WIT Life #197: DC Sakura Matsuri, Part 2
Art, Food & Drink, Travel/Tourism, WIT Life, Writers 
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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 is the big parade to celebrate the centennial sakura matsuri, but unfortunately all the blooms are long gone. However, the festival goes through the end of the month, so for those who find themselves in DC there are plenty of Japan-related activities to keep you entertained. I had a chance to sample many of them this week, the first of which I’d recommend being the National Geographic Museum’s samurai exhibit running through early September.
It shares the history of how the now legendary cherry trees made their way to DC, as well as displays unique items such as swords and armor that were gifted from Read More
Report on the Invitation Programme for JET Alumni to Disaster Stricken Areas in Tohoku
Earthquake Tsunami, Notable JET Alums, Return on JET-vestment, Travel/Tourism Comments Off on Report on the Invitation Programme for JET Alumni to Disaster Stricken Areas in Tohoku
Below is the text of the report on the Invitation Program for JET Alumni to Disaster Stricken Areas in Tohoku (aka Return to Tohoku) where MOFA assesses the results and impact of the program. A very interesting read! Twenty JET alumni who had previously worked in Tohoku were selected from a pool of over 60 applicants to spend a week pursuing their proposed itineraries. Each participant was also asked to write about their experience in various media and formats.
- Click here for a PDF version of the report (which contains some images and graphs that I wasn’t able to copy over from the Word version).
- Click here to read some of the participants’ “Return to Tohoku” blog posts that appeared on JETwit.
A few interesting highlights from the report:
- Number of participants broken down by home country: U.S.: 9; Australia: 4; China: 4; Canada: 2; U.K.: 1
- Number of participants broken down by place visited: Iwate: 7; Miyagi: 6; Fukushima: 6; Sendai-City: 1
Comment on JETAA from the Conclusions section of the report:
[T]he recruitment of participants was conducted through the JETAA regional Chapters, and thus it was confirmed once more that in being able to obtain active cooperation from each of the JETAA regional chapters, JETAA is an instrumental cooperator in implementing Japan’s diplomatic policies and measures.
Sample feedback from one of the host organizations:
School Planning Section, Board of Education, City of Ninohe, Iwate Prefecture
This program was a very welcome one indeed. Not only did the former JET Programme participant succeed in interacting with his former students, but he also brought with him from the U.S. a thousand origami cranes and messages of encouragement, by which we knew that other countries are supporting the people affected by the disaster. The participant sent out information on his web page and elsewhere regarding the culture of the city of Ninohe and regarding Kunohe Castle and he also provided advice concerning how to interact with participants from overseas. The participant was proficient in Japanese and arranged his schedule by himself using Japanese and we appreciate the fact that no burdens were placed upon the host side.
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Click “Read More” to read the full report below.
Report on the Invitation Programme for JET Alumni
to Disaster Stricken Areas in Tohoku Read More
Job: Postings from Idealist.org 4.12.12
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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! :-)
Program Manager (Fluent in Japanese)
Posted by: Cultural Vistas
Type: Full-time
Location: Columbia, MD
Salary: Competitive (includes benefits package)
Start date: April 16, 2012
Cultural Vistas is looking for a high energy, creative yet organized and detail-oriented person to be responsible for a newly designed program with Japan. The ideal candidate will have experience with both American and Japanese business and education cultures. Japanese proficiency desired.
http://www.idealist.org/view/job/W22HdfCNw4bD/
JETAA Southern California fundraiser aids Smile Kids Japan efforts to support children orphaned by 3/11 disaster
Earthquake Tsunami, Fundraising, JETAA Chapters, Return on JET-vestment Comments Off on JETAA Southern California fundraiser aids Smile Kids Japan efforts to support children orphaned by 3/11 disaster
Via JETAA Southern California:
THANKS to everyone who came to the JETAASC fundraiser to benefit orphans of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami!! Your efforts helped to raise over $800 for Smile Kids Japan, the organization founded by JET alum Mike Maher-King (Fukui-ken, 2006-11). The support is heartfelt and the cause is completely a result of JET Program Participants’ efforts. If you wanted to come but could not make it, you can read more about Smile Kids Japan and how to donate here.
