Simon Hsieh, a second year Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Commerce student, has placed second in the 2015 JSANZ Tertiary Japanese Language Speech Contest.
In his speech Simon talked about the experience of migrating from the mega-city of Shanghai to the comparatively small town of Tauranga and finding beauty and profoundness in simple and uncluttered moments. He framed this life-changing experience in light of the traditional Japanese concept of wabi-sabi.
Wabi-sabi is a Japanese world view or aesthetic centred on the acceptance of transience and imperfection, often described as one of beauty that is imperfect, impermanent and incomplete.
Simon was happy that his hard work had paid off and was very grateful to Reiko Kondo, Senior Tutor in Asian Studies, for supporting him in the lead up to the competition.
He is majoring in Japanese, Marketing and International Business and hopes to pursue a career in marketing and international business in Tokyo.
Simon said that “this competition definitely encouraged me to continue on the path I have chosen and to work even harder to reach higher places in the days to come. Hopefully one day I will be standing on the top of the podium.”
The first prize of a return air ticket to Japan went to Brennan Galpin of the University of Canterbury, and Simon received a $100 Prezzy card as second prize.
The event was one of the initiatives of Japanese Studies Aotearoa New Zealand, which was launched in March 2014 to advocate for the learning of Japanese language and culture at tertiary institutions in New Zealand.
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