{"id":37095,"date":"2014-12-27T08:57:40","date_gmt":"2014-12-27T12:57:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/?p=37095"},"modified":"2015-01-02T21:49:46","modified_gmt":"2015-01-03T01:49:46","slug":"from-jet-to-npr-an-interview-and-playlist-from-producer-robin-hilton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/2014\/12\/27\/from-jet-to-npr-an-interview-and-playlist-from-producer-robin-hilton\/","title":{"rendered":"From JET to NPR: An Interview (and Playlist) from Producer Robin Hilton"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\u201cThe<\/a>

\u201cThe best you can do is be fearless and open. If you find yourself avoiding a possible career path because you\u2019re afraid of something, stop. Take a deep breath and jump into it. You can\u2019t expect to grow or get anywhere by playing it safe.\u201d (Courtesy of Robin Hilton)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Sheila Burt<\/a> (Toyama-ken<\/a>, 2010-2012) for <\/em><\/strong>JQ magazine<\/em><\/a>. Sheila is a grant proposal writer at the Center for Bionic Medicine at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Read more of her reporting and writing at her <\/em><\/strong>blog<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Robin Hilton<\/strong><\/a> (<\/strong>Aichi-ken<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a01996-99)<\/strong> is a radio\u00a0producer and co-host of NPR\u2019s music program\u00a0All Songs Considered<\/em><\/a>. In this JQ<\/strong> exclusive, Hilton shares his experiences on the JET Program in the late 1990s and his radio documentary\u00a0Big in Japan<\/em><\/a>, a comical and poignant reflection on his daily life as an English teacher in Japan.<\/p>\n

Growing up in the small town of Abilene in central\u00a0Kansas, Hilton never imagined living or working in Japan. But around the same time he graduated from the University of Kansas in 1992, Abilene initiated a sister city and exchange program with Minori, Japan (now Omitama) in Ibaraki-ken. At the encouragement of the program\u2019s director, Hilton applied for a job teaching English more than 6,000 miles away from his hometown, as he was excited to begin a new endeavor outside of his comfort zone and experience a different culture. Yet Hilton would still have to wait a few years before his new adventure in Japan could begin.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t get [the position],\u201d Hilton recalls, \u201cbut it planted the seed in me, so a few years later I decided to try for the JET Program. I didn\u2019t grow up with a deep fascination with or love of the country. But it ended up being one of the greatest things I’ve ever done with my life, and I certainly have that deep love for Japan now.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

For three years in the late 1990s, Hilton was an Assistant Language Teacher (the position was then called Assistant English Teacher) based out of Aichi-ken\u2019s prefectural office in Nagoya. He lived in Okazaki-shi in southeastern Aichi-ken and taught at various middle schools in Toyota-shi.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was also a one-shot middle school AET, which meant I rarely visited the same school or even classroom twice,\u201d he says. \u201cI was still doing my self-introduction on the last class of my last day of being there for three years.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he learned Japanese, Hilton also worked informally as an interpreter when English-speaking visitors toured the schools in the area or visited the prefectural office.<\/p>\n

