Let’s Talk Japan is a twice monthly, interview format podcast covering a wide range of Japan-related topics. Host Nick Harling (Mie-ken, 2001-03) lived in Japan from 2001 until 2005, including two great years as a JET Program participant in Mie-Ken. He practices law in Washington, D.C., and lives with his wife who patiently listens to him talk about Japan . . . a lot.
Looking for a good summer read? Check out Episode 12 of the Let’s Talk Japan podcast to hear recommendations from members of the J Book Club of Washington, DC. Enjoy!
Nick
If you have not already done so, be sure to “Like” the podcast on Facebook, and follow the podcast on Twitter @letstalkjapan. Additionally, please consider leaving a positive rating and/or review in iTunes.
Welcome to JET Talks, by JETAADC – Live Your Dream Q&A
Earthquake Tsunami, JETAA Chapters 
Comments Off on Welcome to JET Talks, by JETAADC – Live Your Dream Q&A
JET Talks is a brand new speaker series organized by the JET Program Alumni Association of Washington, DC. JET Talks is modeled after the TED Talks concept and will feature dynamic and interesting speakers with the goal of inspiring innovative ideas and conversations on Japan-related themes. Although JET Talks audio files will be accessible via the Let’s Talk Japan podcast subscription feed, the two are separate entities. However, our goals are the same – to get people talking and thinking about Japan.
Shauna Tischler, came up with the idea of JET Talks and currently serves as JETAADC’s Thought Leadership Chair. From 2000-2003, Shauna worked as an Assistant Language Teacher on the JET Program in Gifu Prefecture. Special recognition is also owed to Leigh Ann Mastrini, the current President of JETAADC, and the Japan Information and Cultural Center of Washington, DC, for hosting the first JET Talks event.
Regular listeners of the Let’s Talk Japan podcast will recall that in Episode 11, host Nick Harling spoke with Regge Life about making the film Live Your Dream, chronicling the lives of JET Program participants Taylor Anderson and Montgomery Dickson, who passed away in the March 11, 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
Regge was recently in Washington, DC, along with Taylor’s father, Andy Anderson, and Montgomery’s sister, Shelly Frederickson, to speak at the first JET Talks event – a screening and panel discussion of the film Live Your Dream. More than 120 guests were in attendance and the event was a huge success.
For anyone who has not seen Live Your Dream, I encourage you to listen to Let’s Talk Japan episode 11, as it provide a good overview of the film.
In this JET Talks, you will first hear introductory remarks from the event organizers and panelists, followed by the panel discussion, which followed the screening.
You can listen to this first installment of JET Talks by subscribing to the Let’s Talk Japan podcast in iTunes or by clicking HERE.
Tokushima “Awa Odori” chicken curry
Food & Drink Comments Off on Tokushima “Awa Odori” chicken curry
Tom Baker (Chiba, 1989-91) is writing a 47-part weekly series of posts on his Tokyo Tom Baker blog, in which he samples and comments on a curry from a different prefecture each week. Here’s an excerpt from his fifh installment, about Tokushima Prefecture:
The largely rural prefecture was once a major supplier of chicken to the urban market in Osaka, a relatively short boat ride away.
But in the late 1960s, poultry imports began on a large scale—particularly from Brazil, which is still a significant supplier of chicken to Japan. In the face of such competition, the absolute and relative size of the Tokushima poultry industry began to shrink.
In an effort to distinguish their product, Tokushima farmers began crossbreeding Shamo chickens (a Japanese breed that has Thai roots) with white Plymouth Rock chickens from America. They called the resulting birds … Awa Odori.
Job: Esl teaching position in Terre Haute, IN
Jobs, Uncategorized Comments Off on Job: Esl teaching position in Terre Haute, IN
Via JETAA Chicago. Posted by Kim ‘Kay’ Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
————————————————————————————————————
Position: ESL Instructor
Posted by: INTERLINK Language Center
Type: N/A
Location: Terre Haute, IN
Salary: N/A
Start Date: N/A
Overview:
The INTERLINK Language Center, an intensive English program based at Indiana State University is seeking full-time ESL instructors to begin in August 2013. The program provides international students with language support, cultural orientation, and academic preparation as well as help with university placement and conditional admission. More information about the program can be found online at www.interlink.edu.
