Having a PC Volunteer…

I’ve been thinking recently a bit about what it’s like to have/host a PC volunteer. I’m gonna try to describe the situation from the hosts’ viewpoint, and adapt it to the US.

***

day 1

you go to work, and there’s a kid from Japan there. he doesn’t work with you directly, but in the office next door. you stop by to say hello, and meet this kid for the first time.

“good day hello to you it is good us meet to you!” he says in a strong but optimistic, and hilarious accent.

everyone chuckles a little bit.

your firm has recently started to collaborate with some people in Japan, so there may actually be some helpful things this kid will do for you guys. some stuff with translating, and adapting your flash ads to fit with web requirements in other countries.

day 4

walking back to your car across the lot after work, you see this kid again. he asks you “return hello, how are everything? what is your organization for the afternoon?”

you respond by looking puzzled, but are happy he’s trying to talk to you. he can tell you’re confused, he’s used to reading that look a lot. he simplifies the sentence.

“hello, to what you do now?”

simple enough – return home, have to stop at the store, the wife wants you to grab something, you might review some papers you have for work, you know, the usual…

now you recognize the confused look.

“ah, yes store! i understand! i go in the store too. i think i make the rice, and will buy the onions for the salsa. Also, you~

“sauce. not salsa – sauce. salsa is for chips, tortilla chips, or tacos, you have to get some good Mexican food here” you correct.

~sauce, ah yes good. i don’t know the mexican tortilla food, but i will get to it. also, here find the good strawberries. fresh, we not having strawberries like they’re having there!”

again the chuckling; this kid is hilarious. “yeah, yeah, we have good local strawberries here. local produce is all the rage right now. have a good one.”

“good what? ah yes, have good evening, thankyoubye.”

you see him walking off toward the bus stop – with his suit jacket, his backpack, and a plastic bag with soup a tupperware container.

day 9

another monday, you stop by next door to grab some papers from Rob. “hi, how is you are weekend?!”

“my weekend? good, good. normal, i was at home, relaxing, caught some espn. how ’bout you?”

“it was good! i have the espn too.” you can see Rob in the background, smiling at this conversation.

“i traveled to New York! there is another Japanese there. we had a group, did restaurant, went to bars, was good.

“New York!? how far is that? that’s almost 4 hours away.” you haven’t been to New York in years.

“it is nothing, with bus, all got, easy. i was there for Saturday. Sunday was the best for sleeping in apartment though.”

you see Rob smiling in the background again – “D.C.” he says.

“What?”

“D.C. – he was in D.C. last weekend.”

“holy crap, this kid has been everywhere…”

“yeah” Rob continues. “you know what he said?” Rob is still smiling. you can almost see teeth inside his grin now. “strawberries. they ‘acquired the good strawberries there.’ “