Students accompany the pre-Games training camp for the Tokyo Olympics, supporting the Polish swimming team

Shiori Hosaka explaining the rules of conduct to the athletes on the bus from Narita Airport to Takasaki City

Explain schedules and meals to athletes and support life at accommodation

Photo courtesy of Shiori Hosaka

Ms. Shiori Hosaka, a second-year student in Department of International Exchange Studies, supported the pre-training camp of the Polish team participating in the Tokyo Olympics, which began on July 23rd. The training camp was held from July 14th to 18th in the host town of Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture, in which the swimming team participated. During the period, Ms. Hosaka used her language skills to support the players in various situations, such as meals and transportation. We asked Ms. Hosaka, who had a valuable experience, to share her impressions.

Interested in Poland from meeting international students

I had my first contact with Poland when I was in high school. My house accepted a Polish person who is traveling all over the world called "Couch Surfing". It left an impression on me that he enjoyed talking about his home country, and I became interested in Poland as a country. After that, I entered Josai International University to become a Japanese teacher, but luckily I found out that I can learn Polish, and I am currently studying it in class.

I will be joining this year's members of the "Japan-Poland Student Conference" (sponsored by the Japan-Poland Student Conference Executive Committee), where Japanese and Polish students gather to discuss various topics, and will participate in the conference to be held in September. As a result, the center introduced me to the recruitment of pre-camp staff for this time, and I decided to apply.

I feel frustrated because I can't interpret well

On the first day of the pre-game training camp, we met the athletes at Narita Airport and headed to Takasaki City together by bus. After arriving at the accommodation, the main duties are food, schedule management, and support for transportation to the practice location. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the action area is limited and players cannot go out freely. The staff are also divided into responsibilities outside and inside the area. I was in charge of the area, soliciting requests from the players for what they wanted, putting them together in a list and passing them on to the staff in charge of the outside area.

A player asked me, "Do you have any other bread?" If it hadn't been for the coronavirus pandemic, I would have been studying abroad at the University of Warsaw by now, but through these exchanges, I was able to feel the differences in the food cultures of both countries, and felt a little like studying abroad.

Since I still can't communicate well enough with only Polish, I explained the contents of the meal and the schedule of the day in English. Sometimes I couldn't communicate well, and I felt frustrated.

Also, during the training camp, there was a day when the practice was open to junior high school students in Takasaki City. Although it was a tour from the second floor of the stadium to prevent infection, the students leaned forward and cheered. It was the only interaction we had while contact with the general public was restricted, but the atmosphere was completely different from the usual practice at an empty venue. .

after accompanying

It was a really valuable experience to work in a tough situation under corona. I was keenly aware of my lack of language skills, and I was strongly motivated by the desire to improve my language skills. In the future, I would like to aim for a job related to education, not limited to teaching Japanese, and I believe that the day will come when this experience will be useful. I want the Polish team to do their best.