Tottori JET Anthony Lieven has created two videos so far as part of a monthly project that introduces his JET town of Misasa to the world. With Anthony’s permission (after initially seeing posted to the Tottori JET group on Facebook), here are the two videos so far:
April 2012
May 2012
If you or any other JETs/alums have Japan Local video, photographs, writing or other projects you’d like to share, please email jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
JETAANY apparently did a great job of running the Yo-Yo Fishing Tent at JapanDay in Central Park on Sunday. Minna-san o-tsukare sama!
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CLAIR NY has published and posted to its website a report that attempts to capture some of the efforts of the JET alumni community to support Japan post-3/11. It is worth noting that it’s difficult to capture all of the wide-ranging efforts of the JET alumni community (over 55,000 and growing every year), and there are likely many efforts that have simply not been reported or captured in other ways. That said, this report still provides a really great overview and some good details.
English version: http://www.jlgc.org/TopicList.aspx?topicCategoryID=6&topicID=49&languageTypeID=1&controlType=Display
Japanese version: http://www.jlgc.org/TopicList.aspx?topicCategoryID=24&topicID=263&languageTypeID=2&controlType=Display
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Click the link below to see the Fujisankei TV video (in Japanese) about JETAA NY’s preparation for Japan Day Central Park. The video includes quotes from JETAA NY President Monica Yuki and Vice-President Kendall Murano among others.
http://www.fujisankei.com/video_library/local-news/japan-day2.php
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JETAA Chicago’s Bingo Nights with Japanese Senior Living Facility
By JETAA Chicago Treasurer Thomas Osugi (Hokkaido, 2005-07)
I believe that one of the missions of JETAA is to volunteer and to help out the community at large. As much as I love eating sushi and singing karaoke, it’s always great when JETAA Chicago can give back to the community, and I just wanted to say that our alumni here in Chicago have been doing a great job!
Every month, we regularly help out at a local retirement home called Heiwa Terrace on the north side of Chicago. This place was created by a group called JASC (Japanese American Service Committee) whose mission is to help out the Japanese and Japanese-American communities. (I should mention that Heiwa Terrace is HUD-certified and abides by the rules of equal housing opportunity.)
About the event: Bingo is on the third Thursday of every month, and usually a few of us come in and help call out numbers. It’s very regular and short – in a very Japanese fashion, it promptly starts at 7 and ends at 8. When I first started, I was surprised to see so many residents – 20 or so mainly Japanese, Koreans and others, and how passionate they were about the game. There are always prizes to be won, usually very small things such as a cans of green beans, soap, shampoo, picture frames, but the most popular item is toilet paper! During the game, extra volunteers usually chit-chat, walk around and help out those who are hard of hearing. At the end a few minutes before 8, we play for a grand prize which we call “super” bingo. In order to win “super” bingo, players have to match both top and bottom row. If you can imagine, there is a fair amount of tension in the room to see who is the winner.
Volunteering at Heiwa is great because we get a chance to practice our Japanese, and for us working professionals, it’s right after work and very low stress – unless we miscall numbers (then all bets are off). Afterwards, we usually go out for dinner and catch up.
Although small, I think having this kind of regular volunteer event is great for alumni and the community and a gives a sense of reason for JETAA. I’m not sure if something like this is available in other cities, but I think it is a good model for local chapters everywhere.
Via jetaaottawa.ca
JETAA Ottawa will be hosting a charity concert at the Black Sheep Inn on May 24th, 2012 to help raise money for Smile Kids Japan, and the Tohoku Kids Project.
JET Alumnus Jordan Patrick (Aichi-ken, 2009-11) will open the show with his mix of indie and modern folk music. Headlining the event will be the Hornettes who will keep the energy peaked and revive classic Motown, soul and funk sounds that will leave you sweaty and satisfied. The Hornettes formed in Ottawa in 2010, and since then have developed a loyal following of music lovers drawn to their ability to keep the dance floor moving. The band consists of two female front women, Anna and Irina, backed by a hot horn section and the classic trio of guitar, drums and bass.
A shuttle bus will be provided from the corner of York Street and Dalhousie Street at 6:30 p.m. to the Black Sheep Inn, and will return once the concert ends.
Tickets for the show and space on shuttle service are limited!
