CLAIR Magazine “JET Plaza” series: Suzanne McMillan (Ehime)
Article/Journalism, LifeAfterJET, Notable JET Alums, Return on JET-vestment 
Comments Off on CLAIR Magazine “JET Plaza” series: Suzanne McMillan (Ehime)
Each month, current and former JET participants are featured in the “JET Plaza” section of the CLAIR Forum magazine. The October 2013 edition includes an article by JET alumn Suzanne McMillan. Posted by Celine Castex (Chiba-ken, 2006-11), currently programme coordinator at CLAIR Tokyo.
********
“Working in the media and recruitment space requires a high level of networking ability and the confidence to quickly reach out and engage with new people. My time spent in Japan provided me with this skill set along with resilience and the ability to adapt quickly to changing circumstances.”
Originally from Northern Ireland, Suzanne McMillan (Ehime-ken, 1998-2001) holds an MA in History from Aberdeen University in Scotland. Her media career began in the UK when she joined the BBC initially as Researcher and later as an Assistant Producer. She has held the positions of Chairperson within the JETAA NI Chapter and NI Country Representative within JETAA International. Suzanne is currently a Project Manager and BDM Executive at Webpublication in Sydney, Australia where she coordinates digital publishing projects.
The Time of my Life
Nervously twiddling my thumbs, I sat before the interview panel and hoped that my answers would bring me a step closer to my long awaited place on the JET Programme. What had brought me to this point in my life? Well, as a child a favorite uncle had told me many tales of his exotic life in Japan and passed onto me the gift of a hand towel imprinted with a map of Shikoku. This tattered piece of history proudly hung on the wall of my university dorm room and later traveled with me on my flight to Tokyo Orientation; beginning my new life in Japan.
For the next three years, life as an ALT provided so many memorable experiences. I shared stories with teachers, students and fellow JET participants; discussing UK sports, changing political events in Northern Ireland and the different approaches to education and family life. Local neighbors became my friends and my knowledge of Japanese history grew with any tale they would tell of their past. The world seemed a smaller place and I realized the impact of JET; cultural exchange that reaches a deeper level and enables lifelong friendships that are priceless.
Even now memories of JET spring to mind during everyday tasks; the particularly cold winter when the supervisor at my BOE bought all JET participants a puffer jacket to keep warm, ensuring that we could all be spotted at a distance of 100 meters waddling with the extra bulk. Warmth feels my heart when I recall the kindly teacher who delivered boxes of mandarin oranges to your front door if you happened to be sick. I have never been able to hold a mandarin since without seeing his caring face. And yes, I hold myself fully responsible for many Japanese adults who I taught when they were kindergarten age and who now having an Irish lilt to their accent after repeating key English words after me several times over. Read More
【RocketNews24】Feel better fast: Eight home remedies from the little old ladies of Japan
Article/Journalism, Food & Drink, Writers Comments Off on 【RocketNews24】Feel better fast: Eight home remedies from the little old ladies of Japan
Michelle Lynn Dinh (Shimane-ken, Chibu-mura, 2010–13) is an editor and writer for RocketNews24, a Japan-based site dedicated to bringing fun and quirky news from Asia to English speaking audiences.
The only thing worse than catching a cold is feeling like you’re about to catch a cold. That achiness you can feel in your bones, followed by dread, worry and the thought, “I’m too busy to get sick now!” It’s enough to make you sick on the spot.
But fear not, the grandmothers of Japan have a plethora of home remedies that’ll get you feeling better in no time. Some may be little more than old wives’ tales, but when you’re feeling under the weather, why not drink hot onion water or smear ginger on your forehead. It actually might be good for what ails you.
Kyodo News “Rural JET alumni” series: Daneeta Loretta Jackson (Fukuoka)
Article/Journalism, Japan Local, JETs in the News, LifeAfterJET, Notable JET Alums, Return on JET-vestment Comments Off on Kyodo News “Rural JET alumni” series: Daneeta Loretta Jackson (Fukuoka)
“My JET programme experience and my seven years in Japan have had a profound influence on me. It changed me into a more peaceful, communal person.”
