Devon Brown (Tokyo-to, 2002-04) is a freelance writer with a focus on food. You can read more of her writing at TravelingTastebuds.blogspot.com.
Here’s her latest post in which she comments on, and asks for perspective on, freelance travel writing:
I’m feeling betrayed, so just for today I need to digress from my usual subject matter.
About a month ago, I landed my first article in a national magazine. I worked hard on my little 250 word piece. I was getting paid $1 a word after all and this piece was my national debut. Well I turned that piece in and it was full of rhythm and pep and I was really proud. When I was asked to revise I understood, but when I read the final edited piece it looked nothing like me. Sure it was my subject matter, but my voice was gone, and my rhythm was gone. I had been hacked. And now I’m wondering if I’m being too sensitive.
Is this normal? Is this what I should expect as new-bee in this industry?
JETAA Chapter Beat 1.11.09
JETAA Chapter Beat, JETAA Chapters, Uncategorized 
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Freelance writer/editor Jonathan Trace (Fukuoka-ken, 2005-08) takes us on a walk around the JET Alumni community…
- January Volunteer Event – Saturday, January 24th, 8:30 to 12:30 come out to Kipp DC: Will Academy and volunteer with 5th, 6th, and 7th graders in the Saturday School Community Service Program.
- Inauguration Coat Checker – January 18th – 20th. Want to check coats for the upcoming presidential inauguration? Sign up for a part time job as a coat checker in downtown DC hotels over the weekend.
- JETAADC Happy Hour – Wednesday, January 14th, 6:00 to 8:00 at Cafe Asia. Drop on in for the first Happy Hour of 2009! Special guests from several Asian related organizations will be in attendance so bring your business cards.
- Japan Young Professionals Group Shinnenkai – Wednesday, January 21st, 6:30 at Typhoon Restaurant in downtown Seattle. Join in for good food and a chance to network with others interested in Japan.
- Celebrate Asia Concert – Friday, January 16th, 6:00 at the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium Benaroya Hall. Get your tickets to this inaugural benefit concert event celebrating classical music and other Asian cultural performances.
- Shinnenkai – Saturday, January 14, 6:00 at Restaurant Peony. Food, games, and prizes! Celebrate 2009 with old friends and new.
- 2009 Japan in the Gobal Economy Lecture – Thursday, January 15, 6:00. Join the discussion with Dr. Hugh Patrick and Dr. Takeo Hoshi on the topic of Japan’s financial future after the economic downfall of 2008.
- The Future of Democracy in Northease Asia Lecture – Tuesday, January 20, 5:30 at the World Affairs Council of Northern California. Explore the political landscape of Asia and the challenges democracy faces in the future.
- First Ever SC Sub-Chapter Shinnenkai – Saturday, January 24th, 6:00 at Clemson University’s Roderick International House. Come join in on a little new year’s celebration with the South Carolina Sub-chapter.
- Shinnenkai – Saturday, January 31st, 6:00 to 8:00 at Nori Nori. Bring in the new year with all you can eat seafood and sushi.
What happened at your chapter’s event? If you attend(ed) any of these exciting events, JetWit would love to hear about them. Just email Jonathan Trace with any info, stories or comments.
Via GaijinPot.com. I’ve never heard of this job fair myself, so if anyone has any perspectives or additional info, please feel free to add in the comment section. (The only Akiba I’m aware of, actually, is a rabbi who gets mentioned in the Passover hagadah.)
The first annual Akiba International Job Fair, presented by Vein Carry Japan Inc., will be held this year on February 28th in Umeda, Osaka and on March 7th in Akihabara, Tokyo.
http://www.gaijinpot.com/job_view.php?jid=23079
Job: English > Japanese Translation Project (San Francisco)
Jobs Comments Off on Job: English > Japanese Translation Project (San Francisco)
Via Craigslist San Francisco:
English > Japanese Translation + Marketing Strategy Project (SF)
Reply to: gigs-988369987@craigslist.org [?]
Date: 2009-01-11, 2:32AM PST
Hello-
We are looking to launch a web/mobile product in Japan and are looking for someone to help us both translate our site and help us with our messaging for the Japanese youth market.
If you are fluent in Japanese/English, have experience in marketing and are familiar with Japanese youth culture/technologies, we look forward to hearing from you.
Please let us know a little bit about your experience and what your hourly rate range is.
Thanks so much and we look forward to hearing from you.
Japan Society presents Kazuko Shiraishi, the “Allen Ginsberg” of Japan, Friday, Jan. 30, 6:30pm
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Interesting upcoming event at Japan Society in NYC:
JAPAN SOCIETY PRESENTS THE “ALLEN GINSBERG OF JAPAN,” WHO READS FROM NEW WORK, ACCOMPANIED BY LIVE JAZZ
My Floating Mother, City: An Evening with Kazuko Shiraishi
Friday, January 30, 2009, 6:30 pm at Japan Society
New York, NY – Japan Society presents an intimate evening with one of Japan’s foremost poets, Kazuko Shiraishi, in conjunction with the recent English-language collection of her poetry, My Floating Mother, City. Shiraishi, a pioneer in jazz-poetry collaboration, is joined by trumpeter Itaru Oki for a special live performance, and partakes in a discussion and Q&A moderated by Forrest Gander, author and Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Brown University. My Floating Mother, City: An Evening with Kazuko Shiraishi takes place Friday, January 30 at 6:30 pm and is followed by a reception. Read More
Conversation Partners – Japanese/English – NYC
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I just saw this on Craigslist NY Writing Jobs. I’ve become rather skeptical of a lot of Craigslist postings. Does anyone want to check it out and report back as to whether it’s actually legit? Just an fun project for a snowy day if you have time.
