JETAA Chicago Career Forum Videos
Career, JETAA Chapters 
Comments Off on JETAA Chicago Career Forum Videos
Here are a couple videos from the recent JETAA Chicago Career Forum. (Thanks to JETAA Chicago Treasurer Thomas Osugi and Jobs/Social Activities Coordinator Dan Martin for making this available.):
Now in Paperback: “For Fukui’s Sake: Two years in Rural Japan” by JET alum Sam Baldwin
Books, Cultural Outreach, Japan Local, Notable JET Alums, Return on JET-vestment, Travel/Tourism, Writers Comments Off on Now in Paperback: “For Fukui’s Sake: Two years in Rural Japan” by JET alum Sam Baldwin
|
JQ Magazine: Book Review – ‘Professor Risley and the Imperial Japanese Troupe: How an American Acrobat Introduced Circus to Japan—and Japan to the West’
Article/Journalism, Books, JQ Magazine, Reviews Comments Off on JQ Magazine: Book Review – ‘Professor Risley and the Imperial Japanese Troupe: How an American Acrobat Introduced Circus to Japan—and Japan to the West’
“Chock-full of illuminating illustrations and gorgeous printed ephemera that would make any contemporary typographer swoon, Professor Risley and the Imperial Japanese Troupe is a jet-set adventure in pop culture scholarship sure to appeal to anyone interested in Japan’s history on the world stage.” (Stone Bridge Press)
By Jessica Sattell (Fukuoka-ken, 2007-08) for JQ magazine. Jessica is a freelance writer, and was previously the publicist for Japan-focused publishers Stone Bridge Press and Chin Music Press. She is interested in the forgotten histories of culture, and has often considered running away and joining the circus.
We’re still riding the “Cool Japan” wave that crested at the turn of the millennium, but our fascination with the country and its culture didn’t quite stem from just anime, Harajuku fashions, or J-pop. In Professor Risley and the Imperial Japanese Troupe: How an American Acrobat Introduced Circus to Japan—and Japan to the West, award-winning author Frederik L. Schodt argues that contemporary interest in Japan’s popular culture has its roots in the travels and cross-cultural interactions of a band of 19th century Japanese circus performers and a colorful American impresario.
Published in November by Stone Bridge Press, Professor Risley explores a critical and exciting time in history, when an interest in foreign cultures was rapidly expanding beyond the privileged parlors of the upper class and Americans and Europeans were greatly fascinated by anything Japanese. Schodt offers an intriguing case study of both early Japanese conceptions of the West and the West’s first looks at modern Japan, but it is also a mystery of sorts: Why did a group of acrobats that were incredibly popular with international audiences in the 1860s fade from the annals of performing arts history? How was the life of “Professor” Richard Risley Carlisle, arguably one of the most extraordinarily talented and well-traveled performing artists in history, buried in the folds of time? Schodt suggests that we may never know the answers, but we can sit back and enjoy the show as their histories unfold.
This story begins, fittingly, with the question, “Where Is Risley?” Schodt artfully traces “Professor” Risley’s early travels and performance history like an elusive game of connect-the-dots, piecing together itineraries, publicity notices and press clippings until a clear pattern of a fascinating life emerges. Risley seemed to be everywhere and nowhere, and led a full life of jet-setting and adventure-seeking at a time where transcontinental travel was only beginning to open up to those outside of the diplomatic realm. We follow him on a decades-long journey across the United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, China…and finally to Japan.
Risley arrived in Yokohama in early 1864 and immediately went to work setting up a fantastic Western-style circus to delight foreign residents and Japanese locals alike. As the country had re-opened to the world just five years earlier, it was a risky time to be in Japan, and non-Japanese residents lived with underlying worries of Shogunate-dictated expulsion and violence from disgruntled ronin. That didn’t quite stop Risley’s entrepreneurial spirit, but he did eventually run into a series of difficulties with his shows—and a stint in dairy farming, which, in the process, led him to introduce ice cream to Japan. He hadn’t originally intended to stay in Japan for long, but most likely due to the Civil War raging back home in America, he bided his time and explored his options. Thankfully, his stay there—paired with an almost desperate talent for improvisation—would lead to the world’s first taste of Japanese popular culture.
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.
————————————————————————————————————
Position: Interpreter
Posted by: Peace Boat
Type: Volunteer
Location: UK
Salary: N/A
Start Date: N/A
Overview:
We are looking for potential EJ bilingual speakers who would be interested in coming on board as volunteer interpreters. If you speak both Japanese and English (and/or Spanish) then take this chance to sail around the world for three months, for free!
