Spring 2007 Volume 12 Issue 1

JETAABC NEWSLETTER VOLUME 12, ISSUE 1: SPRING 2007

In this issue:

Getting Involved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Upcoming Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 a note to victoria JEts . . . . . . . . . . 3 The sakura tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 ready, jet, go! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Vancouver Ohanami . . . . . . . . . . . 5 an Icy Adventure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 real jets, real jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 News from the Consulate . . . . . . . 8

The Japan Exchange and Teaching Alumni Association of British Columbia

The JETAABC dragon boat team may look friendly, but they’re a force to be reckoned with if you’re up against them in a race! More information — including race schedules — on page 4!

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Note from the Editor

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i! Welcome to the JETAABC newsletter. It comes out anywhere from two to four times per year, depending on the genkiness of the editor. I am at 75% genki potential, thus I have committed myself to putting out three newsletters in 2007.

Got something you want put in the next issue? A favourite recipe? An event that might interest your fellow JET alumni? E-mail me at newsletter@jetaabc.ca!

Joanna Karaplis

2007 JETAABC BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Greg Joughin president@jetaabc.ca Senior Advisor Bobby Taylor senioradvisor@jetaabc.ca Secretary Ann Yamashita secretary@jetaabc.ca Treasurer Chris Bailey treasurer@jetaabc.ca Membership Coordinator Erica Moizumi membership@jetaabc.ca Social and Cultural Coordinator Anita Lien social@jetaabc.ca

Getting Involved

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kay, so you just got back from Japan last summer.

Or maybe it was three summers ago. Or fifteen.

Regardless, JETAABC is here for you. So don’t be shy! Come out to events! Join the Mokuyokai members for monthly pub nights and hiking trips! And if you have questions or suggestions, e-mail your Board members. That’s what we’re here for.

Simple ways to keep up with what’s going on...

• Join the JETAABC mailing list: groups.yahoo.com/group/jetaabclist/

• Visit the JETAABC website for updates on events, etc: jetaabc.ca/

• Become a Mokuyokai member: www.mokuyokai.bc.ca/

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Technical Coordinator Joseph Luk technical@jetaabc.ca External Liaison Nina Inaoka Lee external@jetaabc.ca Volunteer Coordinator Jeff Co volunteer@jetaabc.ca Career and Personal Development Sabine Sengmueller Sasakura career@jetaabc.ca Newsletter Editor Joanna Karaplis newsletter@jetaabc.ca

Upcoming Events

The Sakura Tree

Shiatsu Massage Workshop

f you’ve been looking for a beautifully illustrated picture book about Japan, look no further: The Sakura Tree, written by Carolyn McTighe and illustrated by Karen Brownlee, hits the shelves in May 2007.

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wo trained shiatsu massage therapists, Takao-san and Chikako-san, have generously offered their time to lead this workshop on the basic techniques of shiatsu. Come and join us!!

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Date: Friday, May 18, 2007 Time: 6:30 - 9:00 pm Place: YWCA Program Centre (535 Hornby Street), 4th Floor, Weldwood Room Price: JET Alumni $5, Guests $10 (Please register in pairs) Bring: a pillow or towel RSVP: Nina, external@jetaabc.ca. Space is limited so register early!

Future Events

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lanning is currently underway for the following events; please join the JETAABC mailing list or check the website for updates!

• Pub nights (June, July) • Movie night • Summer BBQ (July) • Taiko • Japanese archery • Bowling • Karaoke • Go-karting

A Note to Victoria JETs

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ttention Victoria JET alumni! Are you interested in connecting with other alumni in Victoria?

We are looking for JET alumni who are interested in organizing and or attending events specifically for the Victoria alumni. Some event ideas are: meet and greet at a Japanese restaurant or pub, ikebana, or taiko.

Please contact us at victoria@jetaabc.ca to help get the ball rolling!

This gently eloquent tale follows the progress of three young Japanese sisters who leave their hometown of Sendai to immigrate to Canada as “picture brides” in the early twentieth century. Each takes with her one item that will remind her of home: a kimono, a violin, and three seeds of the sakura tree. Although the sisters are initially separated as they begin their new lives with their husbands, they are eventually reunited by the blossoms of the sakura trees and their memories of the land they left behind.

Carolyn McTighe is a freelance writer who has written for CBC Radio, as well as the Los Angeles Times. She currently resides in Kamloops, British Columbia, with her husband and three small children.

The Sakura Tree is her first children’s book and was inspired by a documentary about a picture bride and the life she led after arriving in Steveston, British Columbia. Carolyn hopes to visit Japan one day.