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 English version of the column from September 2013. Posted by Celine Castex (Chiba-ken, 2006-11), currently programme coordinator at CLAIR Tokyo.
********
Daneeta Loretta Jackson (Fukuoka-ken, Buzen-shi, 1993-95) was born and raised in the backwaters of Southeast Louisiana. She was educated at public school where she discovered her love for storytelling. She holds a B.A. in English from Loyola University of the South, an M.A. in English from George Mason University, and an M.A. in the Art and Technique of Filmmaking from the London Film School. Her hobbies are international travel, watching movies, anything having to do with dogs, and sleeping. She works as a writer and filmmaker and is a Creative Producer at the ElekTrik Zoo, an arts partnership she co-founded with her husband, Patrick Jackson. She joined the JET programme in 1993 because she wanted adventure. It had a profound affect on her and changed the course of her life.
I was a JET Programme participant from 1993 to 1995 in Buzen-shi, Fukuoka-ken. I never expected to go to Japan. I never dreamed about it when I was a child like so many of my counterparts did. I don’t mean to sound flippant, but the JET Programme for me was a kind of accident. It is too long of a story to recount here. In short, my husband applied for the both of us. He requested a rural post in Fukuoka-ken because a boy from his Japanese baseball team in California was from Fukuoka. When he got word we had been accepted, he told me we were going to Japan. I had about two months to prepare.
Before I knew it, I was on a plane to Tokyo in July of 1993. The first few days were a whirlwind. The orientation in Tokyo and the jet lag made it seem like I was in some sort of dream. I had no idea what awaited me in the countryside, I couldn’t speak much Japanese, and everything seems so strange… so different from my native Louisiana. Read More
【RocketNews24】Possibly the greatest textbook doodles of all time
Article/Journalism, Writers Comments Off on 【RocketNews24】Possibly the greatest textbook doodles of all time
Michelle Lynn Dinh (Shimane-ken, Chibu-mura, 2010–13) is an editor and writer for RocketNews24, a Japan-based site dedicated to bringing fun and quirky news from Asia to English speaking audiences.
Remember back in high school when you’d opened up your textbook to find George Washington picking his nose and Joseph Stalin with a peg leg and eye patch. It was enough to make you bow down and thank the graffiti gods for giving you a much needed distraction from the incessant ramblings of your instructor.
Textbook doodles seem to transcend national borders and bored students from all over the world appear to have a penchant for defiling educational tools. We’ve already shown you some from Asia, a continent that seems to be home to an abundance of bored students with idle hands. Now let’s take a look at textbook doodles from Twitter user and Japanese high school student, Chanta, who takes it to a whole other level, actually erasing parts of his textbook to create entirely different, albeit twisted, pictures. Former and current JETs might appreciate Chanta’s preference for using his English textbook as his canvas.
Get the latest issue of the JETAA Ottawa Newsletter
Article/Journalism, Cartoon/Illustration, JET Alum Author Beat, LifeAfterJET, Writers Comments Off on Get the latest issue of the JETAA Ottawa Newsletter
Via JETAA Ottawa. Posted by Gemma Villanueva (Fukushima 2008-11), the editor for the JETAA Ottawa Newsletter.
Download your digital copy of the JETAA Ottawa Newsletter now!
What’s inside this issue?
Happy reading!
JQ Magazine – Book Review: ‘The Way of Taiko’
Article/Journalism, Books, JQ Magazine, Music Comments Off on JQ Magazine – Book Review: ‘The Way of Taiko’
“Those who want to learn more about taiko, whether they are novices in Japanese drumming or have been playing for several years, will be amazed by the rich history and culture of the genre.” (Stone Bridge Press)
By Rashaad Jorden (Yamagata-ken, 2008-10) for JQ magazine. A former head of the JETAA Philadelphia Sub-Chapter, Rashaad currently studies responsible tourism management at Leeds Metropolitan University. For more on his life in the UK and enthusiasm for taiko drumming, visit his blog at www.gettingpounded.wordpress.com.
Many JETs—myself included—have been drawn to taiko because we love the sound emanating from the drums and want to partake in something traditionally Japanese. But what do we really know about taiko?
