New JETAA Brazil Country Representative
JETAA Chapter Beat, JETAA Chapters, Uncategorized 
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JetWit is happy to share that Brazil’s JETAA chapter has a new Country Representative as of July 1st.
Please meet Cristiane Megumi Hayato, who attended the last JETAA International meeting in Paris last September.
Also, a big o-tsukare sama deshita to outgoing Country Rep Cristina Izumi Sagara, who has done a fantastic job on behalf of JETAA Brazil for the past 9 years, also serving as a JETAA International officer for part of her time.
New JETAA Hawaii website/blog?
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Just came across a JETAA Hawaii website/blog: http://jetaahawaii.wordpress.com/.
And I found it because they list JetWit.com in the sidebar which led someone to click through to JetWit.
Thanks JETAA Hawaii! Aloha from JetWit-Land!
JET-oriented scholarships?
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Can anyone recommend any scholarships (or organizations/institutions that are good sources of scholarships) that might appeal to JETs/JET alums in addition to the ones listed below? If so, please post in the comments section, or feel free to e-mail directly to jetwit [at] jetwit [dot] com. We’ll make a more complete list available after getting responses.
- Monbusho
- Monterey Institute
- McGill MBA
- JAIMS (Japan-America Institute of Management Science)
- Temple University Japan campus MBA
- JLGC summer in Japan
Update:
- Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships http://www.rotary.org (Thanks to Shannon Quinn, former JETAA Pacific Northwest President, former JETAA USA Country Rep and currently the ALT Advisor to MEXT in Tokyo.)
Update #2:
A few more scholarships, thanks to Kia Cheleen (CIR, Aichi-ken 1996-98, ALT 1998-1999), Associate Director at the Donald Keene Center on Japanese Culture at Columbia University.
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Japan Foundation — grants for Ph.D. studies, short-term research, Japan-related organizations who need funding for Arts & Culture or Japanese Studies projects:
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Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Translation Prize (administered through Columbia University’s Donald Keene Center of Japanese Culture):
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Shicho Fellowship for Graduate Study in Japan (adminstered through Columbia University’s Donald Keene Center of Japanese of Japanese Culture; only open to Columbia U grad students):
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National Endowment for the Humanities (Fellowships: Advanced Social Science Research on Japan):
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Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission (fellowship program, creative artists’ program, etc.):
JetWit is happy to share that Kate Chevarley is in the process of getting a JETAA Fingerlakes subchapter up and running.
If you live in or anywhere near a Fingerlake (or if you are a Fingerlake), then feel free to get in touch with Kate for some JET alum community (which I have to imagine will at some point involve wine tastings and/or grape pies).
If you have no idea what a Fingerlake is, then read up on the topic on Wikipedia.
Geneva Marie (Niigata-ken, 2008-09) grew up all over the U.S. but if asked will tell you she’s from Minneapolis, MN . JET Lag will recount Geneva’s experiences and thoughts as she prepares to leave the comfortable womb of her JET life and figure out her next move.
It’s been an entire month since my last JETLag post! I had an entire week of birthday activities, I did some much-needed traveling, and soon after I was…sickety, sick, SICK! Needless to say -I’m playing catch-up.
It’s no surprise. I was getting off too easy. Nearly two months with nary a cough, sniffle, or sneeze. I knew it wouldn’t last, especially given my bill of health in Japan.
I had spent nearly all winter ill. Like, totally illin’, but not in that Beastie Boys kind of way. I was told that it was probably due to the fact that I was teaching little kids for the first time. Either that, or because the whole “no heat situation” in indoor places OR the worst case scenario: there was killer mold hiding in the apartment somewhere. Whatever the case, I was sicker than I’ve ever been in my life. I got the flu which is pretty normal for the winter season just about anywhere, but I had gone out of my way to get a flu shot every winter in America for about the last five years or so. I had forgotten how freaky the flu really is: the sweating, the puking, the hallucinations. All experienced alone, in a cold apartment without a kind hand to wipe the sweat from my brow.
In any case, at least it wasn’t Read More
JetWits and Pieces: Japanese toilet training video
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Who says the JET alumni network doesn’t do enough things aimed at JET alums with kids? There are a whole slew of JET alum writers with children’s books, not to mention Suzanne Kamata’s (Tokushima-ken, 1988-90) book Call Me Okaasan: Adventures in Multicultural Mothering (which I’m in the middle of reading right now and enjoying very much).
And now this helpful video (which is also good for plain old language study to boot).
Meanwhile, though the video may be unconscious satire in its own right, there are actually several parody versions of this video posted to YouTube as well.
Japan Info Newsletter – June 2009
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The June 2009 edition of JapanInfo is now available online. JapanInfo is published by the Consulate General of Japan in New York/Japan Information Center and is a great source of info for Japan-related things going on in New York and the surrounding area.
Highlights include:
- 45,000 New Yorkers Flock to JAPAN DAY @ CENTRAL PARK 2009
- Ambassador Nishimiya Visits West Virginia
- It’s Easy to Visit Japan : Visa and Quarantine Checks
- Going Global? JETRO Can Help
- The World Heritage Sites in Japan: Spiritual Heart of Kumano and Ancient Pilgrimage Routes
- From the Ambasador’s Desk
- And plenty of things to do and see on the Events Calendar.
JetWit Blog Beat: Isshoni London by Vanessa Villalobos
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Just learned about a terrific blog and resource for UK-oriented JET alums called Isshoni London (http://www.isshonilondon.co.uk/), “the Gateway to Japanese London.” And the best part is it’s written by JET alum Vanessa Villalobos who is also the Communications Officer for JETAA UK.