Additional Information • ISBN: 0-88995-354-6 • Price: $19.95 • Format: Hardcover, 32 pages • Age level: 4-12 • Publisher: Red Deer Press page

Ready, JET, GO!

by Chris Bailey and Ann Yamashita (both members of JETAABC’s dragon boat team and Board of Directors)

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he starter has the race!” yells the announcer as the crowd goes quiet. All teams are mentally envisioning the upcoming race. Over the loudspeaker the starter yells, “Paddlers, ready!” The teams get into starting position. “Attention, please!” … Then, before anyone realizes, the gun goes off. Ready JET Go! surges forward with power and momentum. Everything else goes quiet except for the commands of the callers — we are now in race mode!

The Ready JET Go! dragon boat team was established in 2004 by a former JET participant and board member. The team currently consists of approximately 25 paddlers, most of whom are former participants of the JET Programme, from various backgrounds including Education, IT, and Engineering. Ready JET Go’s strong commitment, excellent team work, and solidarity on the water creates an exciting and dynamic force which has become well-respected throughout the dragon boat community of British Columbia.

This year, we will be competing in eight races, ranging from short sprint regattas to weekend races in Kelowna and Harrison to the flagship race of the

season, the ALCAN Dragon Boat Festival. Our participation in many exciting races throughout B.C. has greatly enhanced our performance and established ties within the local community. Our reputation continues to rise within the dragon boat community — we are known as being a worthy adversary on the boat and lots of fun out of the boat as well!

The team practices on Tuesdays from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m., and Saturdays from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. The season begins in early March and wraps up in midSeptember after the Kelowna Dragon Boat Festival.

We meet 20 minutes before the on-water time for stretches and warm-ups.

Come on out and cheer for Ready JET Go! this summer! We could always use more support — and alumni participation! We also provide that genki place for all the alumni to share and reminisce about their natsukashii Japan memories.

If any JET alumni are interested in joining the team, please contact Jane at dragonboat@jetaabc.ca or Nina at external@jetaabc.ca.

For more info about the team, visit their website at www.readyjetgo.ca/ Until the next race — Paddles up!

Race schedules April 14: ALCAN Sprint Regatta (False Creek) April 28: Dash 4 Charity (Deep Cove) May 12: FCRCC Regatta (False Creek) June 2: ALCAN Regatta (False Creek) June 16 & 17: ALCAN Dragon Boat Festival (False Creek) July 21: Fraser Valley Dragon Boat Festival (Harrison Hot Springs) Sept 1 & 2: Vancouver Int’l Taiwanese Dragon Boat Festival (False Creek) Sept 15 & 16: Kelowna Dragon Boat Festival (Kelowna)

Cheer on your fellow JETs!

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Vancouver Ohanami

by Joanna Karaplis

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ne of my favourite times in Japan is the beginning of spring, when the cherry trees begin to bloom and everyone, young and old, rushes outside to eat and drink beneath the fluffy pink blossoms. With daily news updates on the progression of the blossoms from Kyuushuu to Hokkaido, it truly feels as though the entire country is celebrating spring.

Of course, Japan is not the only country with cherry trees: Vancouver is blessed with an abundance of them, in many different varieties. Some were even presents from Japan. It would be a shame not to fully appreciate Vancouver’s sakura... but thankfully, the Mokuyokai Society holds an annual ohanami event.

This year’s ohanami took place on Saturday, April 7th at the Nitobe Memorial Gardens at the UBC campus. The gardens’ usual admission fee was waived, with the staff encouraging people to either purchase something from the

Cherry blossoms in UBC’s Nitobe Memorial Gardens

Mokuyokai booth — among the items for sale were bento boxes, CDs of shakuhachi music, green tea, and sweets — or make a donation instead.

Next to the Mokuyokai booth, shakuhachi player and JET alumnus Alcvin Takegawa Ramos demonstrated his skill at playing the Japanese flute. One of his

Green tea and Japanese sweet... itadakimasu!

instruments was an impressive $3,000... though he was also selling basic flutes starting from $80.

Alcvin takes groups of shakuhachi students to Japan each year, where they study with the masters and harvest bamboo to make the flutes.

Look for a more in-depth article about Alcvin and his work in the next newsletter!

Inside the Asian Centre, volunteers taught guests how to make origami. Traditional tea ceremonies were also performed, both inside the Asian Centre and at the tea house in the Nitobe gardens.

