Ilmu Gunna’s Interview [From India]

My name is Ilmu Gunna.

I was influenced by my father, who’s a Japanese teacher, and I saw developed places in Japan on TV and in the movies, so I was interested in coming.
I started doing care work because I wanted to bridge the gap between Japan and India.

I’m happy I could talk with elderly people, and when users’ families say thank you.
It’s a little different from a hotel because you can work set hours. It’s nice that I can spend my free time however I like.

There are users who stay here at night and users who come for day service. The people who stay at night wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, and rest a little, then the day service people come. Next, everyone does some creative activity or exercise, then they rest a little more. Then they do another creative activity, rest a little more, and in the evening, they eat dinner. Then the people who come for day service go home, and the people who stay at night stay.

It depends on the day, but a light day would be five or six.
There are 14 or 15 on a busy day.

There’s a variety of users, like people with dementia, people who can’t move, and elderly people who can’t be looked after at home because their families work.

You’re sure to get irritated or angry sometimes when you’re working.
You have to properly hold back those feelings yourself.
It’s important to curb those feelings and do your job correctly.

Although I am a foreigner, I was able to learn Japanese by speaking it with the users and staff every day while I work.
I’m also happy this is a job with a future because I want to continue doing it.

By doing care work, I’ve been able to send money to my parents, and they built their own house.
And I’ve found a job I can do in the future.

A lot of things were difficult when I first started doing care work.
For example, it was hard to change diapers or help people in the bath at first, but now I’m used to it, and my work goes smoothly.
In the beginning, I was a little uncomfortable seeing users naked.
It was also a bit difficult to change diapers, or when users suddenly passed away.

Users’ families have praised me quite a lot.
For example, an elderly person would go home and tell their family about me, and the next day, their family would say to me, “Thank you for doing this nice thing.” That made me happy.

Before coming, my impression was that Japan was clean, and there was no trash in the streets or anywhere. And that was true.

I think my communication skills have improved through working in Japan and communicating with a variety of staff members and users.
I really found my dream by doing care work.
I had all kinds of worries about what I should do in the future before I started doing care work.
When you do care work, you do a lot of different things. In this job, I’m sure to achieve my dreams and grow in the future.

My father taught me Japanese for about six months before I came to Japan.

Kanji and Japanese grammar are pretty difficult for me.

I studied a little bit every day, and I took online lessons on ZOOM with a teacher the company president introduced me to.

The best way to learn Japanese quickly is to come to Japan and study here.
I learned a lot of Japanese by doing care work here and talking to users and staff members.

I tried to study around three hours a day.
I used a textbook from my company president to study illnesses and terminology.

Questions that I thought would appear didn’t, and questions that I didn’t think would appear did. That was hard.

I passed in around three months.

I like to cook, so I make all different sorts of food.
I make my own Indian curry, and when I have time, I learn Japanese cooking on YouTube and make that.

I have many favorites, but I eat a lot of ramen.

You can see Mt. Fuji clearly from here, so depending on the season, I love seeing where there’s snow or no snow on the mountain. And I like hanging out around Shizuoka Station and Shimizu, which are near here.
Some places I like are Shizuoka Station, Kojima, S-PULSE DREAM PLAZA, and Mt. Fuji.

When I was a student, I hung out with many other students and was free.

I should have studied more Japanese before coming.

Everywhere in Japan is clean, including streets and parks.
And Japanese people consider others when they speak and act.

There are absolutely jobs in Japan.
The harder you work, the more your dreams will come true.
Japan has proper health insurance, so you can be seen by a doctor if you’re seriously ill.

I had a hard time with Japanese food and flavors when I first came, but it was OK after I got used to it. But yeah, food and flavors in the beginning.

I got pretty homesick. I was sad I couldn’t see my family when I wanted to.
But now I can video chat with them anytime, so it’s OK.

Japan is a peaceful country, so I think it’s absolutely safe for foreign women.

My goals and dreams are to continue doing care work because it’s a job that bridges the gap between India and Japan.

Coming to Japan will be rewarding.

A good point I’ve experienced living in Japan so far is that the staff members working with me are very helpful, and they always lend a hand if I have a problem.
I came to Japan to work and have been able to send money to my parents to build their own house, so coming to Japan is sure to make your family happy.
Your family will be glad.

My name is Megumi Yamashita.

I’m a nurse.

Working with Mr. Gunna was my first time working with foreign staff.
“The doctors here told me foreign people are very kind, and I find Mr. Gunna is really kind.
He’s kind not just to the users, but to everyone on the staff.”

If we suddenly slip into Shizuoka dialect, or summarize things really briefly, or use jargon without realizing, they’ll say, “”Huh?”” So we try to talk about everyday things together to make daily life more familiar.
I repeatedly check to make sure things are understood.

They’re very kind. When we had a festival here, Mr. Gunna wanted everyone to try Indian curry, so he was making curry with spices all day.
He told the users that Indian curry is a little different from Japanese curry rice. The building was full of the aroma of spices. He was kind enough to introduce one of the delicious foods from his home country.

Everyone was very nervous at first.
Many users were nervous and asked if they could speak Japanese well and if things would be OK.
But when Mr. Gunna and other foreign workers came, they said they were the kindest.
The users immediately told us they were kinder than the Japanese staff.
Now everyone takes it for granted and asks Mr. Gunna to do things.

Working with Mr. Gunna made me think people should come if they like people.
Eventually we all get older and become disabled, but Mr. Gunna likes people and always asks them if they’re OK.
That’s the kind of person I want to come here and work with us.