The writer and the Japanese TV
station staff during the games.

The writer and the Japanese
baseball fans at the
information desk

A Japanese Volunteer's Experience at the Asian Championship by丸尾啟太

Translated by Sho Huang

A few months ago, when I found out that Asian Championship organizers in Taichung were looking for volunteer Japanese translators, I jumped at the opportunity. After all, translating and acting as a tour guide has always been a dream of mine and this would be an invaluable experience.

Although I've translated before, I was nervous. The Asian Championship is big time--a well-known, international baseball event. It was unnerving. Could I do it? Was my Chinese fluent enough? Would I say something completely wrong and embarrass myself? Although these questions haunted me, I shook them off. I was going to step up to the challenge courageously, and take whatever came at me in full stride.

My job was to help out at the Taiwanese snack stall on the first floor of the Intercontinental Baseball Stadium. But it wasn't as easy as it sounds--lots of Taiwanese snacks don't even exist in Japan! Some of these snacks were pretty tough to translate. I looked through tour guides and books for answers, trying to find the right words that would make sense to my countrymen and women. These tourists would need their snacks!

On the games' opening night, Japan's team was playing. Hordes of tourists lined up at the snack shop, looking at me expectantly. I had my work cut out for me. Even though I'm not quite sure if my repeated shouting of our offerings really helped anyone understand what we were selling, the owner of the stall told me that it did boost our sales. He was too polite.

The customers kept coming. More were lining up and I was pleased with myself. I was doing it! The next day, I started at 4 p.m. More Japanese tourists started to show up and I was promoted to the information kiosk on the second floor, where I provided information and sold souvenirs.

By the third day, there were even more Japanese people! They came to the information desk in great numbers, inquiring about tickets, souvenirs, and transportation around the city. Their confusion and unfamiliarity with Taichung reminded me of my first weeks around the city; then I was just like a lost puppy with no knowledge of Chinese. While I was settling in, I was fortunate enough to have people who helped show me around and learn the language. I was really glad that I could slightly return the favor by helping out at the baseball stadium.

I do have one great advantage, though--a loud voice. I don't need a microphone to answer questions in a crowded and noisy environment, just my own set of pipes. As a Japanese translator at the games, I wasn't just representing my school, but also Taichung and Taiwan. Moreover, this opportunity proved the importance of having self-confidence and a great attitude in potential scary situations. I also realized the fulfillment that comes with a little bit of volunteer work.

"All for one and one for all", I say to myself. It's a motto of sorts that I took from this experience. I feel like I've grown up a bit after working at the games, and I am really thankful to the city government and the school for giving me this chance. I'm really lucky. I'm looking forward to more opportunities to be involved with this kind of volunteer work in the future.