CLAIR Magazine “JET Plaza” series: Dr. Mark Williams (Gunma)
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Each month, current and former JET participants are featured in the “JET Plaza” section of the CLAIR Forum magazine. The May 2012 edition includes an article by Dr. Mark Williams, a former British English Teachers Scheme (BETS), the forerunner to the JET Programme. Posted by Celine Castex (Chiba-ken, 2006-11), currently programme coordinator at CLAIR Tokyo.
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“Think of your JET experience with a long-term view. […] As time passes, you will realize that your experience left you with the desire to accomplish or attain something. Do not rush, but be patient as you seek to do so.”
After graduating from the University of Oxford with a a BA in Japanese Studies, Dr. Mark Williams (Gunma-ken, Maebashi-shi, 1979-81) came to Japan to work as a member of the British English Teachers Scheme (BETS) in Gunma Prefecture. He moved from there to California to pursue a Ph.D. in postwar Japanese literature then joined the University of Leeds, UK, as a Lecturer in Japanese, to become Professor of Japanese Studies a few years later. He has just completed a 4-year term as President of the British Association for Japanese Studies and 5 years as Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures at Leeds and is currently on secondment as Vice President for Academic Affairs at Akita International University, Japan.
The Japan I Came to Know
Two Years in Gunma Prefecture
I participated on the British English Teachers Scheme (BETS) Programme for two years from 1979 to 1981. The BETS Programme was proposed by Nicholas MacLean and is also known as the MacLean Scheme. In Gunma Prefecture, I worked four days per week for two years at one base school each year (Maebashi Minami Senior High School my first year and Shibukawa Girl’s Senior High School my second year). The remaining day of the work week I spent visiting senior high schools throughout the prefecture, and I can say I likely visited every senior high school in the prefecture.
At the time, team-teaching classes were not as established as now, and no matter how enthusiastic, attempts to conduct entire classes in English were unfortunately often short-lived. The classes I conducted at the school I visited on Wednesdays were rich in variety resulting in a trial-and-error approach on my behalf. The several hundred-student school body would gather at once, and I would speak to them in English about my home country England, or explain the origin of English vocabulary words or the characteristics of the English language.
I was one of only a handful of foreigner instructors in Gunma Prefecture at the time. As such, I stood out greatly and even made front-page headlines in a local newspaper. My experience began with my arrival in Japan. The principal of my school came to meet me at Narita Airport, and we traveled from there to Maebashi Station. As soon as I exited Maebashi Station, I found myself surrounded by news reporters. One of them asked about my hobbies, and I replied “I enjoy music.” The headlines of the next morning’s newspaper reported, “New foreign instructor likes to sing.”
(New Posts) JET Alum Parenting Blog: “US-JAPAN FAM”
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Heather Wilson Tomoyasu (ALT Ibaraki-ken, 2004-06), previously Manager of Public Relations at the Japanese Chamber of Commerce, is now a newly established stay-at-home mom blogging in Brooklyn on her site US-Japan Fam to hopefully compile the ultimate resource for Japanese-American cross cultural families, delving into the matters of raising children bilingually, bi-culturally, and bi-racially in the Big Apple.
Dreamy Destination Wedding: Three years ago I today we tied the knot, got hitched, jumped the broom, or whatever you like to call it! I walked down the virgin road (that’s what they call the aisle in Japan!! HA!!) in Hawaii of all places!! I’d never been there before, but it seemed like the perfect romantic and beautiful halfway meeting ground for our family and friends to join from America and Japan (as well as from Canada, Australia, and England)… <CONTINUE>
Victor-Victoria, or more like Rick-Riku?: Little Kenzo was born with 100% Japanese eyes. No crease or double eyelid or whatever you call it. They were just like daddy’s and gorgeous! Fast forward 2 months and overnight he developed the double lid… in ONE EYE… <CONTINUE>
Go to the blog to see more posts!!
Comments on entries are always appreciated, and guest bloggers are welcome to use the contact form on the blog site to submit ideas!
JETwit note: CLICK HERE to join the JET Alumni Parents group on Facebook.
New JET Alum Parenting Blog: “US-JAPAN FAM”
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Heather Wilson Tomoyasu (ALT Ibaraki-ken, 2004-06), previously Manager of Public Relations at the Japanese Chamber of Commerce, is now a newly established stay-at-home mom blogging in Brooklyn on her site US-Japan Fam to hopefully compile the ultimate resource for Japanese-American cross cultural families, delving into the matters of raising children bilingually, bi-culturally, and bi-racially in the Big Apple.