Responsibilities:
teaching in all skill areas, arranging experiential learning activities, assisting with new student placement and orientation, and presenting periodically at TESOL conferences. Read More
Job: English Teacher for grades 7-12 at Kobe College High School
Jobs, Uncategorized Comments Off on Job: English Teacher for grades 7-12 at Kobe College High School
Via JETAA DC. Posted by Kim ‘Kay’ Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
————————————————————————————————————
Position: English Teacher for grades 7-12
Posted by: Kobe College High School
Type: Two year contract
Location: Nishinomiya, Japan
Salary: N/A
Start Date: April 1, 2014
Benefits:
Salary: 4,691,200 yen
Furnished Apt (small fee)
Travel & Shipping Expenses
Language Study
Qualifications:
B.A. degree. Major in English or Education preferred.
TESOL certification and teaching experience preferred.
Speaker of standard American English with strong grammar skills.
View www.kccjee.org for a full job description and the application form
Deadline is July 31, 2013
Job: Program Assistant – TESOL Certificate Program (NY)
Jobs, Uncategorized Comments Off on Job: Program Assistant – TESOL Certificate Program (NY)
Via Indeed.com. Posted by Kim ‘Kay’ Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
————————————————————————————————————
Position: TESOL Program Assistant
Posted by: Teachers College Columbia University
Type: N/A
Location:NY
Salary: N/A
Start Date: N/A
Overview:
This position is responsible for assisting the Director of the TESOL Certificate Program in managing the program.
Duties include, but are not limited to:
- Managing and processing requests for program information from prospective students around the world.
- Advising prospective students.
- Managing and processing admissions documents, including applications, transcripts, etc.
- Processing financial transactions (application fees, tuition deposits, tuition, workshop fees, etc.) Read More
Job: Adult ESL Lecturers Openings at University of California Davis
Jobs, Uncategorized Comments Off on Job: Adult ESL Lecturers Openings at University of California Davis
Posted by Kim ‘Kay’ Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
————————————————————————————————————
Position: Adult ESL Lecturers
Posted by: University of California Davis
Type: Full-time
Location: Davis, CA
Salary: N/A
Start Date: N/A
Overview:
The UC Davis University Writing Program invites applications for full-time Lecturers able to teach ESL writing courses for first-year students at the college preparatory level. M.A., Ph.D. or other appropriate terminal degree required, except in cases where extensive professional experience may be considered the equivalent. Substantial training and experience in teaching writing to college/university-level L2 undergraduates is required. Successful candidates will also have training and/or experience in classroom and program-wide writing assessment, and in computer-assisted writing instruction. They should also be eager to work collaboratively in a team environment with other faculty and graduate student instructors on curricular development and ongoing program research.
See link for details.
https://recruit.ucdavis.edu/apply/JPF00078
Mackerel curry from Chiba Prefecture
Food & Drink Comments Off on Mackerel curry from Chiba Prefecture
Tom Baker (Chiba, 1989-91) has begun a 47-part weekly series of posts on his Tokyo Tom Baker blog, in which he will sample and comment on a curry from a different prefecture each week. Here’s an excerpt from his fourth installment, about Chiba Prefecture:
On a visit to Choshi last year, I noticed many businesses that appeared permanently shuttered, including a hotel just a block from the town’s famous lighthouse. But Choshi does have a few things going for it. Two major soy sauce companies, Yamasa and Higeta, have factories there. And its history as a center of the fish cannery business led to the existence of this week’s curry: canned mackerel.
I’ll Make It Myself!: New Resource: Japan-Friendly Recipes Master List
Blogs, Food & Drink, I'll Make It Myself, Writers Comments Off on I’ll Make It Myself!: New Resource: Japan-Friendly Recipes Master List
L.M. Zoller (CIR Ishikawa-ken, Anamizu, 2009-11) is the editor of The Ishikawa JET Kitchen: Cooking in Japan Without a Fight. A bilingual writer, web administrator, and translator, ze also writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan; 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; and admins The JET Alumni Culinary Group on LinkedIn.
New Rice Cooker Chronicles submissions always welcome. Just e-mail it to jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
While living in Japan, I often got frustrated with the availability of ingredients, recipes that didn’t work in my moven, and other challenges to cooking in a Japanese kitchen. Now that I’ve repatriated, I wanted to have a special place on this blog to share Japan-friendly recipes, both my own and those of others, for foods from all over the world.
