interesse Washington DC office

５月１４日、渡辺謙を見て来た！！！
DC近郊にお住まいの方の中では、同じ経験をされた方がいらっしゃるかとは思いますが、スミソニアンで上映した、映画、“明日の記憶”を見て来ました。その時の経験を紹介します。

５月始め、商工会のお便りを見ていると、邦画上映会特別企画、渡辺謙氏を迎えて、、、、にひかれ、早速申し込む。
５月１２−１３日（週末）、映画の内容はまったく調べることもなく、日時と渡辺謙ということだけ確認してワクワク気分上昇。友達にも、Lastサムライ、Memories of Geishaの、あの、渡辺謙を見に行くんだ〜！と自慢しまくる。
５月１４日、午後６時、同僚のHeatherとオフィスを出て、いそいそとスミソニアンに向かう。車で行ってしまった為に、パーキングを見つけるのに一苦労。なんとか６時半ちょっと過ぎには会場にたどり着く。既に大勢の方が来ており、後ろの方に仕方なく座る。たくさんのカメラがあり、渡辺謙がもうすぐ出てくるんだという気分の盛り上がり。（うーん、お腹すいたな〜。何か食べてから来れば良かったか．．．ちょっと後悔）
午後７時、ついに、渡辺謙氏登場！！！背が高く、すらっとしていて、後方の席からですら、素敵だわ〜、と実感。Memories of Geishaの撮影時に読んだ１冊の本がきっかけで、今回の映画をプロデュース兼ACTINGすることを決めたそう。（なるほど、なるほど）
午後７時２０分頃、映画が始まる。いきなり、どうやら、これは悲しい路線の映画だと悟り、心の準備（泣くんじゃないぞ、という）を決める。
〜午後９時半頃、すばらしい映画であっという間。終始、涙腺と空腹との激しい戦い。（隣のHeatherも同じく戦っている様子。）

渡辺謙氏とのQ&Aがあり、１０時半頃空腹でフラフラになりながら、それでも、見がいのある映画だったわ、と自分を説得しつつ、スミソニアンからDinerへ直行する。

まだ見ていない方の為に、映画の内容に詳しくふれるのは、避けますが、家族、病気、社会、について、深く考えされられる、感動の一作品でした。この夫婦を一言で描くとしたら、”幸せ”なのか、”不幸”なのか、未だに結論が出ません。独身者の私としては、１０年後、２０年後、再度見て、自分の成長と共に、この映画の受け取り方、感じ方が変わるのか、確認してみたいものです。

Over 200 people attended the Asian Interest Social Networking Event at “Modern” in Georgetown last Thursday. Co-sponsored by various Asian organizations in the DC area including JETAA DC and the Japanese Meet-up Group the event was such a huge success, that they are having another one!
Karaoke at Cafe Japone, on May 23 at 6:30 PM.
Of course, you don't have to sing to attend! There are open lounge spaces, tables, drink specials, and if you have room for dinner, enjoy some delicious sushi. Cafe Japone is located at 2032 P St. NW, one block away from the Dupont Circle Metro. No cover but please bring cash for drinks as it will be a CASH-ONLY BAR. Questions? Email harry.wang@gmail.com

Last week Seiko, Heather, and I (Olga) enjoyed an exquisite meal at Les Halles, a French restaurant, on 12th and Pennsylvania where the waiters greet you with “bonjour” and the outside seating is perfect for a sunny day. We recently placed a young lady at Les Halles. She is working as an accountant, and we hope that she gets to enjoy the fine cuisine as much as we did. www.leshalles.net

For all the newcomers to the Interesse blog, Welcome! Finally spring is in full swing and even though the Sakura Matsuri is over, the Japanese events in the area continue.

The Smithsonian Institute’s ongoing “Japan Wow!” events include Bunraku, (Japanese Puppet Theater), demonstrations for children ages 5-10 during the day, and four traditional pieces, for all ages, in the evening on Friday April 27th.