Jobs: Admin Asst and Internships @ The Laurasian Institution (Seattle, WA) 04.09.12
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Via Pacific Northwest JETAA. Posted by Kay Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97).
____________________________________________________________
Positions: Administrative Assistant, Internship, Local Coordinators
Posted by: The Laurasian Institution
Type: Fill-time and part-time
Location: Seattle, WA
Salary: NA
Start date: NA
Jobs: Advertising Sales (Jackson Heights, NY) 04.09.12
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Thanks to Rick Lin, Asian Fusion Magazine, for this posting. Posted by Kay Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97).
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Position: Advertising Sales
Posted by: Asian Fusion Magazine
Type: Full-time
Location: Jackson Heights, NY
Salary: NA
Start date: NA
WWW.ASIANFUSIONMAG.COM
Responsibilities:
1. Assist Editor-in-chief with correspondence to clients, potential clients, and other organizations, businesses,
etc.
2. Represent Asian Fusion Magazine at business-related functions and events
3. Drive advertising revenue through maintaining client relations and introducing new clients, including but not
limited to, getting signed contract, coordinate with team to complete editorial (ie. interview, photography).
4. Submit daily report detailing any and all activities and functions related to Asian Fusion Magazine Read More
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.
I’m down in DC to begin a new business trip, and was thrilled when I found out my assignment would coincide with the famous Sakura Matsuri. This year is extra special as it marks the 100th anniversary since the 3000+ trees were gifted from Japan to the U.S. Even the Metro gets into the spirit, as you can see with their turnstile decorations. Due to the warm weather it is doubtful that the blossoms will last until the conclusion of the festival at the end of the month, but I’m hoping to do some hanami while I’m here.
On another Japa
n-related note, today I went to see an interesting exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery entitled “Asian American Portraits of Encounter.” It features several different Asian American artists, including three Japanese. One is Satomi Shirai based in New York, the second is Shizu Saldamando based in California, and the last is Roger Shimomura based in Read More
Job: Postings from Idealist.org 4.7.12
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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! :-)
__________________________________________________________________________
Type: Full-time
Location: New Dehli, India
Salary: DOE
Start date: Not Specified
International education program Room to Read is seeking a candidate with a background in Architecture or Civil Engineering for it’s New Dehli location. Experience living abroad in Asia preferred.
http://www.idealist.org/view/job/NJzzWHtHHDFP/
Division Director II
Posted by: Institute of International Education
Type: Full-time
Location: New York, NY
Salary: DOE
Start Date: June 2012
The Institute of International Education is looking to hire a director for their Student Programs Division in New York City. This position requires overseeing Fulbright (as well as non-Fulbright) US Student programs. Masters degree and at least 5-10 years of related experience required.
http://www.idealist.org/view/job/k7bZC2gfPTBD/
Program Finance Associates
Posted by: The Asia Foundation
Type: Full-time
Location: San Francisco, CA
Salary: DOE
Application Deadline: April 30, 2012
The Asia Foundation (TAF) is seeking two Program Finance Associates at their San Francisco branch. Bachelor’s degree required, a candidate with an analytical or quantitative background is preferred (economics, finance, business, etc).
http://www.idealist.org/view/job/6FdGgKPWCdw4/
JQ Magazine: Life after JET – The Employment Conundrum
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Geneva enjoying hanami in Hakusan Kouen, Niigata, 2009.
By Geneva Marie (Niigata-ken, 2008-09) for JQ magazine. Geneva works as an account manager in the vast Great Plains a.k.a. Omaha, Nebraska and is a (sometimes) contributor to JETwit. Contact Geneva at geneva [dot] sarni [at] gmail [dot] com and visit her on LinkedIn.
It’s 8 a.m. on a chilly morning in December and I’m sitting at my desk in a thoroughly nondescript building located on the edge of Omaha, Nebraska’s suburban sprawl. I’m checking my interoffice e-mail and yielding phone calls—typical cube-rat chores. I’ve got my coffee and my Spotify, and oh right, I’m writing this article during my downtime. When I think about my daily routine, I realize that it’s a far cry from what I was doing two and a half years ago when I was teaching English to elementary and middle school students in rural northern Japan on the JET Program.