The deadline for applications is December 14th.
Info on the voyage can be found here http://www.peaceboat.org/english/?page=view&nr=104&type=4&menu=64
Info on the position/how to apply is here http://www.peaceboat.org/english/?menu=113
I’ll Make It Myself: The Word of the Day is Spatchcock: Thanksgiving 2012
Blogs, Food & Drink, I'll Make It Myself, Writers Comments Off on I’ll Make It Myself: The Word of the Day is Spatchcock: Thanksgiving 2012
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, 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.
“I’m going to spatchcock the turkey.” “Excuse me?”
“If I spatchcock the turkey–WHY ARE YOU BLUSHING?”
“So, I’ve decided to spatchcock the turkey.” “Is that some sort of fandom thing about Benedict Cumberbatch?”
Despite its unfortunate name, spatchcocking is simply a way of butterflying a turkey so it will cook faster…
Click HERE to read more.
JETAA Ottawa: Elections 2013
Events, JETAA Chapters Comments Off on JETAA Ottawa: Elections 2013
*************** Posted by Gemma Villanueva (Fukushima-ken, 2008-11), editor for the JETAA Ottawa Newsletter. Visit the Canadian chapter’s website here for more stories. Written and photo submissions are always welcome. Please contact us at newsletter[at]jetaaottawa[dot]ca.
Elections 2013
We are pleased to announce that we are looking for the 2013 JETAA Ottawa Board of Directors! If you are interested in getting actively involved with JETAA Ottawa, now is your chance. Detailed information about platform submissions and each position’s responsibilities can be found here on our website. The JETAA Ottawa bylaws are posted here on our website.
Please join us on Monday, December 10, 2012 at The Exchange Pub & Restaurant in Rideau Centre. (Please note that the Annual General Meeting is scheduled to run from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. and is open to alumni only. Voting open to JET alumni, so we hope to see you there! We will be discussing the year’s events, budget, elections and other JETAA Ottawa business. From 7 p.m. onwards, the party is open to all alumni friends and family.) Please send your RSVPs for the “Annual General Meeting/Bonenkai” to current Event Organizers Ferra-Lynn and Ala [ events [at] jetaaottawa [dot ] ca ]
WIT Life #220: Wonderful Single Life/Going My Home
Film, Translating/Interpreting, WIT Life, Writers Comments Off on WIT Life #220: Wonderful Single Life/Going My Home
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.
As I shared in my last post, one of the best parts of being here in Japan is the chance to catch up on dramas when the work day is done. When I’m at home I try to keep up to date on them via the Internet, but it’s just not the same as watching them in prime time. Two of my current favorites are tonight’s ｢ゴーイング・マイ・ホーム」 (Going My Home) and Thursday night’s 「結婚しない」 (Wonderful Single Life; literally Won’t Get Married).
I greatly enjoy the latter as the main character is a 35-year old woman whose single status is a source of both stress and liberation. The supporting roles feature her female contemporaries as well as younger and older friends, all in various work and personal situations. It is an interesting commentary on the lives of women in modern Japanese society, and I am eager to see Read More
JET alum seeks help contacting Japanese Antarctica residents for research project
Academic Comments Off on JET alum seeks help contacting Japanese Antarctica residents for research project
New Zealand JET alum Jacinta McKenzie is working on a research project (see details below) and is seeking help from anyone who can help her get in touch with Japanese people who have been to Antarctica, especially to Showa Base. Jacinta says:
Individual Project Proposal – Group adaptation and individual adjustment of (prolonged) isolation of Japanese people in Antarctica
はじめまして。私はジェシンタ・マッケンジと申しまして、現在ニュージランドのカンタベリ大学で日本語と南極を専門にしている大学院生です。
私は日本人と南極との関係について非常に深い興味を持っており、カンタベリ大学で南極の研究をしています。私は現在、南極における日本人の文化人類学と社会学に関するプロジェクトを行っており、「南極の厳しい自然と孤独な生活に対する日本人の集団的、あるいは個人的順応について」というタイトルの研究論文を書いています。私のこの論文のためにあるデータが必要であり、そのデータを集めるために、南極（昭和基地）で滞在している、あるいはしたことのある日本人と連絡をして、アンケートを行いたいと思っています。
そちらの研究所所属の研究者で南極に行ったことのある（あるいは今現在滞在している）日本人の連絡先（電子メールアドレスなど）を教えていただくことはできませんか？ もしくは、私がそちらにアンケートを電子メールで送信するので私のアンケートに協力して頂けそうな人に転送していただけませんか？
アンケートの内容は、丸かバツで答えるものがいくつかと、自分の経験を短く書いて頂く簡単なもので、20分ほどで終わると思います。ご迷惑をおかけしますが、宜しくお願いいたします。
Jacinta McKenzie jacy19@gmail.com
http://www.anta.canterbury.ac.nz/courses/gcas/
My name is Jacinta McKenzie and I am a student at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand studying Japanese Language and Antarctic Studies. I am very interested in Japans relationship between the polar regions, hence I am taking an Antarctic Studies course at Canterbury University.
