Julia Hockey – Blog 3: 一期一会

This month has filled my heart with so much love. It’s been busy, but somehow, I’ve been able to cherish every moment. 

After month one, I began settling my roots in. Initially, I found it hard getting into the inner circle of events in Matsuyama, leading to feelings of loneliness and deflation. But eventually I realized I had nothing to lose, and I started putting myself out there. Through exploring the city, initiating conversations, being curious, and saying “yes” to all the social opportunities that came my way, I started making friends! My days became fully booked, and my heart began feeling full. 

Looking back, the Matsuyama お神輿の祭り (o-mikoshi no matsuri) was where everything began. Rooted in Shinto beliefs, this annual portable shrine festival brings neighbourhoods together across Matsuyama to foster community, honour tradition, and entertain the kamisama (deities). My neighbour 山﨑さん (Yamasaki-san) cautiously mentioned the event, warning me to keep my distance if I decided to go—a warning I would soon understand.

The festivities lasted all weekend, but I attended the omikoshi “battles” on October 5th at around 7 PM and again on October 7th at 5 AM. Both times, I was stunned. The entire town was crammed into Dogo’s main square as police officers directed traffic. Each team, with 50-80 members, brought incredible energy. After introducing each team, they crashed their shrines into each other with cheers from the crowd. The aim? To push their shrine past a line drawn on the concrete—a kind of spiritual tug-of-war. Chaos quickly escalated, and 山﨑さん’s(Yamasaki-san) warning made sense: shoes were lost, kids were trampled, fights broke out, and blood was shed. Although I had secured a front-row seat to the first battle, I soon took 山﨑さん(Yamasaki-san)’s advice and watched it all from afar. And the best part was, no matter how far away you stood, the energy of the festival lingered in your bones. 

Although it was a memorable weekend as is, I met two of my dearest friends at this festival – Will and Taisei! Will is currently an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT), stationed in Matsuyama through the JET program, and Taisei is a local hairdresser. Since meeting them 3 weeks ago, we’ve gone on all sorts of excursions, some of which include a local jazz event, a day trip to Gogo island, and visiting the best bartender in town Mi-chan at her bar called ハシゴ (Hashigo). 

Fast forward to the third week of October, I was flying to Jakarta alongside Shiba-san and Mr. Matsuoka (whom I refer to as 社長さん), the CEO of T-MEC. Based in Matsuyama, T-MEC is a multi-faceted company structured around four main pillars: Design, Construction, Environment & Disaster Management, and Overseas Services. Ehime University and T-MEC are creating a partnered internship program for post-secondary students across Asia. This program will allow students to gain valuable work experience in Japan through T-MEC, alongside exposure to Japanese culture and language support through classes at Ehime University. The goal is to give students a taste of life in Japan without the overwhelming responsibilities of relocating to a foreign country on their own. As T-MEC moves towards international expansion and seeks multilingual employees, students gain access to prospective job opportunities upon graduation as well.

To promote this program and discuss logistics, we met with delegates from Institut Teknologi Bandung and Universitas Indonesia. I feel very fortunate to have tagged along, acted as linguistic support, and to have networked with post-secondary institutions internationally. In addition to these experiences, I had the pleasure of working alongside two of T-MEC’s employees Mega-san and Fathan-san — who were both incredibly kind and inspiring. Throughout our trip, they organized transportation, coordinated meetings, and represented T-MEC in English, Bahasa Indonesian, and honorific Japanese — a seamless switch that amazed me. Their trilingual skills have motivated me to study Japanese and French even more.

Although it was a short three-day visit, I had just enough time to see Ana and Alejandro (two of CAPI’s interns working from CIPS in Jakarta)! It was incredible to see how far they’ve come since pre-departure and even more fun to catch up. Thank you both for your hospitality and see you at reintegration!

On our journey back to Matsuyama, Shiba-san and I made a quick stop in Kumamoto. The ぼうさいこくたい 2024 (or in English the National Disaster Prevention Conference 2024) was being hosted in Kumamoto this year, and Shiba-san was invited as a guest lecturer and panelist. We spent our first day travelling and visiting Kumamoto Castle in the afternoon.

Due to a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in April 2016, the city of Kumamoto along with the Castle underwent major reconstruction. This devastating event killed nearly 300 people and left 2,800 people injured. By 2018, most roads and public facilities had been restored. The castle however took nearly 5 years to repair, making its grand reopening in May of 2021. To this day, they are still restoring the exterior stone walls through a vigorous process. After taking inventory, collecting, numbering, and laying out the stones, the wall is slowly being re-built. 

