JETAA Chapter Beat 3.24.09
JETAA Chapter Beat, JETAA Chapters 
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Freelance writer/editor Jonathan Trace (Fukuoka-ken, 2005-08) takes us on a walk around the JET Alumni community…
- JETAASE/JASG Volunteers Needed! – Saturday, March 28th, 10:00 A.M. to 3:00 at Agnes Scott College. Japan America Society of Georgia(JASG) needs volunteers for their Japan Academic Challenge and the 18th Annual Japanese Speech Contest. Take the time and help out JETAASE and JASG.
- South Carolina Subchapter Spring Picnic – April 25th at Furman University the JETAASE South Carolina Subchapter will be holding a spring picnic. Don’t miss a little sun and fun with the folks at the SC Subchapter.
- Japanese Bento Class Write Up! – On Saturday March 7th we held our Bento Cooking class which was a temendous and delicious success. We cooked 6 dishes and everyone had a chance to help cook at least one of the dishes. We would like to thank our teachers, Jessica Cork for translating, and in particular Consul Miki Hiro for helping to select the menu and teaching us how to make a delisious dish with many fresh spring ingredients — JETAASE
- O-Shaberikai – Wednesday, March 25th, 5:30 at the Holy Grail in Civic. Join in and meet Japanese people living in Canberra and other locals interested in Japan.
- Annual General Meeting – Friday, March 27th, 6:30 at 43 Below. If you are interested in joining the JETAA committee this year please come by and participate.
- JETAANY Book Club – Tuesday, March 24, 7:00 at Kat Barnas’ apartment. This book in question is “In the Shade of Spring Leaves, The Life of Higuchi Ichiyo, With Nine of Her Best Stories,” a collection of short stories by Higuchi Ichiyo. Come and discuss.
- Sakura Sunday – April 5th, 11:00 to 4:00 at the Horticulture Center in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia. Join JETAANY as well as the Philadelphia and New Jersey Subchapters at the Philadelphia Cherry Blossom Festival. Live music, hanami, dance, and a plethora of other Japanese related events and activities.
- Grad School and Fellowship Night – Tuesday, March 31st, 6:30 at the Old Ambassador’s Residence adjacent to the Japanese Embassy. JETAADC is hosting a panel discussion about grad school and fellowship/scholarship opportunities. If you are wondering what to do in life after JET, check it out.
- Kodo Drummers at DAR – Friday, March 27th at the DAR Constitution Hall. The Kodo Drummers are in town and tickets are half price, so don’t miss it.
- JETAADC Happy Hour – Tuesday, March 24th, 5:30 at Skye Lounge. Spend a night out with friends at this month’s Happy Hour.
- JETAANC Oakland A’s Game – Saturday, April 25th, 1:00 at McAfee Coliseum. JETAANC and the Japan Society are co-hosting a day at the ballpark. Oakland takes on Tampa Bay, so come out and root for the home team with friends and JETAA.
- East Bay Nomikai – Thursday, March 26th, 6:00 at Albatross Pub. Come out and have a drink with friends at this month’s Nomikai.
- Japan Nite 2009 – Saturday, March 28th, 8:00 at the Independent. Check out some Japanese music when Japan Nite comes to California.
What happened at your chapter’s event? If you attend(ed) any of these exciting events, JetWit would love to hear about them. Just email Jonathan Trace with any info, stories or comments.
I just heard from JETAA Northern California’s President and am sad to report that JET alum Daniel Sakai, a police officer in Oakland, was one of the officers killed in the police chase in Oakland on Saturday.
You can read the San Francisco Chronicle article about him here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/23/MNRF16L6DO.DTL&hw=japan&sn=006&sc=188
If any readers knew him, please feel free to share any memories or stories of him in the comments section of this post.
Job: Japanese Language and Literature Visiting Instructor, University of Montana
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Via Inside Higher Ed. See the full listing here:
Discover your future at The University of Montana!
The University of Montana invites applications for a one-year non-renewable adjunct instructorship in Japanese language (with a five-course load), beginning Fall 2009.
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botodesigns by JET Alum designer Chen Reichert
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One of the pleasant surprises that came out of yesterday’s JET Alumni Author Showcase was learning about Philly-based JET alum Chen Reichert, creater of botodesigns. In her Etsy site’s own words:
Welcome to the world of Boto created by Chen Reichert! Meet Boto, a robot in Japan. During his travels, Boto has met other robot travelers and a plant who is far away from home. Get to know Boto and his friends!