For those looking to expand their knowledge of Japanese drumming, Heidi Varian’s The Way of Taiko (now available in a new edition from Stone Bridge Press) is a great way to go. Varian, a member of the San Francisco Taiko Dojo, introduces readers to the history and contemporary culture of the music that is a symbol of Japan to many.
Varian calls taiko the “heartbeat of Japan,” and that’s appropriate because the drum was a method of gathering townspeople or letting them know about any impending danger, in addition to being used to celebrate festivals. Like seemingly everything that’s considered an integral part of Japan, taiko has an enormously long history clouded in mystery (it actually may not have originated in Japan), but Varian explores it.
She not only examines taiko’s beginning and its importance in ancient Japan, but how taiko appeared in traditional Japanese theatrical forms like noh and kabuki. She also writes about how taiko gained a foothold in the United States—the first documented taiko drum appeared in San Francisco in 1910—and its pioneers (such as Seiichi Tanaka and Kenny Endo) on this side of the Pacific. Varian also doesn’t also live in the past when talking about taiko, as she raises important issues about its future.
【RocketNews24】How to survive an earthquake (or zombie outbreak): Expert advice and items to prepare
Article/Journalism, Writers Comments Off on 【RocketNews24】How to survive an earthquake (or zombie outbreak): Expert advice and items to prepare
Posted by Michelle Lynn Dinh (Shimane-ken, Chibu-mura, 2010–13), editor and writer for RocketNews24. The following article was written by Philip Kendall (Fukushima-ken, Shirakawa-shi, 2006–11), senior editor and writer for RocketNews24, a Japan-based site dedicated to bringing fun and quirky news from Asia to English speaking audiences.
Anyone living in Japan for any length of time would be mad not to spend an hour throwing a bag together.
Being the most earthquake-prone country in the world, earthquake drills are as common in schools in Japan as fire drills are in the West. Knowledge of what to do and how to prepare for big quakes is essential, but many foreigners visiting or living in Japan are simply not used to larger tremors and have little or no idea how to respond should the earth start to rumble. Thankfully, even in Japan the chances of being hurt or killed in an earthquake are relatively slim, but it’s important to know what you can do to prepare. Combining our own first-hand experience with the expert advice of a seismologist from the California Institute of Technology, the following article not only discusses how best to respond in the event of an earthquake, but also lists the essential items that anyone living in Japan or any other earthquake-prone country should have stowed away in their earthquake preparedness kit.
Talking safety is never the most exciting subject, and no one’s asking you to go all Dwight Schrute and build a nuclear fallout shelter here, but it pays to be ready. And if the thought of tooling up in the name of earthquake preparedness fails to get your heart pumping, simply substitute the word “earthquake” for “zombie outbreak” and the process will become infinitely more fun.
Report: Children Bitten by Lion, Parent’s Ecstatic
Article/Journalism, Humor, Travel/Tourism, Video Comments Off on Report: Children Bitten by Lion, Parent’s Ecstatic
Posted by Benjamin Martin, a JET from 2008-2013 in Okinawa, publisher of the blog MoreThingsJapanese.com and author of the award-winning YA fantasy series Samurai Awakening (Tuttle).
Yes. This past week on Kume Island, children were sent screaming as a single wild lion went rampaging through a peaceful neighborhood. Well, it was mostly peaceful. Since it was the full moon and August 15th of the Kyureki calendar, there were also a bunch of people around banging gongs and playing music. There were also some creepy Hacaburo running around egging the lion on. Warned in advance that something might be going on, I showed up with some local friends just after sunset with my camera ready. What I saw shocked me, and soon my former students were running for cover… behind me.
By the end of the night no less than 5 children had been bitten. When asked, parents responded that they were overjoyed. One parent, while holding a screaming infant, smiled widely and talked about how smart he would be while neglecting to stop the lion from continuing its rampage.
For more on this story, visit MoreThingsJapanese.com for pictures and video.
