I’ll Make It Myself: “Halloween Taste-Testing: Starbucks Japan Autumn Menu 2012”
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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 Travel (formerly The Art of Japan: Kanazawa & 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.
Starbucks Crunchy Caramel Latte and Pumpkin Muffin
One thing I love about living in Japan is trying the seasonal sweets and drinks in cafes, conbini, and grocery stores. “Seasonal food” is partially the function of the availability of the harvest, such as a café’s changing the menu from summer blueberry cake to fall fig tarts for desserts; however, part of “seasonal food” is more related to cultural perceptions of seasons and their associated foods: Pepsi’s Salty Watermelon soda and Pocky’s and other company’s mint flavors for summer probably had less to do with available ingredients and more to do with the collective consciousness of what are summer flavors; Candy Corn Oreos come from a desire for Halloween food, not from the candy corn harvest.
I love Halloween and autumn, and with more companies in Japan creating Halloween flavors or packages for their products, I’ve decided to do a series on taste-testing these products.
Internship: Researcher Fuji TV – Central London
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Via JETAA UK. Posted by Kay Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
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Position: Researcher
Posted by: Fuji TV
Type: Intern (One month fixed term)
Location: London, UK
Salary: N/A
Start Date: ASAP
Overview:
Japan’s largest commercial broadcaster is looking for a self-driven, motivated researcher for a minimum one month fixed-term intern starting as soon as possible. You will receive valuable real-life work experience in a fast-paced news office with a world-famous company in the media.
Due to the nature of breaking news, we have a flexible approach to working hours, however a normal working week as well as some weekend or evening work may also be required.
Please contact vanessa@fci-london.com with a copy of your CV as soon as possible, including all relevant work experience. Interviews are on-going, so please include information of when you are available for a one hour interview in our central London office (ASAP – this week preferable) and your earliest possible starting date.
Email: vanessa@fci-london.com
http://www.jetaa.org.uk/jobs/research-intern/
I’ll Make It Myself: “Spaghetti-Squash Okonomiyaki”
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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 Travel (formerly The Art of Japan: Kanazawa & 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.
While on my squash spree last month, I picked up a spaghetti squash, which has a great name in Japanese, too: soumen kabocha (そうめんかぼちゃ), like soumen noodles, or kinshiuri (金糸瓜), “golden thread squash.” This was my first time cooking this type of squash, and I had no idea what to do with it. First, I tried eating it like spaghetti and made a tomato sauce for it. It wasn’t bad, just unimpressive, though my husband thought it was some sort of Italian-seasoned coleslaw (I don’t even) for the lentil burgers I had also made.
His mistake, while tasty, didn’t solve my problem for what to do with the rest of the squash. My searches of all the blogs, cookbooks, and cooking sites I use didn’t turn up much in the way of other recipes that I felt like eating and I didn’t have the time to hit or budget the store for more ingredients. Maybe I’d use it in a “leftovers” food like stir-fry, or–great idea #1–okonomiyaki. Without any cabbage, which I rarely have in stock, I hit on great idea #2: forget the cabbage, the squash would be the vegetable base.
I’ll Make It Myself: Kitchen Library – 9.24.2012
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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 Travel (formerly The Art of Japan: Kanazawa & 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.
Welcome, new subscribers! I seem to have jumped from 20 email subscribers to 90 over the last week. I would love it if you commented to tell me how you found this blog and what kind of content most interests you–recipes? restaurant reviews? rants? Thank you for reading!
JETAA Northern California announces 2012 Scholarship Winner
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Milo Barisof (front right) celebrates winning the 2012 JETAANC scholarship with his parents, Steven and Bonnie, and JET Alumni John Dzida and Johanna Wee. (Photo by JETAA NC.)
Via the JETAA Northern California website. FYI, ten years ago JETAA Northern California created a scholarship for students who demonstrate interest in Japan’s language and culture.
The JET Alumni Association of Northern California recently awarded its annual scholarship to Milo Barisof, a graduate of Alternative Family Education, an independent home study program in Santa Cruz, CA.
Throughout his high school career, Milo pursued his passion for Japanese language and culture while maintaining a demanding course load. His years of diligent practice were apparent when Milo was awarded first place at the 38th annual Japanese Speech Contest, sponsored by the Consulate-General of Japan in San Francisco. In addition to his academic achievements, Milo is an accomplished violinist, who performed throughout high school with the Santa Cruz County Youth Symphony.
“Milo’s love of the Japanese language and his passion for learning is very apparent,” said Johanna Wee, JETAANC board member. “Given Milo’s work ethic and drive, I am confident he will achieve everything he sets out to do in life.”
