STUDENT INTERVIEW: Kelly Duke (AIJP and SILAC)

Kelly Duke Visit my homepage!

Kelly Duke is one of the few students at Yamasa that has studied on both the Academic and Continuing Education programs. She recently finished her studies in SILAC and is now working in the International Office on a number of web based projects.

Jon: I can see that you're busy, so I won't keep you long. What are you working on at the moment?
Kelly: I'm writing articles about the locations visited on the Discovery tours. They are for the travel guide.
J: And the other parts of your job?
K: I've been shooting video for the homepage which was really fun and I also put articles into HTML format.

J: Not many students are able to study in both the AIJP and SILAC programs, how did that come about?
K: I first came to Yamasa last October on a student visa and when I finished studying I wanted to come back to Japan and I was lucky enough to get a work study position.
J: What did you find were the main differences between the AIJP and the SILAC program?
K: It was more fun being a long term student because of the privileges you get from being on a student visa, being able to work etc. Also, you get to stay with the same people for a long period of time, and become good friends with many of them. In SILAC there were people coming and going every 2 weeks so it sometimes difficult to get to know them. Also AIJP was more test orientated than SILAC which forced me to study more, so I was more motivated in the long term program.

J: Were you in the seminar or standard format in SILAC?
K: I was in the seminar format which was a good refresher for my conversation skills which had got worse since I was away from Japan and great because the class size was also very small. But in this format the curriculum is drawn from a number of different text books and I prefered AIJP where you studied from one main text.

J: When you finish your work study position what are your plans? Do you want to stay on in Japan?
K: I had an interview for a teaching job recently in Nishio so I might take that.......
J: So you want to go into teaching?
K: Not really, I just want to stay in Japan!

J: So what brought you to Japan?
K: I know it sounds like a cliche but I find the culture fascinating, the people friendly and I like the way the high school boys look in their uniforms! When I was studying I'd get up at 7.30 in the morning to see them riding their bikes up the hill on the way to school, they're so cute!

J: Right....moving swiftly along.......

K: (Interrupts) Yeh, and my friend used to wait outside her apartment after classes and watch all the high school boys come home. She used to say to me 'Kelly, lets sit outside for a bit' - it just happened to be the same time that the schools finished!

pause

J: (Cough) So how much Japanese did you know before you came to Japan.
K: I've studied Japanese since I was 15, at the beginning because I liked anime and wanted to understand the programs and the music. I studied by myself at a local library for four years until I was 19 and then I joined a proper course in Canada. I actually made it to the finals of Canada's national speech contest. That gave me the motivation to come to Japan to learn more.

J: How long do you plan to stay in Japan?
K: Oh, hang on, I want to tell you something about my band!
J: Your band......?
K: Yep, I'm in a band!
J: What kind of music do you play?

K: We are a cover band, playing mainly Japanese music, but we also play a bit of Offspring and Linkin Park. I play drums and don't normally sing but the guys have asked me to sing a Offspring cover song so that should be interesting!
J: How long have you been together as a band?
K: We got together last time I was here in Japan. The members of the band are slightly different from back then but in total it's been about 6 months.

J: How many people are in the band?
K: 5. There are 4 Japanese guys and me!
J: What's the band's name?
K: It's a really stupid name........'Parties'. Is it okay to plug our gig in this interview?
J:I don't see why not.......
K: Great.

J: So when and where are you playing?
K: Were playing on Saturday November 24th at 'Rockinn', a music store in Higashi Okazaki near Cibico, the large department store. We start playing at 7.00pm. If you want tickets (they are 500 Yen) come and see me at the International Office.
J: Well, good luck with the gig on the 24th.
K: Thanks!

J: One final question - how long do you plan to stay in Japan?
K: Sorry, I forgot to answer that one.......do you mean this time round?
J: No, in the long term.
K: I want to live in Japan forever and be a drummer in a famous rock band. If that doesn't happen then I have to have a back-up plan.
J: Which is?
K: I don't know..........teach English or something?!