WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Interpreter/Translator/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03).
Not to continue the doom and gloom of yesterday’s post, but a good portion of today’s news was again devoted to Toyota Shock. For this company itself, out of 9,200 temporary workers, 3,000 of them will be laid off. In regard to next year’s sales forecast for the whole Toyota group, an estimated 9.5 million cars were anticipated to be sold to the American market, but this forecast has been reduced to 8 million.
The car company Isuzu fired 1,400 workers from its factory in Kanazawa, and those affected took it upon themselves to fight back. Footage was shown of these workers handing out pamphlets to co-workers asking them to join their union and asking executives to retract their dismissal. Evidently these cuts came without notice, causing Read More
Career advice from the WSJ’s Elizabeth Garone (Saga-ken, 1993-95)
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It turns out there’s a JET alum writing a career advice column for the Wall Street Journal. Check out the latest column from Elizabeth Garone (Saga-ken, Omachi-cho, 1993-95) at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122874945537188153.html#articleTabs_comments.
It also turns out that she is a freelance journalist with more than a decade of writing for publications that have included Business Week, The Washington Post, Money Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal. Her specialties are technology, education (specifically SAT and test prep), human interest and children.
You can learn more about Elizabeth through her website at www.garone.com or through her LinkedIn profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/lizgarone
From a JETAA Pacific Northwest email about Kevin Kajitani (Hyogo-ken, 2006-07) who has created Japanese Accelerator, a new online Japanese study method for keeping your Japanese skills up. He’s offering a special discount to JET alums who want to try it out.
Research Proven Japanese Conversation Training System
Japanese Accelerator, presented by Speekit, is a unique Japanese language education tool specifically designed for Japanese. It’s method has been proven through University research to significantly improve your overall conversational fluency by putting you inside real, everyday conversations.
Japanese Accelerator will take you beyond simply “learning” the Japanese language and help you to truly *acquire* it. To learn more about Japanese Accelerator, visit us as www.JapaneseAcceler ator.com
If you are a JETAA members, you can save more than 50% off the normal price of Japanese Accelerator. Get full, unlimited access to Japanese Accelerator and it’s growing library of content for a one-time fee of just $29.
To get in on this great deal, go to: www.JapaneseAcceler ator.com/ jetaa-sign- up Read More
I just found about a blog by JET alum Aaron Madlon-Kay (CIR Ehime-ken, 2006-08) that seems to do a good job of addressing translation issues. (e.g., this post on Romanizing Japanese Addresses, this one on Translating Place Names, and this one on an attempt to translate into Japanese from English.)
Definitely a resource that other JET alums, especially other translators and those of you interested in getting into translation, might want to check out. Wish I had found it sooner, but glad to have it the JetWit orbit now.
WITLife #5 – Keeping up on the Japanese news
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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Interpreter/Translator/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03).
Starting with this post I thought I’d introduce a more behind the scenes aspect of WIT life, that being the preparation and work that takes place when I am not traveling or working on an assignment.
In order to keep my Japanese skills sharp, besides conversing with native speakers (don’t be afraid to ask to be corrected!) I enjoy the daily programming of Fujisankei. In particular, the news airing at 7 a.m. (rebroadcast at 10) every weekday morning is especially insightful for keeping up to date on what’s going on in Japan and beyond, and how certain concepts would be expressed in Japanese.
An essential part of being a translator/interpreter is knowing the correct vocabulary for recent phenomenon, as these are words that change with the times and require constant updating of your brain. For example, in Japan the collapse of our economic institutions is referred to as Read More
WIT Life #4 – Airport security and death row
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WITLife is a series by Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03).
My most recent assignment with the State Department had me doing simultaneous interpreting for a group of six officials from Japan’s central government.
They all came from different ministries ranging from Justice to Finance to Health (one of whose former officials was just murdered along with his wife in a recent high profile case). It was neat to talk to the participant from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (aka MEXT), who met his wife in the workplace (when she was a tantousha for the JET Programme) and to hear stories from her experience traveling to promote it.
