FJETPresidents's blog

An awesome opportunity for your school and students - check it out

My name is Stacey Samuel. I am currently
representing 2 sculptors who have been invited by the mayor and art's
associations of Obama City, Japan for a 6-week artists-in-residence visit.
They will be cultural ambassadors of sorts, and will create 5 pieces that
will be a part of the city's permanent collection.

I'm wondering whether you may have some school contacts in the region who
might benefit from, or enjoy having an opportunity to have their students
meet and talk with the artists. You may know that the city is located in
the Fukui Prefecture in central Japan. It would be equally enlightening for
both artists to meet and learn from the students and their teachers as
well.

I am attaching the bios of both Gregory Coates and Musa Hixson so you have
an idea of their experiences and accomplishments. They landed in Japan on
Thursday and will be there until May 31st. I realize this is rather short
notice, but an opportunity nonetheless worth creating.

If you have anyone you can refer me to at JET either in the US or in Japan
(who has a command of English, sadly neither I nor the artists speak
Japanese) I would be grateful. I can be reached at (917) 226-6752.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and any referral you can make,
if any, is appreciated.

Warmest Regards,
--
Stacey Samuel
www.reelnewsrealpeople.com

Greetings from National AJET!

The plum blossoms are fading and the peach blossoms are awakening, which means warmer weather ahead. With spring break approaching, keep your eye out for travel or service possibilities. This month's newsletter includes a few opportunities that may strike your interests so keep scrolling. Since most of you will have some free time coming up, you can also show your appreciation for the hard work put in by the members of your community by nominating people and groups for AJET's Teaching Awards Programme, Internationalisation Awards Programme, and AJET Awards.

Happy Springtime (almost),
Jennifer

Want to know more or get in touch?
:: Who is AJET
:: Contact AJET
:: Frequently Asked Questions

Winners of the 2010 National AJET Election

Congratulations to the following people who will join the National AJET Council 2010-2011

Chair: Caroline Ideus
Vicechair: Suzy Lee Ogata
Treasurer: Martin Nash
Block 1: Claire Dawn-Marie Gittens
Block 2: Brianna Harris
Block 3: Jeff Otto
Block 5 Avalyn Beare
Block 6 Sifton Anipare
Block 7: Kathryn Kovacs
Block 8: Victoria Murphy
Block 9 : Emily McBride
Block 10: Jesse Welty
CIR Rep: Vishal Jani
SEA Rep: Christine Wegner

2010 Spring & Golden Week Intensive Japanese Course in Tokyo

AJET group associate member, Amica Language School in Tokyo provides Japanese intensive course during Spring Break & Golden Week holidays with discounted rate only for AJET members. This is a golden opportunity to start or accelerate your Japanese. Each course 5 days, 4 hours / day, total 20 hours. ¥35,000 + tax ¥33,000 + tax for AJET members. SPRING BREAK: Mar. 29th - Apr. 2nd 2010. GOLDEN WEEK: May 1st 5th 2010. Seasoned teachers. Small groups. Limited space. Enroll now!!

http://www.amica.ac.jp
Email: japaneselesson@amica.ac.jp
Tel: 03-5484-0963
Fax 03-5444-2938

National AJET Awards!!

National AJET will be taking nominations for our annual awards from Febuary 2 - April 2 These awards recognize the outstanding contributions that have been made in the last year to local communities by AJET members. (more information? please check www.ajet.net )

* AJET Chapter Award - most active chapter
* AJET Service Award - for outstanding individuals
* Community Award
* Charity Award
* Environmental Award
* Sports Award - (Best Sports Event)
* Publication Award
* Online Publication Award
* Inter-Prefectural Event/ Project Award
* Special Interest Group (SIG) Award

In your nomination please include your name, contact details, prefecture, the name & address of the group/person you are nominating as well as a description of the event, act or service you believe constitutes recognition. Please include as much detail as possible. Copies of publications, links to websites, event photos, feedback and any other relevant material are encouraged. We look forward to hearing about the great things JETs are doing across Japan. Don't forgot to submit your nomination by Friday the 2nd of April 2010.