The site include:
As well as listing of evens covering everything from a Japanese/English meetup picnic in Greenwich to an Okinawa festival to a manga signing event.
You can also follow Isshoni London on Twitter (http://twitter.com/IsshoniVanessa), and Vanessa helpfully includes a list of the “Top Japan-related people to follow on Twitter.”
Job: Exec Assistant at law firm with advanced Japanese skills (D.C.)
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Via JETAA DC:
Erin Barnes at Kellen Resources contacted Abby at JETAA DC to say they’re looking for someone with very advanced Japanese skills (i.e., someone who can read and speak Japanese comfortably) . The position is as an executive assistant at a law firm. No prior legal or secretarial experience is required, but she wants someone smart, adaptable, and with strong administrative skills.
If you’re interested, please call her at 202-349-4050 or email her at erin [at] kellenresources [dot] com.
The Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations is seeking an Administrative Assistant for diplomats in the Political Section at the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations.
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
1. Respond to telephone calls, both incoming and outgoing, with efficiency and professional etiquette
2. Assist in logistics/protocol for conferences, meetings, briefings, receptions, and other official functions
3. Draft and prepare letters and diplomatic correspondence
4. Manage appointment schedules for visiting diplomats and VIPs
5. Edit letters and speeches
6. Give oral or written briefings to diplomats depending on the situation
7. Assist other officers and staff when needed
Requirements/Preferences:
1. U.S. citizenship required
2. Excellent English writing and verbal communication skills at native level required
3. Computer skills, typing skills (Microsoft Word, Excel, and plus) experience required
4. Japanese language skills preferred
5. College degree preferred
6. Basic knowledge about the UN preferred
Position begins: August 2009
Please send a cover letter and resume by Monday, 3 July 2009 by 1:00 p.m. to kentaro-orita@un-japan.org or gochaku@un-japan.org with “PMJ Administrative Assistant Position” in the subject line. No phone calls please.
I don’t know how other JET alumni chapters deal with this issue, but in JETAA NY we refer to members of our community who are not officially JET alums as “Friends of JET” or “FOJs” (pronounced fahjz).
Additionally, the term “WOJ” (i.e., “Wife of JET”) occasionally comes up.
And lastly, while it hasn’t caught on yet, I propose increased use of the term “SOJ” (i.e., “Significant Other of JET”) for those vague and undefined relationships that require a category in the JET context. (Though I suppose FOJ could also apply to “Fiancee of JET” as well.)
How you do deal with this issue in your chapter or JET-vironment? Share comments on this post, or send JetWit an email.
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Miguel Gervais (Saitama-ken, Fukaya City, 2000-03) founded and runs the M.L.C.英会話 (eikaiwa) school in Fukaya City, Saitama-ken which currently teaches approximately 45-50 students. He is originally from Canada and was kind enough to write this article in response to a JetWit request to share his career experience.
Any other JET alums interested in sharing their own career advice, experience and perspectives are encouraged to e-mail your article idea to Steven at jetwit [at] jetwit [dot] com.
Having a Job is Irresponsible
My friend Jack is a fine, upstanding person and a great teacher. He’s been in Japan for untold years, had a job that he liked well enough and is blessed with a wonderful family. Unfortunately, the college that had hired him for the past 10 years or so suddenly refused to renew his yearly contract. In their magnanimity, they told him this one month before he was due to start the new school year. Obviously, this was much too late to find another job.
Jack is a great teacher. He is a valuable asset… and yet he is now unemployed and in rather desperate straits. But things could have been even worse… he could have been forced to leave Japan, just like untold numbers of other teachers after the NOVA debacle. Luckily, he is on a spousal visa and was spared this final humiliation.
Don’t let this happen to you! Life-time employment has never been in the cards for foreign teachers in Japan. Unless you are Read More
JETSites: JET Prefectural Websites and Newsletters?
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JetWit has just created a new page in the JETLinks section of this site called “JET Prefectural Websites and Newsletters.”
So far, the only ones listed are Hiroshima-ken and Akita-ken. There are, of course, many more out there. So please send an e-mail to jetwit [at] jetwit [dot] com to share links for your prefecture’s:
- Website
- Blog
- Yahoo or Google group
- Wiki-site
- Facebook page
- Twitter feed
- LinkedIn group
- Any other crazy new form of media the kids have come up with recently
Thanks and yoroshiku.
Sushi and Sake: JET alum columns
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Elizabeth White (Toyama-ken, 1995-98), the Media Coordinator for JETAA Southern California, has been helping Sushi & Sake magazine collect writing from JET alums for the last few years.
Here’s a link to the JET alum writing on their site, including the latest column by Devon Brown (Tokyo-ken, 2002-04) titled “Taking One for the Team.”
And here are links to columns from past issues:
BACK ISSUES – JET Alumni Association
2008 Issues: December • June • May • April • March • February • January
2007 Issues: December • November • October • September • August • July • June • May • April • March
For anyone interested in contributing to future issues of Sushi & Sake, please feel free to contact Elizabeth via e-mail.
JETSites: Frugalista Japan
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Just came across this interesting blog called Frugalista Japan (http://www.frugalistajapan.com): Money saving tips and ideas for foreigners in Japan! They have a post on something I’d never even considered before but which sounds pretty useful: How to Check Your Credit Score in Japan.
Has anyone else come across this blog before? I know there are a number of similar kinds of useful sites in the U.S. such as Bargain Babe. But this is the first I’ve heard of an English-language one in Japan. Are there others out there?