The following day was packed with disaster prevention-related work, as we attended the conference. We circulated the outdoor tents, various exhibits, indoor stalls and interactive educational booths. Some personal highlights included trying out a VR earthquake set and seeing the $200,000 Ghost Robotics Vision 60 Q-UGV (a disaster prevention robot dog) in action. After lunch, Shiba-san presented then we went out for celebratory drinks and dinner. Being in the industry for as long as he has, Shiba-san has connections all over Japan. I have been lucky enough to connect with all sorts of delegates, UN officials, professors, engineers, NGO representatives, CEO’s and more! The best part about working in the disaster prevention field is its integration of all fields of work. When a disaster strikes, almost every aspect of one’s life is affected, forcing cross-collaboration with every type of work. Attending such conferences and meeting such a wide variety of people is by far one of my favourite parts of this internship. 

Food-wise, Kumamoto is famous for it’s馬刺し/basashi (horse sashimi). Therefore Shiba-san and all his colleagues were eager for me to try it. Although delicious, the moral implications of eating a horse may have tainted the experience for me. We also had Shiba-san’s favourite udon at 資さんうどん/Sukesan Udon each day for breakfast. Udon is a simple traditional Japanese noodle dish, but when cooked correctly can be incredibly delicious. I suspect that my ravenous appetite each morning may have enhanced its taste as well…

Upon my return to Matsuyama, I had a particularly eventful week and a half. Last Thursday, a fellow Canadian friend took me bouldering to a local rock-climbing gym called “Climbing Wall Ascent Ray”. I hadn’t been on the wall for over 4 months, so it was nice to back at it. On Friday, my ballet teacher Takuto-sensei and my friend Megumi-san kindly took me around しまなみ海道 (Shimanami Kaido) – a scenic route that connects Japan’s Honshu and Shikoku islands. It’s famous for its beautiful cycling routes, and various shrines – one of which I was lucky enough to visit. 

The following day, I accompanied some of the JET program ALTs to climb Mount Ishizushi – the highest peak in western Japan. To say I was incredibly underprepared would be an understatement. I commenced the hike not knowing much about the mountain’s characteristics. Dressed in my worn-out sneakers and casual clothing, while my friend Will opted for jorts, we were in for a ride! With an elevation of 1,982 m, the hike took around 7 hours with some routes featuring vertical faces with chains, requiring rock-climbing-like skills. On top of this, it started raining halfway through making the already steep terrain very slippery and hard to climb. As a certified adrenaline junkie, I basked in the thrill of it all for 7 straight hours! If I did have any piece of advice for those of you who may be intrigued, it would be to buy some non-slip gloves and check the weather before commencing the hike 😅

Although my body was incredibly sore from the day-long hike, I still managed to go take a ballet class the next day. This class was especially fun as it was Halloween themed! Everyone came dressed up in their costumes, and we all celebrated a potluck style party afterwards. I have been missing the spooky and fall ambience from back home, and this was exactly what I needed.

Safe to say, I woke up Monday morning unable to move… I was SO SORE! After such an action-packed weekend filled with unforgettable experiences, it was a stark reminder of just how much I had packed into my days. Yet, I’ve still had my fair share of fun work-related tasks. My work this month has mainly consisted of finishing up the CNDS summary report. Mr. Hirata, the CEO of CityNet, asked me to create a summary report for the CNDS seminar that was held in Taipei last month. The report will be distributed to all the countries, stakeholders, governments, and NGOs who participated in the event. I’ve never taken on a project of this scale before, so it’s been a whirlwind—frustrating, rewarding, and mind-blowing all at once. From writing each section to formatting it all has been a learning experience of a lifetime. Nearing 45 pages, I’m very proud to say it’s complete and currently undergoing review. During the work week, Shiba-san has been kind enough to bring me to his meetings and work-related errands. Some my tasks of which have included, meetings with the Ehime newspaper and Seiyo City, writing/translating emails into English, proofreading MOU’s and official documents, and taking notes during virtual calls. 

As I reflect on these incredible experiences, it’s clear that each and every moment has contributed to a whirlwind of excitement and growth. I finally found my groove, my people, my favourite spots around the city, and a feeling of home. I am not a super spiritual or religious person, but I truly feel that the universe has presented me with one of the most memorable months of my life on a golden platter. With my internship drawing to a close in just one month, it’s hard not to get existential. However, a Japanese proverb has helped me come to terms with the fleeting nature of time.「一期一会」, which roughly translates to “One lifetime, one encounter, one chance,” historically it comes from Japanese Tea Ceremonies. The saying serves as a reminder to cherish each moment and connection, as they may never occur again. Although I’ve felt the stress of having only a month remaining, I ground myself by making the most of each conversation and person I meet.

Thank you to all who made my month so memorable. I’m excited to see what the final stretch of my journey holds, as a carry this spirit of gratitude ❤️