The first 8 entries are up and ready to roll:
A Little about Me and the Blog: find out more about me and my family (yes, I met my husband at a gay bar, WHAT??), and my plans for the blog.
Marathon of a Birth: discussing my 50 hour labor, natural birth (no meds – YIKES), and the whacked out medical system that billed $25K on a 36-hour hospital stay!
Back to Work – To Go or Not to Go, a New Mother’s Dilemma: you guessed it, this one is all about maternity leave, comparing the US system to that of Japan and a few other countries, and what went into my decision to stay at home.
My Roommate is a Grunter and Poops his Pants: about co-sleeping (same room or same bed) with your children
Sleep Training: Am I the Trainee or the Trainer?: how we got our little one on the Babywise schedule and I’m back to a heavenly 6+ hour consecutive nighttime sleep again!!
Shoot ‘Em Up: The Vaccination Debate: a bit controversial, but in the end you just gotta be informed and make the right decision for your family!
Baby Wearin’ & Stroller Struttin’: I weigh the pros and cons of different ways to get your baby around the city!
What They Don’t Tell You to Expect When You’re Expecting (And Afterward): a hilarious list I compiled for moms and dads alike!
Comments on entries are always appreciated, and guest bloggers are welcome to use the contact form on the blog site to submit ideas!
JETwit note: CLICK HERE to join the JET Alumni Parents group on Facebook.
CLAIR Magazine “JET Plaza” Series: Jessyca Wilcox Livingston (Hokkaido)
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Each month, current and former JET participants are featured in the “JET Plaza” section of the CLAIR Forum magazine. The March 2012 edition includes an article by JET alumn Jessyca Wilcox. Posted by Celine Castex (Chiba-ken, 2006-11), currently programme coordinator at CLAIR Tokyo.
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“The fact that the people of Japan are wonderful has only been confirmed with every return visit and every new friend I meet. This is the power of grass roots internationalization and this is the power of the JET Program.”
As the daughter of parents in the State Department, Jessyca (Wilcox) Livingston (Hokkaido, 2003-06) spent her early childhood years immersed in Japan and most of the rest of her youth abroad. After graduating from Rutgers University she worked as a Park Ranger/Ecologist with the National Park Service. Her affinity for Japan led her to return as a JET Program participant. Jessyca spent three years as an ALT in Urahoro-cho, an experience which deepened her love for Japan and its people. Upon returning the USA, she quickly got involved in her local JETAA chapter in the Rocky Mountain region and secured a job at the Consulate General of Japan in Denver as the JET Program Coordinator. Jessyca served as treasurer of RMJETAA from 2008-10, then served two terms as a JETAA USA Country Representative from 2010-2012. She has participated in several conferences ranging from regional to international during her service with JETAA. Jessyca currently serves on the JETAA USA Advisory Board to help to guide and ensure the success of JETAA USA at the national level.
Once a JET, Always a JET
My love affair with Japan started at age one when my family moved to the coastal town of Hayama in Kanagawa Prefecture. My father worked on the nearby navy base and my mother settled into domestic life in Japan while I ran around with the neighborhood kids. I learned Japanese, they learned that there were more than just one kind of people in the world and we all learned that having fun together didn’t depend on what you looked like or what language you spoke. Friendship transcended all of that. That was my first experience with grass-roots internationalization. It was years before the JET Program would be established.
My family moved on to live in other countries, but I was able to return to Japan on several happy occasions. My Japanese language abilities fluctuated, but my Japanese friends remained steadfast. I experienced both the rewards of articulating myself well and the embarrassment of stumbling through sentences and making ungraceful mistakes. Through it all, Japan remained a common thread in my studies and personal life. I studied Japanese in school because I understood it was a vehicle to stay connected to the people and place I loved.
I found the JET Program in a school hallway in the form of a poster. I wrote down the information and filed it away for my future. I knew it had a place in my life. When the time was right, I submitted my application, and waited. Read More
Kyodo News “Rural JET alumni” series: Khalid Birdsong (Osaka)
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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 January 2013. Posted by Celine Castex (Chiba-ken, 2006-11), currently programme coordinator at CLAIR Tokyo.