If cinema is more up your ally, on Tuesday May 1st, film scholar Tom Vicks will use film clips to supplement his lecture on the myriad of ways Japan’s remarkably diverse cinema has depicted a changing Japan. (http://residentassociates.org/japan/index.aspx)

For the full fledged Japanese movie experience, the DC Film Festival features, “Hula Girls” this Friday and Saturday at 7 PM. Based on a true story of how a town in Iwaki decides to shut down its mine and create a Hawaiian theme park, the film won the Japanese film critics award for best film of 2006. (www.filmfestdc.org)

For a little relaxation, the Washington Toho Koto Society will hold its 35th Annual Spring Concert on Sunday, April 29 at 2PM at the University of Maryland. This year’s concert includes not only koto selections, but also combinations with shakuhachi (bamboo flute), shamisen (banjo-like instrument), flute and harp, and vocal, providing an insight to the versatility of the instrument. (www.kotosociety.org)

And to truly get away from it all, don’t miss the National Geographic’s “Spirit of Japanese Gardens”, this Thursday the 25th to Sunday the 29th. Enjoy the moss gardens and gravel dryscapes raked to evoke wind and water currents through more than 50 images of Japanese gardens. (www.nationalgeographic.com/museum/exhibitions/japanese-gardens.html)

For detailed information please check the websites directly.

This past Saturday was the 2007 Sakura Matsuri, the largest one-day exhibition of Japanese culture in the United States held every April in the second week of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. Six blocks of downtown DC busted with “Japanese-ness”. There were three performing arts stages and a martial arts stage, 25 vendors of Asian cuisine, 30 exhibitors of traditional and popular Japanese culture, and 20 vendors of Japanese goods and crafts. The weather held till the afternoon and the streets were filled with people. Sounds of J-Pop bands and Japanese drums set the mood, as the smell of tako-yaki and tai-yaki tempted the taste buds.

As the only human resource company participating in the festival this year we were sure the Interesse booth would attract a lot of interest, but we had no idea we would be so popular. The Interesse booth with company information, office locations, job openings, and business etiquette tips attracted over 800 people, with 41 signing up for interviews. Our "Japanese Business Etiquette" Power-Point Presentations drew crowds of about 30 people, even in the rain, and were so popular that we doubled the number of sessions to meet the demand.

Our president, Mr. Fujihara, and senior consultant, Mr. Kawai, from the New York Office, joined us for the day. During the festival Mr. Fujihara and Seiko-san had a chance to enjoy networking at the VIP tent, and met many of our current clients as well as potential new clients. Mr. Kawai assisted me (Olga) in the business etiquette presentations with demonstrations of bowing and business card exchange, and Heather-san was busy all day answering questions and handing out brochures and information packets to our future applicants.

Interesse International’s participation in the Sakura Matsuri was an excellent networking and PR opportunity and overall a great success. We look forward to supporting other offices in their events in the future. Again thank you for the support.

I hope you all had a chance to enjoy the beautiful cherry blossoms. With the festival in full swing and DC just bursting with Japanese events, I wanted to share some I am particularly looking forward too.

Saturday, the 7th from 12:30 to 7:30 PM, one of my favorite Japanese restaurants in DC, Sushi Taro, is having an “All You Can Eat from the Cherry Blossom Buffet” for only $35.00. (www.sushitaro.com)


This Monday, April 9th at 6:30 PM the JICC presents Nobuhiro Yamashita’s film “LINDA LINDA LINDA”, a story of high school girls who dream of becoming rock stars. Come a bit early or stay afterwards and enjoy the artist Mari Mihashi’s exhibition “The World of Modern Ukiyo-e”. (www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/jicc/)


The fun continues everyday, so go to www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org for more event information. And don’t forget to mark your calendars - Saturday the 14, after the Cherry Blossom Parade, the Japanese Street Festival will begin! (www.sakuramatsuri.org) Visit the Interesse tent in the Arts and Culture section for “Japanese Business Etiquette Workshops” every two hours starting at 11:15!

We hope to see you there.

