JITCO

Volunteers from the High School

On Sunday, November 15, the Kanuma International Friendship Association held the annual Kanuma World Festival, where Vietnamese trainees set up a stall to sell their home cuisine.  Pho, the Vietnamese noodle soup, and che, a dessert with green beans and tapioca simmered in coconut milk, were on the menu.  Trainees started preparing them the previous day, hoping to introduce the taste of their home country.  The customers fully enjoyed the food, which was completely sold out by the end of the festival!

Colorful Ao Dai: Everyone Is an Amazing Model!

An Impressed Audience

At last year's festival, trainees offered the chance to try on ao dai, as a way to introduce traditional Vietnamese clothing.  This year, they took it one step further by organizing an ao dai fashon show.  There were only five female trainees, so they talked to other Vietnamese women in their Japanese class who reside in Japan, and asked them to participate.  The members conducted rehearsals and checked all movements.  The husbands of the Vietnamese women started recording the rehearsal on their video cameras, and everyone was excited even before the show!  On the day of the festival, trainees from Nasu joined at the last minute, along with wives of the accepting companies' employees, their grandchildren and other staff members, making the show a production of 20 members.  Models appeared on stage as Vietnamese music was played in the background.  The audience was impressed by the elegance and beauty of the Vietnamese ladies.  The models enjoyed the experience, and were greatly satisfied with the success.

There are not so many opportunities like this festival, where trainees can interact with local residents.  We hope to create more cultural exchange events so that trainees get to share Viet Nam during their three years of training.