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Khalid Birdsong (Osaka-fu, 2003-05) attended Howard University, in Washington D.C. from 1993-1997. He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Design. He is currently an Art teacher at a private school in Palo Alto, CA for grades Kindergarten through 4th. He is also a freelance cartoonist and webcomic artist. His comic about living in Japan can be found at www.friedchickenandsushi.com .
I couldn’t speak their language!
I moved to Japan in the summer of 2003 to work as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) in Junior High School for the JET Programme. I was placed in a small town called Shimamoto near the mountains in-between the cities of Osaka and Kyoto. I ended up living there for two years. Two years full of wonderful experiences and pleasant surprises. As an African-American man from Atlanta, Georgia, living in Japan also had its challenges! One of the most difficult was learning the Japanese language.
JQ Magazine: Life After JET on YouTube
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JET alum Eliot Honda: “With my year coming to a close, I wanted to create a set of videos that would not only explain what to expect as an ALT, but also what to expect as an Uwajima ALT. I had truly come to love this city, and I wanted to show off some of its beauty and history.”
By Eliot Honda (Ehime-ken, 2009-2012) for JQ magazine. Born and raised in Honolulu, Eliot was an ALT placed in Uwajima City of Ehime Prefecture. Prior to JET, Eliot worked as a freelance video editor mainly in the commercial and corporate world in San Francisco. Following JET, he returned to Honolulu and joined his mother in real estate. He currently has made a JET Introduction video, and has a YouTube series in the works called Sister City Ties, showing the beauty of the friendship between Honolulu and Uwajima.
My father always preached that “everything happens for a reason.” My being placed in Uwajima was no exception. Uwajima, as I would come to find out, had strong ties to my home of Hawaii. King Kalakaua of Hawaii and Date Munenari of Uwajima had met in 1881, becoming Japan’s first contact with a head of state. Uwajima and Hawaii would meet again in 2001 when the Ehime Maru, a high school fishing vessel, would be struck by a U.S. submarine. Nine lives would be tragically lost, including four high school students.
News of the tragedy spread quickly through Hawaii, causing the people to do everything they could to help the Uwajima families. Whole those families could have shown hate and anger toward the people of Hawaii, they instead embraced the people of the Aloha State with open arms. Through this tragedy, a friendship between Honolulu and Uwajima was born, giving way to the creation of a sister city relationship. To help strengthen the ties between the two cities, the mayor of Uwajima requested ALTs who were born in Hawaii. I found myself to be one of the lucky few chosen to represent Hawaii there as my time on the JET Program began.
I came to Uwajima with all these grand ideas of using video in my lessons. A month into my first year as an Uwajima ALT, I came to the realization that utilizing video in the classroom or in school for that matter would be an impossible task. If finding students willing to speak English in front of the class was difficult, finding students to speak English in front of a camera would be like moving the Hawaiian Islands with a fish hook. (I think only Hawaii people will get that reference.)
Feeling a bit defeated, I sat in my apartment and contemplated how I could put everything I’d learned in the multimedia world to good use. As fate would have, it I was asked by one of the Ehime Maru family members to join the Ehime Maru memorial service, and create a documentary not about the tragedy, but about the friendship between Honolulu and Uwajima. The documentary was for the schools in Ehime, and upon completion, DVDs were given to a large number of schools. This single video became the start of several videos for both the sister city exchange and the promotion of Uwajima.
JET and the Rotary Peace Fellow connection: William Nealy, Jr.
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By Mark Flanigan (Nagasaki, 2000-04), Program Director at the Japan ICU Foundation in New York City and former Rotary Peace Fellow in Tokyo.
As a Business Development Manager at Impact Japan, William Nealy, Jr. (Oita, 1994-97) works with mainly ‘gaishikei’ (non-Japanese) companies in Japan to understand their leadership and team development needs. William works in partnership with these companies to design effective solutions to “future-proof” their operations in Japan. He’s passionate about finding ways to help Japanese and foreign clients to align their people development strategies with their overall business strategy, and he loves the rush and satisfaction of helping clients achieve their goals. He is also multilingual- speaking English, Japanese and Spanish. In the Q&A below, William explains more about his own JET and Rotary Peace Fellow experiences in Japan, and how they have literally changed his life.
1) Thanks for answering our questions, William! Where and when were you a JET?
Sure thing! I was in Oita City from 1994-97.