While in Japan, Hilton befriended his supervisor, who loved music and played the violin, but gave it up for a more financially stable career in education. In his radio documentary, Hilton and his supervisor informally play music together and ponder life, as well as the intricacies of Japanese society\u2014a rare occasion for his diligent supervisor who, like many Japanese, spent countless hours and nights working in the office. Before this recording, his supervisor hadn\u2019t played the violin in more than 14 years, despite having studied music as a university student. As they became closer friends, Hilton often encouraged his supervisor to take a break from work and chat over coffee.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d find ways to get my over-worked supervisor out of the office, to go sit at a coffee shop and just relax and talk about our lives,\u201d Hilton says. \u201cOne afternoon, he leaned back in his chair and said, \u2018This is human life.\u2019 It really was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before his position with JET, Hilton had worked as a radio reporter and brought his equipment to Japan with him. In his last few weeks in Japan, as he realized his time left in the country was fleeting, he began to record his students and interview friends and coworkers. These recordings became the basis for Big in Japan<\/em>, which first aired in 2000 on Soundprint<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Big in Japan<\/em> is an honest portrayal of teaching in English in Japan in the early 1990s\u2014depicting, as some JETs still experience, Hilton\u2019s doe-eyed enthusiasm when he first arrives, his eventual culture shock and confusion about his job responsibilities (or lack thereof), and also his admiration of Japanese people and culture. After appearing on Soundprint, the show has since been rebroadcast on Soundprint and NPR multiple times.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy radio documentary about my time in Japan was a work of creative non-fiction,\u201d Hilton says. \u201cI took some liberties with the storytelling and recreated a lot of the things that happened, exaggerating some elements for the purpose of making a point or to simply entertain. But I felt like it was true to the spirit of my time there, what it felt like and what people on the outside thought of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to recording these interviews for his documentary during his last year in Japan, Hilton applied to and was accepted into a graduate program in early childhood education at the University of Georgia, but before he enrolled, a friend encouraged him to launch Small Good Thing Productions<\/a>, a company for independent film, radio, and music. Although he had planned on becoming a teacher after JET, Hilton continued to work in radio and began his tenure with All Songs Considered<\/em><\/a> in 2001. In addition to his work at NPR, Hilton is a\u00a0multi-instrumentalist who has composed soundtracks for various productions.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy time in Japan helped get me here indirectly,\u201d he says. \u201cYou have to have patience, think quickly, adapt quickly, have a good sense of humor, be comfortable with change, flexible, etc. Working in Japan for three years is a pretty good indication you\u2019ve got those qualities. It broadens your mind and your horizons. It also freed me up for other opportunities, like starting my own production company, which helped lead to this position I have now with NPR.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hilton has not been back to Japan since he left in 1999, but he remains in touch with friends he met while on the program and has seen some Japanese friends who have come to America. Transitioning back to life in America was challenging, as he describes at the end of his radio documentary, though many of the skills he learned in Japan helped him achieve some of his career goals, as well as broadened his outlook on life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can only say that life rarely, if ever, turns out the way you expect it to,\u201d he says. \u201cThe best you can do is be fearless and open. If you find yourself avoiding a possible career path because you\u2019re afraid of something, stop. Take a deep breath and jump into it. You can\u2019t expect to grow or get anywhere by playing it safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robin Hilton\u2019s \u201cJapan Mix\u201d (music he\u00a0listened to while on the JET Program)<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. \u201cDown by the River<\/a>\u201d \u2014 Neil Young, from Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere<\/em><\/p>\n

2. \u201cDevil\u2019s Haircut<\/a>\u201d \u2014 Beck, from Odelay<\/em><\/p>\n

3. \u201cA Change Would Do You Good<\/a>\u201d \u2014 Sheryl Crow, from Sheryl Crow<\/em> (that first solo album was awesome)<\/p>\n

4. \u201cWorld Gone Wrong<\/a>\u201d \u2014 Bob Dylan, from World Gone Wrong<\/em><\/p>\n

5. \u201cIn the Aeroplane over the Sea<\/a>\u201d \u2014 Neutral Milk Hotel, from In the Aeroplane over the Sea<\/em><\/p>\n

6. \u201cDivine Intervention<\/a>\u201d \u2014 Matthew Sweet, from Girlfriend<\/em><\/p>\n

7. \u201cYou<\/a>\u201d \u2014 R.E.M., from Monster<\/em><\/p>\n

8. \u201cGuilty by Association<\/a>\u201d \u2014 Vic Chesnutt, from Is the Actor Happy?<\/em><\/p>\n

9. \u201cThe Song We Were Singing<\/a>\u201d \u2014 Paul McCartney, from Flaming Pie<\/em><\/p>\n

10. \u201cMilk<\/a>\u201d \u2014 Chara, from Junior Sweet<\/em> (one of the few Japanese pop artists I got into. A nice wistfulness to this song that felt right at the time.)<\/p>\n

There was better music coming out, but all of those were in heavy rotation for various reasons when I was there from \u201996 to \u201999. Can\u2019t believe how big Neutral Milk Hotel has gotten since then.<\/p>\n

Listen to Hilton\u2019s radio documentary, <\/em><\/strong>Big in Japan, <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For more <\/em><\/strong>JQ magazine interviews, <\/em><\/strong>click here<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By Sheila Burt (Toyama-ken, 2010-2012) for JQ magazine. Sheila is a grant proposal writer at the Center for Bionic Medicine at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Read more of her reporting and writing at her blog. Robin Hilton (Aichi-ken,\u00a01996-99) is a radio\u00a0producer and co-host of NPR\u2019s music program\u00a0All Songs Considered. In this JQ exclusive, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,291,21,304],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articlejournalism","category-jq-magazine","category-music","category-notable-jet-alums"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pkZ7m-9Ej","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37095"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37095\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37101,"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37095\/revisions\/37101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}