Fun virtual gatherings keeping the spirit of Japan alive for UFV students
UFV student Kaylee Welch is working toward realizing her dream of travelling to Japan, and right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Welch is the president of the Japanese Culture Club (JCC) at UFV, which is overcoming pandemic restrictions with fun virtual gatherings and welcoming students from all over the world.
Welch says the club’s ongoing events allow members to connect with fellow international students, even when separated by borders and travel bans. She says the support of local students also helps bring activities and online events together so everyone can enjoy themselves and learn more about Japanese culture.
Welch got involved with the club when she started university in 2016. She attended a Student Life event, found the JCC, and expressed interest in joining.
“I love Japanese culture; I’ve always had a dream to go to Japan eventually, as my mom had prior, you know, 20 something years ago, so I kinda wanted to fulfill that dream,” she said. Welch will soon end her term as the club president and is helping with the transition of a new executive team, but the members who are supposed to take over the JCC are currently in India due to travel restrictions, so Welch will remain the on-campus representative for the foreseeable future.
The Japanese Culture Club has always welcomed UFV students from different backgrounds. They traditionally start with an introductory event during UFV’s “Welcome Week” and continue to maintain an active events calendar throughout the semester, but with COVID-19, they’ve had much less student engagement than usual. Welch said that the JCC is looking forward to 2021 with enthusiasm and the hope of restrictions loosening up so they can get back to in-person activities. They encourage students to explore their interests in Japanese culture and join them when they can.
“We usually try to have different activities throughout the semester, and we’re really just open to everybody — everyone on campus. So, if you ever want to reach out, we have the Japanese Culture Club on Facebook, you can reach us through email, and we’re always looking for new people,” offers Welch.
The UFV Student Union Society page lists many common Japanese pop-culture interests that members of the group enjoy, including anime, manga, origami (Japanese paper art), music, and calligraphy to name a few. And who can omit Japanese cuisine? Before the pandemic, the student-run club even hosted cultural days, making a variety of popular Japanese foods for hungry students to sample. The Facebook page is a good way to connect and find out about any up-and-coming JCC events.
UFV Japanese Culture Club Graphic. (Japanese Culture Club)
Steve is a third-year BFA creative writing/visual arts student who’s been a contributing writer, staff writer and now an editor at The Cascade. He's always found stories and adventures but now has the joy of capturing and reporting them.