I am currently do my individual project which concentrates on anthropology and sociocultural aspect of being in Antarctica, titled Group adaptation and individual adjustment of (prolonged) isolation of Japanese people in Antarctica.
I am seeking to get in touch with the Japanese people currently down at Showa Base or have been in the past, in order to do a survey regarding this topic.
Is there any one at the Institute of Polar Research who has been to Antarctica and would be willing to take part in my research survey? The survey will be a series of yes and no questions with a few places to write down your experience.
Any information would be much appreciated.
Kind Regards
Jacinta McKenzie jacy19@gmail.com
http://www.anta.canterbury.ac.nz/courses/gcas/
JET alum seeks members for new taiko club in Atlanta
Cultural Outreach, JETAA Chapters Comments Off on JET alum seeks members for new taiko club in Atlanta
Posted to the JETAA Southeast Facebook group by Melanie Davenport (Gifu-ken, 1991-92):
“Hello everyone! I’m working with a young woman, Sarah Choy, who plays Taiko to try to form a Taiko Club here in Atlanta! If anyone is interested in becoming involved or just wants to be kept in the loop about our progress, please let me know! What fun will this be?! Ikimasho! Tanoshii!”
If interested, check for updates on the JETAA Southeast Facebook group and get in touch with Melanie there.
Posted by Benjamin Martin, a 5th year JET in Okinawa, publisher of the blog MoreThingsJapanese.com and author of the YA fantasy novel Samurai Awakening (Tuttle).
Chahan is an Okinawan take on fried rice. Like many Okinawan dishes it is heavily influenced by Chinese cuisine. Like Chanpuru, a similar category of Okinawa cuisine, Chahan’s basic flavor comes from a combination of soy, garlic, and dashi. Since there are many ways to make or buy dashi, the final flavor of the dish, and the ease of its recipe can be changed depending on your approach. Modern Chahan also often has an American influence in the addition of spam. Below is a modern, yet quick take on this Okinawan dish. It is by far my most popular post on MoreThingsJapanese.com. I hope you enjoy my take on a classic Okinawan favorite.
Ingredients
- 3 servings cooked white rice
- 1 piman (green pepper)
- 1 tamanegi (onion)
- 1 package frozen vegetables
- 2 large eggs
- 170g meat (sausage, pork, chicken, spam, whatever)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or no-stick cooking spray
Seasoning
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 2 tsp hachimitsu (honey)
- 1 pkt dashi (5g)
- 1 tbsp powdered or minced garlic
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sake (cooking, mirin, awamori, nihonshu, etc)
Kyodo News “Rural JET alum” series: Hughar Hartzenberg (Iwate)
Japan Local, JETs in the News, Return on JET-vestment Comments Off on Kyodo News “Rural JET alum” series: Hughar Hartzenberg (Iwate)
News agency Kyodo News has recently been publishing monthly articles written by JET alumni who were appointed in rural areas of Japan, as part of promotion for the JET Programme. Below is the column from October 2012. (Special thanks to JET alum Celine Castex, currently a CLAIR Tokyo staff member, for alerting JETwit to this series and making these available.)
**********
Hughar Hartzenberg (Iwate-ken, Ninohe-shi, 2006-09) was born and raised in South Africa, where he received a degree in Theology in 2005. After that he came to Japan on the JET Programme and continued as a participant for three years in Iwate Prefecture (2006-2009). During this time he met and married his wife, who was another JET participant and with whom he is currently living in Kanagawa Prefecture. Hughar is working as a wedding minister in Tokyo and is also the director of the NPO Japan Building Africa which he founded in 2011.