Conversational Partners (Japanese)
Reply to: gigs-987035626@craigslist.org [?]
Date: 2009-01-09, 10:47PM EST
Two female college student’s looking for some people who are fluent in English and Japanese to speak with. Serious inquiries only.
- it’s NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
- Compensation: Two great friends !
Nosh Pit: Ringing in the New Year with Toshi-Koshi Soba
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A recent post by JET alum Rosie DeFremery on her collaborative foodie blog Nosh Pit:
As I write this we are a little over one hour from ringing in the New Year here in icy New York City. It’s already 2009 in Japan, where they’ve just woken up to celebrate Oshogatsu, the Japanese New Year. Japanese residents of New York still keep some of the traditions while living overseas, as you could tell by visiting any Japanese market or store in the city. When I dropped by Chiyoda Sushi to pick up lunch this afternoon, customers were picking up elaborate osechi ryouri meals they’d ordered in advance (for a pretty penny too – well over $100). For the more budget conscious among us, however, they did have packages of fresh toshi-koshi soba noodles available. Upon catching sight of those I snapped one up to prepare at home.
Toshi-koshi soba noodles, which JustHungry translates roughly as “end the old year and enter the new year soba noodles,” will be familiar to anyone who’s eaten soba before. The only difference is
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JETAA Pacific Northwest: Japan Young Professionals Group Shinnenkai!
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Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Japan Young Professionals Group Shinnenkai
Includes appetizers. ~Cash bar~
restaurant or at the Public Market parking garage one block away.
Registration Deadline: Monday, January 19
Jobs in China?
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I recently returned from a trip to China, and it occurred to me that China felt in many ways like Japan felt to me when I was there in the early 90s: Modernized, but also somewhat untamed and pregnant with opportunity. A good amount of structure, but also a sense that it’s not all figured out yet either.
With that in mind, I was wondering if some segment of the JET alumni community is now turning to China for job opportunities? If so, let me know or post a comment below on your thoughts or experience.
Meanwhile, I noticed a China jobs site called China Splash (http://www.chinasplash.com/index.html). I’m sure there are others, but figured I’d at least share the one I’m aware of.
Bankruptcy Bill #9: Bankruptcy on Steroids
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Bankruptcy Bill is a cartoon created by Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94) and Gideon Kendall. To see more strips as well as original bankruptcy haiku, go to bankruptcybill.wordpress.com.
Job: Program Associate – FORECAST Exchange Program for Serbia and Montenegro
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Via JETAA DC:
Program Associate – FORECAST Exchange Program for Serbia and Montenegro
Location: Washington, DC
Duration: January 2009 to May 2010 (with possible extension)
General Description:
The overall goal of this program is to provide academic exchange programs for undergraduate students from Serbia and Montenegro. Funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), this program exposes the student leaders to the U.S., its educational system, and society. World Learning manages all of the recruitment, selection, applications, placement, and monitoring of these students. The
Program Associate will assist a Program Officer in all aspects of the placement and monitoring of the students. Read More
JET alum encounters Lady Murasaki, scoops NYTimes
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After a recent business trip to Tokyo, Seattle JET alum David Kowalsky spent the weekend in Kyoto. He snapped this shot of the Lady Murasaki statue (a tribute to her authoring of The Tale of Genji), along his walk from Uji Station to the impressive Byodo-in Temple. Upon returning to the U.S., he subsequently noticed this article in the NYTimes — “Kyoto Celebrates a 1,000-Year Love Affair” — though he points out that while the NYTimes article mentions fans shooting photos in front of the statue, in his own experience there was nary a Genji fan to be found.
Note: Look for David’s book review of Natsuo Kirino’s Real World in the upcoming issue of the JETAA NY Magazine, due out at the end of January.
Ozawa and Obama: Michael Auslin comments in WSJ Asia
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JET alum Michael Auslin (Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, former Professor of Japanese History at Yale University and one-time judge on Iron Chef America) has a new article in today’s Wall Street Journal Asia titled Ozawa and Obama that analyzes the state of Japan’s economy and political situation and discusses the ways that Japan and the U.S. need to work together.
WIT Life #16: Home for the Holidays
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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Interpreter/Translator/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03). In her recent posts, she’s been watching the news in Japanese and sharing some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
Today’s news discussed Japanese travel trends during the New Year’s holiday, and it turns out that 2.87 million people passed through Tokyo’s domestic Haneda Airport during this time. Many were taking part in what’s called the u-turn rush, or the phenomenon of people returning to Tokyo and other big cities from their hometowns at the end of a holiday season. According to the survey, 84% were u-turning and 16% were coming back from places like Guam and South Korea where they could take advantage of the strong yen.
This piece did a check of what kind of omiyage people had received from their families. A young man from Okinawa had two large cheesecakes his mother had baked for him. A man from Kagoshima held Read More
Job: International Business Coordinator – Troy University (Alabama)
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Via the Chronicle of Higher Ed job page. I don’t see an email address or specific link, so I think you just have to go to their website if you want to apply.
Position: International Businesss Coordinator
Institution: Troy University
Location: Alabama
Date posted: 1/8/2009
International Business Coordinator
Troy University-Troy Campus is currently accepting applications for the full-time position of International Business Coordinator. Read More