Hello readers. My name is Olga Samborska, the new member of the Interesse International DC staff. Thank you Heather for the kind introduction. After studying Japanese and living in Japan for over 3 years, I fell in love with the Japanese culture. Currently, I live in Virginia, but I maintain strong Japanese ties by organizing J-Lunch, a networking opportunity for Japanese speakers, and attending JICC and Japan America Society events. Recently, two of my Japanese students from Awaji, Hyogo Prefecture, visited me for two weeks. Kentaro Morisaki (Ken) and Masahiro Amano (Mark), 18, recently graduated from high school and are planning to study agriculture & nutrition and economics & English, respectively. Here is a blurb of their impression of DC:

〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜
☆Our essay about Washington, DC

There are many tourist attractions in Washington, DC. For example, the White House, the Capitol, the various memorials and more. So even if we were given a lot of time, we couldn't visit every tourist attraction. The most surprising part of our trip was that people in Washington were very kind. When we were in trouble, they asked, "Can I help you?" even though they didn't know us. That made us very happy. Museums like the Smithsonian were free of charge and they were very, very interesting. Washington, DC seems so comfortable to live in that I thought I would like to settle down here in the future.
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We had a marvelous time doing not only the traditional sightseeing, but also playing volleyball, laser tag, attending lectures and an NBA basketball game.
I look forward to sharing more about what is going on in the DC community. Cheers, Olga



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こんにちは。インてレッセのDCオフィスの新しいスタッフ、オルガ　サンボルスカと申します。ヘザーからの親切な紹介、ありがとうございました。ポーランド生まれで、アメリカで育ちました。５年間日本語を勉強し、３年間以上日本に住み、日本の文化が大好きです。現在、バージニアに住んでおります。日本と関係を続けるため、J-Lunchという日本語を話せる方のネットワーキング昼食会を企画したり、JICCや日米協会のイベントに参加したりしております。
先日、淡路島で英語を教えていた時の生徒二人が、二週間ぐらい遊びに来ました。森崎健太郎と天野雅広、（１８歳）高校卒業して、来月から大学に入り、それぞれ農学と栄養学、経済と英語を勉強するつもりだそうです。日本の高校生から見たDCについてのコメントを、どうぞ、ご覧下さい。
〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜
☆Our essay about Washington, DC

ワシントンD.Cにはたくさんの観光スポットがあります。例えば、ホワイトハウス、国会議事堂、様々な記念碑などがあります。たとえ僕たちにたくさんの時間が与えられたとしても、すべての観光スポットには足を運ぶことはできないだろうと思いました。僕たちの旅行でもっとも驚いたことは、ワシントンD.Cの人々はとても親切で、僕たちが困っているとき、彼らは僕たちのことを知らないけど「どうしたの？」と声をかけてくれました。とても嬉しかったです。また、スミソニアにある博物館は、無料で入ることができ、そしてとても興味深かったです。そしてワシントンDCはとても住みやすい所なので、将来、永住したいと思いました。
〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜

私たちは一般的な観光以外に、バレボールをしたり、レザータグをしたり、講演に行ったり、NBAの試合を見に行ったりして、非常に楽しかったです。
これから、DCのイベント、行事について、書き込みするのを楽しみにしております。どうぞ、よろしくお願いします。　　オルガより

March 2007 - We want to introduce the newest member of our team to you!

Olga Samborska - Public Relations Liaison, for the DC area.
Olga has worked for the past few years with other Japanese companies in our area. She is fluent in Japanese and regularly organizes events for local Japanese or Japanese interested individuals to meet and enjoy discussing Japanese related topics over dinner or at other local venues. She is looking forward to helping Interesse become more integrated into the local Japanese community. Welcome Olga!

Last night we had the opportunity to go out in Adams Morgan, to an Asian meet and Greet for young professionals at Saki restaurant and lounge. Upstairs is a small Japanese style restaurant with modern sushi and grill and downstairs a club atmosphere. The lighting subtly shifts colors, and white floors and walls give it a modern vibe. Plus great music! Check out their website:
http://www.sakidc.com/
It was a lot of fun and gave us a chance to meet plenty of young Asians, a large portion of which were not Japanese. We plan to go to many more of these social events so if you're Japanese come and meet us! You won't be alone and we always like to meet other Japanese.