Milo entered Pomona College in Claremont, CA this fall. He plans to major in Japanese.
The JETAANC scholarship is awarded to students who demonstrate an interest in Japan’s language and culture. Applicants are evaluated on academic accomplishments, extracurricular activities, personal essays and letters of recommendation. The scholarship is in its 10th year.
JQ Magazine: Book Review – ‘Salvation of a Saint’
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“The detectives in ‘Salvation’ are in constant motion, interrogating suspects, racking their brains for a break in the case. Insomniacs, they observe, question and theorize with an obsessive resolve, as good fictional crime detectives are apt to do.” (St. Martin’s Press)
By Sharona Moskowitz (Fukuoka-ken, 2000-01) for JQ magazine. Sharona is interested in fresh, new voices in fiction and creative nonfiction.
(Click image for an exclusive sample from the audiobook)
With more twists and turns than a mountain route through the Japanese Alps, Keigo Higashino’s latest murder mystery Salvation of a Saint is a seamless, well-constructed suspense novel with all the elements of a classic murder mystery, though he adds considerable fizz to the formula with a few unconventional characters and a very unlikely murder technique.
Yoshitaka is the unfortunate victim, poisoned early on in the story by arsenic laced coffee which he drinks with tepid oblivion. Despite being offed so soon, throughout the novel we learn quite a bit about him as his character is constructed in fragments that piece together to tell the story of his life.
And what an unsavory fellow indeed.
Narcissistic, duplicitous and with a chauvinistic tendency to view women solely in terms of their reproductive potential, Yoshitaka is not terribly likeable, to put it mildly. During the time of his murder he was in the process of leaving his wife Ayane because of her inability to bear him a child, a fact which he states openly with unabashed grandiosity. He was also, conveniently for the plot, in the midst of an affair with Ayane’s trusted confidant and apprentice Hiromi.
So whodunit? Was it a crime of passion committed by one of Yoshitaka’s jilted lovers past or present? Perhaps a jealous colleague? Or were Ayane and Hiromi secretly in cahoots?
Job: Postings from Idealist.org 9.28.12
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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. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
Program Specialist/Asian Programs
Posted by: Cultural Vistas
Type: Full-time
Location: Columbia, MD
Salary: $15 p/h
Start Date: October 1, 2012
Cultural Vistas is seeking a Program Specialist (contract position) in its Columbia, MD. office to support in the administration of its Exchange Visitor Programs. The job is 6-8 month contract position.
http://www.idealist.org/view/job/wTPFGZ3kxBfP/
Program Coordinator
Posted by: Japan Society of Northern California
Type: Full-time
Location: San Francisco, CA
Salary: DOE
Start Date: October 15, 2012
The Japan Society of Northern California (JSNC) is seeking a Program Coordinator to with the president and the program Committee to develop long-range programming goals and implement strategies and processes for achieving those goals. 1-2+ years of professional event planning/coordination experience required; nonprofit experience and/or experience working with nonprofit boards preferred. Knowledge of Japan and Japan-related issues is a plus.
http://www.idealist.org/view/job/ps2bzxN3WgBD/
IGES Researchers
Posted by: Institute for Global Environmental Strategies
Type: Full-time
Location: Kanagawa, Japan
Salary: DOE
Application Deadline: October 1, 2012
The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies is recruiting for several research positions which require business level Japanese language skills. Master’s degree also required.
http://www.idealist.org/view/job/msjwXZ644fsP/
Office Manager
Posted by: Japan Society of Northern California
Type: Full-time
Location: San Francisco, CA
Salary: DOE
Start Date: From September 25, 2012
The Japan Society of Northern California (JSNC) is seeking an Office Manager to assist the president and the board of directors and achieve this mission by providing administrative and logistical support to facilitate smooth office and financial management. Minimum two years administrative experience, with bachelor’s degree or higher.
http://www.idealist.org/view/job/XmZHS4W4TbfP/
ICT Systems Associate
Posted by: United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies
Type: Full-time/Contracted
Location: Yokohama, Japan
Salary: 370,000 to 500,000 JPY (DOE)
Application Deadline: October 26, 2012
UNU-IAS is seeking an ICT Systems Associate who will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the entire ICT system and user support services of the Institute. A Bachelor of Science or equivalent Degree from a recognized university in Computer Science, Information Technology, Informatics, Engineering or a related field. Knowledge of Japanese and United Nations official languages would be an asset.