RSVP: events[at]jetaaottawa[dot]ca
Event: Smile Kids Japan Charity Concert
Date: Thursday, May 24th, 2012
Time: starting at 7:30pm (doors open at 7:00pm)
Location: Black Sheep Inn, 753 Riverside Drive, Wakefield, Quebec
Admission: $15.00 minimum donation (cash or pre-paid donations through JETAA Ottawa or Global Giving only) *bring a printed receipt of all pre-paid donations
Shuttle: $5.00 (cash/pre-purchased tickets only) – leaving at 6:30pm from the corner of York/Dalhousie St.
Hope to see you there!
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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 the editors at newsletter[at]jetaaottawa[dot]ca.
The Canadian play “2 Pianos 4 Hands” is giving its farewell performances as creators-performers Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt retire from the show. “2P4H” follows the youngsters “Ted” and “Richard” as they tackle their love-hate relationship with piano lessons, exams and recitals. In January, “2P4H” played at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. The show, which made a three-week stop in Tokyo in 2004, finds itself again in Japan this May.
Colin Rivers (Nara-ken JET, 1997-2000) is now the Theatre Producer/Agent for Marquis Entertainment, which produces “2 Pianos 4 Hands.” I had the chance to ask him about his time on JET, life as a producer and bringing 2 Pianos 4 Hands back to Japan.
What is it like to be a producer?
“A Producer manages the business behind the show. A General Manager does the same thing, but without the risk and the pressure to find the money. A New York theatre blogger sums it up perfectly… “Producers do everything! We are the bank, the therapist, the negotiator, the scapegoat, the creative, and we rarely get credit! I should add it’s awesome. Because I think it is.”
How was your JET experience been relevant to producing?
“The JET experience strengthened my Read More
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Lars Martinson (Fukuoka-ken 2003-2006), author of the graphic novels Tonoharu: Part Two andTonoharu: Part 1, has just announced the “Kameoka Diaries“, Lars’ e-comic about his return to teaching English, this time in Kameoka, Kyoto, is now available on iTunes.
More info here and below: http://larsmartinson.com/my-first-two-e-comics-now-available/
The Kameoka Diaries: Volume One [ Direct iBookstore Link ]
The Kameoka Diaries: Volume One is a humorous (?) account of my experiences living and working in Central Japan, told over eight chapters. It includes an exclusive chapter not available anywhere else!
JETwit Note: I just downloaded a copy onto my iPhone. 250 pages for only $0.99, and I always love Lars’ work. Plus, it’s my first time using iBook which it turns out is pretty nifty. :-)
JET alum Professor Emily Metzgar (Courtesy of Indiana University)
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A little over a year ago, we posted a request to the JET alumni community by JET alum Emily Metzgar, Assistant Professor at Indiana University’s School of Journalism, to take part in a survey as part of her research on the impact of the JET Program. (See the original post on JETwit.) Here are the results of Emily’s survey in her paper titled:
“Promoting Japan: One JET at a time” (PDF)
The paper is about trying to measure Return On JET-vestment. In its own words, it “attempts to identify various ways in which participation in JET has affected the lives of alumni and the ways in which this influence may be of benefit to Japan in the medium- to long-term.”
Also, for those interested, there’s a review of Emily’s paper by Dr. Robert Banks on the University of Southern California’s Center on Public Diplomacy website.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey and helped in other ways. For anyone who reads the paper, please feel free to share thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
Here’s the URL for the paper: http://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/publications/perspectives/CPD_Perspectives_Paper_3_2012.pdf
JETAA Minnesota member Ann Hershberger (Iwate-ken) recently returned to Iwate where she had previously worked as a JET. Following her trip, she created a video to support earthquake/tsunami relief efforts titled “Help Japan: Donate Now“.
To donate, go to http://donate-japan.com.
Australian JET alum Pepi Ronalds (Miyagi-ken, Sendai Shi, 2010-11) recently published an essay on Amazon titled “After Shock: Experiencing the 2011 Japanese Earthquake.” Below is a bit of context from Ronalds along with an extract from the essay:
About Pepi
Pepi is a freelance writer, ghostwriter and researcher based in Melbourne, Australia. On any given day she is found writing, researching and craving sakuranbo soft-cream from the Omiyage shop below Yamadera. While working as an ALT in Sendai Shi, Miyagi prefecture she experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake first hand. She writes about the experience in her long-form article After Shock: Experiencing the 2011 Japanese Earthquake, which can be downloaded via Amazon or Pepi’s website http://www.pepironalds.com.