Organizer Contact Information: block3@ajet.com

STA Travel

STA TRAVEL is the world's largest travel company for all people who love to travel. Of course, we are here in Japan to supply a unique travel experience personalized just for AJETs members!!
Book before your flight is full and avoid disappointment for your vacation!

Depart/Arrive at Narita Airport, Round trip airfare from 01March to 31March:

* Los Angeles JPY 40,000~
* New York JPY 68,000~
* London JPY 60,000~
* Vancouver JPY 45,000~
* Bangkok JPY 33,000~
* Hong Kong JPY 31,000~

Fuel surcharge and taxes are not included in the above air fares.

For further information, please visit http://www.statravel.co.jp/ or just call 03-5391-2922

ALT Soccer Tournament

Once again the ALT Soccer Tournament is pleased to announce the dates for our Spring 2010 footie-fests. We will be holding our tournament for teams from West Japan on Awaji Island (Hyogo Pref.) on April 17-18, while teams from East Japan can come and join the fun at Sugadaira Kogen in Nagano Pref. on June 5-6
The ALT Soccer Tournament has been going strong since 2001, and our bi-yearly tournaments for men's and women's teams attract up to 500 sports wannabees of all ages (and abilities!). The tournaments are held in stunning locations on some of Japans finest grass turf, and are complimented by our legendary post-match parties! If you love soccer, or even if you don't, come and join us for a memorable weekend. All of the tournament details can be found on our website http://sites.google.com/site/altsoccertournament/index

National AJET Teaching and International Awards Programmes

Do you know an inspirational, exceptional, and motivational Japanese teacher of a second language? Or, do you know someone who deserves special recognition for their dedication to increasing international awareness within their community?
National AJET's Teaching Awards Programme (TAP) recognizes the exceptional language teachers with whom JETs work, and the Internationalization Awards Programme (IAP) seeks to acknowledge members of the Japanese community who work to promote international awareness in Japan.

Nominations for both award programs can be made by JET Programme participants, from February 2nd to April 2nd. Further information and nomination forms can be found in the Services section of the National AJET website, http://ajet.net.
Winners will be announced April 16th.

Please take the time to recognize the achievements of exceptional citizens within your community!

Organizer Contact information: (TAP) NAJET Education Liaison, block5@ajet.net
(IAP) CIR@ajet.net

Miyagi St. Baldricks

The Miyagi St. Baldrick's Shaving Event is happening March 20th in Sendai, Miyagi. We have a Japanese reggae band, ALT band, break dancers, head shaving and much more! Please attend our event and help raise money for childhood cancer research in Japan (CCAJ). If you can't attend the event you can still help by making a donation online. We are still looking for volunteers! :)
email : miyagistbaldricks@gmail.com
online:http://www.stbaldricks.org/events/mypage/eventid/1762/eventyear/2010

What is St. Baldrick's? http://www.stbaldricks.org/
What is the CCAJ? http://www.ccaj-found.or.jp/english/
Once again, March 20th, 2010...Miyagi St. Baldrick's. Please mark the date in your calenders and join in the fun.

Doshisha Business School

Considering an MBA? Doshisha Business School in Kyoto, part of Japan's second oldest private university and recently designated a MEXT Global 30 institution, offers a two-year, full-time Global MBA delivered in English with a September entry point. We offer a contemporary and innovative program, diverse student body, internationally renowned faculty and excellent facilities in the heart of Kyoto. Some funding opportunties. Interested? Visit our webpage at http://gmba.doshisha.ac.jp/ or contact our admissions staff directly on ji-gmba@mail.doshisha.ac.jp

Oita International Charity Bike Trip 2010

The long-anticipated Oita International Charity Bike Trip 2010 will commence in about 3 weeks and counting...we hope you're just as excited as we are!!!

WHAT is the Oita International Charity Bike Trip? This bike trip will be our 13th annual event for riders to cycle up to 300 km in 3 days through the beautiful countryside of Oita Prefecture. Prior to and during the bike trip, both riders and volunteers will raise money for Room to Read, a NPO dedicated to providing educational opportunities to underprivileged children.

