Actually Using that Degree I Earned

     I have to admit when I applied to be a missionary, I thought my degree in event management and hospitality would just sit there and look nice in its frame on the wall. When that degree actually played a part in why I was placed in Japan, I was excited to see how I could apply my (expensive--Sorry Dad) knowledge I had gained in Florida.

     Over the last few months I have spent three days a week working at Seisen-Ryo, KEEP's hotel side of the operation. Seisen-Ryo was originally built in the 1930s as a leadership camp for young Japanese Christians to come and relax in the mountains. Today, it has evolved into a relaxing resort retreat that is well-known around Japan--mainly because of its association with the infamous soft cream. The whole Seisen-Ryo property is made up of the "Original Lodge"--built in 1957 after the first building burned down, the "New Annex" which was constructed in 2009, and then the surrounding Cottages. Guests can enjoy the old world charm of the Western and Japanese style rooms in the Original Lodge, the new amenities offered in the New Lodge's Western or Japanese style suites or stay in the Cottages in the woods with their larger groups (as you can tell, one of my jobs was to work on the wording for translated marketing materials).

     GM--our name for our general manager of Seisen-Ryo and the Paul Rusch Memorial Museum--had tasked me with working at the hotel at both the front desk and in the kitchen of the restaurant. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to be doing at first, all he told me was I was to be there to speak English with everyone and to get them accustomed to working with foreigners.

     My first task working at the front desk was to collaborate with Hoshii-san, my manager while there, to translate signs around the hotel. She has really great English, so she would tell me what the Japanese sign said and then I would translate it into native and natural English. She told me it was a task that they had been slowly working on over the last few years, but would just fall to the wayside as more important tasks arose. We went around the entire property and translated anything and everything we could find. There were signs warning of the slippery bridge ahead, giving guests directions on how to rent items, where people that aren't guests should please refrain from entering, where to wait in line for check-in/check-out, etc. That was the easy part, wherever there was a Japanese sign, we put it into English. The harder part was going through and deciding what needed to be explained to foreigners that Japanese people don't even think twice about. Hoshii-san had me stay in the hotel as a guest in the Japanese style room and really analyze what, as a foreign guest, I didn't understand. Just as an example, the idea of bathing in the hot springs is second nature to the Japanese, but as a timid foreign guest, the proper procedures are something that needed to be explained.

Just one example of the MANY translated signs around the hotel.

Working with guests at the front desk.

     After that big project was done, we moved on to creating an English handbook for the staff. Seisen-Ryo frequently gets inquiries from English speaking guests and sometimes things can get lost in translation. I created templates of emails that staff can just plug in the necessary information for any situation that a guest may present--emails about available dates, room styles, menu options at the restaurant, room packages, etc. Hoshii-san was also very interested in knowing how best to interact with guests in English--key hospitality phrases. I created a list of easy phrases that any of the staff could practice in their free-time. Things such as formal greetings, formally welcoming guests, asking how their stay was and inviting them to stay with us again. She was very interested in knowing words that would really polish their service standards--four years of being ingrained with that at UCF? I think I know a few words to help. Also, there are a lot of documents, ie. local train schedules, that are all in Japanese and confusing even if you do know Japanese, so I compiled train schedules of the local lines into an easy read English document that staff could easily hand to guests without much explanation. All of these documents were put into a nice little handbook. Over the past few months during the morning staff meetings, I had been updating everyone about what I would be working on that day. Everyone seemed very excited about eventually having that resource, so it was awesome when I finally got to distribute them to all the staff--my first finished project here! The guest rooms also now have completely translated information books for guests as well! Something I know I miss when I'm staying in Japanese hotels. One of my proudest moments so far has been staff telling me about Mika, one of the girls I work with that has limited English, and how she worked with a foreign guest and how great she did!

Hoshii-san also translated everything for the table of contents so everything is easily found!

English is so complicated when you sit down and think about it!

     On Fridays, I worked in the kitchen of the restaurant of the hotel. I had so much fun down there! I didn't really have any tasks besides just to socialize with everyone, but I hated just standing around, so I would always find something to do. I would arrive at nine, put dishes from the guests' breakfast into the washer and then it would be the staff breakfast time. We would eat as a group and that time was spent throwing dictionaries back and forth, using translator apps, learning new words, and essentially playing charades to communicate. It was good practice for me as well because a lot of people's English was about the same level as my Japanese. We would work until lunch--me mainly doing kitchen tasks that I couldn't screw up, like peeling potatoes or washing lettuce. This was another great opportunity for us to practice our vocabulary with each other, they would hand me something and say the Japanese name and I would tell them the English word--eggplant was the most confusing and hilarious to them. Having worked in restaurants with big kitchens and having culinary labs in college, I have to say not much is different in kitchens in Japan. A lot of things are French words, just like in the US, but I will say the head chef is not a scary as the ones in the States can be.

Plating dessert.

They trusted me to work with scallops one day.

Watching Japanese chefs work with fish is mesmerizing.

Making a raspberry mouse--gelatin comes in sheet form in Japan, not powder.

Stirring up the mousse!

Kaori, the pastry chef, measuring out bacon for a savory creme-brulee.

     The most unique experience I had in the kitchen happened at breakfast one morning. I was sitting down and they placed a styrofoam box next to me and told me to open it. Inside was a turtle crawling around. By lunchtime I had seen said turtle beheaded, gutted and its shell boiled to make a soup. Fun fact--turtles' heads can continue to move around for at least twenty minutes after it's been cut off. THANKS FOR READING!

Until next time, 

            Charlotte