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5 In the Clubhouse

One Step Further ACTIVITIES

Here are some more responses from the Ibunka Survey on the topic of club activities. Let’s examine them for underlying cultural trends. We can see that the language in many responses hints at two basic patterns.

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SURVEY

LOOKING FOR PATTERNS

CULTURAL PATTERN A: Clubs as places for fun

CULTURAL PATTERN B: Clubs with rigorous demands In other cultures, such as Japan, club life is quite LQWHQVH LQ WHUPV RI GHPDQGV RQ WLPH DQG H΍RUW 7KLV SUHSDUHV PHPEHUV IRU WKHLU IXWXUH OLIH LQ VRFLHW\

In some cultures, being involved in a club is seen as a break from studies, and usually limited to a few hours per week.

Read through the Ibunka Survey responses below. Most are the impressions of foreigners who have had experiences of clubs at Japanese schools or universities, either as students, teachers or parents. Highlight in one color the words and phrases that hint at Cultural Pattern A: Clubs as places for fun or gaining skills, and in another color the parts that suggest Cultural Pattern B: Clubs with rigorous demands. You can work and discuss this in pairs or small groups.

I studied at a Japanese university on exchange for a year when I was in my second year. I was happy to be invited to join the basketball team, because it was my favorite sport. I also MFI YMJ HMFSHJ YT UWFHYNHJ R^ /FUFSJXJ &KYJW YMJ ƳWXY UWFHYNHJ F YJFRRFYJ YTTP RJ FXNIJ She praised my language skills, but told me that I should use MTSTWNƳH XUJJHM towards some TK YMJ TYMJW UQF^JWX \MT \JWJ KTZWYM ^JFW XYZIJSYX . \FX XZWUWNXJI GJHFZXJ .ƍI GJJS UQF^NSL basketball longer than any of them, but I later realized just how important seniority in age is in a Japanese team environment. $XVWUDOLDQ IHPDOH PDUNHWLQJ PDQDJHU KDV OLYHG LQ WKH 8. DQG -DSDQ 1 Last year I joined my Japanese university’s yosakoi circle. It was really different from the clubs we have in Hungary! Not only did we have three practices a week in different campuses, the attendance was mandatory! Once I skipped F UWFHYNHJ FSI NY \FX WJFQQ^ INKƳHZQY YT catch up with the others. That year’s summer break was one of the busiest periods of my life.

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