WHY? Oita JETs have been organizing the bike trip for the past 12 years to raise funds for various charities. These last couple years, Oita JETs have raised enough for Room to Read to build one school in Vietnam and one in Nepal! Recently, we've reached our goal to build our 3rd school in Sri Lanka and will begin fundraising for a new library-building project called the Reading Room. It's also tremendous FUN!!! Get out of your local town and see more of gorgeous Kyushu, meet people, make friends and strengthen yourself physically. Participants in the past (especially first-year JETs) have all agreed that the bike trip remains one of his/her most memorable, challenging and enjoyable experiences in Japan. You don't want to miss out!

WHO? ANYONE is welcome - invite your friends and coworkers! Many JETs and non-JETs from all over Japan have participated in the past, too.

WHEN? Like past years, this year's ride will take place on the March 3-day weekend on Saturday, March 20 to Monday, March 21 (Vernal Equinox Day). There is no need to take nenkyu.

Much more details are available at http://oitabikeride.wikia.com e.g. fundraising speeches, route maps, pictures, how to get your bike to the station, etc.
Please see the wiki page on how to reserve your spot.

Does your prefectural AJET have a newsletter or magazine?

Want to expand your readership or think it deserves recognition? National AJET is in the process of creating more support for prefectural magazines (online and/or published). If you are interested in getting more readership or are lacking resources to expand or improve upon it, let us know. Email Jennifer Park at chair@ajet.net. If you think your prefectural magazine/newsletter is outstanding and deserves recognition, nominate it for an AJET Award. For more information about AJET Awards, go to www.ajet.net or contact Andrew at awards@ajet.net.

Upcoming Volunteering Opportunities in India with Longitude!

Longitude is a US registered charity that is working hard to improve the living conditions and confidence of the Dalit people (formerly the 'Untouchables') in rural Andhra Pradesh, SE India.To date, Longitude has sent nearly 200 (mainly JET) volunteers to India to help build communities with their Indian partner organization, ARV.

This Golden Week (from April 28 - May 9), Shiga JETs Anna Radke and Megan Pankratz will be leading another volunteer work camp to Chevuru Village in Andhra Pradesh. Working side by side with the Dalit villagers, they will help with building, digging, and laying foundations as well as painting and doing activities with village children. They also hope to take in a trip to see the Taj Mahal.

For more information, e-mail Anna and Megan at: annaradke@yahoo.com or mepankratz@gmail.com

Feel free to also check out Longitude's homepage: www.golongitude.org

Willamette University MBA

Willamette University MBA for Business, Government and Not-for-Profit Management Designed for students seeking the next step in their career, Willamette MBA allows students to explore career interests through hands-on projects and experiential learning.

The Willamette MBA offers a minimum scholarship of $5,000 to JET returnees who apply, are admitted, and enroll in Willamette's Early Career MBA or MBA for Career Change program.
www.willamette.edu/mba/full-time

Contact: mba-admission@willamette.edu

Bikes, Boats, & Brilliant Travel Opportunities

1. On yer bikes .the 3rd PEPY Ride Japan will be taking place in up to 12 prefectures across Japan, on weekends in April & May 2010. You don't have to be an expert cyclist - some rides are overnight excursions, others are more leisurely affairs with BBQ picnics / onsen stops. Contact ajetsig@pepyride.org to find out how you can join a ride!

2. Golden Week adventures ..based in an eco-lodge near Cambodia's capital, this adventure tour includes an exhilarating mix of biking, beaching, educational visits to NGOs and a Cambodian homestay. You will have opportunities to see how your fundraised money supports local communities, learn about Cambodia's recent history in Phnom Penh, and soak up the beautiful rivers and countryside by bike - the best way to travel! For more information, please check out www.pepytours.com

3. Discover Asia with Peace Boat For this one-of-a-kind exciting new tour, we have partnered with Peace Boat, a world-renowned Japanese NGO promoting peace, human rights, and responsible tourism to offer a unique experience to all those of you that don't have the time or funds to take the traditional Peace Boat route. Departing from Yokohama, you will stop at Vietnam before arriving in Siem Reap, Cambodia - don't miss this amazing opportunity and contact teamleader@pepyride.org today!

