#3 Say Something, Anything

Activate Your Japanese!

What would you do
if you were Xuang?

A week has gone by since
I started my job at the hotel.

Good afternoon, everyone.

Afternoon.

She's Xuan-chan, right?

She's settling in nicely.

You think so?

What?! Haven't you noticed?

No.

I have a good eye for these things.

When someone's changed,
I notice immediately.

You do? Wow!

She'll turn out to be
one of the best staff members here.

She'll be exciting to watch!

I'll keep an eye out too.

Yes, ma'am.

Hi, everyone.

Hi.

"Now that I'm getting used to
the work here, I'm going to be great at my job and..."

Xuan-san!

Yes?

"I'm so great at this job.
Life is all smiles and rainbows!"

Are you kidding me?

Huh?

You know what?
You're really slow at work.

But...

I am trying to do my best.

I know you're working hard
and that's good.

But you're making others
pick up the slack.

Work isn't about how happy you are
with what you've done.

Think about that.

Are you okay?

Don't mind her.

Sumire-san might be harsh,
but she's a good person.

I know.

I can see she's a true professional.

But the way she says things
sometimes...

"Don't dawdle! We haven't got all day!"

"See ya!"

I'll just have to work harder.

I want to invite my family
to this hotel someday.

So... I have to do better.

Good luck.

Don't be ridiculous!

The autumn campaign is
an important event here.

I know.

I'm aware of that.

But I still want to try.

You? Work on the campaign menu?

You've only been here for three years.

Not "only" three years.
It's three years already.

Then why don't you try coming up with
a decent staff meal?

What are you looking at?

I'm sorry.

"I'd like to cheer him up."

Wait.

What?

I used to have a dream.

I wanted to work at a travel agency
in Vietnam.

But I failed the exam.

Look...

Is this going to be long?

No.

I don't have time for your small talk.

But...

What?

Um...

There's a saying in Vietnam.

When water flows on a stone...

That's not it.

The water makes the stone smaller...

I'm sorry.

Never mind.

Yansu, it's you again!

Are you sure you want to give up?

You had something to say.

I did.

But it's difficult to say in Japanese.

If you can't find the exact words,
just use your own.

In Vietnamese?

That's not what I'm saying.

Use Japanese words and phrases
that you know.

But then I can't say
what I really want to say.

At least you'll be saying something.

The important thing is to say
what you can say.

If you don't say anything,
he won't know what you're thinking.

Never give up trying to communicate.

All right, Yansu.

Yansu?

Okay, fine.

What are you doing?

Okay then. Go for it.

What the...?

How did you get there?

Let's do our best together.

Let's do our best together!

What...?

What was that?

Keep your voice down.
Everyone will hear!

What I want to say is...

I'm having a tough time too,
but let's do our best together.

That's it.

Thanks.

I'm going to make an awesome meal
and surprise everyone.

Good.

I'd like to be surprised too.

"Even when it's hard expressing myself,
I shouldn't give up."

"I should try to say something,
using words and phrases I know."

Thanks, Yansu.

"Today's Strategy!"

Xuan's voice was so loud,
it made me jump!

It's hard to articulate
what you want to say in Japanese.

There are many words you don't know.

What will you do if that happens?

Let's look at the strategy Xuan used.

What I want to say is...

I'm having a tough time too,
but let's do our best together.

That's it.

Thanks.

Say what you can,
using words and phrases you know.

It's important to use appropriate words
when you communicate your feelings to someone.

But if you can't do that, you can try saying it with words you know,
like Xuan did.

Xuan put it this way.

"What I want to say is＿."

If you speak this way, it will be easier for the other person to see
that you are rephrasing it in your own words.

The important thing is to not give up.

Just say what you can,
even if it's not perfect.

Goodbye for now.

Meet senpai from all over Japan, Tsutsu Uraura!

Let's hear about their lives.

Today's senpai is Nguyen Xuan Diep, from Vietnam.

He works at a factory that makes metal parts in Nagi, Okayama.

The factory uses machines to make parts for the medical and apparel industries.

They produce over 7,000 different types of parts.

Diep is responsible for making parts for press machines.

He came to Japan in 2013.

He programs the machines to manufacture the parts.

He checks that the machines follow the programs that are set.

If he finds an error, he corrects the diagrams as needed.

To make high-quality products understanding each machine is key.

I think it's fun to make difficult
parts for the first time.

I can gain more specialized
knowledge. It's fun.

Diep studied computer science at a university in Hanoi.

His cousin told him he could learn more about programming in Japan.

He graduated, moved to Tokyo, and studied at a language school for a year and a half.

He heard his current company was hiring foreign workers and applied.

He's super serious.

There aren't enough machine tooling
engineers in Japan right now.

And so our company welcomes
engineers from abroad.

Diep lives in the town of Nagi in Okayama.

The 1,255 meter-tall Mount Nagi is the town's symbol.

At its foot lies this "Yama no Eki" shopping facility.

Places like this "Yama no Eki" can be found all around Japan.

They sell local goods.

On days off, Diep visits this "Yama no Eki" with his family.

They play in the adjacent park.

There are so many places
with beautiful views.

We can have family fun
in lots of different places.

The "Yama no Eki" restaurant serves a food that Diep loves.

Beef, a Nagi specialty.

Sukiyaki using local beef stewed in soup made with sugar and soy sauce.

It's one of Diep's favorites.

Delicious.

The meat is sweet and tender.
It's really good.

Many Vietnamese people live in Nagi and the surrounding area.

In 2017, Diep started a local soccer team to play with friends.

Playing Japanese teams is one way to blend into local society.

Even if I'm tired from work,
I can play on the weekends.

We can talk about things,
and it puts us in a good mood.

Here are Diep's favorite words.

When you do it, do it well.

Use everything you've got,
and see it through to the end.

When I first started programming,
I made so many mistakes.

But I always tried again.
If you try again, you can succeed.

Diep's dream is to improve his programming skills and to produce an even bigger variety of parts.

Go for it, Diep!