Australian JET alum Pepi Ronalds (Miyagi-ken, Sendai Shi, 2010-11) recently published an essay on Amazon titled “After Shock: Experiencing the 2011 Japanese Earthquake.” Below is a bit of context from Ronalds along with an extract from the essay:
About Pepi
Pepi is a freelance writer, ghostwriter and researcher based in Melbourne, Australia. On any given day she is found writing, researching and craving sakuranbo soft-cream from the Omiyage shop below Yamadera. While working as an ALT in Sendai Shi, Miyagi prefecture she experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake first hand. She writes about the experience in her long-form article After Shock: Experiencing the 2011 Japanese Earthquake, which can be downloaded via Amazon or Pepi’s website http://www.pepironalds.com.
“After finishing JET I returned to the freelance writing career that I had begun in late 2009. As a writer of non-fiction, I was keen to write about my experience of the triple disaster in Sendai. I knew that many people outside of Japan had a limited understanding of what had happened. – Yes, I was caught up in a natural disaster as a foreigner, and yes it was scary. But there was (and continues to be) so much more to my experience (and those of my fellow JETs and gaijins). I was astounded by the incredible generosity of my Japanese friends and colleagues, and the work they’ve done (and are doing) to rebuild.”
As publishing paradigms change, I there are fewer venues for long-form articles like mine. So in publishing this article I made my first foray into ‘entrepreneurial journalism’. That is, I am selling direct to readers. Below is an extract. If you want to read the whole thing (6,500 words) you can either download the article via Amazon, or buy direct from me using Paypal.”
Extract from After Shock: Experiencing the 2011 Japanese Earthquake
“We started the heaters,” my friend Yuriko writes, “but we are trying not to use them often to save them in case of an emergency.” I know the school in Sendai to which she refers. Winter is marked by a meter of snow on the baseball field. It’s sustained by snowflakes the size of marshmallows that seem to fall horizontally. The winds wheeze and rattle at loose windows. When I was there last year, I was constantly dabbing my nose with a tissue. And when my friend writes this from Sendai eight months after the earthquake, winter in Japan has barely begun.
I read her email and think back to that frigid Friday, March 11, 2011. My students and I were decorating the walls of the school with a mosaic of origami-paper blossoms. It was so cold in the unheated hallway that my fingers seemed to move in slow motion. We worked with a feeling of purpose and excitement. Then there was a long, deep, foreboding yawp. An announcement from the earth beneath us that everything was about to change. Read More
JQ Magazine: JQ&A with JET Alum Kalu ‘Kaz’ Obuka of Meta-Culture
Article/Journalism, Interview/Profile, JQ Magazine 
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"My time on JET bolstered my thinking that we need better institutions and processes for dealing with difference. To its credit, the prefecture I worked in was definitely ahead of the curve."
By Renay Loper (Iwate-ken, 2006-07) for JQ magazine. Renay is a freelance writer and associate program officer at the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership. Visit her blog at Atlas in Her Hand.
Originally from London, Kalu “Kaz” Obuka (Saitama-ken, 2005-08) is currently working as a conflict resolution specialist at Meta-Culture, a conflict resolution NGO in Bangalore, India. Having a unique career fueled by his graduate studies in Coexistence and Conflict at Brandeis University paired with his time on JET, Kaz spent a little time with us to share more.
How did your time on JET influence your decision to take up your particular course of study?
My time on JET bolstered my thinking that we need better institutions and processes for dealing with difference. I think it was seeing the way that the institutions I worked with were absolutely out of their depth when, for example, it came to dealing with pupils with migratory backgrounds. To its credit, the prefecture I worked in was definitely ahead of the curve, and was actively looking to develop mechanisms and services for immigrants to help them navigate what, in some cases, would be a very alien cultural landscape.
Aside from immigration, it was seeing the way politics played out, especially the posturing with which the Japanese and their neighbors engaged one another, and their history.
How did your JET experience help you to secure your position at Meta-Culture?
I think my JET experience helped me to the extent that it bolstered my desire to enter the conflict resolution and consensus building field.
