[Period] June 2010 through March 2011, a few times a month at Kanagawa Volunteer Center
[Student] Mrs. M. I. from Korea
She has been in Japan for about two years. However, as she can’t go shopping alone, she hopes to speak Japanese better. So I gave her lessons mainly in Japanese conversation. We enjoyed chatting about child raising, cooking, movies, TV dramas, Japanese annual events, and so on, which was very useful to increase her vocabulary. I also learned a lot from her about Korea, which was beneficial to me, too. Also, as I told her to keep a diary in Japanese and corrected it each time, she has very much improved in writing Japanese, through which she must have gained some confidence. Also, she studied hiragana, the Japanese cursive syllabary, on her own, whose handwriting is really good.
She and her husband decided to go back to Korea earlier than they had planned to, because of social disorder in Japan after the March 11 big earthquake. As they were caught up in chaos right before they tried to return to their country, I am afraid that they must have felt quite helpless. I feel very sorry for having done nothing but just worrying about them. I really wish the couple a peaceful life and a bright future in Korea.
(The photo shows Mrs. M. I. and her two-year old daughter at a Korean restaurant.)