 |
|
The AP House student dormitory contains 900
rooms. This provides the front-line of cultural interaction on a daily
basis for the Japanese and international students who reside there. The
Resident Assistants (RAs) play an important role in supporting student
life at AP House. They handle a diverse range of work from assisting
with daily living; orientation; parties and other events; and guidance
on rubbish separation. Here's a closer look at two new RAs who are involved
in welcoming new students.
|
|
As an RA, I want to be
able to create a family-like atmosphere -sharing our happy times, our
fun experiences, and our painful moments. I was very nervous at the start,
but we're like a big family now. I'd like to thank everyone and hope
we can keep sharing these wonderful experiences together.
|
 |
I consider being a RA as
one of the greatest opportunities to expand myself. The position enables
me to draw on this wonderful multicultural environment. I hope to become close friend of with every resident and help them feel comfortable and enjoy
student life without stress. Picking up the new students was a big responsibility.
But on completing the task successfully I felt really happy and proud
of the strength of our RA family.
|
 |
 |
| Koudou: |
My sempai (senior RA) had explained to me how to
instruct the new students, but when it came down to actually guiding
the newcomers through the process, I found it took a lot more time
than I'd had expected |
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
 |
| Koudou: |
The sports competition was a great opportunity
for the new RAs to make friends with everyone. |
|
|
| Nadee: |
Our duties began at the RA training camp, which
was held before the new students arrived. After breakfast we had
a discussion about the day's plans. |
|
 |
|
 |
| Nadee: |
The 43 RAs split into about ten project teams and
held individual meetings. I was the project leader for the AP House
newspaper, which is a major responsibility! |
|
|
| Koudou: |
Everyone was very serious at the meeting I attended.
But we all spoke our opinions honestly and it turned out to be
very worthwhile. |
| Nadee: |
It was not easy to reach a final decision by just
having a discussion though. |
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
 |
| Koudou: |
The new students finally arrived. I was astonished
at how much baggage they all brought with them! At the same time
I was very excited about our first encounter. |
|
|
| Nadee: |
It was an exciting experience-welcoming about
100 students from Korea in one go. The Korean RA made our job easy
by explaining it to them in their own language. |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
| Nadee: |
The RA leader is Kentaro, and the sub-leader is
Aki. They are very cheerful and trustworthy people. |
|
|
| Koudou: |
We held a flea market before the Entrance Ceremony.
Everything was priced at ten yen, and many students took the chance
to fossick around. I think we all made a lot of new friends through
the market. After it was over, I also had a lot of fun chatting
with the other RAs as we packed up the leftover clothing. |
|
 |
Harmony
and understanding:
Be a teacher as well as a student |
|
Nina (WANG Jun APM 3, China)
I think it's impressive and admirable that RAs are competent in both Japanese
and English, which is one of the most important skills required for daily communication
and interaction with both residents and university staff. The job of RAs is pretty
tough: all the meetings, events, routine work and cooperation with other RA members
takes time and patience. But a good balance and understanding of life helps to
reward all your efforts. Not only do you have to be extremely passionate, but
also aware of your own personal weaknesses and limitations that might affect
your job performance. Each day provides us with the challenge of not only doing
our best, but bringing out the best in the residents. We need to show people
that you need to be positive, whatever the circumstances may be, and there's
a lot for us to learn as well. |
 |
I
want to become an expert RA |
|
KAZ (NAITOU Kazunori APS 3,
Japan)
I had many difficult experiences while a High School exchange student in the
USA, and I selected APU so I could become an RA to help fellow students avoid
some of the problems I once faced. For example, I thought of creative ways to
get residents to work together to dispose of kitchen rubbish-and enjoy themselves
in the process. Each aspect of our life in the dormitory provides an opportunity
to have meaningful communication with fellow residents. I hope that the new RAs
will actively search out new challenges, instead of passively waiting for things
to happen, and become experts at their jobs. |
|
|
 |
|
 |
New Resident Assistants |
|
 |
 |
 |
