―Can you tell us about what happened after you graduated from university?―What are your goals for the future?―Currently, she is working as an artist in Wailuku.―Please tell us about difficulties in learning Japanese.―I heard that you studied abroad in Japan for a short-term while you were in the university.―I heard that you are 7MUMLISCTSENo.16, 2024［ Summer Special Issue ］The Shinro Shimbun Hawaii Editionstill in contact with your Japanese friends.iving in Japan has enabled me to make many Japanese friends. Actually, I am going to Fukuoka Prefecture on an upcoming trip. I am planning to meet my friends from back then, eat Japanese food, and go to karaoke, which is my favorite. I am really looking forward to it. My favorite karaoke songs are those by Seiko Matsuda, who is from Fukuoka Prefecture, and “Spitz,” a very popular band with Masamune Kusano, vocals and guitar who is also from Fukuoka City. Also, I'm planning to get eyeglasses as Japanese eyeglasses are more reasonable and of better quality than those in Hawaii.t took me some time to understand how to use honorifics. While English also has formal expressions for business settings and casual expressions used among friends, it does not have clear honorifics like Japanese. I found it challenging to change expressions depending on the person I spoke to. Additionally, Americans often convey their thoughts and feelings directly. At fi rst, I sometimes felt uncertain about whether Japanese people, who have a culture of honne (true feelings) and tatemae (public facade), were Ms. Bailey Onaga was born and raised in Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii. She has also lived in Japan, having participated in a short-term study abroad program at Sophia University (located in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo) during college, and joined the “JET Programme” to teach English to children and students in Fukuoka Prefecture. We visited Bailey Onaga to hear about her life story so far and asked her to send a message of encouragement to the young people in Hawaii who are working hard to learn Japanese.―Please tell us about your background and where you are from.was born and raised in Wailuku, a town in the north-central region of Maui, Hawaii. Wailuku is located a few kilometers west of the Kahului Airport. It is home to the Maui County Building, making it a thriving administrative and political center. It is also a very livable area with a variety of stores, art galleries, restaurants, cafes, and supermarkets.y great-grandfather and great-grandmother were immigrants from Okinawa to Hawaii, so I am a fourth-generation Japanese American. Therefore, I have been interested in my roots in Japan and the Japanese language since I was a child. After graduating from high school I entered the University of San Francisco (San Francisco, California, U.S.A.), where I majored in Japanese language studies. I studied not only the language but also Japanese culture and literature, as well as Japanese customs and practices. I also took advantage of the university's “double major system” and majored in fine arts at the same time, as I had loved drawing since childhood.niversity of San Francisco is the sister school of Sophia University, so I studied there for three weeks during the summer vacation of my junior year. I stayed with a host family in Saitama Prefecture and went to the Sophia campus to take classes on Japanese history and other subjects.y host family could speak very little English, so communication was basically in Japanese. Although I could not speak much Japanese at the time, I wanted to communicate with my host family and become friends with them. o I studied Japanese hard during my short-term study abroad program. By the time I returned to my home country, we had become very close, which remains as one of my good memories.majored in Japanese at university, and my desire to teach English to Japanese children grew stronger and stronger, so I applied for the JET Programme, which allows native English speakers to work as teaching assistants in Japanese schools. JET is an acronym for “Japan Exchange and Teaching” Program. I was lucky enough to be accepted and was hired by them. For about six years starting in 2013, I lived in Chikushino City, Fukuoka Prefecture, where I supported the teaching of English to students at elementary, junior high, and high schools in the prefecture, as well as special needs schools.specially, the exchange with the students at Fukuoka Prefectural Dazaifu High School and Fukuoka Prefectural Musashidai High School through English is still fresh in my mind. And when I was able to see the students develop an interest in English and gradually become able to speak English through communication, I was very happy to have worked as a teaching assistant. It was a very rewarding experience for me.Ms. Bailey Onaga's fascinating artworks.speaking their true thoughts.―On the contrary, is there anything that you found enjoyable about learning Japanese?ince Japanese has many words with similar meanings, I enjoyed when I could understand them. For example, the words “shigekiteki-na” and “koufun-suru,” both can be translated as “exciting” in English, but there are multiple words in Japanese. Similarly, “ureshii (happy)” and “tanoshii (fun)” are both positive words, but I strongly felt my growth when I understood the subtle differences in nuance and how to use them.have liked drawing since childhood and majored in fine arts at university, so I am now working as an artist. In November 2022, I participated in the “Made in Maui County Festival” held at The Maui Arts & Cultural Center (Maui Island, Hawaii, USA), where I exhibited my art.am currently exhibiting my artworks at a local gallery called “Wailuku Art Space,” which is run by Jaclynn Sabado-Eitel who is a daughter of Philip Sabado, a very well-known artist in Maui. I would be very happy if people who are interested in art in Hawaii could visit there.Smiling in the “face cutout board.”She loved karaoke and regularly went to a karaoke shop in Japan.●Profi leBorn and raised in Wailuku, a town on the island of Maui, Hawaii. While attending the University of San Francisco, she studied abroad for 3 weeks at its sister school, Sophia University in Japan. After graduating, she joined the “JET Programme” and taught English to students at elementary, junior high, and high schools in Fukuoka Prefecture. Currently, she is back in her hometown of Wailuku, working as an artist. She creates mainly pop and colorful artworks, utilizing her love of drawing since childhood.urrently, I am focusing on my activities as an artist, including painting and art, which I have loved since I was a child. Because I am doing what I love, every day goes by really fast and I am very fulfi lled. My goal is to continue to create many more works related to Japan and Hawaii. In particular, I would like to someday work on the production of artworks related to Okinawa, where I have my roots. I hope to bring smiles and happiness to the viewers through my work.―Could you please give a message to the young people in Hawaii who are working hard to learn Japanese?o improve your Japanese, I think the most efficient shortcut is to actually go to Japan and experience the language Enjoying Japanese drumming while studying in Japan.firsthand. My Japanese skills greatly improved because I stayed in Japan for a long time through a short-term study abroad program at Sophia University and the JET Programme. At that time, I volunteered to teach English to local seniors, did cleaning activities at community centers, and painted with children in school art clubs. This allowed me to integrate into the community and interact with a wide range of Japanese people, from children to seniors.encourage all Hawaii residents who want to improve their Japanese language skills to be brave enough to go to Japan and have many wonderful experiences. It would be truly wonderful if you could fulfill your dream of studying in Japan, and become a bridge between Japan and Hawaii.Ms. Bailey Onaga Written in two languagesWritten in two languagesExperience the charms of Japan through short-term study abroad and the JET Programme. Muster up the courage and make your dream of studying in Japan come true! I I I I I
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