The local youngsters were very friendly, liked to talk with me and we went out together. I had the best time of my life being there. However, it was a pity that the older generation still had some problems with Japanese people because of the war. Also, I was interested in the Cultural Revolution of the 1960's but for some reason the professor in the school didn't want to mention anything about that. All in all, I miss the life there.

P: Getting back to your job; what are your future plans after you finish working at Yamasa?
K: Someday I would like to work in China or Taiwan, to make use of my Chinese.

P: Any message for our readers?
K: I like the work I do even if everyone in the office makes jokes about my northern accent. But I think my Japanese is easy to understand! Students are always welcome to visit me when they have time.

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