Transitions 2012: Opportunities Forum and Networking Expo
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Via Pacific Northwest JETAA Posted by Kay Monroe (Miyazaki–shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
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Hey JET Alums,
Transitions 2012 is in two days! A couple reasons to come:
•New presentations. Rob Uy and Steven Joiner (see bios here) will be giving a brand new presentation together this year. Rob has over 18 years of experience in HR and Steven is a national workforce expert. What do you get when you add them together? I’m not sure, but it is surely something great.
•Get LinkedIn. Ryan Hart’s presentation will be on personal and professional branding. He’ll be zeroing in on LinkedIn, showing how to take the JET experience and apply it (and you) to LinkedIn.
•Financial Guidance. Beckie Faught, who works for Waddell and Reed, will be doing a presentation on personal finances. She presented for the first time at Transitions last year and people raved about the session. Come back for round number two.
•Break out sessions. Two panel sessions – education and general topics. The breadth and depth of our panelists’ backgrounds is impressive. We have professors, publishers, translators, designers, teachers, and international advisers. Some of panelists have their own companies, and others work for companies like Nintendo, Amazon, and more.
•Networking Expo. We have 15 vendors coming. Great chance to network and get to know the different volunteer and job opportunities out there!
Oh yeah, lunch will be on us. And after all of this greatness, we’ll be heading to the Duchess Tavern for refreshments, relaxation, and hours of happiness.
Join us. Register here. See you Saturday.
Transitions 2012 Coordinators,
Brett Rawson + Lynn Miyauchi
Job: Program Officer II – Institute for International Education (NYC)
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Via The Foundation Center. Posted by Kay Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
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Position: Program Officer II
Posted by: Institute of International Education (IIE)
Type: Full-time
Location: New York, NY
Salary: N/A
Start Date: N/A
http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/jobs/job_item.jhtml?id=313800003
Purpose of Position:
Manages grants programs in the division, including the Bellagio Center Programs and Competitions and Travel and Learning Fund. Work is carried out independently under general supervision.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. IIE may add, change, or remove essential and other duties at any time:
•Responsible for complying with applicable contract and sponsor requirements and following all IIE policies and procedures
Bellagio Program Management:
•Manage the completion process; reviewing, processing and organizing completed applications; managing inquiries from candidates; establishing selection committees and preparing application materials for their review, facilitating their meetings and other related activities; maintaining Fellows’ data in database.
•Liaise with the Rockefeller Foundation to manage the Bellagio Center Resident Fellows and the Bellagio Creative Arts Fellows Program.
•Responsible for expanding international outreach for the program – work includes collaboration with IIE’s International Offices to implement a solid recruiting plan in their region and proactive networking with experts in various programmatic areas.
•Provide assistance to applicants by maintaining the Bellagio Application Resource Center on the web and hosting online information sessions about the application process. Host webinars to recruit applicants and provide information about successful applications.
•Periodically write and submit program status and summary reports. Read More
The Fall 2012 JETAA Ottawa Newsletter available now!
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*******Posted by Gemma Villanueva (Fukushima-ken, 2008-11), current editor of the JETAA Ottawa Newsletter. As always, we would love to have your thoughts incorporated into our quarterly newsletter. Drop us a line on Twitter, Facebook or e-mail newsletter[at]jetaaottawa[dot]ca. There is still time before our winter issue is released in December!
Download your copy of the Fall 2012 issue of the JETAA Ottawa Newsletter (868 KB, .PDF)
Please check out our latest issue! Learn more about our upcoming events, such as the networking evening in November and free autumn Japanese lessons for alumni. Brace yourself for the chilly weather, and discover Fukushima’s slopes as described by a fellow alumnus. And read about other events that JETAA Ottawa has held in the community over the summer.
2012 Kitadaito Festival Day 1
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Posted by Benjamin Martin, a 5th year JET in Okinawa, publisher of the blog MoreThingsJapanese.com and author of the fantasy novel Samurai Awakening (Tuttle).
Every year on September 22 and 23 Kitadaito Village celebrates its largest Festival. These dates mark the beginning of autumn. Kitadaito, also known as north Borodino island, is a place of 12sq kilometers 320 kilometers east of the Okinawan mainland. It is unique in that it was settled by residents of Hachijo Island (near Tokyo) but is part of Okinawa Prefecture. Over the past 100 years the island has become a unique chanpuru (mix) of both cultures.
After graduating from the University of Arizona, I spent three years living and teaching on Kitadaito, and returned this year after more than a year on Kumejima. It was great to re-experience old memories and make new ones as the festival has changed since my time there. Watch the accompanying video for a chance to experience a few bits from this truly unique day.