JET and beyond
It has been said that we should be careful of the actions we take as young men and woman, for those actions will shape the adults we will become. Reflecting on my own actions over the last seven years, and the experiences that these actions have led to, I can attest to this saying being the truth. One action that changed the course of my life was the decision to apply for something that is called the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme, or “JET Programme” in short. This one decision literally changed my world. Read More
“Rural” JET alums write columns for Kyodo News series
Japan Local, JETs in the News, Return on JET-vestment, Writers Comments Off on “Rural” JET alums write columns for Kyodo News series
Thanks to JET alum Celine Castex, currently a CLAIR Tokyo staff member, for posting this to the JETwit Group on LinkedIn:
New JET alumnus’ article in local newspapers: the 「外・宝・人」column
News agency Kyodo News has recently been publishing articles written by JET alumni who were appointed in rural areas of Japan, as part of promotion for the JET Programme. The October edition features an article by Hughar Hartzenberg (Iwate Prefecture 2006-2009). Scroll down the page to the 「外・宝・人」column
http://www.47news.jp/localnews/chiikisaisei/39/chiho_net/
≪変わる大学と地域の関係≫ 地域に学生の受け皿を アイデア、人材に期待 47news.jp
大学と地域の関係が変わりつつある。少子化に悩む大学にとって地域とのつながりは、新たな可能性を開く。地域にとっても、大学は貴重な資産だ。全国の地方新聞社と共同通信社が識者らとつくる「地・宝・人（ち・ほう・じん）ネット」は、第３８回意見交換で「地域が大学に期待すること」をテーマに将来像を探った。…
JQ Magazine: JQ&A with Matthew Gillam, Senior Researcher at the Japan Local Government Center
Article/Journalism, Interview/Profile, JQ Magazine, Local Government Comments Off on JQ Magazine: JQ&A with Matthew Gillam, Senior Researcher at the Japan Local Government Center
“When you come back from Japan, people say, ‘You know Japanese, you’ve been abroad, you should be able to get a job anywhere.’ You soon realize that it doesn’t work that way. Alumni coming back should look at things you did in different light: what did you fundamentally do, and take away from that?”
By Adam Lobel (Nagano-ken, 2000-02) for JQ magazine. Last year, Adam returned to New York after 10 years in Japan, where he researched satoyama (traditional landscape of Japan) as a master’s student, and collaborated with Japanese policymakers in science and technology while working at a think tank. Adam currently helps manage his family’s business, a land use law firm in Manhattan, and looks forward to contributing to New York’s green building movement.
Born and raised in Marshalltown, Iowa, Matthew Gillam was hooked on Japan after visiting when he was 17. After college, he lived in Japan for eight years, and then returned to the U.S., where he completed a master’s at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). Matt has spent the past 14 years as a researcher at the Japan Local Government Center (JLGC), discovering and sharing best practices from local governments in North America with his colleagues in New York and Japan.
By encouraging organizational discipline and providing tools to build strong networks, Matt has helped strengthen the JET Alumni Association, thus helping thousands of JET participants smoothly transition to life back home. He promotes JETAA’s role an important stakeholder in productive business and cultural relationships with Japanese localities, helping broaden the JET Program’s mission long after participants return home.
In this thought-provoking interview, JQ spoke with Gillam about what it was like to study Japanese at the University of Iowa in the 1980s, life in Japan before the existence of JET, and the kindness and hard work JET families displayed in the aftermath of 3/11. He emphasizes that JET—an experiment in grassroots internationalization—has changed how the world thinks about Japan. Matt gave this interview before heading to Japan, where he spent four days with It’s Not Just Mud (INJM), a non-profit volunteer organization based in Ishinomaki.
How did you become interested in Japan?
I was exposed to Japan when I was seven: my sister spent the summer of 1969 as an exchange student in Yamanashi. She fell in love with Japan, and told us about it after returning home. Eventually she went to live in Japan, teaching English at Sony Language Labs. In 1979, just before my senior year of high school, my mother and I went to visit. Before that trip, I never liked to travel. Suddenly, I was in a completely new place. I realized there was a bigger world, and it was interesting. That’s when I fell in love with Japan, its people, food, art and architecture.
After my sister returned to the U.S., she placed a Japanese student in a nearby town. I fell in love with that student, who eventually became my wife. In college I flunked out of forestry, my first major and, looking for something new, got into Japanese language. I did a year abroad at Kansai Gaidai in Osaka, and spent eight more years in Japan after graduating.
How did people react to your decision to study Japanese? What was Japanese study like at the University of Iowa in the 1980s?
