#3 Volunteering Overseas｜Volunteering Overseas 🇯🇵 Japanese Listening Practice

Konnichi what's up! Welcome to the NINJA JAPANESE podcast. I'm Ninja Sensei. Everyone, thank you for studying Japanese today. You're doing your best. In this podcast, I introduce useful phrases and Japanese culture in gentle Japanese. Today, I'm going to talk about my favorite country, Cebu, in the Philippines. I'm not in Japan right now. Where do you think I am? Yes, that's right. I'm in Cebu, the Philippines. I've been to Cebu about six or seven times before. So, why do you like Cebu this time? And why did you come to Cebu again this time? I'm going to talk about this. Let's get started. First of all, why do I like Cebu? Actually, about seven years ago, I studied English in Cebu, the Philippines. At that time, I was in Cebu for six months and studied English every day. Since then, I've always loved Cebu. First of all, I love the beautiful sea. So, I like the beautiful sea and people. People are very energetic and kind. I like people. I also like Filipino food. It's delicious. My favorite Cebu food is pork called shishig. Also, there is a spicy food made from coconut milk called Bicol Express. I love that. And mango. I love mango, too. So, seven years ago, I came to like Cebu because of studying abroad. But after that, I came back to Cebu to meet a teacher I met while studying abroad. And I went to Cebu with my friends. And from May to November 2023, I lived in Cebu for about seven months. I rented a condominium like this in Cebu and lived there for seven months. It was a lot of fun. Well, that's why I still love Cebu. And one more thing. The reason I came to Cebu this time is because I'm a volunteer. Volunteer is the English word for volunteer. In Japanese, it's volunteer. I came to Cebu to be a volunteer. Why am I a volunteer? It's a long story. During the coronavirus pandemic, my English teachers in the Philippines lost their jobs. Everyone's salary was zero yen. At that time, I messaged my teacher. Are you okay, teacher? Do you have any food? Do you have any money? Are you okay? Then my teacher said, Oh, I've been eating porridge lately. My salary is zero yen. It was a pretty tough situation. At that time, I thought, Oh, my God, I have to do something for my teacher. And I called my friends and my family's friends. Would you like to study English online? That's how I called them. Then I connected my friend and a Filipino teacher online. I started an online English school. That business is still going on a little bit. And this time, the students of the English online lesson, The Japanese students went to the Philippines. I want to meet the Filipino teacher in person. And I want to volunteer with the teachers. So I said, Yes, that's good. Let's go together and volunteer together. And let's go sightseeing together. I'll be your guide. I'll translate for you. That's what I said, and we came together. That's how it is. I really volunteered for two days in Cebu. The first time I went to an orphanage. Do you know what an orphanage is? An orphanage is a place where children who don't have a father or a mother live. I went there and played games and taught dance. And I gave them stationery. Stationery is an item used to study pen, notebook, eraser. I gave them stationery. I also gave them Jollibee. Do you know Jollibee? It's the most popular fast food in the Philippines. There's a place called Jollibee that looks like McDonald's or Kentucky. I gave them the kids menu. That was the first day. The second day was a little similar. The second day, I went to an elementary school in the countryside of Cebu. I played games, danced, and gave them stationery. I also gave them Japanese sweets and toys. Like this, I volunteered with a Japanese member and a Filipino teacher. It was a very good experience. It was fun. I've been in Cebu for 10 days in total. Now, I live alone renting a condominium like this. Tonight, I'm going to a bar with my Filipino friends. But it's raining, so I don't know if I can go. I'd like to meet everyone, so I hope I can go. I wonder if it's okay. I talked about why I'm in Cebu and why I volunteer. Have you ever volunteered before? Do you have a favorite country or a favorite city? If so, please let me know in the comments. Thank you for listening to me today. Thank you for watching. Thank you for your hard work. See you in the next lesson. Let's practice Japanese in the next episode. Let's meet again. See you again. Thank you. Bye bye.