AJET on FACEBOOK

In the NAJET survey a lot of you told us that the TEJA friend was too confusing and hard to find. We listened and we have some big news!

NATIONAL AJET IS MOVING!!

But don't worry, we won't go far, just around the corner in facebook-land on the NAJET group.
Check out our events, activities and your favorite NAJET representatives, or visit links to helpful information on the AJET webpage and other sites useful to JETs.

Check us out: http://www.facebook.com/NationalAJET

Send money home with GoLloyds!

GoLloyds is a cost-effective, efficient and reliable way to send money abroad. We're a highly respected, international bank and can be trusted to take care of your financial needs. Plus, all of our services are available in English. Register for free at www.golloyds.com today.

Second Harvest Japan
www.2hj.org

We thank the teachers who have expressed interest in holding food drives at their schools. It may well be the first time that your students have encountered the concept of a food drive, but we believe that it can be a meaningful way to increase the awareness of the students to the needs of those in their community.

For those of you who may still be interested in organizing a food drive, please contact Ruby Sakuma at ruby@2hj.org. You may also reach us at our office at 03-3838-3827. We would be pleased to send you guidelines on how to get started.

AJET Peer Support Group (PSG)
050-5534-5566

Peer Support Group is a listening and referral service which operates on the principles of confidentiality and anonymity. We are open to all JET Programme participants every night of the year, from 8:00 pm to 7:00 am-a period when other services such as the Tokyo English Life Line (TELL) are not in service, and when Prefectural Advisors (PAs) are often unavailable.

Our trained volunteers are all current JET Programme participants. If you've had a bad day at work, need to see a doctor at 3:00am or just want to speak English with someone, the volunteers at PSG are available to listen. Please call 050-5534-5566.

www.ajet.net/psg

U.S. Income Tax

US-TaxCPA.com is based in Tokyo and offers U.S. Income Tax Preparation and Advisory Services at affordable rates.
Visit www.US-TaxCPA.com for more information.

Tokyo Orientation Assistant (TOA)

TOAs are re-contracting JETs who are recruited to help with all aspects of the Tokyo Orientation, including greeting new JETs at Narita Airport, staffing the Hospitality Centre and Information Desk, and leading workshops.

Information about applications will be available on the JET Programme website (www.jetprogramme.org) in mid- February.

If you feel that you can make a valuable contribution and would like to join us in welcoming the new JET Programme participants this summer, please download, complete and submit the application by the deadline to your Supervisor at your Contracting Organisation. Selection is quite competitive, so please put some effort into your application.
The Tokyo Orientation dates for 2010 are:

* Orientation A: July 24-28
* Orientation B: July 31- August 4
* Orientation C: August 24-27

If you have any questions regarding this year s orientation, please contact Programme Coordinators Shane Krumeich or Mary Ring at jettoa@gmail.com

Congratulations to Avalyn Beare for winning the election for AJET Block 5 Representative!

Fukui was really lucky to have two great runners in the election this year, and it's great to see Fukui JETs stepping up to the national stage and showing everyone how awesome we are. Let's all show our new Bock 5 Rep our support, if only because now the Rep knows where we live, and will shout if we don't answer emails.

Hi everyone,

Happy New Year. Hope you all had lovely holidays and are feeling refreshed :-) Big news for the New Year!

We are starting Orphanage visits in Ono! D'Arcy and Greg are going to be running the show so a huge thank you to them for being so great. I just called them and they are super excited about our visits.

