Ishinomaki 2.0
Earthquake Tsunami 
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Via the Japan Earthquake Disaster Relief Idea Exchange Facebook group started by Atlanta-based JET Emily Duncan. My Japanese isn’t good enough to quickly figure out the gist of it or even who created it. But it seemed compelling enough to merit sharing. Please feel free to post any comments or thoughts about the site for the benefit of other readers.
Fundraising: JETAA Sydney Trivia Night Fundraiser for Japan
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JETAA Trivia and Fundraiser for Japan
Come along this Saturday night to the 2011 JETAA trivia night. Bring you friends, meet new people and test your knowledge of all things Japanese and Australian as you compete for a range of great prizes.
This year’s trivia night will be an extra special event, with all proceeds raised on the night being donated to the Red Cross (Japan) Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami Appeal.
Time: 6:30pm, Saturday 23 July
(Questions commence at 7pm sharp so arrive by 6:30pm to get your team organised!)
Place: Parkview Hotel, 178-180 Mitchell Road, Alexandria
(The closest station is Erskineville, and there is lots of parking near the venue)
Entry: $20 per person (Includes catering and you can purchase drinks at the bar)
Please RSVP by Thursday via the Sydney JETAA Facebook group or email sydney@jetalumni.org so we can confirm numbers for catering.
Thanks to Matt Gillam of CLAIR NY for forwarding this on.
ペットボトルのボートで琵琶湖を横断したダスティ・ウイットマンさん（右）とロキシィ・ボロウスカさん＝大津市今堅田３丁目の真野浜
Apparently two Shiga JETs covered the two kilometers between Moriyama and Otsu in a little over an hour to raise approximately300,000 yen. Based on the katakana, I believe their names are Dusty Wittman and Roxy Borowska. (Thanks to Katie Jardine for the name correction!)
2011年7月16日21時46分
ペットボトル船で琵琶湖横断 震災孤児への募金呼びかけ
東日本大震災で親を失った震災孤児への募金を呼びかけようと、滋賀県内の高校に勤務する外国語指導助手（ＡＬＴ）の２人が１６日、ペットボトル８１５本を使った長さ約２メートルのボートで琵琶湖を横断した。
挑戦したのは米国出身のダスティ・ウイットマンさん（３０）と英国出身のロキシィ・ボロウスカさん（２６）。守山市から対岸の大津市まで約２キロを １時間 余りで横断した。米国では募金を求める「本気度」をパフォーマンスで示すことが多いといい、ＡＬＴの仲間や高校生らとペットボトルを集めて準備。２人は 「大好きな日本の子どものため、思いを行動で示したかった」と話す。
２人は３日から募金サイト（http://ilovenihon.com/）などで義援金を募り、国内外から約３０万円が寄せられているという。ボロウスカさんは「地元の人も一緒に盛り上げてくれてうれしかった。今後も支援を訴えていきたい」と話す。
New group: JET Alum Health Professionals
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After meeting Portland-based mental health counselor and JETAA Portland officer Roy Huggins (Hokkaido, Sapporo-shi) at the JETAA USA Conference in D.C. this past weekend and realizing there were two other attendees who are also health professionals (JETAA Texoma’s Chieko Rothengass and Dennis Li are both researchers), we thought it might make sense to create a …..
JET Alum Health Professionals Group on LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/e/ai06o5-gqax67os-a/vgh/4008893/
So if you’re a therapist, a doctor, a nurse, a researcher, a nutritionist or in any other line of work (or aspire to be) that has some connection to health, please join!
Also a reminder that there are a whole host of other JET Alum LinkedIn groups to join (e.g., law, policy & government, MEFs, media professionals, etc.) as well as the JET alum LinkedIn groups by prefecture.
JETAA USA Conference a big success in DC
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Major props to JETAA DC for putting on an extremely substantive and energizing JETAA USA National Conference–just what we all needed in a very challenging year.
More details and info to come when I have time to gather thoughts and info and get them posted.
“Thank You” from the Women’s World Cup Champions Japan
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JET Memorial Invitation Program for High School Students ready to head to Japan
Cultural Outreach, Earthquake Tsunami, JETs in the News, Return on JET-vestment, Travel/Tourism, Video Comments Off on JET Memorial Invitation Program for High School Students ready to head to Japan
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Thanks to Andy Anderson, father of Taylor Anderson, for sharing information and the video link below. FYI, JETAA USA had the honor of Mr. Anderson attending the National Conference this past weekend in Washington, D.C. and speaking to the conference attendees (2 representatives from each JETAA chapter in the U.S.)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced an exchange program on June 24, 2011 (press release here) to send 32 American students to Japan as a way of commemorating the work of Taylor Anderson and Monty Dickson. Those students, who come from all over the U.S., have been selected and are now in San Francisco getting ready to depart for Japan.
The majority of the 10 day program takes place in Japan and includes a pre-departure orientation and a wrap-up meeting and farewell dinner in San Francisco. During their stay in Japan, the participants will have an option of participating in a day trip to visit the Tohoku area.