What fields did you work in prior to JET?
Prior to JET I dabbled in the NGO sector with an organization that worked to empower disadvantaged youth in London, as well as PR and some professional modeling.
Job: Postings from Idealist.org 4.21.12
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Via Idealist.org. Posted by Geneva Marie (Niigata-ken 2008-09) Geneva is a contributor to both JETwit and JETAANY. Geneva is on a continuous (epic) search for Japanese-related jobs in the United States. Hire me! :-)
Education Organizer
Posted by: Many Languages One Voice ) (MLOV)
Type: Full-time and Part-time positions
Location: Washington, DC
Salary: $30,000 (full-time) or $15-20,000 (part-time) commensurate with experience. Benefits.
Start date: May 29, 2012
MLOV is seeking an Education Organizer. Must be bilingual. Native level Amharic, Spanish and/or Mandarin speakers preferred. ESL experience helpful, but not required.
http://www.idealist.org/view/job/htb9pM4dDK5P/
Development Research and Writing Associate
Posted by: The Queens Museum of Art
Type: Full-time
Location: Queens, New York, NY
Salary: DOE
Start date: Not specified
QMA seeks an experienced writer to assist in the implementation of a fundraising strategy that targets foundations, corporate philanthropies, and government grant making agencies.
http://www.idealist.org/view/job/8sxJ97535sP/
Administrative Assistant
Posted by: Polytechnic Institute of New York University
Type: Full-time
Location: Brooklyn, New York, NY
Salary: DOE
Start date: Not specified
Administrative Assistant needed. Bachelor’s degree required and three years experience in a fundraising and/or non-profit or academic institution or a combination of education and professional experience. Experience in working with event logistics, purchase orders or budget reconciliation a plus.
http://www.idealist.org/view/job/sTm5W7jbjzMD/
Program Coordinator
Posted by: Polytechnic Institute of New York University
Type: Full-time
Location: Brooklyn, New York, NY
Salary: DOE
Start date: Not specified
BS in Computer Science or equivalent experience. Advanced degree in any field is recommended; though technical, managerial, scientific or engineering areas are helpful. Strong knowledge of Razor’s Edge Database experience is highly preferred.
http://www.idealist.org/view/job/gctxs5zX832D/
Part -Time Sales Associates
Posted by: Asia Society
Type: Part-time
Location: New York, NY
Salary: DOE
Start date: Positions currently open.
The Asia Society and Museum, a prestigious non-profit cultural & educational institution, is looking for part-time Sales Associates for its store. The AsiaStore is a unique shop focusing on book and gift products related to Asia.
http://www.idealist.org/view/job/d4nm7HGt8dbD/
TOMODACHI Instructor
Posted by: AYUSA International
Type: Temporary/Contract
Location: San Francisco, CA
Salary: $1,500-$2,500 (based on experience). Teaching assistant positions may also be available. (Summer 2012)
Start date: April 27, 2012
AYUSA International is seeking individuals with experience teaching/mentoring youth in leadership development or related educational experiences this summer. Japanese language ability and experience/knowledge of Japanese culture a plus. 4-year degree required.
http://www.idealist.org/view/job/TgW3wk4SmH8d/
AJET launches iConnect app!
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AJET has launched its new iConnect app! In its own words:
This app was made to make your life in Japan easier and less stressful, whether you’re a JET Programme participant or just an English speaking foreign national living in Japan!
You’ll be reaching for your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch all the time, knowing that this convenient app has all the information you’ll need for useful resource information, ways to Connect to AJET for their magazine, news and peer support, as well as a variety of handy Japanese language tools and phrases that you’ll need on-the-go! You’ll also appreciate the retina graphics on iPhone, iPod Touch and the new iPad!
More info here: http://ajet.net/ios-app/
Job: Senior Program Assistant – Abe Fellowship Program, Japan Program (Tokyo Office) 04.19.12
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Thanks to JETAA NY member (JETAA NJ subchapter rep) Fernando Rojas for sharing the below job listing. Posted by Kay Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97).