Justin’s Japan: Nippon in New York — Martial Arts, Hayao Miyazaki and ‘Evangelion’ at Comic Con
Article/Journalism, Events, Film, Justin's Japan Comments Off on Justin’s Japan: Nippon in New York — Martial Arts, Hayao Miyazaki and ‘Evangelion’ at Comic Con
The Wind Rises, the latest film from director Hayao Miyazaki, has its U.S. premiere at New York’s Alice Tully Hall Sept. 28. (Studio Ghibli)
By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Examiner.com. Visit his Japanese culture page here for related stories.
Saturday, Sept. 28, 3:00 p.m.
All American Open International Karate Championships
Hunter College Sportsplex, 68th Street and Lexington Avenue
$30 general admission/$65 RES floor/$80 VIP ringside
Get your kicks at this annual event presented by Kyokushin Karate New York, the original and world renowned full-contact knockdown karate style founded in 1953 by Grandmaster Mas Oyama. The All American Open consistently brings the world’s best karate fighters to compete for the amateur athletic championship title. Scheduled fighters Include 2012 All American Open champion Zahari Damyanov, Women’s World Middleweight champion Julie Lamarre, and Men’s World Heavyweight champion Alejandro Navarro.
Sept. 28 & Oct. 4
Alice Tully Hall, 1941 Broadway
$13
U.S. premiere! As part of the 51st New York Film Festival, the great Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s new (and reportedly final) Studio Ghibli film is based on the life of Jiro Horikoshi, the man who designed the Zero fighter operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. An elliptical historical narrative, The Wind Rises is also a visionary cinematic poem about the fragility of humanity, starring the voice of Neon Genesis Evangelion director Hideaki Anno! Presented in Japanese with English subtitles.
Sept. 29, 5:00 p.m.
Rainbow Bubble Girls Open Audition as Talent Contest
Maid Cafe NY, 150 Centre Street
Free
Girl group Rainbow Bubble, an international all-girl idol group based in New York, is now looking for new members who can sing in different languages and dance. This current contest (which precludes semi-finals and finals to come) offers a top prize valued at $500 and a chance to receive an exclusive artist contract! Click here for contest rules and email StarGenerationsINC@gmail.com to pre-register.
For the complete story, click here.
JQ Magazine: JQ&A with Tom Byer on Life in Soccer, Japan
Article/Journalism, Celebrity, Interview/Profile, JQ Magazine Comments Off on JQ Magazine: JQ&A with Tom Byer on Life in Soccer, Japan
“I believe we may see Japan win a World Cup within my lifetime, and I certainly think they will be the first Asian team to do so. They are the type of team that the current world powers would not like to have in their group during a WC tournament.” (Courtesy of K.K. T3)
By Lyle Sylvander (Yokohama-shi, 2001-02) for JQ magazine. Lyle has completed a master’s program at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and has been writing for the JET Alumni Association of New York since 2004. He is also the goalkeeper for FC Japan, a New York City-based soccer team.
Tom Byer (a.k.a. Tomsan) is an American soccer coach who has lived in Japan for nearly 30 years. The first professional American soccer player in Asia, he has been a major figure in Japan as a coach and educator. In fact, many people in Japan see him as a major catalyst behind the country’s rising status as a global soccer power. Byer is responsible for increasing soccer’s popularity and teaching fundamental skills to hundreds of thousands of children, including many of the nation’s most celebrated players. In the process, he has become a well-known media personality and has even extended his influence to China, where he signed a contract with the Chinese Football Association to be a technical director for youth teams.
Where are you from? Was soccer popular there when you were growing up?
I was born in the Bronx, New York City. I grew up in Rosendale, Ulster County, Upstate New York. Soccer was just becoming popular when I was a kid. I first started playing baseball and changed over to soccer after my brother and his friends started to play. But soccer was still a very minor sport.
How did you end up living and working in Japan?
I was introduced to Hitachi FC, which is currently playing in the J-League as Kashiwa Reysol, back in 1986 because my college coach at Ulster County Community College had some connections here. So I had a short stint with them, which gave me experience in Japanese soccer. And when I hung up the playing boots I decided to get into youth development. I also did many things on the U.S. military bases for kids playing soccer.
Can you tell us about your company T3, which aims to educate Japanese schoolchildren about soccer?
