Students bond over shared love at Japanese Language and Culture Club

Austin Gaynier, the club’s vice president (left) helps Ogi Vassilev to translate “I study Japanese for two hours,” from English to Japanese. The club encourages each other and shares resources to help each other. Courtney Prielipp | The Washtenaw Voice 

Alice McGuire | Deputy Editor 

The Japanese Language and Culture Club is a space in which students at WCC can practice their Japanese language skills while bonding over a shared love of the culture. 

A recent meeting saw members in a cheerful atmosphere, savoring tea and a variety of mochi and KitKat flavors as they crafted plans for the future–namely, a cosplay cafe, which they hope to bring to fruition before the end of the semester. The group also enjoys taking field trips together, and recently traveled to watch a Taiko drum performance at the University of Michigan’s Keene Theater.

Serena Qaqish, a radiography major and club member, said that her favorite memory of the club was when they attended Con Ja Nai, a free student run convention put on by the Japanese Animation Film Society at the University of Michigan. Qaqish said joining the club is what enabled her to make friends at WCC. 

Austin Haynor, a club officer and general studies major with plans to study landscape architecture and horticulture, described a typical meeting as “fun chaotic.” 

“The thing about being the Japanese Language and Culture Club is there is a lot of variety with interests. Like, we encompass all parts of the culture. So, music, culinary, arts, film, pop culture and fashion–all that stuff,” Haynor said.

Haynor went on to emphasize that Japanese culture has had a profound impact on much of the modern world, whether through media or technology, and encouraged people who are interested to not be intimidated to stop by.

“You’ll really know whether it’s right for you after like one or two meetings. We are friendly and very welcoming,” said Haynor. 

For students of JPN 111 and JPN 122–as well as those who studied Japanese elsewhere, no matter their levels of proficiency–the club provides a relaxed space to practice. 

Maximus Goldenburg, a club officer and cybersecurity major, said that his interest in Japanese came about as a way to access lost media, such as untranslated games. 

“It’s not legal to get the English translation outside of piracy, and I want to be a law-abiding citizen, so I just learned the language,” Goldenburg said.

The club’s president, Avril Moore, a transfer student who will be at Eastern Michigan University next fall, said that members sometimes lecture or showcase aspects of the culture which they are passionate about. Moore has been interested in Japanese culture since his mother introduced him to the Studio Ghibli film, “Ponyo” as a young child. 

“It’s kind of, for lack of a better word, a media swap,” Moore said.

The Japanese Language and Culture Club meets Wednesdays at 4 p.m. in LA 225. 

Ogi Vassilev (left) and Kaitlyn Redies listen to the meeting in progress. They are discussing different ways to have a fundraising event for the club. Some ideas were a bake sale or a cosplay cafe. Courtney Prielipp | The Washtenaw Voice

The Japanese Language and Culture Club is a WCC-led club that meets every Wednesday in LA 225 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. On Campus Connect, they describe the club as “centered around the premise of learning and sharing about Japanese language and culture.” Courtney Prielipp | The Washtenaw Voice

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