The trip was a success but was book-ended by two harrowing experiences. When the group arrived the day Read More
Tadaima #4 – Put it all on Black!
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My name is Rick Ambrosio (Ibaraki-ken, 2006-08). And whether readjusting to post-JET life is something you’re facing now, will deal with in the future or if you just enjoy reconnecting with that awkwardly uncertain feeling you had when you got back from Japan, come along with me as I look for a new job, a new apartment, and yes, mow the lawn of my parent’s house. Tadaima!
“WHEEL…. OF…… FORTUNE!!!!” I yelled in a haze of alcohol and bright flashing lights. A small crowd gathered around my cousin and I as we played “The Wheel of Fortune” slot machine.
We were in Atlantic City for my cousin’s girlfriend’s birthday, and since mine was a couple days away, sure, mine too. I know I know, here I am, unemployed, in a place people go to burn money, when I could be sending out more resumes and following more leads, but instead I’m down 60 bucks, four drinks in the hole, and hitting on my cousin’s girlfriend’s sister. I suppose I really should be… WHEEL….. OF….. FORTUNE!!!! Okay, down 48 bucks now.
It’s sort of funny when I try to draw parallels between gambling in America and the Pachinko parlors of Read More
Staffing/Recruiting Companies Directory now on JetWit.com
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I’ve created a directory for staffing/recruiting firms that are popular with JET alumni, organized by city. So far it has New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle.
Did I miss any good ones? E-mail me at jetwit /atto/ jetwit /dotto/ com.
Note to staffing/recruiting firms: If you would like your company to have a link, website address, larger font, an image and/or other information listed below, please contact Steven at jetwit /atto/ jetwit /dotto/ com for pricing information.
Julie Matysik (Yamanashi-ken, 2006-07) is a freelance copy editor and aspiring in-house editor who recently moved to NYC with her husband (also a JET alum). She has just started an internship in editing/publishing/writing. Editorial Pursuits chronicles her job hunting efforts, experiences and lessons learned.
As part of my internship, I’ve been entrusted with reading what we like to call “slush”-unsolicited manuscripts that, almost 99% of the time, come to find an impersonal rejection letter folder in a neat and hopeful self-addressed stamped envelope. Now, normally I like to consider myself a very fair, open-minded, and kind individual; I especially love being introduced to new books, authors, genres, etc. However, when it comes to reading “slush,” I feel a demonic, elitist monster overtaking my body.
That said, this is not the first time I’ve been asked to read through various query letters, synopses, and sample chapters. At an internship I held at Cream City Review literary magazine in Milwaukee, WI I also read short story manuscripts and about half of the time, I passed the manuscript on to a fiction editor for their feedback. So I don’t know if the frustrations with not being able to find a permanent publishing job in the so-called “Mecca” of publishing (a.k.a. NYC) or my need to assert some pent-up dominance over Read More
Tadaima! #3 – Knocking on doors
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My name is Rick Ambrosio (Ibaraki-ken, 2006-08). And whether readjusting to post-JET life is something you’re facing now, will deal with in the future or if you just enjoy reconnecting with that awkwardly uncertain feeling you had when you got back from Japan, come along with me as I look for a new job, a new apartment, and yes, mow the lawn of my parent’s house. Tadaima!
I scored my lucky seat on the train. You see, on the LIRR, there is always a fold down seat right near the doors between cars. Granted it wasn’t rush hour or anything, I just always love getting that seat.
I sat carefully in a futile attempt to not wrinkle the pants of my navy suit. I also liked my orange tie that I picked up in the Harajuku Zara back in Japan. I needed to dress to impress, because it was offense time. Read More
JetWit Success Story #2
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Omedetou to freelance writer/editor Jonathan Trace (Fukuoka-ken, 2005-08) who just got an internship with a publishing company thanks to his work with JetWit as the JETAA Chapter Beat guy!