My company is called T3—the T stands for “Tom” and the 3 for “san,” Tomsan, because I am known by Tom-san throughout Japan from my appearances on daily television for 13 years. The name of the TV corner was, “Tom-san’s Soccer Techniques.” We try to help every child we come in contact with to “realize their potential.” We are technical specialists helping kids, coaches and parents understand the importance of developing technique. I have performed over 2,000 events for more than 500,000 people over the years. I established another company which I headed up for 16 years which established over 100 soccer schools throughout Japan. It’s difficult to find almost any player in Japan today who hasn’t been influenced in some way regarding our activities. This means either they’ve grown up watching my daily TV corner, read the monthly KoroKoro Komikku manga, or have played in one of our 100 schools, camps, or bought our DVDs or books.
【RocketNews24】Ninja language skills: Boost your Japanese with the power of onomatopoeia
Article/Journalism, Writers Comments Off on 【RocketNews24】Ninja language skills: Boost your Japanese with the power of onomatopoeia
Posted by Michelle Lynn Dinh (Shimane-ken, Chibu-mura, 2010–13), editor and writer for RocketNews24. The following article was written by Philip Kendall (Fukushima-ken, Shirakawa-shi, 2006–11), senior editor and writer for RocketNews24, a Japan-based site dedicated to bringing fun and quirky news from Asia to English speaking audiences.
There are in fact three distinct types of onomatopoeia in the Japanese language: 擬声語 giseigo, 擬音語 giongo and 擬態語 gitaigo.
It rarely appears in beginner or intermediate textbooks, but spend a day with any native Japanese speaker and you’ll soon realise that onomatopoeia is a vital part of the language. Utterances such as, “The rain fell like ‘pssshaaaa’” and, “My heart was going ‘boom boom boom’ the whole time!” may come across as a little ineloquent when said in English, but in Japanese these kinds of mimetic words are not only considered perfectly acceptable, but pop up absolutely everywhere.
So if you’ve ever wondered what sound a Japanese pig makes, how best to describe a rolling boulder as opposed to a tiny marble, or would be perplexed if a doctor asked whether the pain you’re feeling is more shikushiku than kirikiri, now’s your chance to hone your language skills and add a few new words to your Japanese vocabulary!
JQ Magazine: Book Review – ‘Gadget Girl: The Art of Being Invisible’
Article/Journalism, Books, JQ Magazine, Reviews Comments Off on JQ Magazine: Book Review – ‘Gadget Girl: The Art of Being Invisible’
“As Gadget Girl is geared toward young adults (or more specifically, teenage girls), it is an easy read. But you get the sense that because of its diverse set of characters, it would make a good TV drama.” (GemmaMedia)
By Rashaad Jorden (Yamagata-ken, 2008-2010) for JQ magazine. Rashaad worked at four elementary schools and three junior high schools on JET, and taught a weekly conversion class in Haguro (his village) to adults. He completed the Tokyo Marathon in 2010, and was also a member of a taiko group in Haguro.
Sometimes, we’re just trying to find out where we belong.
That’s certainly the case with Aiko Cassidy, the teenage protagonist of JET Program alum Suzanne Kamata (Tokushima-ken, 1988-1990)’s latest novel, Gadget Girl: The Art of Being Invisible. The 15-year-old daughter of a renowned sculptor, Aiko wants to develop her own identity, instead of being known as Laina Cassidy’s muse and suffering from a disability (cerebral palsy). Aiko has been secretly working on manga titled Gadget Girl, and she dreams of becoming a world famous manga artist—which would enable her to visit her father in Japan.
But instead of heading to the Land of the Rising Sun, Aiko is off to France for several days, as Laina has won the grand prize at the prestigious Prix de Paris. Although she’s still receiving the “Laina Cassidy’s muse” treatment, the City of Light does open up a new world for Aiko. For one, she develops a crush on a waiter named Hervé at the café she frequents. Aiko is also introduced to the spot where he parents met but more importantly, she learns the reason why her father is absent from her life.