Job: Job opening at NHK’s DC bureau
Jobs, Uncategorized Comments Off on Job: Job opening at NHK’s DC bureau
Posted by Kim ‘Kay’ Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
————————————————————————————————————
Position: Producer/Researcher
Posted by: NHK
Type: N/A
Location: Washington, DC
Salary: N/A
Start Date: N/A
Overview:
NHK Japan Broadcasting Corporation currently has an opening for an off-camera producer/researcher position in the Washington DC Bureau to cover either Congress or the State Department.
Responsibilities include daily coverage of Congress or the Secretary of State’s activities, attendance at daily press briefings, coverage of various think tank events around Washington, arranging interviews, and planning and producing feature stories.
Candidates will need to be motivated, interested in political and international affairs and have excellent listening and organizational skills. This is generally not a 9 to 5 job, so the producer should also be prepared to work nights and weekends and travel as needed. Most importantly, we are looking for a team player who will do their very best to assist our Japanese correspondents, and who is capable of bridging the different cultures between America and Japan. Some experience in either broadcast news production or international affairs is required. Japanese language proficiency is a plus but not required. Read More
Via JETAA Chicago. Posted by Kim ‘Kay’ Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
————————————————————————————————————
Position: 2 openings
Posted by: The Consulate General of Japan
Type: Full-time
Location: Chicago
Salary: N/A
Start Date: N/A
Administrative Assistant To The Consul General
Responsibilities include:
• Maintain calendar and phones
• Handle contact list and correspondence
• Prepare documents including letters
• Prepare materials for events
• Administrative duties for General Affairs
• General office responsibilities, including Japan-related inquiries and correspondence Read More
New: JET Programme official Facebook page
JETAA Chapters Comments Off on New: JET Programme official Facebook page
Via CLAIR:
The Department of JET Programme Management has recently created an official JET Programme Facebook page. The Facebook page is mainly used to assist in the dissemination of JET Programme-related information to current JET participants and contracting organisations, but we would also like to encourage JET alumni to view and like the page. The URL for the page is:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/JET-Programme/219440938121634
CLAIR’s JET Streams Newsletter 06.07.13
JETAA Chapters, Local Government Comments Off on CLAIR’s JET Streams Newsletter 06.07.13
Via CLAIR:
Please find below a link to the online version of the JET Streams newsletter. JET Streams is distributed to all JET alumni who request it and have registered an email address with CLAIR.
http://www.jetprogramme.org/e/former/jetstreams12-13.html
WIT Life #236: Japanese Influence in Portland
Translating/Interpreting, Uncategorized, WIT Life, Writers Comments Off on WIT Life #236: Japanese Influence in Portland
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.
I’m on the tail end of a business trip in Portland, my first visit to the state of Oregon. Being located on the West Coast I had assumed there would be significant Japan connections, and was happy to find that I was right. One of the first places I went to was the Japanese Gardens, proclaimed to be the “most authentic Japanese garden outside of Japan.” The 5.5 acre grounds are sprawling, and include natural gardens, sand and stone gardens, and a tea garden. The timing of our visit was great, as they were having a special Isamu Noguchi exhibition as part of their “Art in the Garden” series (through July 21). It was neat to see some of Noguchi’s pieces, on loan from his LIC museum, juxtaposed against the backdrop of the Portland skyline.
I also found a J
apan connection when I checked out the local Rogue Brewery one night. One of their many offerings was the Morimoto Black Obi Soba ale, a richer and nuttier version of the brewery’s original Morimoto Soba Ale. They also feature a Morimoto Imperial Pilsner, which is golden in color, floral in taste, and described as a “hedonistic mouthful.” All three are part of the 2003 Morimoto Signature Series, a collaboration between Read More
I’ll Make It Myself!: Yes, You Should Try Soy-Sauce Ice Cream
Blogs, Food & Drink, I'll Make It Myself, Writers Comments Off on I’ll Make It Myself!: Yes, You Should Try Soy-Sauce Ice Cream
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, web administrator, and translator, ze also writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan; 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; and admins The JET Alumni Culinary Group on LinkedIn.
New Rice Cooker Chronicles submissions always welcome. Just e-mail it to jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
I probably don’t need to mention how much I love “weird” local flavors of ice cream. In fact, I’m not sure I really need to preface this post with an explanation about how soy-sauce ice cream sounds a bit odd to people unfamiliar with Japanese “savory” flavors used in sweet ice cream.