Read more about the Kitadaito Festival on Ben’s blog — MoreThingsJapanese.com
I’ll Make It Myself: Earth Café (Veg* Out in Kanazawa 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 Travel (formerly The Art of Japan: Kanazawa & 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 L.M. at jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
Earth Café (アースカフェ)
Location: Kanazawa City, Ishikawa pref.
Type: Café, Lunch
Veg Status: Completely vegan
Languages: Japanese, English (bilingual menus and staff)
To put it simply, Earth Café gets vegan food right. Despite enjoying cooking vegan food at home, I am often wary of it in restaurants. Just because it’s vegan doesn’t mean it’s healthy– particularly in light of some of the sugar/margarine bombs out there in the world of vegan desserts. (Readers may remember this sentiment from various iterations of “13 Things Your Barista Won’t Tell You,” which floated around the internet in the late ’00s.)
Hiroshima JET’s “The Wide Island View” – 09.25.12
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From The Wide Island View, the JET Program Webzine of Hiroshima Prefecture:
Have you wondered what happens to JETs after they are, well, JETs? Jackie hunted down ex-JET Greg Beck to ask him what life holds after five years in Japan and how to make the most of the experience. Read all about it at Where Are They Now? JET Alum Greg Beck.
Now the weather has cooled down, are you looking to get some exercise? What about an excuse to catch up with friends? Or a chance to travel Japan? If any of those ideas motivate you, read Maire’s article, Kure Shipheads Touch Rugby Team – Don’t let the ship sail without you!
We hope you are enjoying the cooler temperatures. Make the most of the lovely weather to travel and socialise – check out old articles for lots of inspiration! Remember we update the site every two weeks and we have a forum up and running. Enjoy!
Charly & Emily
I’ll Make It Myself!: How to Bake Cookies in the Oven Range and Mini Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies Recipe
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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 Travel (formerly The Art of Japan: Kanazawa & 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.
Food homesickness is the plague of not just expats but those who move from region to region– for example, Homesick Texan is a food blog about recreating Texan/TexMex cuisine in New York. The way the author writes about food memories and the problems recreating beloved foods when you can’t always find ingredients really resonates with me as a foodie and expat.
Last week, one of my friends from language school who has also moved to Japan for work commented that he would kill for a decent oatmeal raisin cookie.
JQ Magazine: JQ&A with The Inaka Founder Chris Allison
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“Japan’s inaka offers something completely different. In the inaka you can find nature restaurants, shops, and people that will do a much better job representing a different culture and a different experience—an experience you can only get in Japan.”
By Sarah Rogers-Tanner (Kyoto-fu, 2009-11) for JQ magazine. Sarah hails from Afton, Minnesota and learned a thing or two about the inaka in her small town of Ujitawara, located in the mountains outside of Kyoto City. While there, Sarah taught students ages 2-15 and is now pursuing her master’s degree in elementary inclusive education at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Chris Allison (Oita-ken, 2009-12) is a recent JET returnee who spent three years teaching at both an academic high school, as well as a rural, agricultural school. Originally from a small town in Indiana, Chris studied international business and Chinese at Bethel College and began studying Japanese while on JET. Though he is in the U.S. for the time being, Chris hopes to soon be back in Asia again, this time teaching English in Beijing.
Over the past few years, Chris noticed the need for a website that, as opposed to focusing on the prefecture as a whole, exhibits what each town in Japan has to offer. Chris founded The Inaka so that foreigners living in Japan can share pictures and information about their towns for future generations of ALTs and tourists alike. Chris hopes to bring tourism not only to the larger cities but also to the small towns that many of us JET alumni came to love.
Chris says that by increasing the tourism to these towns and cities, we also increase the breadth of knowledge that the world has about Japan, allowing us to give something back to our second home abroad. Now, The Inaka needs your help. The upload process is very easy, so take a look at your prefecture and see what you can contribute!
What made you fall in love with the inaka?
This is slightly off topic a bit, but I often get asked, “What is there to see in Japan?” Up until recently, I didn’t really know how to answer this question. For most countries it is a fairly simple question. For China, “Great Wall.” For France, “Eiffel Tower.” Japan doesn’t really have that one thing that makes it stand out. Sure you could say something like Tokyo or Kyoto, but those are cities and not single attractions.
There was never one thing that I could say that I felt gave a fair representation of Japan. Then it hit me. I could not think of one specific place or attraction, because the entire country is filled with them. No matter what town you go to, you will find heaps of history and sights that will amaze you. The inaka is what makes Japan stand out as a country; it is where you will find the history, nature and culture of what I have come to know as the real Japan. I think it makes the country worth traveling to.
That is why I love the inaka!