So, we need to know who wants to volunteer in Ono :-) I think we are going to be aiming for a visit every two months with lots of people rather than monthly with a handful of people. The dates wont clash with Fukui Shi or Tsuruga orphanage visits wherever possible :-)

If you are interested please send me a mail

Love as ever
Mike

ps I also mentioned to them about the 7 man from MYC and they seemed really blown away so well done everyone again :-)

Hello team,

After the last orphanage visit a couple of people were asking me a little about what was happening with the money from the MYC auction so thought I would stick a post up here so that everyone knows what is what :-)

We raised a lot of money, and it is going to be split evenly over the five orphanages in Fukui Ken. We currently visit Fukui Shi, and Tsuruga, with Ono starting this month, but in addition to these three there is an orphanage in Takefu and one in Sabae. The kids at these two are obviously just as in need as those at orphanages we visit, so we are going to divide the money between all the homes.

From there, it is a mixture of the home's and our wishes as to how the money is spent. They obviously now far more than we do what is really needed so their opinion is crucial, however obviously we have ideas on how to spend the money too. In Fukui Shi we have settled for vacuum cleaners - their choice, and a basketball net - our choice. The cleaners will make day to day life better for the kids - saves them from cleaning with clothes like at school, and the basketball net will give them a new toy to play with. I will talk to the other homes once we actually have the cash all collected, so please pay up ASAP!

Thank you again for all your fundraising, you all rock
Mike
ps if you ever have any questions about money or indeed anything please mail me at fjetvolunteer @ gmail dot com anytime :-)

Hi everyone,

Just to announce that Conor Mooney is going to be taking on the job of Southern Orphanage Rep :-) Huge thanks to David for all his hard work over the last year and a half, and to Conor for taking on the role!

Please can anyone who has yet to visit in Tsuruga and would like to get in contact with Conor. He will be contact you soon with the date for the next visit. I know the south rocks so I don't really need to ask, but please support him as much as you can and help make the visits even better :-)

Thank you all so much for all your support,
Mike

To date, Longitude has sent over 200 (mainly JET) volunteers to India on projects to help build communities in rural parts of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Whilst the primary goal of these trips has been to fund and assist in the building of homes for Dalit people, Longitude and ARV's purpose runs much deeper:

We aspire to bring wider attention to the situation facing Dalit people, who have been denied their rights for so long, in spite of the supposed abolishment of the Caste System.
We aim to bring compassionate and open-hearted volunteers to an all too often forgotten people, and through interaction, remind them that there are people who care.
We intend to empower the villagers through supporting education, healthcare and livelihood development.
As a volunteer with Longitude, you too will be supporting the Dalit people and adding your voice to the call to fully abolish the already constitutionally illegal Caste System.

Upcoming Trips

This coming year, we have several exciting upcoming trips led by fabulous return JET volunteers!

Spring 2010
Place: Chevuru village, Kolleru Lake, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Dates: 21st to 27th March, 2010.
Camp Fee: *to be confirmed, but estimated to be 26,000 to 30,000 Indian Rupees (roughly: 50,000 to 60,000 Japanese Yen/ US: $550 to $600 / UK: £330 to £380).
Group Leader: Vishal Jani (in Mie Ken, Japan)

(group webpage: http://www.golongitude.org/www/JET_March_2010.html)

Golden Week (early May) 2010
Place: Chevuru village, Andhra Pradesh, India
Dates: 28 April to 9 May, 2010
Camp Fee: *to be confirmed, but estimated to be 26,000 to 30,000 Indian Rupees (roughly: 50,000 to 60,000 Japanese Yen/ US: $550 to $600 / UK: £330 to £380).
Group Leaders: Anna Radke and Megan Pankratz

Winter 2010
Place: Andhra Pradesh, India
Dates: 25 December, 2010 to 3 January, 2011
Camp Fee: *to be confirmed, but estimated to be 26,000 to 30,000 Indian Rupees (roughly: 50,000 to 60,000 Japanese Yen/ US: $550 to $600 / UK: £330 to £380).
Group Leader: tbc

* Workcamp fee figures are a guide and depend on numbers of volunteers. The smallest estimate is based on a trip of 25 people, with each volunteer sharing a room.