KTVU (San Francisco) did a story on the student group as they gathered in San Francisco for a pre-departure orientation before heading to Japan. Here’s the link to the video: http://www.ktvu.com/video/28580191/index.html
Minasan ganbatte kudasai!
Note: If anyone can figure out how to get the embed code for the video, e-mail it to jetwit [at] jetwit.com so we can post it here.
Update 7/21/2011: Here’s a Japanese article about the event, forwarded by Andy Anderson:
http://sankei.jp.msn.com/world/news/110718/amr11071818190005-n1.htm
2011年07月18日
日米の懸け橋へ努力
日本研修に向け米高校生
【サンフランシスコ共同】東日本大震災で犠牲になった米国人の英語教師２人の業績をたたえ、創設された日本研修事業に参加する米国の高校生３２人の壮行会が１７日、サンフランシスコの日本総領事館で行われた。代表のトーマス・クドさんは「帰ったら、この体験と日本語を生かしたい」と話し、日米の懸け橋となるために努力することを誓った。猪俣弘司（いのまた・ひろし）総領事は、大震災で亡くなった外国青年招致事業（ＪＥＴプログラム）の英語教師テーラー・アンダーソンさんとモンゴメリー・ディクソンさんの死を悼み、「研修を成功させるかどうかは皆さん次第」と激励した。米側のデボラ・ダニエルズさんは「同じ高校生がどんな風に（大震災で）被災し、どんなことを考えて毎日暮らしているのか知りたい」と話した。一行は今月１９～２８日、大阪の地元高校生との交流や、ホームステイを体験。京都訪問のほか、希望者による岩手視察も予定されている。
Japan Women Win World Cup!
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Omedetou to Japan Women’s Soccer for an amazingly resilient World Cup victory!
The JET Alumni community everywhere is cheering.
Honto ni o-tsukare sama deshita.
JETAA North Carolina Subchapter on the move
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New JETAA subchapter activity has been detected in North Carolina, thanks to some outreach by Kay Munn who has gotten a JETAA Southeast North Carolina Subchapter Facebook page up and running!
Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/jetaasenc
And here’s a message from Kay:
“Hello everyone! If you’re currently living in NC (or moving here soon!) we’re trying to get a subchapter up and running over here. Feel free to join our Facebook page :)”
Welcome to the JETAA SE North Carolina subchapter! The NC subchapter was started to help connect former, current, and aspiring JETs with the North Carolina community. Connect with other JETs in North Carolina and help us teach our community about our second home, Japan.
E-mail: jetaasenc [at] groups.facebook.com
New Bruce Feiler column in the New York Times
Article/Journalism, Books, Celebrity, JETs in the News, Notable JET Alums, Writers Comments Off on New Bruce Feiler column in the New York Times
Attached is a new New York Times column (“The Life (and Death) of the Party: Mastering the Art of Dinner Party Conversation“) by JET alum Bruce Feiler (Tottori-ken, 1989-90), author of Learning to Bow, The Council of Dads, and several books on the Middle East including Walking the Bible, Abraham and Where God Was Born.
To read prior columns, please click here.
Bruce’s new book GENERATION FREEDOM: The Middle East Uprisings and the Remaking of the Modern World has just been published. You can see some of his recent media appearances by visiting www.brucefeiler.com.
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This Life
The Life (and Death) of the Party
By BRUCE FEILER
Published: July 8, 2011
I CALL it my insufferability test. It came about like this: A number of years ago, I was seated at a dinner party next to the celebrated C.E.O. of an American brewery. I was the lesser player here, so I began asking him questions about his beer. Fifteen minutes passed, then 30. He didn’t ask me a single question.
As dessert approached, I began slumping in my chair from trying to come up with query after query about organic hops and fluctuating wheat futures. Finally, I started dropping in teasers from the year I spent as a circus clown. “My friend the human cannonball …”; “That reminds me of the time I once got into a cage with nine tigers.” Surely these would pique his curiosity. Needless to say, I never told a story about the circus that night.
To me that encounter was a warning shot. I was like a rookie pitcher being plastered in his opening outing in the big leagues. If I hoped to avoid similar dinner party fiascoes in the future, I had to raise my game. So what is the best formula for handling a loudmouth, know-it-all, bore or clam?
With summer entertaining season upon us, it seemed like a good time to brush up on my techniques, and perhaps pick up some new tricks. So with the help of some veterans of the tablecloth trenches, here are some tips for navigating dinner party pitfalls.