As the day turned to evening, lanterns inside the gardens lit the pale cherry blossoms with a gentle glow. I was reminded of a hanami event I attended at the castle in Wakayama city, where the castle grounds were lined with strings of paper lanterns. All in all, it was a beautiful way to welcome the spring. I hope you all enjoyed this year’s sakura! page

An Icy Adventure

because the reward for our efforts once we reached the top was a gorgeous view over Bowen Island to Vancouver Island.

by Greg Joughin, JETAABC President

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right and early on a Sunday in mid-February, thirteen people (among them, eight Mokuyokai members and seven JETAABC members) met Mokuyokai hiking guru Kenny Yamanaka downtown to participate in a good, old-fashioned Canadian winter sport: talking about the weather.

With the weather discussed and everybody bundled into carpools, the Mokuyokai convoy proceeded to Cypress Bowl’s Nordic ski area to pick up gear for the real purpose of the trip: backcountry snowshoeing. While most people rent a pair of snowshoes and buy a pass to use the trails around the relatively-flat Nordic area, Kenny upped the challenge — and lowered the price — of our outing by choosing to hike the steeper free trails to the top of Black Mountain (the mountain at the south side of Cypress Bowl).

After signing waivers and getting snowshoes, hikers continued by car to the Cypress alpine ski area, where the backcountry trails begin. After a lastchance use of the facilities and a pause to get backcountry passes (presumably so rescuers would know how many helicopters to send in the event of disaster) the hike began.

The weather wasn’t perfect (misty, so no view) — but more importantly, it wasn’t raining. It was a bit cold, though, so everybody loaded up with layers of fleece, gloves, and toques.

Which lasted for about five minutes: at the first brief rest stop near the middle of the first long, wide, gentle slope — still within view of the starting point — most people couldn’t shed their warm clothes fast enough, removing a layer of fleece, or a toque, or their gloves.

At the end of the first long, wide, gentle slope (presumably spaced just so we were thinking, “Hey! This isn’t so bad! I think I can do this!”) came a switchback, hiding the true nature of

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While everyone else broke out their overpacked lunches, Kenny proceeded to set up practically a full-on kitchen, featuring a camp stove, pot, and several litres of water — all so the whole group could enjoy hot chocolate! There’s really nothing like steaming hot chocolate at the peak of a snow-covered mountain in winter. Thanks, Kenny!

the hike, which was steeper and single file. Luckily, nobody broke down weeping.

For most of the trip, the trail led through the forest, which was beautiful: snow-covered, trackless, and quiet. With frequent rest stops, Kenny ensured hikers had time to catch their breath, admire the scenery, take photos, and chat.

The final section before the top was steep, icy, very twisty, and right among the trees. Presumably most of the morning’s mist had burned off while our group was in the woods,

After some group photos (but before everyone got too cold again), our group broke camp for the return trek. Predictably, the trip down was much faster than the long hike up, so that we were almost back to the starting point by early afternoon.

Faced with the choice between two routes to the bottom, some true adventurers (read: “crazy people”) took a pass on the longer, more boring, safe way back to the parking lot, and instead bounded down the much faster — and much steeper — slope directly to the vehicles. Looked like fun! Maybe next time…

Aside from a few blisters, sore muscles, and soggy clothes, everyone had a great time. See you all next year!

Real JETs, Real Jobs!

by Sabine Sasakura

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elcome to a new feature of the newsletter: the Career Profile section! In each issue, we will feature the career of one JET alum. In this issue, I will feature my own career as a counselor. We still need volunteers to be interviewed for the next two issues, so if you are interested, please contact me at career@jetaabc.ca!

We are also looking to start a JETAABC mentoring program. Mentoring would entail adding your name, contact information, and career information into the JETAABC membership database. You would then be available to give advice to any JET alumni interested in a career like yours.

Please contact me if you would like to become a mentor or a mentee!

Career profile: Counselor Name: Sabine Sasakura Current career: I just finished my M.Ed in Counselling Psychology. Upon certification, I will be a “Registered Clinical Counselor.”

What the career entails: Many counselors work directly with clients or patients. They treat people with emotional or mental issues or disorders, people who have problems with their spouses or families, people who have psychological problems linked to illness or disease, and people who have trouble adapting to school, work, or life events. Some counselors specialize in working with children, adolescents, students, adults, couples, the elderly, or certain cultural groups. Some counselors specialize in working with clients on specific issues, such as anxiety, depression, or career counseling. It is an extremely broad and varied field, something that appealed to me!

Many counselors will work with many different kinds of groups or in numerous agencies. For example, when I was doing my practicum, I was a counselor at Vancouver Community College and at Family Services of Greater Vancouver. I dealt with an extremely broad group of people, from children and families to couples and the elderly. Now I am starting a private practice as well as looking for work in an agency setting.