Some people did not understand my decision to study Japanese, especially because it was a small Midwestern town. Their reaction was, “Why Japanese?” This was 1982: Japan was just beginning to emerge as a major economic rival, and Japanese culture hadn’t permeated the Midwest yet. It was a strange thing to do.
My sister understood, and my mom understood, but other family members and friends did not. In those days, some people’s reaction to Japan was still influenced by the Second World War: “These people were enemies; I am not comfortable with them.” That only got worse through the eighties with trade friction.
Study materials were primitive by today’s standards: Japanese textbooks by Prof. Eleanor Jorden, a kanji dictionary, and language lab with cassette tapes. Our professor, Thomas Rohlich (now at Smith College) started the same day I did. We had a Japanese teaching assistant from Tokyo, but most of the teachers were white men.
There were no Japanese restaurants or pop culture. Fisher Control, a company in my hometown, employed a Japanese engineer, who had relocated with his wife. At the beginning of my first year of college, there were 30 students, the biggest class they had ever had! That number slowly decreased, until there were only six or eight students by my third year. There were a couple of Japanese students on campus who became casual friends. Prof. Rohlich’s wife was from Kyoto, and she hosted a gyoza party. That was about it.
Taylor Anderson documentary draws thousands to Center Stage
Cultural Outreach, Earthquake Tsunami, JETs in the News, Notable JET Alums, Return on JET-vestment Comments Off on Taylor Anderson documentary draws thousands to Center Stage
NBC12.com – Richmond, VA News, Weather, Traffic
From Richmond, VA’s NBC news affiliate (click link below to see news video):
Taylor Anderson documentary draws thousands to Center Stage
RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) –
Thousands of people turned out to Richmond’s Center Stage theater Friday, to see the documentary of Taylor Anderson – a young teacher from Chesterfield who worked and died in the earthquake and tsunami in Japan last spring.
It’s the story of the 24-year-old who is believed to be the first American victim of the disaster.
The tsunami that followed the 8.9 magnitude quake rocked Japan’s eastern coast, killing hundreds.
Taylor was last seen after the earthquake riding her bike toward her apartment after ensuring that students at her school had been picked up by their parents.
More than a year later – Taylor’s story is shared through the documentary Live Your Dream: The Taylor Anderson Story.
Film maker Regge Life interviewed dozens even traveled to Japan to find her story.
“It wasn’t until I made the trip to Ishinomaki, and I can talk to her friends face to face, that I knew there was something there,” said Life.
At the screening, Andy Anderson was happy to see so many people take interest in his daughter’s story.
“Regge’s really good at being able to take all the people who are telling Taylor’s story and weaving us all together,” said Anderson.
“You see Taylor from her beginnings as a small child and her interests in Japan that just kept growing through her own nurturing,” said Life.
There may be more showings, but right now the documentary is not in theaters. It is being sold for educational purposes.
Copyright 2012 WWBT NBC12. All rights reserved.
For JQ Magazine‘s May 2012 interview with Regge Life on the making of the film, click here.
Job: Amazon.com Job Opportunity (WA)
Jobs, Uncategorized Comments Off on Job: Amazon.com Job Opportunity (WA)
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.
————————————————————————————————————
Position: eCommerce Investigation Team Member
Posted by: N/A
Type: N/A
Location: Seattle, WA
Salary: N/A
Start Date: N/A
Overview:
Amazon.com is seeking dedicated, hardworking, analytical candidates with a proven track record of performance and results-oriented thinking, to join the Investigation Team in Seattle. Candidates will be responsible for a wide range of duties related to the investigation and elimination of online eCommerce risk. Ideal applicants will have experience in the eCommerce payments space, risk and fraud investigations, previous trust and safety experience, and experience succeeding in a customer-driven workplace. Knowledge of Japanese bank systems will be a plus. All candidates will be analytical and capable of succeeding in a fast-paced team environment with minimal supervision.
This position requires interaction with external and internal clients. Internal clients include teams in Payments, Sales, Customer Service, Transportation, etc.; external clients include Buyers and Sellers. Besides investigation, you will also get to learn about wide range of operational and technical knowledges from associated internal teams, and learn how to lead projects such as improving operational and system efficiency.
The position relies on excellent judgment to plan and accomplish goals and will work under very limited supervision of the Manager. Excellent individual problem-solving and analytical skills are used to authenticate customers and complex transactions and accounts. Nearly all decisions are expected to be made independently with little to no guidance and a high degree of accuracy. Read More