“After finishing JET I returned to the freelance writing career that I had begun in late 2009. As a writer of non-fiction, I was keen to write about my experience of the triple disaster in Sendai. I knew that many people outside of Japan had a limited understanding of what had happened. – Yes, I was caught up in a natural disaster as a foreigner, and yes it was scary. But there was (and continues to be) so much more to my experience (and those of my fellow JETs and gaijins). I was astounded by the incredible generosity of my Japanese friends and colleagues, and the work they’ve done (and are doing) to rebuild.”
As publishing paradigms change, I there are fewer venues for long-form articles like mine. So in publishing this article I made my first foray into ‘entrepreneurial journalism’. That is, I am selling direct to readers. Below is an extract. If you want to read the whole thing (6,500 words) you can either download the article via Amazon, or buy direct from me using Paypal.”
Extract from After Shock: Experiencing the 2011 Japanese Earthquake
“We started the heaters,” my friend Yuriko writes, “but we are trying not to use them often to save them in case of an emergency.” I know the school in Sendai to which she refers. Winter is marked by a meter of snow on the baseball field. It’s sustained by snowflakes the size of marshmallows that seem to fall horizontally. The winds wheeze and rattle at loose windows. When I was there last year, I was constantly dabbing my nose with a tissue. And when my friend writes this from Sendai eight months after the earthquake, winter in Japan has barely begun.
I read her email and think back to that frigid Friday, March 11, 2011. My students and I were decorating the walls of the school with a mosaic of origami-paper blossoms. It was so cold in the unheated hallway that my fingers seemed to move in slow motion. We worked with a feeling of purpose and excitement. Then there was a long, deep, foreboding yawp. An announcement from the earth beneath us that everything was about to change. Read More
Congratulations to Aaron Porter (ALT Kyoto-fu, Yawata-shi, 1998-2001), who is the 2012 winner of New York’s “Japan Day @Central Park“ poster contest!
From the JapanDayNYC.org website:
“Japan Day – Cherry Blossom Art Contest”
Contest Results
WINNER
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Japan’s gift of cherry trees to the New York City, Japan Day invited visual artists to submit artwork that featured the beautiful of both cherry trees and Central Park.
Thanks to all of your support, the art contest received total of 45 submissions. All Jurors will agree that, there were a number of impressive entries that made the selection process a challenge. In fact, the Judges also awarded 5 honorable mentions, in addition to choosing a winner.
We are delighted that we can now reveal the winner of the Japan Day Cherry Blossom Art Contest — Aaron Porter and his art work!
【Japan Day 2012 Official Poster Visual using Mr. Porter’s Art Work】
From Aaron’s profile on the Japan Day NYC website:
Aaron is originally from Chicago and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Scientific Illustration from Northern Illinois University. He began his career as a newspaper artist in South Florida in 1988 in a pre-digital world. Aaron first worked for the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, then the Miami Herald. While in South Florida, Aaron earned a MFA in painting at the University of Miami.
Shortly after finishing his course work, he was accepted into the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program the summer of 1998. He taught English in four junior high schools in Yawata City (Kyoto Prefecture) and still to this day considers it the most exciting three years of his life. While in Japan, he spent his spare time getting to know Japanese culture and painting. His paintings during this period were most often about Japanese culture. During his time in Japan, he had a painting exhibition at the Kyoto International Center in Kyoto Station as well as a number of other small shows in coffee houses and wherever he could get his work shown.
Aaron returned to the States the summer of 2001 and began his new career in newspapers at The Journal News in White Plains, New York. Presently, Aaron is a part-time digital art instructor at the Bronx Community College as well as a freelance graphic artist and illustrator.
Aaron is married to a Japanese woman from Fukuoka whom he met in New York City after he returned from Japan. They live in Up State New York, visit NYC often and travel to Japan each year to visit her family. Much to his wife’s disappointment he speaks very little Japanese.
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
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.
JETAA Philadelphia Subchapter rep Rashaad Jorden wrote the following article for the Japan Tourist website (a great example of JETs helping to promote “local” tourism for Japan):
Most people feel tired after climbing Mount Haguro, one of the Three Mountains of Dewa (also known as Dewa Sanzan). However, a short drive away, Haguro (the village where Mount Haguro is located) offers a nice place where you can relax your body and mind—and have a beer or two.
Yamabushi Onsen Yupoka—better known as simply Yupoka—is a popular gathering spot for locals and some yamabushi, Japan’s mountain ascetics, who come to Dewa Sanzan to embark on a mountain pilgrimage and venerate their deities.
Yupoka is an insider’s tip as there is no mention of the place in the English-language tourism brochure of Haguro but those who find it will be treated to a majestic setting for a dip in hot water, which is what most people come to Yupoka for.
