Joyce Yukawa
(1977-80)
I came to LIOJ in 1977, shortly after completing my master's degree in library science and a certificate in teaching ESL. I taught businessmen in the residential program as well as adults in the Odawara community classes. I have so many wonderful memories of students and colleagues that it would be hard to single out any one of them. What I recall most about LIOJ is the warmth and camaraderie among teachers, students, and LIOJ and Asia Center staff. As teachers, we were youthful, idealistic, dedicated to teaching, and fun-loving and adventurous as Westerners in a new country. Our students were not only hardworking as ESL students but also heartfelt in their sincere desire to understand different cultures. Many of them were preparing for assignments abroad during a period of Japanese economic expansion. The LIOJ and Asia Center staff were like our large, extended family in sometimes very uncertain circumstances! Masahide Shibusawa was a regular visitor, bringing inspiration and delicious "sustenance" to our staff retreats.
Many things have changed in the years since I was at LIOJ. Some of the companies who sent us students are no longer in existence, casualties of tough economic times. I keep in touch with a number of folks who taught at LIOJ with me. Though we've taken different career paths and live in different parts of the world, we all feel we have a special bond from living and working at LIOJ. I'm now a "very mature" doctoral student in Communication and Information Sciences at the University of Hawaii. Even today, in my work groups and study groups, I work at developing the teamwork, sharing of ideas, acceptance of diversity, and collective progress on a common goal that characterized the LIOJ experience.
LIOJ was a memorable experience for me, and I continue to be grateful for what it taught me about being accepting of differences, patient with difficult and ambiguous situations, and open to new ideas and cultural norms. I've lived in Singapore and the Philippines since LIOJ, and there is always a sense of being "fully alive" in a different culture. The difference at LIOJ was the strong sense of trust and community spirit that rewarded us with support and plenty of good times!
March 2003
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