2) What was your role? (ALT, CIR, SEA)
I was a Ken ALT, mainly based at Oginodai High School, with regular visits to a few junior high schools.
3) Did you have any previous background in Asian languages and cultures?
I had studied Japanese at university for four years, so I had a decent head start. But realized pretty quickly when I actually got to Japan that I had a lot of room for improvement in my Japanese skills. But living in Oita, as opposed to a place like Osaka or Tokyo, I was relatively immersed in the culture and language.
4) What did you do following your JET service?
Although I had traveled within the US before JET, my time on the JET Program was my first time abroad. It really opened up a whole world for me, and was the catalyst for me wanting to live, breathe and experience more of the world. Living in Japan, in relatively rural Oita, triggered my curiosity for seeing the world. I also felt deeply that I wanted to continue to develop a career with a global scope and somehow contribute to developing people. So after JET, I set out Read More
2013 JETAA Tokyo Mentor Program
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A request from Christian Tsuji (Miyazaki-ken, 2004-08), current JETAA Tokyo Career Chair. Originally posted on the JETAA Tokyo Facebook group. Posted by Celine Castex (Chiba-ken 2006-11).
Hi everyone,
I am proud to announce the kick-off of the 2013 Mentor Program.
The purpose of the program is to provide current JETs from all parts of Japan and new alumni with a resource for developing their careers in Tokyo. We are looking for mentors from all walks of life with (in principle) five years work experience post-JET and two years in Tokyo. This is a chance for you to build your own resume and leadership skills while giving back to the JET community. As a mentor, we would expect the following contributions:
– Monthly contact with your mentee through face-to-face meetings, telephone, Skype, Facebook or email
– Advice and suggestions on researching career opportunities in the Tokyo area
– Feedback on job search materials (resume, rirekisho, letters of recommendation, etc.)
– If possible, attendance to the JETAA Tokyo Mentor Program Kick-off in February/March (TBD) and the Program Finale in June/July (TBA)
If you think other resources would benefit your mentee, we encourage you to offer those as you see fit. Please note that you will NOT be expected to offer internships to your mentee. The deadline for mentor sign-ups is February 28th, 2013. We plan to assign mentors and mentees within two weeks of that date. This year we are turning the tables and advertising this to ALL current JETs nationally. Thus we are expecting quite an interest. If you know anyone who like to be a Mentor, please pass this information along. Thank you for your attention and support.
To sign up, please go here!
CLAIR Magazine “JET Plaza” series: Matthew Fuller (Aichi)
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Each month, current and former JET participants are featured in the “JET Plaza” section of the CLAIR Forum magazine. The December 2011 edition includes an article by JET alumn Matthew Fuller. Posted by Celine Castex (Chiba-ken, 2006-11), currently programme coordinator at CLAIR Tokyo.
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“Often, you are the only foreigner that people will ever get to know, and so you are truly an Ambassador to Japan from the outside world – and that’s a powerful platform.”
Matthew Fuller (Aichi-ken, Toyota-shi, 1997-99) is originally from Austin, Texas. He came to Japan on the JET Programme and lived and taught in the rural village of Shimoyama which later merged to be part of Toyota City in Aichi Prefecture. After a master’s degree in Public Affairs from the LBJ School of the University of Texas, he joined the US Department of State. Matthew Gardner Fuller is currently the special assistant to the US Ambassador to Japan John V. Roos in Tokyo where he has served since 2009.
What was one the most positive aspects of your experience on the JET Programme?
One of the best things for me was the lifelong connections I made with the people in my community. What started out as sharing an occasional drink with some people in Shimoyama, ended up growing into long-term friendships. In fact, one of the friends I made during my time on JET has continued to keep in touch with me by calling every month to chat. He even continued to check in on me while I was on assignment in Baghdad. It’s these connections that really made my time on JET special. And these ongoing connections have provided numerous opportunities to go back and visit Shimoyama. For example, I was recently invited to and attended the wedding of a former student. I also had the chance to accompany Ambassador Roos to Shimoyama to help provide a firsthand look at the long-lasting grassroots exchange that the JET Programme is capable of fostering. Read More
Kyodo News “Rural JET alumni” series: Marion Lagan (Okayama)
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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 January 2013. Posted by Celine Castex (Chiba-ken, 2006-11), currently programme coordinator at CLAIR Tokyo.