Inspired by the movie The Song of Bernadette, Aiko and Laina head to Lourdes, where Aiko dreams of being cured. Instead, she hears a woman whisper “Forgive,” and Aiko uses that as a call to repair broken relationships in her life.
RocketNews24: Scowling mascot brings a little fame to Japan’s least popular prefecture
Article/Journalism, Japan Local, Writers Comments Off on RocketNews24: Scowling mascot brings a little fame to Japan’s least popular prefecture
Michelle Lynn Dinh (Shimane-ken, Chibu-mura, 2010–13) is an editor and writer for RocketNews24, a Japan-based site dedicated to bringing fun and quirky news from Asia to English speaking audiences.
Yoshida-kun, Shimane Prefecture’s snarky and very unhappy-looking mascot
Shimane Prefecture, ever heard of it? If your answer is a resounding “no,” you’re not alone. The oddly shaped prefecture stretching along the western coast of Japan is barely known within its own country, let alone abroad. But one disgruntled mascot is out to bring Shimane’s shortcomings to light, making fun of the prefecture’s lack of popularity and population, and giving the area a little boost in positive publicity online.
For the 95 percent of you who don’t know, Shimane is a prefecture in the Chugoku region of Japan. Its claim to fame is having the most elderly people of any other prefecture and the most centenarians. Year after year, Shimane battles it out with neighboring Tottori for the title of “least populated prefecture” and has repeatedly landed itself at the very bottom of lists ranking areas by popularity.
JQ Magazine: Book Review – ‘The Accidental Office Lady: An American Woman in Corporate Japan’
Article/Journalism, Books, JQ Magazine, Reviews Comments Off on JQ Magazine: Book Review – ‘The Accidental Office Lady: An American Woman in Corporate Japan’
“If you are going to Japan soon, live there now, or have lived there already, this book is a survivor’s guide and tool for reflection and growth. It can help the reader better understand what to do, and what not to do.” (Tuttle)
By Lana Kitcher (Yamanashi-ken, 2010-12) for JQ magazine. Lana is the business development associate for Bridges to Japan and enjoys working as a freelance writer for a number of online publications. To read more about Lana’s adventures in Japan, visit her blog at Kitcher’s Café.
Laura Kriska’s experience as recounted in The Accidental Office Lady parallels in many ways what we as JET participants go through when we temporarily leave our lives and routines at home to pursue the “exotic” and uncertain terrain of a new culture.
Based on Kriska’s background and education, she was offered a two-year position at Honda Motor Company headquarters in Tokyo, being the first American woman to do so. She arrived in Japan equipped with her new business attire and a mind full of expectations and dreams about how the next two years of her life in Tokyo would unfold. She was soon instructed to join the secretariat—coordinating schedules and serving tea to managers in her new, polyester uniform.
Through the course of the book we get to see Kriska transform from a newly minted grad into a successful member of Japanese society. She starts out frustrated by her new environment and deeply disappointed that her job is not all that she hoped it would be. As the book progresses, you start to see that she is losing her childish tendencies to fight back, and eloquently navigating the culture with words and mannerisms instead of outbursts and small rebellions. She takes on more responsibility and in the end is able to create lasting change at Honda with a new employee manual in English and the elimination of the mandatory uniform rule.
JETwit mentioned in Japan Times article “JET Alumni: Advocates for Japan”
Article/Journalism, JETs in the News, Notable JET Alums, Return on JET-vestment Comments Off on JETwit mentioned in Japan Times article “JET Alumni: Advocates for Japan”
A great Return On JET-vestment article that ran today in the Japan Times:
JET alumni: Advocates for Japan
Program lauded for continuing to bear cultural fruit, friendships
BY AYAKO MIE
STAFF WRITER
Here’s the full article: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/09/03/national/jet-alumni-advocates-for-japan/#.UiaU_GRATv0
Here’s the quote:
Steven Horowitz, who was a JET in Aichi Prefecture from 1992 to 1994, likened his former colleagues to a global expat community of around 60,000 people in terms of their shared affection for Japan. “I think it is going to pay . . . dividends for years and years to come,” he said.
To consolidate the alumni network, Horowitz runs JETwit.com, a website that accumulates information about alumni and Japan-related jobs.