Like everyone who returns from living abroad, I found myself suffering from the typical culture shock and malaise. However, the readjustment to regular life, a regular job, and a regular me—the life I had before my time on JET—has been a continuous uphill battle. It’s been a very trying two years, a strange journey that has somehow left me feeling isolated and worlds away from my former home in Japan, taking me to a place I never thought I’d end up in. Not to mention feeling like I will never get the chance to work in a Japan-related field anytime soon.
My story begins in the frozen metropolis of Minneapolis, where as a 24-year-old, non-traditional student I reenrolled in college at the University of Minnesota as an Asian studies major (emphasis in Japanese, of course). Admittedly, I wasn’t the best Japanese student. I was older than most of my peers and thus (I felt), at a disadvantage. I struggled through two years of language learning before deciding at 26 to embark on my first trip out of the country—a study abroad in Tokyo. It was a life-altering experience for me and probably the most expensive thing I have ever done. It was so life-changing that I often look back at life in my twenties as “before and after Japan.”
New JETAA USA Country Representatives Announced
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Via Jessyca Wilcox, one of JETAA USA’s three outgoing Country Representatives. This was originally posted by Jessyca to the JETAA USA email list:
As my second year as JETAA US Country Representative comes to a close I wanted to thank all of you for your support and participation in the JETAA community. It has been an absolute joy and incredibly fulfilling experience to serve in this way. I think the goals that got accomplished and the initiatives that were put into place have all been great successes.
Although I am stepping down as Country Rep, with the establishment of the new JETAA USA Bylaws, we will have a JETAA USA Board of Advisors as of this year. I am hoping to continue to work on projects and initiatives in that capacity. I will be turning over my email address to one of the incoming Country Reps tomorrow. As I am still interested in working on JETAA projects, please use my work email address to contact me from hereon out: jet.program.denver@gmail.com If we establish email addresses for our Board of Advisors, I will certainly update you.
The incoming US Country Reps are as follows:
- Christina Omori from New England JETAA
- Jennifer Butler from Music City JETAA
- Melissa Chan from JETAA Northern California
The talents and skill sets these women bring to the organization will be extremely beneficial to the organization! Outgoing Country Reps are ensuring that the transition goes smoothly and are assisting in the appointment of the newly established JETAA USA Advisory Board. Outgoing Country Representatives are:
- Jessyca Wilcox from Rocky Mountain JETAA (CR 2010-2012)
- Megan Miller-Yoo from JETAA New York (CR 2011-12)
- Mike Shu from JETAA Northern California (CR 2011-12)
(They intend to retire to a remote beach in the Pacific islands where drinks with umbrellas in them are plentiful.)
Thank you again for all your support and I look forward to continuing to work with you all in my capacity as a member of the JETAA USA Board of Advisors.
Best,
Jessyca Wilcox
JETAA USA Country Representative (outgoing)
www.jetaausa.com
Job: Research and Data Analyst (CA) 04.05.12
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Via Foundation Center. Posted by Kay Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97).
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Position: Research and Data Analyst
Posted by: Foundation Center
Type: Full-time
Location: San Francisco, California
Salary: N/A
Start Date: N/A
http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/jobs/job_item.jhtml?id=345800011
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Prospect Research
- Research, analyze, and recommend strategy for new individual, foundation, and corporate prospects and for new opportunities with existing donors and prospects.
- Create and maintain profiles, briefing memos, and other materials needed for cultivation and stewardship activities.
- Input into Raiser’s Edge database the results of research, including contact information, research profiles, and prospect interests.
- Identify and manage subscriptions to online services, magazines, and other research tools.
- Provide training to staff in the use of research databases along with methodology as needed.
Gift Tracking and Budget Management
- Track gifts in Raiser’s Edge and hard files. Conduct quarterly reconciliation with Financial Services.
- Aid the Resource Development unit in the donor acknowledgment process and donor follow-up activities.
- Maintain electronic and hard copy donor and prospect files, including timely and accurate data entry.
- Run financial, analytical, and other gift-related reports and queries on a scheduled basis and as requested.