Botodesigns is my little world of Japanese inspired characters. I lived in Japan for a year and spent most of my time traveling, collecting postcards and enjoying the culture and characters that I encountered on a daily basis. Somewhere along the line my experience planted the seed of the idea of a robot tourist. It gestated for a few months until Boto was born and soon after came his motley gang of friends and family along with a plant that is far away from home. In my shop you’ll find my characters depicted in all different media including original paintings, silkscreened T-shirts, prints, handmade dolls, magnets and more! Please visit my blog: botodesigns.blogspot.com
If you like her work, here are all the different ways to keep up with her:
BLOG: botodesigns.blogspot.com
TWITTER: twitter.com/botodesigns
PHOTOS: flickr.com/chenreichert
CONTACT: chen [!at] botodesigns.com
Update: Chen will also be selling her botodesign crafts at the upcoming Philly Cherry Blossom Festival’s Sakura Sunday on April 5.
The first-ever JET Alumni Author Showcase is done and in the books, and by all accounts it was a big success.
- Wonderful readings by Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06) and Rob Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04). (Stay tuned for photos and video clips.)
- Engaging and informative discussion, led by Randall David Cook (Fukui-ken, 1991-93).
- Great post-program schmoozing, connecting and re-connecting (including a mini-Nara reunion).
- And I think Kinokuniya sold pretty much all the books it brought.
Thanks to everyone who attended, helped out and supported the event. Hopefully this will be the first of many more to come.
JET Alums and the art scene
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What’s the connection between JET alumni and the NY art scene? It turns out that a JET alum, Matt Schlecht (Akita-ken, 1998-99), is the editor of NY Art Beat (www.nyartbeat.com), an online art review and listings site, which grew out of Tokyo Art Beat. Matt says they’re always looking for writers to contribute to the NY Art Beat blog, which features reviews, interviews, and photo reports. So if there are any JET alums out there looking to gain exposure for their writing or photography, please feel free to get in touch with him.
Meanwhile, at the JET Alumni Author Showcase earlier today, a JET alum named Alan (I didn’t get his last name) mentioned that he’s an artist in NYC and would be interested in organizing a JET Alumni Artist Showcase one of these days. He inquired about the best way to go about making this happen, and after additional thought my suggestion would be…
- Someone should start a JET Alumni Art group, either on GoogleGroups or Facebook or whatever medium you prefer.
- Let me know about it so I can post info about it on JetWit
- Let JETAA NY and other chapters know about it so they can mention it in their announcements to their members (I can help with this part too)
JETAA Hanami Forecast (updated)
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The JETAA Hanami Forecast (updated)
The Consulate-General of Japan in New York has a listing of all of the NY and Philly area upcoming hanami festivals, so let’s add those to the mix from the original post. (Email jetwit at jetwit dot com if you have other events to add to the list.)
Sunday, April 5
- JETAA Northern California – 11:00 am – Garden Gate Park, Speedway Meadow
- JETAA Philly (NY subchapter) – 11:00 am to 4:00 pm – Fairmount Park Horticulture Center (Ambassador Nishimiya, who will be replacing Ambassador Sakurai starting in April, will attend and speak)
Sunday, April 19
- Essex County Cherry Blossom Festival – Bloomfest -Sunday, 4/19, from 11AM to 5PM -The Cherry Blossom Welcome Center in Essex County Branch Brook Park, Newark – List of more event, please visit www.essexcountynj.org/ or call at Essexy County Park Department 973-268-3500
Saturday, April 25
- Flushing Meadows Corona Park (Queens) 5th Sakura Matsuri – 11am – 2pm – For more information, please call Japanese American Association at 212-840-6942
Saturday, May 2 & Sunday May 3
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden Sakura Matsuri – 10am – 6pm (Note: Hanami will officially run there from April 4 – May 10)
- 10th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival – Sunday, May 3, 2009, noon to 5PM – Turnure Park – 20 Lake Street, White Plains, NY 10603 – For more information, please contact 914-774-3187
JapanInfo e-Newsletter – March 2009
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The March 2009 edition of JapanInfo is now available online. JapanInfo is published by the Consulate General of Japan in New York/Japan Information Center and is a great source of info for Japan-related things going on in New York and the surrounding area.
Highlights include:
- U.S.-Japan Summit Meeting
- 13th Annual Japanese Speech Contest in Pittsburgh
- Second Annual September 11th Teacher Award Goes to a Japanese Teacher in Long Island
- The World of J-Cinema : Lights, Cameras, and Reality
- From the Ambassador’s Desk
- And plenty of things to do and see on the Events Calendar.
JETAA DC Grad School Night – update
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Via JETAA DC:
Were you interested in the 2009 Grad School and Fellowship night, but waiting to RSVP until you see who’s going to be presenting? Well, get ready because JETAADC’s got an all star line up for you this year!
