Cross-cultural communication （10）　

20）CFK
　 Shortly after returning to Japan from Paris in 1997, I was invited to a party by Mr. M, a mathematician and a friend of my father's, who I had known for some time. Mr. M had studied in France as a French government-sponsored student and was fluent in French. This led to my becoming a member of CFK(Cercle France Kansai). By attending the monthly dinner parties and meeting French people and Japanese people interested in France, my network of contacts gradually expanded. At one point, there was even a French consul who attended almost every meeting. There was also a doctor among the members, and Dr. B, an English doctor living in Japan, was the consulate's consulting doctor at the time. I had already met Mr. B on other occasions, but through CFK we became closer, and when he retired, he recommended me to become the consulate's consulting doctor.

I had been a regular member of CFK for a long time, and in 2004 I was appointed Secretary General for a period of two years. The most important job of the Secretary General is to organize the monthly dinner meetings. I had to choose restaurants that served French, Italian or sometimes Japanese food, negotiate the price, and sometimes even arrange for singers or pianists to perform for the guests. It was quite a demanding job.

The French are a very independent people, and they are quite happy to complain. It was also the job of the secretary general to resolve these complaints. The rules of the association stated that if a member cancelled at the last minute, they would have to pay the membership fee for that time, including the cost of the meal, but on one occasion, when I asked a French member who had cancelled at the last minute to pay the membership fee, they became very angry. As it was impossible to resolve the issue through the secretary's level of persuasion, I repeatedly exchanged e-mails and tried to persuade him at length, and in the end he agreed and paid up. That member has continued to attend our meeting since then, and we have maintained a good relationship.

So, through CFK, I was able to learn a lot about organizing intercultural events. Also, through the CFK network, French people living in the Kansai area and French people visiting Japan came to see Dr. Kido at my clinic as patients.

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