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I hope I will have another chance to spend time there so, to the question “How is it to live in Tokyo?” I can finally answer “It’s good, but not as good as it was living in Okayama.”
Marion Lagan (Okayama-ken, Soja-shi, 2007-09) was born in the Southwest of France, then lived in many different places throughout France until she graduated high school. She moved to Paris where she studied French literature and Japanese. Once she got her teaching certificate, she applied to the JET Programme in order to get a first experience working abroad as well as furthering her knowledge of Japan and its culture. She spent two years in Okayama Prefecture teaching French and English and eating peaches. Once back in France, she got an MBA from HEC Paris. She is now working for L’Oréal as brand manager. In her spare time, she likes watching movies, making movies, reading novels as well as essays and planning her next trip to Japan.
All roads lead to Japan
When people learn I’ve spent two years in Japan, their first question always is “So, how is it to live in Tokyo ?” and the reaction I get when I tell them I don’t know since I lived in Okayama is, at best “What, you mean Hiroshima ?” or at worst “Is that even in Japan ?”. Yes, Okayama is in Japan. To me it is Japan.
From 2007 to 2009, I taught French and English to high school students whose age ranged from 15 to 19 year-old. I was a teacher in France and JET was a great opportunity to experience another lifestyle as well as work-style. I saw –and helped, I hope, students grow up and they definitely made me grow up too. It has been three years now I have left Japan and the more important memories seems to have sharpened so I will recount the ones that impressed me the most. Read More
JET alum Japanese teacher’s class visited by Delaware governor
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Thanks to Virginia Murray for catching this article and posting it to the JETAA Southeast Facebook group. It seems that Linnea Bradshaw, a fellow JET of Virginia’s from 1988, is a Japanese teacher at a high school in Delaware whose class was recently visited by Delaware’s Governor Jack Markell. Go JET!
Markell shares travel experiences with Appoquinimink students
Delaware’s Governor visited the Level II language class at Appoquinimink High School Tuesday morning to share his experiences in Japan and to take questions from the class he video-chatted with from the foreign country during his trip last year.
Here are some excerpts from the article:
“Governor Jack Markell told students in Linnea Bradshaw’s Japanese class Tuesday that speaking multiple languages gives them a leg-up in the job market. Delaware’s Governor visited the Level II language class at Appoquinimink High School Tuesday morning to share his experiences in Japan and to take questions from the class he video-chatted with from the foreign country during his trip last year.”
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“Markell wasn’t the only one in the room Tuesday who has experienced Japan. Last summer, Bradshaw took 23 students from both Middletown and Appoquinimink High Schools to Japan to immerse them in the culture. Bradshaw said that her highest-level students can speak sentences, and understand, write and read Japanese.”
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“During his multi-city trip of the country, Markell, his wife, and staff, met with several businesses in the Miyagi area in hopes of building a stronger partnership between Delaware and Miyagi.”
Click here to read the full article on the Middletown Transcript’s website as well as see a photo of Linnea with the Governor: http://www.middletowntranscript.com/article/20130108/NEWS/130109810/0/SEARCH
CLAIR Magazine “JET Plaza” series: Austin Moore (Yamaguchi)
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Each month, current and former JET participants are featured in the “JET Plaza” section of the CLAIR Forum magazine. The January 2013 edition includes an article by Austin Moore, a former Monbusho English Fellow (MEF), the forerunner to the JET Programme. Posted by Celine Castex (Chiba-ken, 2006-11), currently programme coordinator at CLAIR Tokyo.
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“Sometimes I joke that back when I began what quite unexpectedly is turning out to be a lifetime in Japan, the local men carried swords and wore topknots.”
Austin Moore was born and brought up in a house that was built in 1830 in a small town of Massachusetts. After graduating from Syracuse University in 1984, he came to Japan to work as a member of the Monbusho English Fellow Programme in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Three years later, he moved to Tokyo to join the organization which is today known as CLAIR. Austin has been working for the Japan Intercultural Academy of Municipalities in Shiga Prefecture for the past twenty years. He is also the head of the Historic Preservation Society of Hino town, where he lives in a house that dates back to Edo period.
Adoption Of and By Japan
Sometimes I joke that back when I began what quite unexpectedly is turning out to be a lifetime in Japan, the local men carried swords and wore topknots. While that is more than a small exaggeration, the changes in Japanese society that I have witnessed during these three decades are nearly as significant.