JETAADC will host 5 panelists to discuss their graduate school and fellowship/scholars hip experiences, to answer your most burning questions about the process in a question & answer session, and to network with you over free food and drinks after the event. The panelists are:
- Michael Acton – The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, Masters of Arts in International Development
- Brooke Howell – University of Maryland Graduate School’s Phillip Merrill College of Journalism, Master of Journalism, with a concentration in Public Affairs Reporting, Merrill Fellowship recipient
- Thomas Kodiak – College of William & Mary’s Mason School of Business, Masters of Business Administration AND Thunderbird School of Global Management, Masters of International Management
- Lisa Mayorga – The American University’s School of International Service, Masters of International Communications
- Bina Sheladia – The University of Michigan’s Rackham Graduate School, Masters of Higher Education Administration. Bina’s unique job experience related to fellowship administration will be discussed as well.
See you on the 31st!
Margaret Burton
JETAADC Outreach Chair Read More
Job: Freelance news gathering – Korean/English (and Japanese) – Tokyo Broadcasting System (NY)
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JET alum John Ellis-Guardiola, a news producer for Tokyo Broadcasting System’s New York Bureau, is looking for a freelance news gatherer. He says there’s potential for a long term working relationship as well.
I wanted to reach out to the JETAANY Community for help on a search regarding Korean language help. Tokyo Broadcasting System’s New York Bureau is looking to establish a relationship with a Korean/English or Korean/English/Japanese speaker who could help us with our newsgathering for Korean issues on a freelance basis. If the person is interested in media, that’s also a plus, but not necessarily a requirement. If you would like to contact me regarding this position, feel free contact John Ellis at jelgua at tbsi-us dot com.
Job: Sanyo Solar, Account Manager/sales – San Jose, CA
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This job listing comes from JETAANC member Robert Zerner (Nagano ’99-’01):
Account Manager/sales position at SANYO Energy (USA) Corporation
Sanyo’s HIT solar technology leads the industry in efficiency and
performance, and illuminates Sanyo’s “Think GAIA” vision of creating
products we need to live in harmony with the Earth.
Based in San Jose, California, Sanyo is seeking to hire an Account Manager /
sales position as we grow in 2009.
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Another post from my brother Greg on TheDigitalists.com about innovations amongst the unemployed that may offer helpful perspective to JET alums seeking work.
In this post he compares two efforts to deal with unemployment: Runway Project and Laid-Off Camp.
The positive spin on this development is that the advent of social media has made it easier for like-minded individuals to organize effectively. The more pessimistic view is that, unlike at the beginning of this decade, when a lot of young people experienced temporary career setbacks after spending the previous few years outpacing their qualifications, this downturn is likely to be far more lasting and transformative, and if people are going to reinvent themselves professionally, they better get started immediately; they don’t have time to “just hang out.”
Click here to read the full post.
Let’s Sento!
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JETAA DC recently announced an upcoming sento event at SpaWorld, a Korean bath place in the D.C. area. JETAA NY will also be doing a similar event at the SpaWorld located in Queens. Are there any other chapters doing sento or onsen type events?
Here’s the JETAA DC announcement:
Hey guys, Just a friendly reminder for those of you who want to come with us to Sento, please RSVP by tomorrow.
http://www.facebook .com/n/?event. php&eid=68174107 128&mid=207e87G1 e50db98G3fbc3b9G 7
Thank you.
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Remember in Japan how the news would show the hanami progressing across the country, akin to a weather forecast? U.S. geography isn’t quite as conducive to that approach, and I can’t really picture any local news channels taking that approach anyway. But now JetWit is providing you with the next best thing:
The JETAA Hanami Forecast
JetWit has the unique, gaijin-riffic superpower to forecast the progression of hanami throughout the U.S. based on the scheduling of JETAA chapter hanami events! Here’s what’s on tap so far. Don’t see your chapter’s event listed? Email jetwit at jetwit dot com and let us know.
Sunday, April 5
- JETAA Northern California – 11:00 am – Garden Gate Park, Speedway Meadow
- JETAA Philly (NY subchapter) – 11:00 am to 4:00 pm – Fairmount Park Horticulture Center (Ambassador Nishimiya, who will be replacing Ambassador Sakurai starting in April, will attend and speak)
Job: Product Planning Manager – Portland, OR
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Via Adecco USA. See the full job listing here. (Have a job listing you want posted on JetWit? E-mail joblistings at jetwit dot com.)
Our client, an internationally recognized Japanese company with offices located in the greater Portland, Oregon area, is seeking an experienced Product Planning Manager
Overview:
Under the direction of the Sr. Product Planning Manager, plan, develop and promote new mobile communication products for the US market. Monitor, analyze and report on current US mobile communication products, technology trends, and customer needs. Work with our client’s US and Japanese teams to promote an understanding and appreciation of necessary US-specific product features so as to influence US product direction. Establish and maintain strong communication ties with product engineering, sales division, carrier customers and business and technology partners. Act as a resource to other Sharp groups by assisting with execution of activities associated with the launching and promotion of new products.
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