If you want to see for yourself what is involved in the building process, check out the following video:

http://www.golongitude.org/www/video_clip_UC_House_Building.html

Being a Volunteer

At Longitude, we really hope to make your volunteering experience one that you'll never forget - for the right reasons! However, as a non-profit organization and a registered charity, volunteers should still be aware of a few things:

Volunteers are our ambassadors:
We sincerely hope that our volunteers will help to represent us and what we stand for both before, during and after workcamps!

By spreading the word about us, volunteers increase the amount of people we can help!

Volunteers are expected to fund themselves:
This includes:

All transportation costs to and from the designated meeting and end-of-workcamp locations: the earlier you hunt for these, the better. An estimate for flights from Tokyo to Delhi would be around 100,000yen. You would then need internal flights (although you may be able to fly direct to Hyderabad depending on your route) which would likely come to 10,000-20,000yen.
Medical expenses, both in preparation for travel, during and after the workcamps - the cost of this will totally depend on what you've had before and what your doctor recommends.

VISAs - this will cost about 10,000yen.

Paying a workcamp fee, which goes directly towards the costs of food and water, accommodation and travel expenses for the group: this will be around 60,000yen.

A total estimate would therefore be roughly 200,000 yen (depending on your circumstances).

Volunteers are also expected to help fundraise for materials for the camp!

Being a volunteer with us may initially sound like it costs a lot, both in terms of time and money. However, I know that past volunteers would join me in saying how their experiences have given them far more than money or time alone could ever give them. In fact, most would say how much more they got out of the experience than they ever put into it. Please consider this when making your final decision about volunteering.

You can read for yourself what previous volunteers thought by simply reading their blog:

http://www.golongitude.org/www/Longitude_Blog.html

If you would like to take part in any one of the trips, simply email me to let me know. I will then send you more detailed information about how to make preparations. If, for some reason, you cannot make a trip, however, you might like to watch our website for trips at a later date.

If you have any other questions at all, please feel free to check out our website (www.golongitude.org), or contact me!

Many thanks and Best wishes!

Emma Parfey

Longitude Volunteer Coordinator - India

Here's some more information from the FIA Festival, which some of you may be interested in, about donating blood. It is a direct quote from the handout, as I know diddly-squat about donating blood.

How old must we be to donate blood?
You can begin donating from 16 years old.

Can anyone donate blood once they become 16 years old?
We have standards regarding the amount of blood we will take from donors. It depends on the donor's health, weight, age and other factors. We also have standards about the amount of blood taken, the interval between donations, and the number of times you can donate blood within a year.

Where can we donate blood?
The Red Cross Blood Centre of Fukui or the Blood Mobile.

Is it safe to 'lose' our valuable blood?
There may be some difference between individuals, but usually there will be no problem because we can lose up to 15% of our blood. Blood donors give less than that amount. A doctor will check your health condition to determine if you are able to donate or not.

How is our blood used?
Various blood products are then sent to hospitals.

The relationship between blood donation and blood transfusion
Blood is essential for every person, but it is possible to lose a lot of blood when in an accident or from illness. Sometimes it is necessary to get a blood transfusion during an operation. Your blood donation helps to have blood availbale for transfusions.

If you are healthy, giving blood will not have any major negative effects on your body. However, if you are unwell, giving blood may worsen your condition. The Red Cross Blood Bank does by certain standards to make sure that they protect the giver's health.

Interval between donations

Plasma and/or platelets 200ml: You can donate blood again 4 weeks after your last donation.

Blood components 400ml: Males: 12 weeks after last donation
Females: 16 weeks after last donation

Platelets
The human body does not handle excessive blood loss well. Therefore, the body has ways of protecting itself. When the bleeding from a wound suddenly occurs, the platelets gather at the wound and attempt to block the blood flow.

Blood Usage

Your blood donations are used to help a variety of patients in need. Blood is needed to sustain the lives of people whose blood functions have been impaired by injury or illness.

Blood transfusions are used for trauma victims - due to accidents or burns - heart surgery, organ transplants, women with complications during childbirth, newborns and premature babies, and patients receiving treatment for leukemia, cancer or other diseases, such as sickle cell disease and thalassemia.

The above is a translation of information made by the Red Cross Blood Bank of Japan, by FPU student 2009)