Hello, my fellow beer lovers. The cup I am talking about here is not for beer. Part of the group training in December was a leadership training course, in which the teacher showed us a picture of a man in a wheelchair and asked us why he was in a wheelchair. We had a variety of ideas. Someone said, “Perhaps the person is disabled,” while others said, “The person probably wants to know how it feels to be in a wheelchair”. It was amazing to see how a simple picture could spawn so many ideas. It also prompted me thereafter, to want to know more about opinions of others on a variety of issues.

The leadership training included a story about a cup, so I used the cup for the title of this report. When I lived in Taiwan, I had such a narrow perspective. I was a rectangular cup only half full with water. Today’s cup is not a beer cup but please read on while enjoying a beer.

The training started in September 2010. First, we had a Japanese language training course. I had started learning Japanese prior to my travel, but once in Japan I could not understand a word said by anyone, be it a railway station worker or a person I met in the street. I developed a habit to write down what I could not understand, and asked the teacher about it the next day. I also made sure to carry a name card at all times because there was my address on it, and helped me not to get lost. In December I took a Japanese Language Proficiency Test. I was not that nervous beforehand, but my heart started pounding immediately after I walked into the examination hall. When I heard that I had passed the exam, I was elated. All my struggles became a thing of the past.

At the end of the year 2010, I stayed at the home of the Tamaru family in Fukuoka Prefecture. I had so many experiences there. We made rice cake (“mochi”), cooked buckwheat noodles (“soba”), and enjoyed creating bamboo plates, which were all part of the Japanese New Year. Mother cooked delicious food every day. Father served me a beautiful cup of “matcha” green tea. But the most unforgettable of all was the family. I had such a happy time staying at their home.

We had ski training in Niigata Prefecture. I fell down so many times, which improved my skiing. The teacher was a funny person. As we got on the cable lift to get to the summit, the teacher sang us a Japanese song “Spring in the Northern Land” (“Kitaguni No Haru”). We only spent two days skiing but it was such a fun experience. I love skiing and I would love to ski with my teachers every year.

In January I visited Koyukai for my individual training, in Kanagawa Prefecture. I learned about Braille printing, visited deaf schools and old people’s homes, saw people with disabilities working in a bakery, and interacted with many people with visual impairment. The most unforgettable of all was the person with visual impairment who was baking without help form others. The teacher told me that the person could bake as quickly as the teacher.

I then went to WITH in the city of Hamamatsu. I accomplished many tasks, including folding towels, making a white cane, and printing name cards in Braille. Making a white cane was a lot harder than I had thought, so it was especially gratifying when I finally managed to complete one. While I stayed there, the Director Mr. Shiba showed me tools he had developed, and introduced me to many ideas and experiences he had had. He is always thinking about how to realize dreams and hopes of people with visual impairment.

In February I went to Rehope in Chiba Prefecture, and experienced the work of a carer, helping people bathe, setting tables, and cleaning. I was very tense and embarrassed when I helped people bathe – as I had never touched a back of other people before. After I did that a few times I got used to it. I was so happy to be able to help others. For table-setting, I was in charge of putting hot water in cups, but with water being transparent, the cups I poured all had different levels of water. At the library I saw a Braille map. I had never seen one in Taiwan so I wanted to take it home.

In March I learned about creating a webpage and Excel. I love the Internet so I worked hard. I appreciated my teacher as he spoke Chinese. A week into the training we had a huge earthquake. My teachers must have been terribly worried but they went through with class. They are wonderful teachers.

In April I studied independent living at Center for Independent Living “Partner” in Osaka. For the first time in my life I met people with severe cerebral palsy and spinal cord injury. Even though their disabilities were very severe, they were much more cheerful than I, which was amazing. I experienced being in a wheelchair for about half a day. I like vehicles with wheels so I found it interesting, but only at the beginning. I wanted to leave it as soon as possible, and struggled to go to a nearby supermarket in the wheelchair. After all, even though it was much harder than I had thought, it was a very good experience.

In May, I attended a training course at Nippon Lighthouse Welfare Center for the Blind in Osaka, where I experienced living at a rehabilitation center, participated in a sport competition, walked with a guide dog, followed by another home-stay program in Kyoto. For the first week I was at the rehabilitation center where I studied and lived with everyone else. I also experienced blind table tennis for the first time in my life at the center, and liked it very much. At the sport competition, I joined a race where pairs of people raced against other pairs, with their ankles tied together. I had never done it before but we came first. At the guide dog training center, I saw guide dogs in training for the first time in my life and went walking with a guide dog. After that I wanted a guide dog for myself.

Just as I had learned in December’s leadership training, I asked many questions at every training destination and learned many different ways of thinking. I learned about independent living of people with visual impairment, about cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, how to take care of others, and about the feelings of people with disabilities. Before coming to Japan I had always wanted to help people with visual impairment. After the training in Japan, I wanted to know not only about people with visual impairment, but also about other disabilities and wanted to work together with these people. My perspective was broadened by the training. My cup, which was rectangular before, is now rounded. The round cup is full of water too.

The most unforgettable part of the training was the people I met at independent living center, Partner, with cerebral palsy and spinal cord injury. Despite their severe disabilities, I found them much stronger than people without disabilities. For example, those who wanted to live independently would NOT give up their dream of independence until they achieved it. I also found that Japanese people with disabilities were wishing to change society far more strongly than people with disabilities in Taiwan, and were engaged in various activities to make their dreams come true. They also work very hard. I would like to be like them. Before coming to Japan I wanted to help people with disabilities but did not know how. In Japan, I learned how. I would first like to engage myself in social activities to improve lives of people with disabilities, and establish a carer system for people with visual impairment. I would also like to engage myself in working with independent living centers. I find it important to “enjoy” these activities, together with other people. In the future I would like to create an independent living center that is fun for everyone.

There are many people I would like to say thanks to. I would like to express my gratitude to everyone at the Duskin Ainowa Foundation, Japanese Society for Rehabilitations of Persons with Disabilities, and everyone I met at my training destinations. I will work very hard, once I am back in Taiwan.

PS: Dear my friends, the delicious street food in Taiwan is awaiting you!