Beautiful day to be stuck indoors, but the EDIX IT conference is great and an amazing venue! @T_Bigsight http://t.co/cxxgm488Ef
Blog
FollowCLAIR newsletter, July 2012
June 21st, 2012
This month I was honored to be featured in CLAIR’s monthly magazine, The CLAIR Forum. The July edition, this year, is a special issue on the recovery efforts of the Tohoku region. On the back cover of the print edition, I was one of 4 current JETs that were interviewed for their efforts in helping in Rikuzentakata, Ishinomaki, and other areas in Tohoku.
Please check out those pages here:
http://www.clair.or.jp/j/forum/forum/pdf_273/07_ura.pdf
Or download the entire magazine here:
http://www.clair.or.jp/j/forum/forum/index.html
Special thank you to CLAIR for asking me to be included!
Kansai Rise
June 10th, 2012
This evening, I went to an event that a friend told me about called “Kansai Rise”, in the Hommachi area of Osaka. The basic premise of this event series is to help people involved in social activism and volunteering connect with each other and network with like-minded individuals
This time, I was just a spectator and had the chance to listen some interesting stories, such as Shohei Nakamura’s presentation about the first TEDxOsaka event, which he coordinated. I begun thinking about how education, and English education specifically, can have a role in these events.
Special events like this always motivate me to do even more in the communities which I’m actively involved in, lately I’ve really been thinking about what we can do to mobilize JETs, JET alumni, English teachers, and Technology advocates more. We as JETs have an extraordinary network of professionals, all hungry and all actively looking to make a difference.
ACCJ BBQ
June 9th, 2012
Yesterday was a great evening, spent at the Hyatt Regency Osaka’s open-air Garden BBQ competition. It was sponsored in part by the American Chamber of Commerce Japan’s Kansai chapter, which I have recently become interested in.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, it is a large and internationally recognized networking association, which aims to develop commerce between the United States and Japan, as well as improve the international business environment here.
One of the best parts of the ACCJ is its selection of committees which connect foreign professionals by industry, and support the exchange of ideas and information. All in all, they do a tremendous amount of work every year on behalf of individuals just like you and me, who face unique challenges trying to navigate the business landscape of a foreign country.
This grilling event in particular, was a chance for me to meet a ton of new people who are all developing extraordinary things right here in my own city!
In addition to some of the best BBQ I’ve had in a long time, delicious drinks, and inspiring conversation, the weather was perfect and made for an absolutely beautiful Osaka sunset. Thanks to the ACCJ for arranging this exciting event, and I cannot wait see what you are planning in the near future!
For more information on ACCJ’s upcoming events, you can visit their website here.
Return to Miura Sensei’s Shofukan Dojo
June 8th, 2012
Over the weekend, I got the chance to return to my karate dojo to train with the Miura family. I have been on an extended hiatus, due to work for AJET and my board of education, but with that behind me, I have time for serious study again.
My teacher, Miura-sensei, is 83-years-old, a 9th degree black belt, and the highest ranking master in Itosu-ryu style karate in the world. We train in a dojo that is attached to his home, where he lives with his wife, two adult sons, one of their wives and grandson. They are the most incredible people, and I am so fortunate to be a student there. Training at their home is undoubtedly one of the things I enjoy most in my life in Japan.
Practicing karate in Japan is such a unique experience, and completely unlike the experience one would have in America. Japanese martial arts culture, in general, isn’t driven by profits and has nothing to do with running a business, advertising classes, or being an instructor’s main source of income. Usually, karate and other martial arts in Japan are practiced by people as a casual hobby in a private group. There’s good points and bad to this, but as far as Miura-sensei is concerned, this fact results in someone of his wisdom and stature not being as widely known or having the notoriety that he would have in America.
I truly believe that this is a great example of how the intangible goals of the JET Programme can be realized. Someone from a completely different culture can come here, become a part of a community that’s the same, but different at the same time. They can see the differences and learn from them, have introspective moments during that time, and use what they learn throughout the rest of their life. They can actually further the understanding of other cultures with people all over the world. If you’re like me, you believe that intercultural understanding can make the world better for everyone.
I’m sincerely grateful to Miura-sensei for giving me opportunity, and creating an environment which I’m able to reflect on and recognize these things. Because of his acceptance of me as a student and a foreigner, he has unknowingly become a participant in internationalization that could likely be known by many, many more than me. To that end, I say to him “ありがとうございました！”
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