At Kashii Festival, held from November 1st (Saturday) to 3rd (Monday, national holiday), students from Global Food Business Program (GFBP) set up a Thai food booth together with students from Chiang Mai University, our partner university in Thailand. This was the second time they had done this, and they sold pad thai (stir-fried rice noodles) and moo ping (grilled pork skewers). They cooked and promoted the food together with students from the university who came to Japan for Kashii Festival.
The GFBP students visited the university in February of this year and set up a Japanese food booth, and through previous collaborative efforts, they have built a strong relationship of trust with each other. Despite the language barrier, the students demonstrated great teamwork and worked hard to prepare for the booth and run it on the day.
Participant Deguchi Sota (Tamana Technical High School), a second-year student, said, "It was difficult to communicate with the Thai students who don't speak Japanese, but I'm glad I was able to have this rare experience. Sales are going well, too." Third-year Adachi Toya (Kashiwa High School) said, "Last year we had some Thai students who were good at English, so it was easy to communicate with them, but this year their English was about the same as ours, so we used gestures and other methods to converse. Although communication was difficult, I think we became closer because we made an effort to understand each other. We taught each other phrases like 'Welcome' and 'Thank you', and I think we were able to run a great stall by working together."
Related article: Trying to sell Japanese food at Chiang Mai University's school festival!
[Global Food Business Program]