In 1984, immediately after concluding my studies at Eisenhower College and Syracuse University, I was accepted into the Monbusho English Fellow (MEF) Program (preceding JET and run exclusively by the Ministry of Education) and spent almost three years in Yamaguchi Prefecture – the philosophical birthplace of modern-day Japan. There, for the first year, I had the distinction of being the only American employed by the prefectural education board and, as such, visited most every public high school in the prefecture, as well as numerous junior high schools.
It was the very beginning of July when I arrived in Yamaguchi. My supervisor was a kind man who spoke extremely good English – the only one in the office who did. But a week into life as an MEF, my supervisor, my ‘life-support system’, left for a month-long training seminar at Tsukuba University. And so it was that I promptly learned to breathe on my own. Read More
Kyodo News “Rural JET alumni” series: Rashaad Jorden (Yamagata)
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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 December 2012. Posted by Celine Castex (Chiba-ken, 2006-11), currently programme coordinator at CLAIR Tokyo.
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Born in Japan, Rashaad Jorden (Yamagata-ken, Tsuruoka-shi, 2008-10) has lived a bit of a nomadic life, having lived in Virginia, New Jersey, and several times in France and Japan. He attended Coppin State University (Baltimore, Maryland) and graduated with a degree in English. He came back to Japan on the JET Programme and worked for two years in Yamagata Prefecture, in Haguro, a village that merged into Tsuruoka. Currently, he conducts English classes for Japanese adults at an online eikaiwa school named Hello English and is in the job hunt.
Same Country, New Experiences
I was born on a naval base in Yokosuka, where I spent my first 18 months. After graduating from university, I spent a year working at an eikaiwa school in Yokohama.
However, Japan was pretty much a mystery to me. My co-workers were all Westerners, so I was obviously missing out on a true Japanese work environment. If I went somewhere other than Shibuya on an off day, it was a miracle. And despite taking Japanese classes every Wednesday morning for several months, I struggled mightily in the language.
Needless to say, I had not gotten the most out of Japan during my year in Yokohama. But there was definitely an itch to discover more of the country and its culture. So after working as an assistant English teacher in France, the decision was simple: I was applying for the JET Programme.
In late March 2008, I learned Read More
JET alum Bruce Feiler set to publish latest book: The Secrets of Happy Families
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The latest from JET alum Bruce Feiler (Tochigi-ken, 1989-90), author of Learning to Bow, The Council of Dads, and, most recently, The Secrets of Happy Family, as well as several books on the Middle East including Walking the Bible, Abrahamand Where God Was Born. To read prior columns, please click here.
In a few weeks Harper Collins will publish Bruce’s new book, THE SECRETS OF HAPPY FAMILIES: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More.
From Bruce: “Like many people we know, my wife, Linda, and I felt squeezed between aging parents and rising children. So over several years, I set out to find the smartest ideas and cutting-edge techniques to make our family happier. Avoiding the usual “experts,” I sought out creative minds from Silicon Valley to the set of “Modern Family” to the country’s top negotiators, asked what they were doing with the families, then tested their ideas at home with Linda and our girls. Some of these solutions failed, but many more improved our lives deeply and brought us all a lot closer.”
The book will be excerpted in the New York Times and appear on the cover of PARADE. Bruce will be featured on Good Morning America, Katie Couric, and other shows. Bruce will also be touring around the country.
There will also be an event in NYC at the Barnes & Noble on 86th Street on the East Side on February 20. (Stay tuned for a JETAANY announcement about going to the event followed by a happy hour.)
Learn more here: http://amzn.to/QwQxP5.
For more regular updates, follow Bruce on Facebook: www.facebook.com/brucefeilerauthor.
And Twitter: www.twitter.com/brucefeiler.
LifeAfterJET: JET alum makes Korean gay rights public service announcement video
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Patrick Lee (also known as Pat Leezy, Nagasaki-ken, 2010-2012) specializes in videography. His videos can be seen on his Youtube Channel. He can be contacted through Facebook and Twitter.
Here’s another interesting video Patrick recently wrote/produced/directed/edited while in Seoul. It’s a gay rights public service announcement set in Seoul. He also had the video translated in 5 different languages (English, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, French). Click the Closed Captioning “CC” button to choose the language on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMywAnbMHKY