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***Previously posted on JETwit but the search continues…
***Note: If you apply for this position, please let them know you learned of it from JETwit. Thanks.***
Job Position: Senior Program Assistant – Abe Fellowship Program, Japan Program (Tokyo Office)
Summary:
The SSRC seeks a Senior Program Assistant for its Tokyo office. This hire would be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Abe Fellowship Program under the supervision of the Program Manager in the Tokyo Office. The Abe Fellowship Program encourages international multidisciplinary research on topics of pressing global concern. The program fosters the development of a new generation of researchers interested in policy-relevant topics and willing to become key members of a bilateral and global research network. In partnership with the SSRC, the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership (CGP) established the Abe Fellowship Program as its flagship program in 1991. Read More
2013 Japanese Government Scholarships 04.19.12
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Via JETAA Pacific Northwest. Posted by Kay Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97).
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The Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle is now accepting applications for the following 2013 Japanese Government Scholarships for studying in Japan.
U.S. citizens living in the states of Washington, Montana, and Northern Idaho are eligible to apply at our office.
The application forms are available on our website at: http://www.seattle.us.emb-japan.go.jp/ Read More
I’ll Make It Myself!: Easy Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough (Bread Revolution Series)
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L.M. Zoller (CIR Ishikawa-ken, Anamizu, 2009-11) is the editor of The Ishikawa JET Kitchen: Cooking in Japan Without a Fight. A writer and web administrator for The Art of Japan: Kanazawa and Discover Kanazawa, ze also writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan, and curates The Rice Cooker Chronicles, a series of essays by JETs and JET alumni on the theme of cooking/eating and being alone in Japan.
New Rice Cooker Chronicles submissions always welcome. Just e-mail it to jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
One thing that always amazes me when I return to the US is the sheer amount of choice one has about food. Order a pizza in the US and you can usually choose whole-wheat or white crust (sometimes even gluten-free); thick or thin crust; marinara sauce or white sauce; any combination of toppings. With the sheer amount of kinds of pizzerias in towns like Ann Arbor–everything from national chains to Silvio’s organic pizza–the sky was the limit.
I know most of my posts start with me gushing about Ann Arbor, then complaining about Japan, then resolving into my resolution to make it myself, but going from choosing the tiniest details of my pizza to angrily eyeing the corn-and-mayo pizza on a rare trip to Coco’s actually wasn’t that shocking until I came back to the US on business in the winter.
Job: Postings from Idealist.org 4.17.12
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Via Idealist.org. Posted by Geneva Marie (Niigata-ken 2008-09) Geneva is a contributor to both JETwit and JETAANY. Geneva is on a continuous (epic) search for Japanese-related jobs in the United States. Hire me! :-)
Director of Communication and Development
Posted by: Polaris Project Japan
Type: Full-time
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Salary: Salary: 3,000,000～3,500,000 yen/year dependent on qualifications
Start date: Available Immediately
The Tokyo based Polaris Project is seeking a dedicated Director of Communication and Development to help raise awareness about human trafficking. Candidate must hold a Bachelor’s degree (MA preferred). Professional level fluency in Japanese and English required.
http://www.idealist.org/view/job/zwS9WWjtChSP/
Job: Part-time ESL Teacher position available (Seattle) 04.17.12
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Via Pacific Northwest JETAA. Posted by Kay Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97).
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Position: ESL Instructors
Posted by: Azumano International
Type: Part-time
Location: Seattle, WA
Salary: See below
Start Date: N/A
http://azumanointernational.com
Megan Woodward (CIR 2008-10, Sapporo, Japan) currently works for Azumano International, a small travel company in downtown Seattle that works with Japanese clients, including school groups. They have several programs coming this summer, more than in years past, and are sending out the call for part-time ESL instructors; JETAA members are encouraged to apply. Teachers are needed for 1 or 2 week periods from the beginning of August to mid-September.
Pay Rate: $25/classroom hour, $7/class day for materials reimbursement
Locations: UW campus or SPU campus
How to Apply: Send a resume to seattle.edu@azumano.com and they will schedule an interview.
JET alum wins “Japan Day @Central Park” poster contest
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Congratulations to Aaron Porter (ALT Kyoto-fu, Yawata-shi, 1998-2001), who is the 2012 winner of New York’s “Japan Day @Central Park“ poster contest!
From the JapanDayNYC.org website:
“Japan Day – Cherry Blossom Art Contest”
Contest Results
WINNER
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Japan’s gift of cherry trees to the New York City, Japan Day invited visual artists to submit artwork that featured the beautiful of both cherry trees and Central Park.
Thanks to all of your support, the art contest received total of 45 submissions. All Jurors will agree that, there were a number of impressive entries that made the selection process a challenge. In fact, the Judges also awarded 5 honorable mentions, in addition to choosing a winner.
We are delighted that we can now reveal the winner of the Japan Day Cherry Blossom Art Contest — Aaron Porter and his art work!
【Japan Day 2012 Official Poster Visual using Mr. Porter’s Art Work】
From Aaron’s profile on the Japan Day NYC website:
Aaron is originally from Chicago and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Scientific Illustration from Northern Illinois University. He began his career as a newspaper artist in South Florida in 1988 in a pre-digital world. Aaron first worked for the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, then the Miami Herald. While in South Florida, Aaron earned a MFA in painting at the University of Miami.
Shortly after finishing his course work, he was accepted into the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program the summer of 1998. He taught English in four junior high schools in Yawata City (Kyoto Prefecture) and still to this day considers it the most exciting three years of his life. While in Japan, he spent his spare time getting to know Japanese culture and painting. His paintings during this period were most often about Japanese culture. During his time in Japan, he had a painting exhibition at the Kyoto International Center in Kyoto Station as well as a number of other small shows in coffee houses and wherever he could get his work shown.
Aaron returned to the States the summer of 2001 and began his new career in newspapers at The Journal News in White Plains, New York. Presently, Aaron is a part-time digital art instructor at the Bronx Community College as well as a freelance graphic artist and illustrator.
Aaron is married to a Japanese woman from Fukuoka whom he met in New York City after he returned from Japan. They live in Up State New York, visit NYC often and travel to Japan each year to visit her family. Much to his wife’s disappointment he speaks very little Japanese.
An interesting article about how there really is no such thing as Kobe beef in the U.S., despite what restaurants and food shows tell you.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2012/04/12/foods-biggest-scam-the-great-kobe-beef-lie/
WIT Life #198: Japan’s Economic Woes
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WIT Life is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
Today’s New York Times features two article regarding Japan’s economic doldrums. The one from Martin Fackler talks about Japan’s decline as a manufacturer, and what direction the new course the country should take will be. The other by Hiroko Tabuchi discusses the fate of one of the manufacturers mentioned in Fackler’s article, Sony. Kazuo Hirai joined as the new CEO at the beginning of this month, and it remains to be seen what path he is planning to take the company on. Many commentators throughout say that Sony has failed to differentiate itself, and the article closes with the quote, “The tarnish on their brand has definitely begun.” Happy reading!
Surviving in Japan: The Ultimate Guide to Reading Food Labels
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Posted by Ashley Thompson (Shizuoka-ken, 2008-2010) of Surviving in Japan: without much Japanese and Lifelines columnist for The Japan Times.
When I first came to Japan, attempting to read food labels and understand what things were and what was IN what I was buying and eating was a huge obstacle. I could read hiragana, katakana and some kanji, but the majority of the food labels were confusing and I spent extensive amounts of time at the supermarket, smartphone in hand with a Japanese-English dictionary open, trying to decipher ingredients and information. I’d also use the smartphone app, ShinKanji, to search for various kanji and words I couldn’t read.
The work paid off, and though now I can’t read every single Japanese word without consulting a J-E dictionary or looking up certain kanji, I can usually quickly scan most labels to find what I want to know.
A guide to reading food labels in Japan is also one of the most popular post topic requests I’ve received. It’s something most of us struggle with when we first arrive, and I’d imagine even some of those who are fluent may not have known every word or kanji at first. Deciphering Japanese food labels, the entirety of them anyway, isn’t particularly easy, but I’ve attempted to break them down for you here. Note that I have not covered various ingredients aside from common allergens, as that’s something to cover in a separate post (or more than one). This one is already long!