Related careers: psychologist, psychiatrist, therapist, psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, mental health worker, social worker, school/guidance counselor, life coach, marriage and family therapist, child/youth worker, criminologist, art/music therapist, career counselor, addictions counselor, mental health nurse, nutritional counselor, human resources generalist, consultant.

Positive aspects of this career: The variety of people that I see and the work that I do: this kind of job really suits me, as I am a people person. Each client that comes in the door is different, and I feel a bit like a detective each time,

trying to find out more about them (curiosity is an asset!).

I love helping people, and I love the deep connection that can form between client and therapist.

Challenges with this career: I would like a more stable career path. Having my own practice is a bit risky, as it is difficult to advertise. Agency work is also unstable: it is always a worry as to where the funding will come from.

Often, we are very much in the government’s hands.

On the personal side, it can sometimes be lonely and isolating — I can’t talk about my work to anyone, as most of it is confidential! And people sometimes look at me like I have two heads when I tell them what I do. At best, they come right out and ask if I am psychoanalyzing them during our conversation. This can be frustrating, because it couldn’t be further from the truth! It would be like a chef never being able to eat out because he analyzes the food too much! It’s very important to be able to step out of your role as counselor: knowing myself and having hobbies really helps!

How the career relates to JET: Counseling is so closely linked to education that the departments of Counseling Psychology are actually IN the faculties of Education at UBC and SFU! I think many counselors are cultural anthropologists at heart — we are curious about people in their contexts. Travelling is a common hobby amongst counselors.

Education: I attended UBC, where I completed a full two years of coursework plus a 600-hour practicum. Both UBC and SFU have Master’s level programmes in counseling psychology. Counselling psychology tends to be in the Faculty of Education, while clinical psychology (more centred on diagnosis and disorders) tends to have its own department.

There are numerous certificate and diploma courses at the local colleges. These can prepare you for work in group and youth homes and outreach programmes and as addictions counselors. Some of the most popular programmes are at Douglas College and at the Justice Institute of B.C. Potential salary and job prospects: This varies greatly, from about $15-25/hour for a youth worker, career counselor, or addictions counselor, to about $20-50/hour for a Master’s level counselor in an agency, to about $60-100/ hour for a counselor in private practice, to about $200/hour for a psychologist in private practice!

Most of us, though, are not at the top end of the pay scale. Realistically, a lot of agency work is contract-only (one or two days a week), and you might only get one private practice client a day (if you are lucky) for the first few years of practice, as our services are NOT generally covered by insurance. The vast majority of us are doing it for the love, not the money!

Editor’s note: If you have more questions about becoming a counselor, Sabine would love to hear from you: career@jetaabc.ca!

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News from the Consulate

by Steve Chevalier, Assistant to the Consul, Cultural Affairs

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he results are in. Fifty-four ALTs and three CIRs, who interviewed in Vancouver in February, have been selected to participate in this year’s JET Programme. Once again, JETAABC members were an important part of our selection process, serving as interview panel members and working at our reception desk. Thank you for your efforts.

Ellen Lee has joined the Cultural Affairs department at the Consulate. She will be coordinating the predeparture process for the JET Programme alongside Consul Nagao. Ellen joins us after completing her degree in Asian Studies at UBC last year. She is very keen on learning everything she can about Japanese culture, particularly sumo, and is looking forward to hearing about the alumni’s adventures in Japan.

To help prepare the new participants, we will once again conduct the annual JET Preparation Seminar. The seminar is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, June 23. If you would like to volunteer to speak or provide other support for the seminar, contact the JETAABC volunteer coordinator (volunteer@jetaabc.ca). With the help of JETAABC, we will also be re-launching the New JETs Forum on the JETAABC website in early May. We hope you will visit the forum to help answer questions and offer your “insider” advice to the new JETs. Spring in Vancouver was launched at the Burrard Skytrain Station in Vancouver with the 2nd Annual Cherry Blossom Festival on March 22. Several hundred rain-soaked people took in not only the blossoming cherry trees, but also Taiko drumming, hot green tea, and a draw for a free flight to Japan. The Consulate supported and participated in the festival launch. Our booth was busy as passers-by grabbed Japan travel information and souvenirs. (I still find it funny how people are drawn to free stuff: “Can I take one?” “Yes, it’s free.” “... What is it?”)

If you are looking for video content on Japan, check out the following government websites, both of which offer streaming video on a wide range of Japan-related topics (updated regularly): Government Internet TV: nettv.gov-online.go.jp/channel.html?c=61 • Japan Video Topics: web-japan.org/jvt/ •

The Nitobe Memorial Gardens

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