- Assist in management of department budget. Read More
Job: Japanese Culture and Language Teachers (two orientation sessions) 04.04.12
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Via Youth For Understanding. Posted by Kay Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97).
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Position: Japanese Culture and Language Teacher
Posted by: YFU USA
Type: Temporary
Location:
Salary: N/A
Start Date: N/A
Details:
YFU is recruiting for Japanese Culture and Language Teachers to work with American students during their Pre-Departure orientation before going on a summer exchange program to Japan .
The Japanese Culture and Language Teacher, a paid contract position with YFU, teaches a group of approximately 10-15 American students about Japanese culture, Japanese language, and about the cultural exchange experience in order to prepare them for their exchange to Japan. The program, administered by Youth For Understanding USA (YFU USA ) fosters critical intercultural skills and prepares young people for their responsibilities in a global society.Dates:
On site staff training: June 8-9 and June 14
Student Orientations: June 10-13 and June 15-18
Job: Freelance legal/financial translators 04.04.12
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Via Geotext Translations. Posted by Kay Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97).
———————————————————————————————————
***Note: If you apply for this position, please let them know you learned of it from JETwit. Thanks.***
Job Position: Freelance legal/financial translators (both J<E and E>J)
Location: Europe, Asia, and the United States
Salary:N/A
Hour: N/A
Description:
Geotext Translations, a legal/financial translation company is seeking highly competent freelance Japanese to English and English to Japanese translators.
Geotext Translations was established in New York in 1997 and currently has offices in Europe, Asia, and the United States. We work daily with leading law firms and corporations and are extremely selective in our recruitment, contracting exclusively with experienced, highly skilled linguists. Our commitment to relationship management with our ICs is steadfast and well documented—we guarantee payment within 30 days and often have payment processed within 2 weeks.
Additional information is available on our ProZ blueboard at http://www.proz.com/blueboard/3856 and our website at www.geotext.com.
Justin’s Japan: April in New York Attracts Japan-Centric Music, Performing Arts
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Ximena Garnica performs in ‘Floating Point Waves’ at New York's HERE April 6-14. (Shige Moriya)
By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02). Visit his Examiner.com page here for related stories.
As the sakura (cherry trees) blossom in the Big Apple, so does the sheer amount of Japanese talent in music and performing arts coming to Manhattan this month. Here are some highlights guaranteed to appeal to audiophiles of all stripes.
April 6-14, 8:30 p.m.
‘Floating Point Waves’
A performance experience of dance, real-time video, live electronic music, kinetic sculptures and meditative stillness, Floating Point Waves unveils the relationship between the human body and natural elements. This HERE Artist Residency Program (HARP) production plays for 8 performances
Conceived and designed by Ximena Garnica (a Colombia-born graduate of the Akira Kasai Tenshikan Dance Institute in Tokyo) and Shige Moriya (a Japanese-born video and installation artist) in collaboration with Jeremy D. Slater and Solomon Weisbard, Floating Point Waves stars Garnica in a place where movement, water, and light respond to one another as an organic causal chain unfolds, echoing that of our own natural world. Startling performance and exquisite design reverberate through the space, framing a landscape where beauty coexists with darkness.
April 10, 8:00 and 10:30 p.m.
Hiromi
Nearly a decade after her Telarc debut album Another Mind (which won the Recording Industry Association of Japan’s Jazz Album of the Year Award), global superstar pianist Hiromi Uehara has been enchanting New York audiences ever since, with high profile appearances at the Blue Note Jazz Club, Highline Ballroom and Carnegie Hall. At 33 and with nearly a decade of tremendous accolades to her name, the Hamamatsu native stands at the threshold of limitless possibility.
WIT Life #195: Jiro Dreams of Sushi
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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.
This weekend I finally had the chance to see the much-hyped documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi. It made a splash at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival and had been on my radar ever since, so I was happy to see it playing at local theaters (currently at IFC Center, Lincoln Plaza Cinema and Kew Gardens Cinema). Director David Gelb is a New Yorker who has loved sushi since he was a kid, and his film faithfully follows 85-year-old sushi chef Jiro Ono, proprietor of the renowned restaurant Sukiyabashi Jiro. Its humble location inside the Ginza subway station belies Read More
