Kyoko Yamashita, a Japanese graduate student from Shanghai's East China Normal University, is volunteering at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Her job is to distribute gifts to athletes from various countries in the Zhangjiakou Olympic Village in North China's Hebei province.
"Although I am a bit busy, I still feel quite pleased about all the fresh experiences," Yamashita said.
"I have done some work related to exhibitions, but it was far from being as grand and professional as the Winter Olympics. Here I can see and communicate with athletes from different countries. The organizing committee has strict requirements for volunteers."
"It is very safe and comfortable working here. Beijing 2022 did a good job on virus prevention. We must take nucleic acid test every day before we start working and wear mask and gloves all the time. The food and accommodation are also quite good."
"I really want to do something for China, the country where I grew up, so I signed up to volunteer for Beijing 2022 as soon as I read the notice," she added.
Yamashita also said she was hesitant at first because the volunteer work would take up a lot of her time. "But my family suggested that I take on the job as this may be an once-in-a-life time opportunity," she said.
She also noted that she has gained support from her teachers so that she could organize her volunteering and studying schedules.
Yamashita went to Beijing for training in December, 2021. After nearly a month of training, she started her job on Jan 27 at the Zhangjiakou Olympic Village. She will volunteer there until the end of March after the Winter Olympics finishes.