We are also very excited to be able to announce our participation in the Cherry Blossom Festival this year, due to Olga's connections to the Japan America Society. We have plans to have a booth where we will teaching Japanese business etiquette, at the Sakura Matsuri on April 14. We will keep you up to date with any plans for the big day.

Last week Seiko and I had an opportunity to visit our Texas branch. Thank you for the warm welcome Takayama-san!

Interesse is pleased to introduce one of our success stories:

インテレッセから新人派遣スタッフをご紹介
夢に向かって大きく羽ばたけ！！
　　　　　　　　　　　期待の新人スタッフ Nagaoka Rieさん。

Rieさんの夢は国際線Flight Attendantになること。
群馬県育ちのRieさんは高校卒業後、２００４年から、シアトルのコミュニティカレッジでAviationTechnologyを学び、卒業後１年間のOPT期間を利用して、２００６年１０月からDCダレス空港のANAで、インテレッセ派遣グランドスタッフとして大活躍されています。夢に向かって着実に邁進するRieさんにインタビューです。

１． 国際線Flight Attendantの夢を抱き始めたのはいつからでしたか？
幼いころから飛行機を利用することが多かったのでその頃から漠然とした憧れは抱いていました。高校２年生で留学し始めて海外に一人で行ったのがこの仕事を目指すきっかけです。
　　　
　２．どのようにして、今現在働いていらっしゃる、ANAでの派遣グランドスタッフのお仕事を見つけましたか？
　私は一年間しかアメリカで働けないので自分の好きな事しかやらないと決めていました。今の仕事はインテレッセのインターネットサイトで見つけ、直接インテレッセに電話で連絡しました。インターネットでの検索は途方もない作業に思えて諦めかけていたので実際自分の探している職種があるとわかった時は本当に驚きました。

　３．ポジションを見つけてから、空港での勤務開始までのプロセスはどのようなものでしたか？
　最初にインテレッセでこのポジションについての詳しい説明を受け、ビデオチャットを通じてインタビューを受けました。その後ANAとの面接と下見を兼ねて実際にワシントンDCへ。初めての土地でとても不安だったので数日後採用の連絡を頂いた時は本当にうれしかったです。シアトルに戻って直ぐに引越しの準備を始め、ワシントンDC隣のヴァージニア州に移りました。その５日後にはANAのトレーニング開始ととにかく忙しかったのを覚えています。

４．Fast Paceで多国籍のお客様と接するグランドスタッフのポジションの一番の面白みは何でしょうか？
日本人、アメリカ人の他にもたくさんの国のお客様がいて、そのニーズの多様性には本当に驚きます。その様々なお客様を「いってらっしゃいませ」と送りだし、「いってきます」と笑顔が返ってくる時、大変なことも全て忘れてしまうくらいこの仕事のやりがいを感じます。

５．一日のお仕事の流れを簡単に紹介頂けますか？
業務はアライバル、カウンター、ゲート、ラウンジに分かれていてその日によって担当が変わります。トレーニングを終えて入る一番基本的な業務がカウンターです。まず朝出社してすぐにチェックインカウンターのセットアップ、時刻表など必要な物の補充を行います。ブリーフィングをして全員で特別事項の確認をしたらカウンターを開けチェックインを始めます。ほとんどのお客様のチェックインが終わったら搭乗ゲートへ行き出発前の最終準備。搭乗の許可が下りたら搭乗を開始し全員無事に乗っていることを確認します。その後ゲート、ラウンジの片付けをして最後に全員でその日一日を振り返るディブリーフィングを行い一日の業務終了です。

６．お仕事の中で一番難しいことは何でしょうか？
　それぞれのお客様に違ったシチュエーションがあり、全員のご要望には応えられないことです。またパスポートやビザの事等私達の小さなミスが大きなトラブルに発展しかねませんので細部まで念入りにチェックしなければなりません。

　５．昨年１０月にシアトルから、DC近郊バージニアにお引っ越しされましたが、新しい生活はいかがですか？
　同じアメリカ国内とはいえ西と東では人も気候も全く違い驚きましたが面接の時に一度DCに来ていて、インテレッセのスタッフの方に案内して頂いていたので心強かったです。引越して４ヶ月。やっと慣れてきて道にも迷わなくなってきたという感じです。