EAT AND GREET In ancient Rome, senators hired nomenclatorsto follow them around and introduce them to people. These days, each of us has to be his own nomenclator. A good host often performs this role. “A lot of dinners I throw often have a specific point to them,” said Sunny Bates, a former Silicon Alley headhunter turned networking guru. “I make everyone go around and say who they are, where they’re from and what they most need.” Other starter questions I’ve seen work: “If you could change one thing about the human body, what would it be?” and “What about you, physically, is perfect?” Knowing something about all the other guests is more than good manners; it can also come in handy if you’re seated next to a dud and need to seek relief in someone a few seats away. If I’m at an event with no host at the table, I’ll go so far as to walk around and briefly introduce myself to the other guests. Think of a dinner party as being like a crime scene: plan your escape route. Read More
Visit all 47 prefectures in Japan in 100 days — for free! (But there’s a catch…)
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I’ve seen this posted several places and also had it sent to me by JET alum and President of Music City JETAA Terry Vo (2007-09, Kumamoto-ken) . So while no JET alums would be eligible, maybe our extensive alumni community might know someone who is.
The Offer: Some lucky person will win 100 days to visit all 47 prefectures in Japan and blog about it.
The Catch: You can’t have ever lived in Japan before.
More Info Here: http://travelvolunteer.net/
By the way, for tourism info on all 47 prefectures, here are the tourism sites for each prefecture (which I organized in a JETwit post back in early June):
- Local Japan: Prefecture Tourism Links: https://jetwit.com/wordpress/2011/06/02/local-japan-prefecture-tourism-links/
Video: “Tonoharu” explained in unique video by creator Lars Martinson
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Lars Martinson (Fukuoka-ken 2003-2006), author of the graphic novels Tonoharu: Part Two and Tonoharu: Part 1, has put together a rather unique video that “explains” the Tonoharu series in a marvelously tongue-in-cheek way. (BTW, does anyone know if there’s a Japanese term for “tongue-in-cheek”?)
Anyway, have a look at the video. I think it’s fair to say that no one has captured the JET/living in Japan experience in as intricate a way as Lars has:
JET ROI: “The JET Program’s Finest Hour”
Article/Journalism, Blogs, Earthquake Tsunami, JETs in the News, Notable JET Alums, Return on JET-vestment, Uncategorized, Volunteer Comments Off on JET ROI: “The JET Program’s Finest Hour”
David Jacobson, a former Monbusho Scholar who now works for Seattle-based Chin Music Press (founded by former Monbusho English Fellow Bruce Rutledge), has just posted a really terrific piece titled “The JET Program’s Finest Hour“ about the role of JET and JET alumni in response to the Tohoku Earthquake Disaster. David did a particularly effective job of documenting the topic and pulling information together in a way that had not been done to date. And it demonstrates a very clear “Return on JET-vestment.”
Here’s the link: http://chinmusicpress.com/blog.php?action=display&entryID=13
David comments that the JET Program’s “support this spring, in the aftermath of the devastating March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, may have marked the program’s finest hour.” And his research helps document information such as:
“Within hours after the disaster, Eric Butler, a former JET who lives in Calgary, Alberta, created a Facebook page, Foreigners from Miyagi. He intended it as a place to discuss how to help the quake victims, but within days it attracted nearly 700 users, many in Japan, and morphed into a forum for those seeking the whereabouts of JETs or others in disaster areas.”
The article also acknowledged and put JETwit’s role in perspective in the larger context:
“Editor (and JET alumnus) Steven Horowitz began a similar effort providing up-to-the minute updates on JETwit, a blog that has evolved into the de facto central information source for the JET alumni community. But he also saw his role as helping JET alums become involved in the relief effort, listing opportunities for volunteers, translators, even offering practical advice for those in Japan. And he recommended that JETs get the word out: “Make yourself available to talk to schools, churches, companies, other organizations. Engage your grad school or college alumni offices. Wear a button that says, ‘Ask Me About Japan.’”
A walk across the Canadian Rockies to maintain awareness for Tohoku situation
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Posted by Alisa Wylie to the Japan Earthquake Disaster Relief Idea Exchange group on Facebook (started by Atlanta-based JET alum Emily Duncan):
Steve Johnson is a friend of a friend who returned to Canada from Japan last year. He’s walking across the Canadian Rockies to raise/maintain awareness of the situation in Tohoku.
Steve also says: “I have prepared a presentation and talk that aims to share my experience in the endlessly fascinating Japanese culture and thereby connect Canadians to this event. Furthermore, I hope to encourage people to develop their natural feeling of connectedness to current events and to take action when they feel passionate about an issue, whether it be global or local.”
The blog includes a list of charities and disaster relief projects where people can send donations if they wish. Please share this info with anyone who might be interested or even be able to help reduce their expenses!
http://www.walkforjapan.blogspot.com/
Dreams Come True to hold rare concerts in U.S. Any JET alums going?
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Just heard from Aaron Woolfolk (Kochi-ken) (writer and director of the film “The Harimaya Bridge”) that he’s going to the Dreams Come True concert in L.A. in October and that they’ll also be playing concerts in Seattle and NYC as well as free concerts in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima.
Here’s a June 28 post about the concerts from Anime News Network.
If you’re a JET or JET alum and plan on going, post a comment here and let the JET alum community know.
