Arrived in Japan to start working as a CIR

October 2021

This is it. After more than a year of waiting, I finally arrived in Japan. After a two-week quarantine, which also doubled as an online orientation, I made my way to the city of Kashiba (Nara Prefecture) to work as a Coordinator of International Relations (CIR).

A quick summary of my work as a CIR

In the span of one year and ten months, I:

• Organised and held 10 international seminars for the city with over 240 attendees:
  Activities ranged from arts and crafts to cooking lessons, including a mini-lecture on Switzerland or France's cultures.
  Examples: Lanterns for Swiss National Day; Christmas decorations using pâte à sel; Galette comtoise for the Epiphany.
  
• Held lectures at 7 of the 10 local Elementary schools and introduced my country and culture through lectures and games to over 700 different students ranging from 3rd to 6th grade:
  Topics included my country's geography, history, language, politics, food loss, accessibility, etc.
  
• Visited 5 local preschools over four sessions (20 visits total) and introduced my country and culture through lectures, songs, and games to over 350 different preschoolers aged 3–5.
  
• Autonomously organised and held seminars for local citizens' associations, introducing my country to a total of about 180 attendees:
  Topics included my country's geography, history, language, food, cities, customs, women's rights, sign language, imports/exports, energy, etc.
  
• Lectured in 5 training seminars to other CIRs or city hall civil servants, government officials, and young Japanese students on themes such as Switzerland's politics, administration, and educational system (over 400 listeners total).
  
• Translated many valuable documents for daily life from Japanese to English:
  Examples: Mother and Child Health Handbook, Garbage collection calendar, City library's website, etc.