Coffee Break (Monthly Report) October 2023 issue

Marshall Elliott Ginsler Viner Exchange Coordinator

Sagamihara International Festival

Hello.This is Marshall Elliott Ginzler Viner from the International Lounge.It's time to feel the arrival of autumn, and I hope you're all doing well.

In this column, I would like to write about my thoughts on the Sagamihara International Exchange Festival, which was held at Sagamihara International Lounge on October 2023, 10.
In the morning, I was working as a guide for the Canada-Brazil introduction exhibition in the conference room on the second floor.From photos of Niagara Falls to Brazilian soccer jerseys, the conference room walls and tables were filled with interesting information and trinkets about Canada and Japan.For the enjoyment of children, we also opened a mini-game corner where you can experience hockey, Canada's national sport, and soccer, which is loved by Brazilians.I was impressed that more people than I expected were interested in Canada.I had my hands full running the mini game corner and answering participants' questions about Canada, but it was a lot of fun.I was also happy to see the children enjoying mini-hockey.

In the afternoon, I participated in a multicultural panel discussion as a panelist.It was a very meaningful time listening to the experiences of the other panelists living in Japan and interacting with Sagamihara citizens who are curious about foreigners and foreign culture.

After the event, I realized that all the citizens were interested in Canada, so I decided to improve my Japanese skills so that I could explain Canada better from now on.