A new journey. I have started my internship at Ashoka Japan!
My name is Janic Kühner. I was born and grew up in a small town close to Ludwigshafen in the southwest of Germany. The city is mostly known for hosting BASF, the biggest chemical producer in the world, but many smaller towns in the region are defined by beautiful nature and historic townscapes. The region’s climate allows for the cultivation of excellent wine so there is tiny towns with less than 2000 residents that host up to 6000 visitors a day during seasonal festivals. When I came to Japan, everyone expected me to be a beer-expert making me question my status as a German. Today, I can teach others that beer is not the most popular alcoholic beverage in all of Germany :D
My interest in Japan was sparked by two things: I started playing drums and guitar in my teens and when I coincidentally heard a song of a Japanese band, I fell in love with with the sound of the language. This slowly developed into a great interest of mine and at the age of 16, I got the chance to participate in a two-week exchange program between my school and a public school in Yokohama. Having young Japanese visit us and later visiting them in Yokohama and traveling other parts in Japan for two weeks was a decisive experience for me and it convinced me that I want Japan to be, in one or another way, part of my life.
Studying in a Japanese university in Kyoto was an incredible and eye opening experience. It taught me, that wherever in the world we go, we will always face both positive and negative situations, that there is troubles that we all share independently of our cultural background just by the nature of being human and that in the 21st century we face a great amount of issues of global extent, affecting each and everyone. I learned about social entrepreneurship in my search for an ideal way of how we can solve these problems effectively and the Ashoka Japan community that serves as a hub for social entrepreneurs and changemakers in Japan.
Until know, being an intern at Ashoka has been challenging and greatly educational. I foster many new relationships and I am learning about the world just as much as I am learning about myself. I am looking forward to help the growth of this incredible institution and to see what further surprises are awaiting me.
