【June 1/4】Listen to SUJ student about FSA events (Faculty Student Edition)

Name (Nickname): Valentina Ortiz Suarez (Vale)

Home-Country: Cajicá (Colombia)

Faculty: FILA

Keith: Welcome to the 2nd edition of Tsubasa of this year! Before starting with the interview, we would like to know who Valentina is. Would you mind introducing yourself first?

Valentina: Sure! Hello everyone, I am Valentina and I come from Colombia. More specifically from a town called Cajicá which is in the north of the capital (Bogotá). It's located between two mountain ranges and compared to Hachioji is really cold even on sunny days.

Also, I can play cello since I was 13 years old despite it not being one of my passions. On the other hand, something that I really love to do is writing fiction or fantasy stories; I can spend a lot of time doing so.

Keith: Wow, it's amazing! I hope you might be able to support the FSA team creating a novel (laughs). By the way, in which faculty are you studying currently?

Valentina: I am currently a second year student in FILA, and right now I am trying to find my specialization towards my seminar which I need to choose next year. I was firstly interested in Leadership, but right now I am more focused on Peace Studies and armed conflicts because of the current situation that my country is going through.

Keith: I hope you might be able to become a peace fighter for humanity!

Valentina: I think so!

Keith: Thank you Vale for your introduction. I think all the readers might have a general view about who you are. Moving on to the first question of this interview is that as you might already know FSA has concluded its 2 first events (Friendship Festival and Sports Festival) until now. I would like to know which of them you were more interested in and why.

Valentina: Unfortunately, this year due to the limited time I had, I was not able to participate as much as I wanted. Lots of homework or even International Students Cafe’s recent preparation activities… However, this time I could notice a new perspective of FSA as a spectator. I could see who all the events were conducted, what kind of activities were included. I especially remember that through SNS (like Instagram) I could see how many people were enjoying themselves when participating in all these events.

I followed many of them meanwhile, and despite not being able to join the Sports Festival this time, I could support from “behind the scenes” many people who were participating in such a collective event. Just watching all the stories trying to accomplish the daily challenges really moved me because I notice that FSA is also thinking about those International Students who are not yet in Japan. Moreover, as a spectator I could feel a deep connection between the participants and the event.

Keith: It is true that we as students might be busy with homework or exams sometimes, but it has been also interesting to see that perspective of supporting other people to participate in. I also hope to see you in the next FSA events soon (laughs)

Valentina: Of course, count with that!

Keith: Continuing with the next question. Due to the pandemic, we couldn't conduct any events offline. However, we tried to continue this spirit in a different format. What do you think you learnt through those kinds of FSA events?

Valentina: Last year I could join many FSA activities as I could manage to have more time. Something I liked the most is the initiation that the FSA members try to implement. For example, during my first year, it was my first time being in Japan, I had no friends, no known-people and I didn't have the opportunity to meet new people. However, thanks to FSA, I could meet more and more people, and at least create that first step to start a friendship. In other words, it helped me to create value in my life as I was a complete stranger back then.

It is true that right now that FSA is holding online events, it looks like that once it's finished and you close your camera, it's already finished. However, something I liked related to the Sports Festival is its continuity during the week and being able to share all our efforts through SNS. Even after its finalization, many participants were still talking about it and some of them even continued doing exercise! In the end, I think it was because we all could create strong bonds through dialogue and having fun of each other when watching our own stories in SNS. But not only that, I think that through this kind of tool that FSA gives, all these moments can go beyond time and give the opportunity to talk with new people.

Keith: You just made me look forward even more for the next event! But please, tell me how you react when reaching out to those people you met through FSA.

Valentina: Haha, it's something like “oh, I saw you in the last FSA event! -oh, true!!” Those FSA events have been like a common point in which we can keep developing that friendship after the event. We already know each other's faces and names, from that it's easier because we are not complete strangers. Even now that I interact with more people, these activities were the main topic of dialogue! In the end, you can think of FSA activities as bridges of dialogue, especially in the current situation we are going through and we cannot meet each other as frequently as we would like to. I think that these activities let us know people with whom you are going to spend a lot of time of your life, so it is something that I would also recommend to those who were not able to come to Japan yet.

I remember some words of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (founder of Soka education) saying that Education in Value Creation is not only studying but also interacting with the environment which surrounds you, what you can do for your community. Soka University might be right now the community and FSA is that mechanism to connect all those international students and create that sense of camaraderie.

Keith: Awesome! It encourages me to work harder to connect more people. And to conclude, last but not the least, in FSA we are still preparing more and more events, and to be honest, which is the one you are looking forward the most?

Valentina: It’s easy, Forever Party! Last year because of some personal problems I couldn't manage to send the application to participate. At that time I thought it wasn't worth it. I thought other people might be doing great, so my video wasn’t necessary. But, when I watched it through the YouTube Stream, it made me cry because of the emotion I felt. I believed I wasted a great opportunity to participate in such a valuable event. That is why, this year I really would like to participate in that Forever Party playing cello or even a pirouette on the tatami (laughs). Not because I want to show to the people what I am doing, but because I want to become a participant of this value-creating event. I think I wasn't the only person who was moved and enjoyed watching it. I am looking forward to seeing how good changes there will be in this year’s Forever Party, and hoping to enjoy it in person with all the people crying together (laughs).

Keith: We hope those tears would be from joy. Also just remember that really soon we will be conducting ICAF which is kind of similar to Forever Party and that the application period is still open (until 6th June). Please, feel free to join as a participant or as a spectator too! Thank you so much and see you soon!

Valentina: Thank you! I will be looking forward to it too!