6. 今後のビジョン（将来の目標等）への意気込みを教えて下さい。
　まずは今の仕事を一人前にこなせるようになること。CAになることは目標というより通過点の一つと考えていますのでCAの仕事を通してサービスとは何か、学べたら最高だと思っています。その他今後の目標は大小様々。いつでも、どこにいてもアメリカでの経験は生かせると思うので自分を信じてがんばりたいです。
　
　７．現在就職活動中の方、また、これから就職活動をする学生に何かアドバイスはありますか？
　就職活動は自分一人でしなければならない選択の積み重ねで先が見えない迷路のようでもあります。一つ一つする決断に必ず意味があると思うので、いつでも自分に正直になれるといいと思います。私自身に言い聞かせていることですが、初めてする事には苦労があって当然。そこに飛び込んでいける勇気を忘れずにいたいです。

　 カウンターで超多忙な中でも、さわやかなスマイルで丁寧に心を込めてお客様に対応されるRieさんの姿は、すがすがしいものです。ANAの先輩スタッフ達から学びながら、毎日が勉強の繰り返しと伺います。努力、勉強、奮闘の繰り返し、そんな中でも強い意志を持って夢を追いかけるRieさんをインテレッセは応援します！！
インテレッセでの職探し、ご連絡は下記までどうぞ。
Interesse international inc.
Washington DC Office
TEL:703-351-3330, FAX:703-351-3332
Email: dc@iiicareer.com, www.iiicarer.com(ご登録は２４時間可能です)

With an unexpected amount of snow in February, DC was a "white wonderland," for about a week before the snow started to lose its luster. Along with freezing temperatures and black ice that made travel hard, I think a large majority of Washingtonians are looking forward to the warmer weather as soon as possible.

As Chinese New Year approached Seiko-san and I became excited about the Chinese New Year parade held every year in DC's very small China Town in downtown DC. This exciting and colorful festival included a parade, folk dances and musical bands, the popular Chinese Lion and Dragon Dances, as well as a five-story high firecracker that was ignited at 4 pm. The street was filled with the sound of small firecrackers that kids were throwing in the street and despite the cold a large number of fans turned out to see the events. It was a great success.

As part of our goal to keep introducing Interesse to DC in 2007, DC office set up presentations with George Washington University, George Mason University, and American University. Seiko-san enjoyed speaking with the second and third year Japanese Language students, who did not seem to have realized their potential for working for a Japanese company in the Washington DC area. They all seemed thrilled to have the opportunity to listen to a Japanese speaker and practise their language skills. We have high hopes of perhaps finding some of these future applicants jobs or internships through Interesse.

We also had the pleasure, this month, of inviting Interesse staff and friends to a lunch social held at the HQ office in Farragut West. There was plenty to eat, and plenty of people to share conversation with. It was wonderful to finally meet so many of the staff I have spoken to regularly on the phone. Thank you for the pleasure of your company at lunch. We look forward to seeing you all again!

Now I know that you're wondering why I said "Happy Japanese New Year" when Japanese New Year is traditionally January 1, but as the local Japanese Washingtonians decided to celebrate a little late this year with a festival who was I to say no to a great excuse for a celebration!

January 21, 2007 Japanese New Year in DC - and what a great New Year festival it was.
With traditional New Year food such as osechi, oden, fresh mochi, ramne, and takoyaki, along with refreshing sake it was a culinary feast. Once you had finished sampling the food there was plenty more to do.

After discovering through omikuji that I was to have a lucky year I decided to trust in this new found luck and test my skills at fukuwarai. You can see the results in the photo- I have a gift for fukuwarai, perhaps I should become a professional "face maker?"

What I don't have skill for is takeuma but Seiko tried her best and we managed to get her standing on them...but not moving! We enjoyed the start of the festival to the beat of the drums which progressed into an amazing performance on a koto and flute. A great day to celebrate, thank you for a fun start to the New Year!