I should note that food labels in Japan aren’t always consistent, as you’ll see below, and although, for example, you’ll usually see information about the total calories, protein, fat, carbohydrates and similar main nutrients, you won’t always see much about other minerals or vitamins (though things like fortified cereals, breads, etc., often list these).
I’ve also tried to include a variety of words you’ll see, but some terms/phrases are worded slightly different, although the meaning is generally the same, e.g., “賞味期限” and “消費期限” both mean “best before; best eaten by” or the expiration date.
Also note that throughout the post I have not broken down kanji and words as I normally do – instead, the vocabulary charts break them down, so please reference the charts for a breakdown. (You can also use the “find” feature on your browser and copy/paste a word you want to see in the chart to find it quickly.)
So let’s get on with it: how do you read food labels in Japan?
— CLICK HERE for the following:
Japanese Food Label Vocabulary Chart
Japanese Nutritional Information Vocabulary Chart
How to Understand the Nutritional Information List on a Food Label
How to Understand the Rest of the Food Label
How to Read Food Labels on Imported Goods
Meat and Seafood Labels
Fruit and Vegetable Labels
Allergy Information on Food Labels
"The author's final thoughts about his stay in Japan struck a chord with me. Though many people seek adventures in foreign lands, if they stay in one place long enough, they often find it's the people they befriended that end up meaning the most to them upon their departure." (Baka Books)
By Tim Martin (Fukui-ken, 2006-08) for JQ magazine. Tim works as a research assistant in a neuroscience lab, and is an avid swing and blues dancer in New York City. He runs a humanist/atheist blog, The Floating Lantern, and is looking for ways to make a difference in people’s lives.
Fukui is a rural, out-of-the-way prefecture, relatively unfamiliar even to the Japanese. It boasts the largest number of nuclear reactors in the country, but only a single Starbucks. It’s home to a Buddha statue larger than the one in Nara, which, curiously, very few tourists come to visit. Fukui also has an amusing reputation for getting terrible reviews from authors who’ve passed through—in his book Hitching Rides with Buddha (aka Hokkaido Highway Blues), fellow JET alumni author Will Ferguson (Nagasaki-ken, 1991-94) describes it, only half-jokingly, as “a hole.”
So it’s an interesting place.
It’s also where Sam Baldwin (Fukui-ken, 2004-06) ended up when he applied to teach English in Japan as a member of the JET Program. In For Fukui’s Sake, Baldwin recounts tales from his two-year stay in this quirky rural backwater, weaving together the varied strands of his experience to form a continuous narrative of adventure and personal growth.
While working a monotonous job as a “research lab technician” in the UK, Baldwin decided he needed to broaden his horizons. Looking to discover what else life could offer, he set his sights on Japan, which, according to a friend who had visited, was a place where Baldwin could indulge in his love of snow and mountains. This may be a casual way to make the decision to start a new job in a strange country, but the required spontaneity and openness to new experiences may be what ultimately allowed the author to glean so much from his time in Japan.
Job: Asian Art Museum – Membership Sales Assistant (San Francisco) 04.14.12
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Via the Foundation Center. Posted by Kay Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97).
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Position: Membership Sales Assistant
Posted by: The Foundation Center
Type: N/A
Location: San Francisco, California
Salary: $13.91
Start Date: N/A
http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/jobs/job_item.jhtml?id=263000003
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Provide membership information to members and potential members
- Assist current members with admission
- Resolve problems and potential problems calmly and professionally
- Proactively explain membership categories and benefits to potential members in a clear and engaging manner
- Answer inquiries from visitors on the benefits of membership
- Perform monetary transactions for membership and ticket sales accurately
- Assist other admissions staff as needed with membership questions
- Assist with clerical duties and membership event preparation
Apply online at http://bitly.com/HRAUbu
Send a letter of interest and resume ASAP to:
HUMAN RESOURCES
Asian Art Museum
200 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
FAX: 415.861.2359