He found out about it through Julie Matysik (who herself got an internship at the same publishing company after a JET alum who works there saw her first two Editorial Pursuits posts on JetWit), who found out about the latest internship opportunity and passed it on to Jonathan because she knew through JetWit that he was looking for similar opportunities.
This is one of the strengths of the JET alumni network. There are lots more connections and opportunities out there, even in this tough economy. We just have to dig a little and sometimes be creative to find them.
Note: The internships are unpaid, albeit good places to start, which means Julie and Jonathan are both still in the market for paying jobs if anyone wants to hire them. (The JET alumni network is strong, but it’s not all-powerful. Not yet anyway. :-)
In response to the previous post about “going back to Japan,” I received a nice email from a JET alum with a bunch of sites that are good for finding jobs in Japan. I’ve also posted them on the Professional Profiles/Job Resources page.
FINDING JOBS IN JAPAN
- Interac – http://www.interac.co.jp/recruit/
- GaijinPot: http://www.gaijinpot.com/
- E-Central: http://www.ecentral.jp/index.php?l=e
- Jobs In Japan: http://jobsinjapan.com/
- Japn Times Jobs: http://job.japantimes.com/index_e.php
- Temp Staff Universal: http://www.tempstaff.co.jp/universal/eng/index.html
- Japan Guide Jobs: http://jobs.japan-guide.com/job_search.php
- Tokyo Metropolis Jobs: http://metropolis.co.jp/tokyojobsemployment/1.1.inc.htm
- Japanzine Jobs: http://jobs.seekjapan.jp/jobs
Feel free to email any others to jetwit /atto/ jetwit /dotto/ com.
A recently returned JET alum recently asked for suggestions on recruiting firms or other channels for “getting back to Japan.” Since my sense is that the US job market is making that an increasing trend among returning JETs, I wanted to put the question out to the JET alum community.
The only option I can think of off the top of my head is Interac, which had a recent post on JetWit.
Do you have suggestions for recruiting firms or other decent options for “getting back to Japan?” Post a comment below or send an email to jetwit /atto/ jetwit /dotto/ com.
Writing Opportunity: Japan-US Business News
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Friend of JetWit Yvonne Burton is looking for JET alums and non-JET alums to write about their practical business experiences with Japan for Japan-US Business News.
www.Japanusbusinessnews.com is an online forum for news, discussion and advertising for the Japan-US business community. I am looking for people with practical experience working with Japanese people and/or companies to write their stories.
I usually write these types of stories as case studies. For example: client/company had this challenge/issue or this is what came up when I worked with a Japanese company. This is how I helped them resolve problem or this is how I handled what came up and finally lessons learned–this way the articles are educational as well.
In exchange for writing for www.Japanusbusinessnews.com, you will receive:
- Free publicity by having your article on the blog and then archived on the blog
- Your brief bio below your article
- Link to your website or blog
If you are interested, please email me at: yvonne /atto/ burtonconsulting /dotto/ biz.
I just learned about another JET alum author named Rob Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04), currently a resident of Toronto, thanks to JETAA DC newsletter chair Gina Anderson (Nara-ken, 2003-05).
Rob is the author of Zorgamazoo, a “rhyming, rhythmical tale of Katrina, a girl with a big heart and an even bigger imagination” published this year by Penguin Books and available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Powells.
If the website for the book (www.zorgamazoo.com) is any indication, then the book seems like an exceedingly fun read for adults as well as children. (Plus, I read the free excerpt and it turns out it is as fun as the website.)
You can also follow Rob’s blog at wayofthewest.wordpress.com
FYI, to see a list of all JET alum authors (of which JetWit is aware), go to jetwit.com/wordpress/library/authorsbooks. And if you know of any others, be a good JET alum and send an e-mail to jetwit /att/ jetwit /dotto/ com.
